Transcript

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Brother Mark, the way you opened the service today, I had the
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exact same thoughts leaving my room, just walking towards you
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and I and I thought to myself, this is the Lord's day.
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Jesus is alive. We commemorate His resurrection
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every single week, not just on a weekend in the month of April,
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but every single Sunday. We remember that our Messiah is
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alive, and so we praise God. Amen.
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Indeed. Yes, you can say Hallelujah on a
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Sunday morning. You're allowed to.
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Well, here we are. Our final session of Maranatha
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2023. Were you blessed this whole
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weekend? Yes.
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Amen. I was blessed.
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Every year there's something special about this conference.
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Then the thing that stood out for me.
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I'm sure there are different things for you, but the thing
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that stood out for me was the Fellowship.
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I know the Fellowship is special every time, but the Fellowship
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for me, this is how I felt. Every single person I talked to
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saw a lot of familiar faces, but it was just an unending
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testifying of the goodness of God in our lives.
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Every person I talked to had something to say about what the
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Lord's doing, what the Lord has done, and I was just
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overwhelmed. Every night I went to bed, my
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heart was just full hearing what the Lord is doing beyond
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Chicago, what He's doing in Chicago that I'm not aware of.
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And so just to hear what God has been doing through these lives
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has been a blessing in itself. And so I am so grateful to the
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Lord Jesus for his work in and through many of you.
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And so I give him glory for that.
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And I just want to also give glory to God for many people who
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made this conference possible. And I can't name every name, but
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there are some people who went beyond to make this a gracious
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experience. And so obviously, we thank
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Bishop and Phoebe for all their hard work and we thank our
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wonderful praise team. Didn't they do an excellent job?
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Yes, they did, especially to Gorgies and Joelle and Dina, who
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helped organize a lot of the the logistics and the songs and
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everything else and everybody who came early to practice.
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I just want to, I always say this, and I want to say it again
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to the worshiping. Thank you for actually
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worshiping. So we're not looking at you.
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We're looking at Christ, there's other people behind the scenes
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that you're not aware of, I'm sure.
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But we had a VBS this whole weekend.
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Did you know that we had a Sunday school ministry?
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And so we thank Amy. Amy, can you just wave your
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hand? Where's Amy?
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She's a VBS. Of course she is.
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Yes. OK.
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All right. So they're still there.
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OK, that's good. Then we know where they're at.
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So, Amy, make sure you think Amy.
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I don't know if she's wearing the red VBS shirt.
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If, if she is, she's not wearing it, OK, Ask who Amy is and
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you'll find her and just thank her and all the volunteers.
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You know, we had many people from our own church who are
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willing to give up at least one service, one of the services
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that you're here that you've enjoyed throughout the weekend
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so that they can watch over the kids, so that others can be here
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as well. So we had 10 volunteers, I
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think, and they're all from our church. 15.
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No, not all from our church beyond our church.
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That we're willing to. Yes.
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That parents also were willing to say we're going to watch over
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the kids so that others can enjoy and that parents can also
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be here and receive the word of God.
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That's we're thankful for that. Also a couple other names we
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want to thank. Ranya and Lena.
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Ranya and Lena. Maybe you saw them at the
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registration. Who are working till the late
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hours of the night, helping, organizing, changing.
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And so. Ranya, Lena, where are you?
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Lift your hand. There you are.
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I know you're going to lift your hand, but where's Ranya?
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There you are. OK Can we give them a hand?
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They're right here. They're both over here.
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And to the sound team. All the guys back there, thank
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you for the live stream, for everything else, and the
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hospitality team. We had a hospitality team.
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I didn't even know that we had a hospitality team.
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Who's the hospitality team here, Here, here, here.
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Eileen. Yes, all the ladies here were
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helping with the hospitality team and that's organizing all
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the food and everything else. I don't want to sound cliche,
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but I genuinely got a taste of of heaven this weekend.
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Honestly, I didn't want to go to sleep.
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Usually I don't mind going to sleep, but this weekend it was
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very hard for me to go to bed. I just want to enjoy the
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fellowship with God's people and so we give them all glory and
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thanks. Well, today I was planning to
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continue and we're still going to be in that theme concerning
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Jesus being greater than Solomon.
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We looked at how Jesus is building a greater temple.
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We look at how Jesus gives a better peace.
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We look at how Jesus through Queen Sheba is the wisdom of God
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and can impart his wisdom into us.
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And I was planning to speak about how Jesus is the Greater
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Son, Jesus is the Greater Son. And looking at Solomon though he
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had a remarkable reputation, unfortunately didn't last very
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long and was planning to talk about the downfall of Solomon
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and how it came about. But instead, prayfully, we're
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going to look at King Jesus yet again, but behold his glory.
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We're going to behold his glory in this final session.
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We're going to behold this glory.
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You would think we're going to behold it in the New Testament.
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We're actually going to behold it in the Old Testament.
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And in John chapter 12, verse 41, John tells us that Isaiah
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spoke of these things because he beheld his glory.
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Isaiah beheld the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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And one of the the, the most amazing, resounding, remarkable
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accounts of the glory of Jesus Christ is in a very familiar
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passage. And that passage is found in
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Isaiah chapter 6. So would you turn your bibles
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with me to Isaiah chapter 6 as we look at the first few verses
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and behold his glory with Isaiah sound team, there's a buzzing.
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I don't know if you guys hear that, if you could help with
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that Buzzing. Yes, buzzing.
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Loves to follow me in places, but if you can help with that,
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that'd be great. Thank you.
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Well, shall we pray? Let's do that Indeed.
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Lord, you have blessed us. And, Lord, we want to give you
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thanks as a church. We want to thank you for the
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memories. We want to thank you for the
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scriptures that were stitched on our hearts.
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We want to thank you for the singing.
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We want to even thank you for the laughing.
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We want to thank you for the portraits of your glory in this
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beautiful place. The water, the trees, the skies.
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Everything, O Lord, reflects your glory.
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And we are thankful that you've given us this weekend to be
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refreshed and strengthened, to go back to our routine, to our
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context, to our churches, to our cities, and help us, Lord, get a
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glimpse again of Your glory through your word that we may be
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strengthened to reflect you in these dark times.
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And so, Lord, help with the delivery of this word.
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Help with our weary flesh, maybe our heavy hearts, even Maybe not
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everybody can attest to being overjoyed this past few days.
