Transcript

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Let's go together to mark chapter 12, shall we?
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And please put your eyes on verse 28 of Mark chapter 12, and
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to let you know in advance keep your Bible open today, because
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there will be different passages that we must turn to, to fully
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grasp what the Lord Jesus is saying here Mark 12/28.
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And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with
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one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him
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which commandment is the most important of all.
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Jesus answered The most important is hear, O Israel, the
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Lord our God. The Lord is 1 and you shall love
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the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,
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and with all your mind, and with all your strength.
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The 2nd is this. You shall love your neighbor as
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yourself. There is no other commandment
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greater than these. And the scribe said to him, You
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are right. Teacher.
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You have truly said that he is 1, and there is no other besides
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him. And to love him with all the
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heart and with all the understanding and with all the
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strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself is much more
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than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
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And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him,
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you are not far from the Kingdom of God, and after that no one
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dared to ask him any more questions.
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Lord, thank you for your word. We ask now that you help us
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understand it, and that, Lord, the very commands that we read
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would become more real in our lives.
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And so we ask that you increase these kinds of loves in US and
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through US. Lord, spare us from being in a
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moment where we just hear things and do not feel them and do not
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apply them. Even in the delivery of this
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message. Lord, may it not go over our
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heads, may not be delivered in a manner that is distracting or
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confusing, but may it come from your heart and may any man
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disappear. And may everything that is said
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that is in alignment with this word plant deeply into our inner
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being. We trust that you will help us
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as we've come to you in faith in Jesus name.
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Amen. Well, what do we have here
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today? Well, you and I, week after
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week, have been watching the embarrassing attempts of Jesus
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enemies who try to discredit him.
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And so you have the Pharisees and the Herodians who partnered
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together. And then you had the rival of
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the Pharisees, the Sadducees, also coming with their attempt.
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But now we have this final group, one more group who will
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try to take advantage of this opportunity to ask Jesus a
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challenging question. And Mark tells us that the
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questioner was a scribe. Now, when you read it from
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Matthew's perspective, he says he was a lawyer and there's no
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contradiction there. The lawyer is really just an
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alternate title to the same and of the same occupation.
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The scribes and the lawyers of this time were scholars.
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They were men who were by profession devoted to
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interpreting and determining the appropriate applications of the
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Law of Moses, and the responsibility responsibilities
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included much, including copying the Hebrew scriptures and also
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compiling legal documents for those who abide by the Law of
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Moses. Now this is important.
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They were distinct from the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
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They were their own group, although some of those scribes
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were in fact Pharisees. And if those Pharisees were not
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scribes, these scribes worked very closely with the Pharisees.
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And Matthew indicates that with a parallel account of the same
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exchange, you don't have to turn there, but listen to Matthew's
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version. He says in Matthew 2234 and 35.
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But when the Pharisees heard that he silenced the Sadducees,
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they gathered together and one of them, a lawyer asked him a
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question to test him. So it's the same scene, the
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scribing the lawyer is the same person.
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Matthew gives us a little bit more insight that after the
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Sadducees were muzzled, they regathered and they thought, OK,
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we're trying to do this one more time here and they came up with
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one question and whether they delegated one of these guys or
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one volunteered, we are not told.
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But this was another test. This was again another attempt
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to ensnare Jesus. But not entirely.
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See, if you read this from Matthew's perspective, you would
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be under the persuasion that this was another attempt to try
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to malign the Lord's reputation. But Mark gives us a different
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insight. Again, look back at Mark 12 and
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look at verse 28 closely. It says here.
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And one of the scribes came up and heard them, disputing them,
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being the Sadducees. And Jesus heard them disputing
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with one another, and seeing that he answered them well,
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asked him so. Seeing that Jesus answered so
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profoundly and wisely, this compelled this one scribe to to
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ask this question. Meaning this scribe.
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Although in part he is working with the Pharisees to try to do
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something, he also is coming from a curious place.
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There's some sincerity in his heart.
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He genuinely wants to know it. And the evidence of that is
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that, unlike the other interrogators before him, Jesus
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doesn't rebuke the scribe. Jesus doesn't expose him for his
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insincerity. He actually commends him.
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And so this scribe is coming from a good place, and I believe
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it's because he wanted to know the answer to this question.
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He wanted to discover what it is that God desires of him.
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Now the reason why that's important before we move on is
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because the scribes generally were condemned by Jesus Christ.
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They were not his favorite group of people.
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And if you want a hint of that, Scroll down and look here at
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verse 38 of chapter 12. Notice what Jesus says and in
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his teaching he said beware of the scribes who like to walk
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around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces
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and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of
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honor at feast who devour widows houses and for a pretense make
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long prayers, they will receive the greater condemnation.
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So this is a category of people that Jesus has very strong
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opinions. About.
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And when you go to Matthew 23, it's even elaborated more where
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he gives these blistering woes. You've probably heard them, and
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you're probably familiar with them, but to who are those woes
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aimed at? The scribes and the Pharisees?
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But this scribe is different. Jesus is actually moved by him
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because the scribe is. Moved by Jesus.
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And that encourages me. The reason why it encourages me.
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It's because you and I can learn from this that anyone who
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belongs to any group, whether it be ethnic, whether it be
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religious, whether it be political, is not beyond the
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hope of being drawn to the truth ascribe the ones who have
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received the greater condemnation.
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You tell me one of those guys. Jesus says you're not far from
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the Kingdom of God. Christians sometimes are a
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skeptical. Bunch as much as they are
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believing people. Oh, they believe in the power of
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the gospel, but not for those kind of people.
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Very unlikely for that kind of a person, from that kind of a
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background or that kind of sin, to embrace the Lord Jesus
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Christ. It reminds me, though, of a
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testimony that Paul himself agrees with concerning another
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group of people, and it's almost at the first reading of it, hard
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to kind of see how Paul would say something like this.
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I want you to see it with your own eyes in Titus Chapter One.
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Go to Titus Chapter One, because as shocking as this may be, it
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provides A glorious comfort about this very truth that I'm
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trying to convey. Look at Titus One and look at
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verse 12. If.
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You want to know? Where Titus is, it's with all
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the other epistles that start with T They're all grouped
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together. So if you're in Thessalonians,
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if you're with Timothy, you're close.
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Keep flipping the pages, You'll find Titus eventually.
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Titus One look what Paul says in this brief letter to his Co
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labor in the gospel named Titus. He says in verse 12 of Titus one
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one of the Cretans, a prophet of their own.
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Said Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.
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This testimony is true. Gasp, Paul, you're saying this
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testimony is true there, and he goes on to say, therefore rebuke
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them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith.
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So Paul remarks here about the general character problem of
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this group of people known as the Cretins, and he drives his
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point from one of the leading voices who also confessed this
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truth about his own culture. Now I'm looking at a room here
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with different people, different cultural backgrounds,
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ethnicities, nationalities, histories, heritages.
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And I'm sure many of you can make also accurate assessments
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of the negative qualities of where you come from.
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I'm sure there are patterns. I'm sure there are things that
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you yourself were once associated with in terms of
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mannerisms or convictions or failures and shortcomings.
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And so we can't blame Paul too much here, because what Paul is
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doing is essentially agreeing with this known saying among the
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cretins that they even accepted, while also learning from first
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hand experience that this culture tolerates, this culture
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entertains and produces immorality and all these other
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vices that come with it. Susan, what?
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What are we supposed to do with this?
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We'll think deeper, meditate on it.
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This is an encouragement to me. An encouragement because Paul is
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speaking to Titus, who is left in Crete.
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To do what? To help