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Lord, may there be a touch yet again in our lives and our
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hearts. For your glory, we ask these
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things in Jesus name. Amen.
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Amen. Well, don't don't worry about
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the sound. Let's just focus here on the 1st
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8 verses. Let's read it together, okay and
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and attempt to if you're tired. I'm sure you are.
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To really focus on every word here, we want to dissect all
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that the scriptures has to say as much as we can at least.
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And Isaiah 6 verse one we read in the year that King Uzaya
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died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted
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up, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
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Each had six wings. With two he covered his face,
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with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew, and one
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called to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of
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host. The whole earth is full of his
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glory, and the foundations of the thresholds shook at the
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voice of him who called. And the house was filled with
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smoke. And I said, Woe is me, for I am
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lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst
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of a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the
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Lord of Host. Then one of the seraphim flew to
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me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with
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tongs from the altar, and he touched my mouth and said,
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behold, this has touched your lips, your guilt is taken away,
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and your sin is atoned for. This is one of the most
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fascinating accounts in Scripture because, well, there's
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many reasons, but one of the main reasons is that you have a
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mortal man coming into contact with the glory of God.
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And yes, it is a vision, but it is a very real experience.
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And the Holy Spirit has given us access into this encounter
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between a man of God and God himself.
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And as you're reading about this king who sits upon this throne,
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realize again that from John we learned that this is the same
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person who who walked on this earth, who did not have a
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pillow, who was frequently traveling, who did not have the
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praise and the esteem of seraphim, that same Jesus as the
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Jesus that you read of here in Isaiah chapter 6.
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To think that Jesus left this kind of holy atmosphere to come
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into this world in order for us to be forgiven and redeem this
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is a point in itself that we can meditate on and shout Hallelujah
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for. But there's so much more in this
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text, so much practical truth, so much depth to this.
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And I just want to give you an idea of what we can learn from
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these few verses. And we see here 1st that the
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timing of this encounter is so significant.
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It is in the year that King Uzaya died.
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King Uzaya, he wasn't like Solomon, but he was an excellent
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king and and to live under his reign was was a a blessing in
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itself. He was an innovator and an
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inventor. It says they're in second
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chronicles that his fame reached even to the borders of Egypt.
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He established a very strong military and and through that
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safety there was indeed a level of prosperity that the people
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enjoyed. But unfortunately something
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happened to King Ouza Uzaya here.
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Rather experienced something that often happens with people
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who become successful even for the Lord.
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He was puffed up. Up to that point he was
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dependent upon the Lord. His strength came from God.
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He humbled himself In his young years.
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He was raised up by faithful a faithful priest to learn how to
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fear God. But then eventually something
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happened at the peak of his rule.
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He thought highly of himself, and he did something that was
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wrong for any king to do. He assumed the role of a priest,
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and he goes into the temple and he desires to burn incense.
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That's illegal. You as a king cannot assume the
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role as a priest, which is significant because you read in
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the prophets that there is one to come who will be a priest but
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will sit on a throne. That's Christ.
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We talked about the offices, that Christ said he was greater
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than anything anybody else we had the office of what?
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The priest, the office of a prophet, the office of a king.
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He's going to, he's going to occupy all of those things at
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the same time, unlike any other man before.
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And so before that, we see here that Uzaya here goes, and he
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burns incense. Then as Araya the priest comes
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in, eighty other priests flood into the House of God and they
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confront him. What are you doing?
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You're not supposed to be doing this.
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And we're told there. Uzaya's reaction didn't humble
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himself. There was no conviction.
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Instead, we're told he got angry.
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One sign of pride is that when you're confronted for a
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legitimate sin is that you get angry and you stay angry.
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It's not fun being corrected. And sometimes we do get upset,
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especially we think we think we're justified.
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But but it was out here, got angry, very angry.
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Angry to the point where he was willing to do something about
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it. And in that moment, something
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happens. Leprosy breaks out, and I have
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all the places that it breaks out, Breaks out on his forehead.
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Do you know why? Because that's where the problem
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was. He had high thoughts about
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himself. Leprosy breaks out, spreads all
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over his body, and he becomes an outcast for the rest of his
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life. And there's something
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significant in that account in Second Chronicles 26 that I want
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to read to you. In verse 22 we read in Second
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Chronicles 2622. Now the rest of the acts of
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Uziah from first to last. Isaiah the prophet, the son of
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Amos, wrote. Isaiah the prophet was a
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contemporary. He was somebody who lived at the
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same time as King Uziah. And Isaiah had the task of
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writing about Uzaiah's life from beginning to end.
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His humility, his success down to his pride and his his
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downfall. It's not explicitly said, but it
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makes you wonder if Isaiah knew Uzaiah personally.
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You get that impression from some of the prophets with the
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kings right that that we see Isaiah with Hezekiah.
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He prays for him. He often gave him the word of
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the Lord. You look at Samuel the prophet
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concerning Saul. You can tell that there was a
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relationship there because when Saul falls is Samuel was broken
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about it to the point where they're in First Samuel 16, the
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Lord says, hey, listen, it's it's over.
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Get up, move on. I have another king in mind.
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So when you take into account the potential relationship
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between the prophet and the king, it makes you wonder how
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did Isaiah from a human standpoint, because he was
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human, just like you and I. How did he feel when he saw and
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learned? Here's our King Uziya forever
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and outcasts, and we have nobody occupying the throne anymore.
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What went through his mind? Was he like Samuel?
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Broken, overcome. Was he angry?
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One thing's for certain, there was disappointment in the land.
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One thing's for certain, there was even fear.
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Your leader now is no more. And some of you have had that
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tragic experience in the local church context.
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You hear, you see something happening from the leadership
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standpoint and it's it's there's a mix of emotions that come, you
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can relate then perhaps to Isaiah.
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What he's sensing here and the reason why I bring that up is
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because it is at that particular time where they're depleted,
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where where there was almost like a sucker punch to their
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faith. It is at that time that the Lord
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chooses to reveal himself this way to Isaiah, or He chooses to
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remove the veil and to allow Isaiah experience something that
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would change him forever and ever and ever.
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Do not despise seasons of suffering.
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Do not for a moment think that that pain, whatever the the, the
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quality of that pain is, is insignificant if you belong to
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the Lord. Because it is in those moments,
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in those trials, in those tribulations, that the Lord and
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there are accounts after accounts throughout the
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scriptures and there are promises with it assures you
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that there is something about God himself that he's going to
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reveal to you if you're just willing to trust in that truth.
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Was it not Job we said in Job 42 after experiencing all of that
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catastrophe? My ears, I've only heard of you.
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But now my eyes see you. Now my eyes see you.
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That was the end result of all that he experienced.
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All the mystery of that mess brought about a revelation of
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God, he says. I thought there was just one
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dimension of my understanding, but now you're giving me a more
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full dimension of who you are. Was it not Steven that while he
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was being stoned, looks up and he sees Christ not sitting but
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standing in honor of this martyr, ready to receive him
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into glory while he was being stoned?
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And so we look here with Isaiah that is at this time, where
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there is darkness over the land, where the people are shaken and
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perhaps even himself that God says, I'm going to give you a
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vision of my glory, allow that truth to be embedded in your
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heart, because you will eventually, if you follow him,
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if you haven't already, you will know a level of suffering.
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You will know some kind of tribulation.
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And what you need to do is take that truth and allow it to
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prepare yourself. When you walk through that
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threshold, you know God is going to show me something about
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himself. I don't know when, I don't know
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how, but I can trust that through this the Lord is going
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to reveal something that will change me.
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You look at Job's case, that was at the end of the whole matter.
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You look at Steven's case. It was while he was experiencing
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it. You look at Isaiah, it says in
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the year, didn't say in the day that Rusiah died, right.
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Is in the year at some point in that.
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So you might not know when, but eventually it's coming.
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You know, Paul spoke about something so fascinating in
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Philippines chapter three. He spoke about, oh, that I may
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know him, that I may know him in the power of his resurrection.
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We all want that, right? I want to know the power of
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Jesus. I want to know the power of his
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resurrection. Let me see it.
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Lord, give me some fresh testimonies.
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He didn't stop there, he says. And the fellowship of his
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sufferings. You don't hear people praying
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that part much the fellowship of his sufferings in suffering.
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There is a level of fellowship that you will know.
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There is something that you become acquainted with
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concerning the person of Jesus Christ that can only and
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exclusively be known in the place of suffering.
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I can tell you three years ago there was a moment of that.
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There was a season of that, and I'm not going to get into the
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details, but the suffering was so intense, relational
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suffering, but with all the all of the turbulence.
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Relationally, there was a knowledge of Jesus Christ that
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as painful as that time was, was so rewarding.
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And that Philippians 3 passage came to life.
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The fellowship of his suffering. Lord, I sense your nearness.
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You've opened my eyes to passages in the scripture that I
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never I would know them, I would pass.
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But things that I've seen, that I would always, always think, I
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can't really relate to this. Now I know, and I have to come
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with sanctified scars. Don't despise it.
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Don't shun it. Embrace it with the truth and
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the faith that there's something about God that he's going to
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make known to you. In and the year the King Hosaya
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died, I saw something, he says. I saw the Lord sitting upon a
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throne. Sitting, sitting.
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That's brilliant. Not standing.
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Not pacing. Not biting his nails, Not
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scratching his head. Sitting, confident, calm,
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absolutely sovereign. Sitting, totally in control.
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Not caught by surprise. Not disturbed, not worried.
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Sitting. That posture communicates the
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absolute providential power of Jesus Christ.
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And what I love about this here is that King Uziya dies.
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He sees the Lord sitting upon the throne.
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Isaiah does. But the Lord doesn't.
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Just decision to sit. He he's not caught by surprise.
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He knows exactly what he's going to do next.
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He saw it before you even experienced it.
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And and as much as that's what's happening in the world, this is
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the picture that we need to have of Christ always.
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And in Philippians too, we haven't even an added added
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detail concerning what the Lord does from time to time on the
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throne. We're we're told there and Psalm
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2 that when the nations come together to try to fight against
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the anointed and Psalm 2, verse four, it says that he who sits
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on his throne does what? What does he do?
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He laughs. He laughs.
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He doesn't just sit, he laughs. And the Lord holds him in
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derision. Let the globalists do what they
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want. Let politicians make all the
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laws that they want. Let him try to come against the
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Church of Jesus Christ. The Lord sits in the heavens and
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laughs. So with all the news and all the
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social media posts and all the conspiracies and all these
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things that have that before your face filter, all that you
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read and see with that image, He who sits in the heavens laughs.
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He's in total control. What's happening in your world?
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What's happening in V world? This is, this is Christ, this is
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him, and this is what Isaiah sees.
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I wonder how Starling it was. But he doesn't just see that.
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It says here that he's sitting upon a throw high and lifted up
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and the train of his robe filled the temple.
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I mean, that was a detail that Isaiah had to inscribe.
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Clearly it was a Holy Spirit. He just looks at this, this
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majestic being, this radiant king, and with it in the room
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that he saw that the train of his robe absolutely occupied
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every inch of that room. What is that to mean?
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Well, obviously the train of his rope signifies some element of
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his glory, and the aspect of the glory of Jesus Christ made no
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room for anything else to boast in its glory.
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He doesn't share his glory. There's no room.
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When you consider Christ for anybody to boast in anything, He
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occupies it all. Everything, regardless of the
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means, regardless of the instrument that he uses,
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ultimately he deserves it all. He deserves it all.
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I remember sitting with a minister who is now in heaven
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and we're having a lovely lunch. And while we're having that and
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he's a man of God, we were sitting there talking different
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things, just casually and all. All of a sudden he stops.
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He looks at me and he knew I was in ministry and and he looked at
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me and he just laser focused right into my soul.
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He says, you touch the glory, he'll bury you.
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I didn't. Do you think I swallowed the
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thing in my mouth? I just like, how do you respond
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to that? Thank you.
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I and I just nodded my head and he looked at me and says don't
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touch the glory, don't touch the glory.
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And then we went on after that, Just casual conversation.
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He's right. Don't touch the glory.
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Many men have. Many women have attempted to
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touch the glory. And God can replace you in a
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second. You have a wonderful voice.
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That's great. You have a wonderful ability to
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expound the scriptures. You're you're very intelligent.
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God can make the rocks praise him.
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So be careful. Don't touch the glory.
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Here's Isaiah. There's no room for anything
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else. The whole place is connected to
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the king that the robe itself demonstrating that there's no
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other place. There's no other person.
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There's no other thing that can compare it to him.
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And now from seeing seeing Christ, he sees something else
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around the king, and it's in verse two.
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Above him stood the seraphim. The seraphim.
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It the words simply means burning ones.
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It describes something about their actual being.
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They were gleaming, they were radiant, Their actual appearance
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was fiery. So these heavenly creatures,
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Isaiah sees them and he takes note of them.
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He doesn't tell us how many there are, but that's not
23:41
important to Isaiah. He wants to tell us what they
23:43
were doing and what were they doing.
23:45
Well, we're told here each had six wings.
23:48
With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his
23:51
feet, and with two he flew. So 6 wings you have two there
23:56
covering the face, you have two there flying, and you have two
23:58
there covering the feet. Out of the six you had four
24:01
doing something very interesting, covering the face
24:04
unworthy to behold the glory of Jesus Christ.
24:08
Covering the feet unworthy to serve him.
24:14
And we're told here that they stood, they stood above, and
24:19
that that posture. So you have Jesus sitting, and
24:21
then you have the Seraphim standing.
24:23
And that posture of standing communicates A readiness to
24:28
service. They are there so that if they
24:31
get the command at any time, their obedience will be swift,
24:35
it will not be delayed. And so in the presence of the
24:39
king here, they are perpetually in a posture of readiness to
24:44
obey. And that's great, because we're
24:47
going to learn something about these seraphim in a moment here.
24:50
And although they were ready to serve their king, you see this
24:54
detail about their wings. Those are the wings speak about
24:58
a level of swiftness as well. But two are covering the face
25:02
and two are covering the feet, and two are suspending them.
25:06
Out of the six, four are doing something. 2/3 of who these
25:12
beings are are teaching us where we need to put our emphasis.
25:18
The face and the feet are covered, speak of worship.
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The wings there that were out were the wings to assist them to
25:26
go where the king would tell him to go.
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That speaks of service. Out of the six, four wings were
25:32
dedicated to worship. Don't put your personal devotion
25:37
over your ministry. Rather, don't put your ministry
25:40
over your personal devotion. And if you're going to serve the
25:43
Lord, which we all call to serve the Lord, let it come out of the
25:46
place of adoring the Lord and knowing the Lord and seeking the
25:51
Lord and spending time with the Lord and and standing before His
25:54
Majesty. Continue allowing that to fuel
25:57
what you do for Him. Many people do the opposite.
26:00
They put most of their energy, if not all of their energy, into
26:04
serving Him. And serving Him is wonderful.
26:05
We're called to do that, but there's a priority here.
26:09
There's a hierarchy here. There's a wisdom here that from
26:13
the place of adoration are we to go now there and assist the
26:16
Kingdom of God. The Serfum knew that we're we're
26:21
going to use our wings here to demonstrate how much we are just
26:25
absolutely enthralled by the beauty of the king.
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And then from there they were able to serve him.
26:31
You know, there's a an interesting verse in the Song of
26:33
Solomon and the Song of Solomon. In chapter one, verse 6, there's
26:39
this little detail that the Shulamite woman says, and it's
26:43
in principle something that we should, we should take he do in
26:47
Song the Solomon, chapter one, verse six, what do we read?
26:49
It's going to come up there. If not, I'll read it here.
26:53
This woman says, do not gaze at me because I am dark, because
26:56
the sun has looked upon me. My mother sons were angry with
27:00
me. They made me look at this.
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They made me keeper of the vineyards.
27:04
But my own vineyard I have not kept.
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They made me keeper of the vineyards.
27:11
But my own vineyard I have not kept.
27:13
You know, many ministers fall into that temptation.
27:17
All they do, and they do out of a good place, is they pour into
27:21
the vineyards of others. They sacrifice so much of their
27:24
time and their energy, trying to nourish and replenish others in
27:27
their walk with the Lord at the expense of their own vineyard
27:30
not being kept. So in the personal devotion
27:34
time, they're being shriveled up.
27:37
They haven't took time to actually behold the glory of the
27:40
Lord for themselves, and they're trying to help everybody else do
27:42
it. And that's a dangerous place to
27:45
be where you're not keeping your own venue, you're trying to help
27:48
everybody else in their own fruitfulness.
27:51
And so for even the sake of your effectiveness for the Lord in
27:54
your service, the Lord, you must have your vineyard cat.
27:57
You cannot neglect it. You can't neglect your time with
28:00
the Lord. You can't neglect your time in
28:01
the Word. You can't neglect your own
28:03
personal time of worship. These surf, and they had four of
28:06
their wings doing just that, and from that place they were able
28:09
to serve and do the same. And when you're tempted to
28:13
neglect, they realize that to the degree that you are in that
28:17
place with the Lord personally will determine the depth of your
28:21
influence in other people's lives.
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Where many people go wrong over time is at some point, and it's
28:28
not always the case. But most of the time, when there
28:30
is somebody who burns out or somebody who falls into grievous
28:33
sin, I can guarantee you that at some point it's because they
28:36
have not kept their own vineyard.
28:40
They they they got busy. They got busy, they lost focus.
28:45
And then eventually, because your spirit is no longer strong,
28:48
even as you're serving others, something tragic happens.
28:52
You either quit it all together or you do something that messes
28:55
it all up. Anyway.
28:57
So we see here that the Seraphim are demonstrating something of
29:01
the need to emphasize worship and love and in everything else
29:05
flowing from that place. But you know what's so
29:07
significant is, is what they do as they worship.
29:11
It says you're in verse three and one called to another and
29:14
said holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.
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The whole earth is full of his glory.
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You know how many people interpret the scripture?
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This is what they're worshipping to the Lord with.
29:26
That's not what the text says. That's not what verse three
29:29
says. They're not looking at the Lord
29:31
and saying holy, holy, holy, what is it 1 called to another?
29:34
They're saying this to each other.
29:38
They're saying this to each other.
29:39
So these Seraphim are looking at one another, so to speak, or at
29:42
least communicating to one another.
29:43
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts.
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The whole earth is full of His glory.
29:50
What does that teach us? It teaches us this that when you
29:52
truly, personally behold the glory of God, come to the Word,
29:57
experience the Lord through the Word.
29:59
You seek him in that place, and he begins to reveal himself to
30:02
you. You can't help but talking to
30:04
others about it. You can't help it so overwhelms
30:09
you, so overcomes you that you have to spill over and talk to
30:12
others about it. We got a glimpse of that this
30:14
weekend. That's why I was so refreshed,
30:16
because so many people in this place clearly have experienced
30:21
something with the Lord in the past year or in the past few
30:24
years. And when you truly come into
30:27
that encounter with the Lord in the truth, oh, you can't help
30:30
but tell others about it. You can't.
30:33
You have to almost restrain yourself.
30:34
It's a joy. It's a delight.
30:38
And these Sarah from are doing just that.
30:41
If you want to know how you can become more effective in telling
30:44
people about the Lord, just enjoy him.
30:47
Just taste and see. And you don't really need the
30:51
mechanics that people often have to give to try to get us into
30:54
the into the mode. No, it just if you come to that
30:57
place it will over overflow from your life.
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So they're speaking this to one another and what are they
31:04
saying? Holy, holy, Holy is the Lord of
31:05
Hoes #1. They're speaking about the
31:07
character and the nature of God thrice holy.
31:11
The fact that it's repeated, it's because it's an emphasis.
31:14
There is nothing like him. He is otherworldly and you can't
31:19
just say it once. You have to say it over and over
31:21
and over. There is no one like this king.
31:25
And so they knew something about his nature and they wanted to
31:27
talk about his nature, his person.
31:31
But then from there we see that he they're talking about his
31:33
works. The whole earth is full of his
31:37
glory. And even before that, Holy,
31:41
holy, Holy is the Lord of Host. Out of all the things that they
31:44
highlighted about the King, the Lord of hosts, that word simply
31:47
means the Lord of Angel armies. And that is a phrase that is
31:51
often used. That is a that is a aspect of
31:53
the Lord that's often used in the prophetic books, and for
31:56
good reason. The Lord of Angel armies.
31:58
What do you see in the prophetic books That the people of God are
32:00
frequently vulnerable to outside attack as a result of their lack
32:04
of faith, and these prophets would often declare the Lord of
32:09
Angel armies. He can fight your battles.
32:12
He can defend you from your foes.
32:14
He can stand and defend you, but you need a turn from your sin.
32:18
He's the Lord of hopes. He's ready to come by your side.
32:22
So the character of God, he's holy, the works of God.
32:27
What he can do, what he is doing.
32:30
The heavens declare his glory. Christ Jesus in you.
32:34
The hope of glory bearing fruit that the Father may be
32:37
glorified. Our lives, nature, all the
32:41
things, ministry, they testify the glory of the Lord throughout
32:45
the earth. And ultimately it will come to
32:47
its climax with the millennial reign of Jesus Christ.
32:52
This is what the surf and we're consumed with.
32:55
And I love that phrase in Acts chapter 4 where the disciple
32:59
says we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.
33:03
We can't help it because we've seen it, because we've heard it.
33:07
It would be wrong for us not to speak about it when people are
33:11
not excited about the Lord, it tells me one thing they haven't
33:14
seen or heard. They're religious.
33:18
They're tidy, nice Christians. They're conservative in their
33:21
values, but they haven't seen the glory of God yet.
33:26
And if they have, they became stale because they didn't stay
33:30
in that place of the presence of God.
33:34
So here's the side of the glory of Jesus Christ, and something
33:37
begins to happen now. Here's this visual.
33:39
But now you're now Isaiah's about to feel something, and
33:43
this is what he feels. And the foundation of the
33:45
threshold shook at the voice of him who called.
33:48
And the house was filled with smoke.
33:51
And here's this man now trembling because he is in the
33:53
presence of a holy God. And this is what he says in
33:56
verse 5. And I said, Woe is me for I am
33:59
lost. Woe is me for I am lost.
34:05
This is a prophet. This is not a heathen.
34:09
This is a man. Leading up to chapter six was
34:11
saying, whoa to you, whoa to you, whoa to you.
34:15
Now he comes to Isaiah, Chapter 6.
34:16
OK, whoa was me. What was me?
34:20
I am lost. The word lost doesn't
34:26
communicate the strength of what he's saying.
34:29
In other words, what he's really saying is in the original I am
34:32
destroyed. I'm destroyed.
34:37
Being in the presence of this holy king, who am I?
34:41
And he uses language that is familiar.
34:46
Woe is me, for I'm lost, for I am a man of unclean lips.
34:51
If you were a leper, you have to let your hair hang loose.
34:55
You have to wear torn clothes according to Leviticus, and you
34:58
have to put your hand on your upper lip and walk around,
35:01
especially if you're coming in close proximity with people.
35:04
Unclean, unclean, unclean. There's a prophet.
35:12
You know what's so significant about this?
35:14
He is describing of himself what happened to Uziah.
35:18
Uziah became a leper. Uziah became a diseased man.
35:23
And that leprosy speaks of sin. And you know what he is saying?
35:26
This prophet in the presence of the king.
35:28
I'm no better than Uzaya. Yeah.
35:32
That man who lost his strong, that man who was an outcast for
35:34
the rest of his life, Me, Isaiah, the prophet, I'm no
35:37
better than him because we're all equal at the foot of the
35:40
cross. What brought him to this
35:44
revelation? When you see him in his
35:48
brilliance, when you see him in His Holiness, you cannot boast.
35:53
You will stop this comparative sanctification thing.
35:58
You will become less confident in your own righteousness.
36:03
Because that's what we tend to do, right?
36:05
I'm not like that. What do you when you talk to,
36:06
when you talk to people who are not saved?
36:07
What are you saying when you try to present the gospel?
36:09
When you try to tell them that they're sinners?
36:10
Well, I'm not a murderer. I'm not a rapist.
36:13
I'm not this, I'm not that. And so let me, let me convey
36:17
this to you. The, the, the, the purpose of us
36:19
and delivering the gospel truth entails declaring the holiness
36:24
of God. We are not doing people a favor
36:27
by not describing the holiness of God.
36:30
We need to rediscover the fear of God.
36:35
We need to rediscover because I know it doesn't sound appealing.
36:38
I know it doesn't sound like it will win hearts.
36:40
I know people are afraid of misinterpreting God by
36:43
delivering God and His Holiness. But you were doing a disservice
36:46
to the gospel. Yes, I know that there is
36:49
another extreme. Yes, I know that you can
36:51
communicate a wrathful God with no hope, but you have to still
36:54
be faithful to what the Word of God says about God.
36:57
You have to Why would they want to be washed from their sins if
37:01
they don't realize how filthy they are?
37:03
Why would they want the blood unless they realize they need to
37:05
be cleansed. And so we see here even this man
37:10
who could have boasted in so much, which I love.
37:13
I love this about the Bible. Look how detailed the Bible is.
37:15
Woe is me, for I am lost, for I am a man.
37:18
Out of all the things he could have said, he said unclean lips.
37:21
Yes, that's a reference to leprosy, but again, he's a
37:24
prophet. If there was anything that
37:26
Isaiah could have boasted about in his righteousness, what could
37:29
it have been? His lips.
37:33
He declared the word of the Lord.
37:36
He spoke the truth. He was faithful to the message
37:39
of God in an apostate time. If there was anything that
37:42
Isaiah could have been confident in concerning his standing
37:45
before God, it was his ministry. It was his gift, it was his
37:50
calling. But that very thing that God
37:53
used, those lips, he said in the presence of Jesus.
37:56
They're unclean. And it's the same Isaiah where
38:01
we get that that very well known phrase that even our righteous
38:04
acts are what Filthy Isaiah said that Isaiah said that later on.
38:13
And no wonder, because this man who leading up to this point was
38:17
using his lips for the glory of God even then in the presence of
38:21
the glory, God said I I can't boast even in this.
38:27
I have nothing. I'm undone.
38:30
I have nothing to. I can't say, hey, but Lord, look
38:32
at this. It's all filthy rags in contrast
38:36
to Your Holiness. For I'm a man of unclean lips,
38:44
and they dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.
38:47
Why? For my eyes have seen the King,
38:51
the Lord of hosts. Not only is this important for
38:55
Isaiah in terms of what he's going to experience with
38:58
atonement, this is Isaiah. Some debate.
39:01
Is this Isaiah going into his initial calling, or is this
39:05
Isaiah in chapter 6 going into a new level of his calling?
39:09
Whatever side you choose, the principle is still the same.
39:12
Isaiah needed to experience this before he went into the
39:16
ministry, because He's about to say here I am, send me right.
39:21
But before the Lord would send him, Isaiah needed a revelation
39:25
about himself. If Isaiah was going to preach
39:28
for the Lord of Isaiah was going to serve the Lord.
39:30
Isaiah need to be convinced of his own sinfulness and his own
39:34
frailty and his own imperfection, so so that he
39:37
would not enter into the ministry self-righteous, proud.
39:46
He needed to be humbled. That changes everything.
39:51
Ministry is one thing. Ministry with humility is a
39:53
whole another level of authority and effectiveness.
39:57
And God will tend to do that with his men, with his woman,
39:59
with God. And and you need to continually
40:03
ask the Lord for this. Lord, as I serve others, as I
40:06
tell the truth to others, help me remember who I am.
40:10
In light of all of this, can I show you another example of
40:12
that? Can we go to Exodus chapter 4?
40:15
Here's Moses very reluctant to answer the call to go and save
40:18
the people of Israel from Egypt. And the Lord wants to comfort
40:21
him. And even teach him through these
40:24
catalog of supernatural signs, just a handful of them, before
40:27
he goes to speak on behalf of the Lord.
40:30
And so we see that there's something that happens with his
40:32
staff that turns into a serpent. And here's here's another
40:35
miracle that takes place that has a very important lesson in
40:37
Exodus 4, verse six and seven. Remember, this is the Lord
40:40
speaking to his man before he goes out and represents Yahweh
40:44
to the people who are enslaved. And here's what the Lord does.
40:47
One of the miracles is so important because it's the same
40:49
principle as Isaiah in Exodus 4/6.
40:51
And again, the Lord said to him, put your hand inside your cloak,
40:58
and he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out,
41:01
behold, his hand was lepers like snow.
41:05
And then after we were told that he puts it back, and then he
41:09
takes it out and behold it was restored like the rest of his
41:12
flesh. So the Lord says, Moses, I'm,
41:17
I'm going to be ready to send you now, but I need to show.
41:19
I need to show you something. So take your hand and put it
41:23
inside your cloak and take it out.
41:28
And he took it out. His hand became white.
41:33
He knows what this is. What was God trying to say to
41:38
him? What was this?
41:39
Before I use you, I want you to see your own sinfulness.
41:45
I want you to see your own depraved nature.
41:49
And I was just talking with this with my dad, and he, he reminded
41:51
me, he told me he's like, do you notice that?
41:53
He said, put it inside your cloak.
41:57
Why? Because it's hidden.
42:00
Sin is not just outside, it's inside.
42:03
And sometimes we look at the outside and we're so confident
42:05
because of what we're like. We're so dignified and we dress
42:08
nice, we're polite and we have manners, he said.
42:11
Put your hand inside your cloak. It's your heart that's sinful.
42:17
It's the inner man, the things that people can't see.
42:19
That part of you is lepers as well.
42:22
Not just the veneer, not just the outside, not just the nicely
42:25
combed here and the religious talk.
42:27
Your heart, your heart needs to be changed.
42:30
And when you get all confident, when you get all comparative,
42:34
remember that inside your heart, you're lepers.
42:38
He humbles his men, and we need a side of our own sinfulness and
42:41
neediness before we go out and tell others that they need
42:43
Christ. Isaiah, before he goes into this
42:49
new level of preaching, says, woe is me, I am lost.
42:54
I am a man of unclean lips, and it would have been a very sad
42:58
story if it ended there. But it doesn't because verse six
43:02
we read now we're reintroduced to the Seraphim.
43:04
Then one of the Seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning
43:08
coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
43:13
And he touched my mouth and said, behold, this is touch your
43:17
lips, your guilt is taken away, and your sin is atoned for.
43:21
Let me touch on the Seraphim one more time.
43:23
I like the Seraphim. I enjoy them.
43:28
Here's the Seraphim in the presence of God.
43:30
Here's the Seraphim declaring the glory of God.
43:32
Here's the Seraphim ready to serve his king.
43:37
And in the presence of a man who is broken and contrite in the
43:40
presence of a man who realized his need, who is desperate, who
43:45
was shattered by his own sin, he was quick to come as a vessel,
43:49
as an instrument to provide a remedy for his sin.
43:56
What I take from that is if you are a person like the serf, and
44:00
if you're a person who really is in the presence of God, you walk
44:03
in the Spirit, You know the Lord, you do worship Him.
44:06
One of the ways by which that is proven is how you deal with
44:09
people in their sin. Doesn't glacial 6 tell us that
44:16
those who are spiritual are to restore those who are fallen?
44:19
If you're really spiritual, one of the signs that you are
44:22
spiritual is how you respond and how you act in the presence of
44:25
somebody who really messed up. What goes through your mind?
44:32
How do you treat them? How do you talk about them?
44:36
How do you talk about them? How do you talk through them
44:39
when they really mess up? When they say, well, I am, I am
44:42
unclean, I'm undone. Do you scade them even more?
44:49
Do you discourage them? Do you condemn them?
44:51
Do you shun them? Or are you like the Seraphim who
44:54
truly reflect the essence of what it means to be in God's
44:56
presence, to be close and intimate with the king?
45:01
And your heart throbs with compassion because you yourself
45:03
know I'm capable of the same sin.
45:06
I know that I can fall. I know that I can do this.
45:08
I know that this is possible for me.
45:11
I know what Christ has forgiven me from.
45:14
So people who talk about how spiritual they are, and they
45:16
come off all condescending and arrogant, talking down about
45:21
others, speaking so ill of them even in their sin.
45:25
I question that that person really stands in the presence of
45:27
Jesus. I do.
45:31
But when a person, regardless of how spiritual they are, they
45:34
mercy, when they ooze with that mercy, that signifies this
45:39
person knows something about the king.
45:40
That doesn't mean we're light with sin.
45:43
That doesn't mean we just let people get away with their
45:45
unrepentant said. This is not an unrepentant man.
45:48
This is a very broken man. What do you do in the presence
45:50
of a man who is broken in his sin?
45:53
What do you do with a man like Isaiah, who served in the
45:55
ministry, who had a reputation of being a man of God, but now
45:59
it comes to the realization that he's not a man of God.
46:01
Or maybe he does something that disqualifies him to be a man of
46:03
God. What do you do?
46:06
Oh, the closer you are to Christ, the the more you will
46:09
know what to do and the more you'll reflect him.
46:13
The seraphim flew. He flew to Isaiah, and he
46:18
provides him a coal from the altar, purging coal that
46:24
symbolized, You know who it is. But you know what's so
46:29
fascinating about this? Isaiah's vision of the holiness
46:33
of God on the throne is not all that God wanted him to see and
46:37
experience. It starts with the holiness of
46:40
God. It starts with you standing in
46:43
the presence of His purity. That's where it starts.
46:45
But what we learn from this is that's not all that God wants us
46:48
to see. He wants us to go from the
46:49
throne to the altar, His Holiness to His mercy, His
46:56
justice, to his His loving forgiveness.
47:02
So it's not crushing conviction as the end here.
47:05
That's not the end. That's the means for you to
47:07
realize that there is, there is salvation, there is rescue.
47:11
For me now, in this place I am broken.
47:13
And that's true. So we we become broken.
47:15
He does break us, only to heal us, only to pick us up and to
47:20
make us new. This is exactly what we've seen.
47:22
The vision doesn't end with the throne.
47:23
People come here, say the throne.
47:25
It is a throne. But don't exclude the altar.
47:28
Don't exclude the altar. When you want to say you want to
47:31
see Jesus's glory in Isaiah chapter 6.
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Yeah, don't stop with the train of his robe filling the temple.
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Go to the cold that came from that altar and touch the lips of
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a man who needed salvation. That's the glory of the Lord
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taking it from the tongs with the tongs from the altar.
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I mean, how hot was it for Sarah?
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From not to touch it with his own hands?
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He had to use tongs, and he flew to him and sizzled his lips, and
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he is reassured. Behold, this has touched your
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lips. Your guilt is taken away, and
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your sin is atoned for. Your sin is atoned for.
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Notice what happens as a result of his sin being atoned for.
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This is a picture of the gospel. This is a picture of Christ
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purging us by His blood. Verse 8 And I'm ending it here.
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This is Isaiah. And I heard the voice of the
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Lord saying, Whom shall I send and who will go for us?
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If the God had here, then I said, Here I am, Send me.
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Here I am, send me. Notice the secret of events
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here. It wasn't until Isaiah was
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perched from his sin that he was able to clearly hear the voice
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of God. Up to this point he saw many
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things. He heard the seraphim, but it
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wasn't until his lips were cleansed his sin was atone for
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that he was able to have access to a nearness of God that wasn't
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available before. Do you see that sequence?
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Your sin needs to be atone, for if you're going to come near,
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your sin needs to be dealt with in order for you to come close.
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Your sin needs to be dealt with in order for you to be brought
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into the inner circle, so to speak.
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Apart from that, you always be at a distance.
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But through that something opens up to us.
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And now he is hearing the voice of his king.
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He's hearing the voice of his God.
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God becomes real when you are washed.
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Isn't that true? Something is open up to a new
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world, A new world? When you're born again, a new
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world opens up to you, right? And the most important thing of
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that new world, as you are a new person, is God, the newness of
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God. Not with physical.
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I'm not talking about mysticism here.
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I'm talking about the eyes of your heart.
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I'm talking about the depth of your soul that comes alive.
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And the Lord now is not just a theological concept.
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He's a person to be known. And you realize his leading.
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You realize his plans and purposes.
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He unfolds for you what he wants to do for you.
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And that is the joy of our salvation.
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Not just a ticket to get in at the gates, but to know him.
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Now as I get there and I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
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Whom shall I send and who will go for us?
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This is the part that I love. Then I said, here I am, Send me.
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This guy's excited. This prophet is eager.
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Do you know why? Do you know why I say that?
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Because the job description wasn't given yet, right?
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Whom shall I send and who will go for us?
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Here. Sign me up.
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I'm ready. Didn't even know what it is.
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Do you know one of the signs that you've experienced?
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The Lord is that you will serve him no matter what that looks
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like, right. He didn't say.
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Hey, Lord, I'm willing. But I really want to do this,
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though. Do you have anything?
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No. OK, that's not.
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That's not what you're saying, Lord.
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I'll serve you. But I want to serve you like
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this. I want.
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I want the pulpit. And then I'll serve you.
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I want one of these microphones and then I'll serve you.
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I'm ready. Let me know when you're ready.
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I'm willing to serve you. But I want these gifts and I
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want to be compensated for my gifts.
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And I I like traveling, Lord. And so if I can get invited some
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places, that'd be really nice. So here I am sending none of
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that. None of that rubbish.
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Whom? Whom?
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Where will they go? What it doesn't say.
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Here I am, send me, and then the job description comes, Here I
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am, send me, and then the And here it is.
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And he said, go and say to this, people keep on hearing, but do
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not understand. Keep on seeing, but do not
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perceive. Make the heart of this people
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dull and their ears heavy and blind their eyes lest they see
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with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand what
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their hearts and turn and be healed.
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That's that's the job description.
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When you preach, nobody's going to listen to you.
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When you preach, people's hearts are actually going to get
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hardened. They're going to become more
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blind and more deaf. Look at the natural response of
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this prophet and verse 11. Then I said, how long, old Lord?
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How long, old Lord? Imagine that being a preacher
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and nobody's going to answer. Respond to your messages and you
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said, until the city's lies waste without inhabitant and
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houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste.
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And he goes on to describe until they're judged because they've
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reached the point of of serious condemnation.
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But the point I want to take from this is when you've seen
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him and you experience his forgiveness, that's enough for
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you to endure anything in this life, including a ministry that
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doesn't seem to provide the reward that you thought it would
53:03
bring. Because it's about him.
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It's about the Lord. It's about knowing that he
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called you and that he sent you and that you're pleasing him.
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And that's enough motivation, even though you stand before
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people that can't wait for you to finish talking.
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Behold the glory of Jesus Christ.
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Behold the man who experienced the glory of Jesus Christ and
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was never the same. Behold the lessons of what
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happens when we understand who King Jesus really is.
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And I pray that after this weekend, you saw a glimpse of
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how not only is he king, he's greater than any other king that
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you would walk here with a fresh desire to crown him as Lord of
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your life. And what a way to end this
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conference. I don't want to be Christian is
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here. I don't want it.
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I don't want to be cliche. I don't want to be youth pumpy
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here. OKI want to be real with you.
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I want to be just straight. What a way to end this
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conference to say, Lord, send me thank you for this glorious
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weekend. Thank you for.
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But there's a job to be done out there.
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We're going to get this. What we're what we've done this
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week. We're going to get it for all
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the eternity. And yes, we need it from time to
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time to be refreshed in this life.
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But there is a world out there that has no clue of the joy that
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you know, that has not encountered the holiness of God,
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that has not seen his throne and has not understood the altar
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with the coal signifying the cross that's able to restore
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that they don't know, They don't know.
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And the people who claim to know, most of them don't know
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either. And so I want us to end here in
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a corporate expression of faith. And God knows if it's on your
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heart. God, I'm not.
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I can't force you to do anything but to genuinely say because
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these moments should refresh us and reenergize and say, Lord, I
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walked into this conference may be very discouraged about the
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ministry that I'm in, not very excited about what I'm doing for
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you. But I saw this man who beheld
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your glory and he said, here I am, send me though he didn't
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know where he was going to go. I I, I want that kind of faith.
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I want to go back to my local church, and wherever the need
55:05
is, I want to serve there. As long as you've called me
55:07
there, I want to please you before I please myself or
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anybody else for that matter. And Lord, more than that, help
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me to keep my vineyard leaving this place that as I serve
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others and pour out into others. I would not neglect my own soul.
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Teach me the beautiful balance of personal Teach me to cover my
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face and my feet while the other two are helping me fly.
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Teach me to keep you first my personal devotion before
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anything else I do publicly, and you will listen.
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If you, by God's grace and wisdom, know how to establish
55:42
that principle, you will make it to the end.
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Fruitful, full of life, full of SAP.
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Lord, we ask that you help us at the end of Maranatha 2023.
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We give you honor and thanks that you've given us a glimpse
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of your glory. And thank you for inviting us in
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your word. The absolute authority,
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infallible, perfect, all sufficient revelation of who you
56:13
are. Well, we pray that as we close,
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as we sing, as we eat, as we hug, as we cry, as we laugh,
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that our hearts would leave knowing that you've spoken to us
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and that you have a purpose for every person here.
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So thank you, God, thank you that you have indeed redeemed
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us. Not just redeem this, but you've
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called us to something. For this we are grateful.
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Thank you for not just this church, the different churches
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that are represented here. Thank you for this Conference
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Center for the years of hosting us to encounter the living
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Christ through the Word in your presence with God's people.
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Lord, if it is your will, bring us back again.
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Bring us back again with more stories, testimonies of what
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happened between 2023 and 2024. We are eager to see what you
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have, what is on your mind for us, in Jesus name we pray.
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Amen. Amen.
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Amen. Well, why don't we stand and
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worship the world? You know when you when you think
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about there's so much in that Isaiah 6 passage and when you
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think about the Seraphim, how when the the King died and the
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people of God, the nation of God was is in a difficult place.
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I love how the Seraphim though, despite what was happening in
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the world were worshiping. Their eyes are just focused on
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Jesus and they were worshiping despite what was happening.
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Holy, holy, Holy is the Lord of Aust, right?
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He will sustain you. Keep your eyes on it.
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He will keep you and I want an example set for us as the Saints
57:53
of God that despite anything, He's still worthy of our
57:58
adoration and love. I don't know what's going to
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happen to you between now and next year, Lord willing will be
58:04
back again. But never forget that He is
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worthy of your worship. Through it all.
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Through it all, even if he doesn't answer you right away,
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even if you're suffering or others around you are suffering
58:17
like Isaiah experienced, He is worthy of your worship.
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If you are suffering now, consider the great privilege and
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opportunity it is. It is a testimony for the Lord
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to heal you. It is a testimony for the Lord
58:29
to strengthen you, to provide for you, to make a way to defeat
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your enemies. That's all wonderful, and he can
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and he can't be glorified in that.
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But you have an opportunity now to display the peace of the Lord
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at all times and in every way. May you be a living testimony
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that our God is real and may empower us so that others would
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see that he is a king worthy to be served.
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Can we pray together? Yes again.
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Or thank you for this time. Thank you for a little sliver of
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heaven on earth never ending. Praise the people of God.
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Fully redeemed, unable to disappoint one another with you
59:16
forever and ever and ever. But we pray that until then,
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help us love you and honor you. We are standing, and we pray
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that as we continue to stand in our hearts, we would stand ready
59:30
to serve you wherever you tell us to go When we do fail, And if
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we do fail, help us be like the serf and quick to restore, quick
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to restore. A broken man, a broken sister.
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But we honor you. We love you.
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Be with us now as we travel home.
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Protect us. Surround us with your angels and
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camp around us who fear you. Bring us home safely to our
59:55
families and friends and give us a fresh vigor for Monday, not
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just Monday, but for the rest of the year.
1:00:01
Rest of our lives to serve your purposes.
1:00:04
In Jesus name we pray. Amen may be seated.
1:00:08
Final instructions this year feels extra sad to end.
1:00:17
The.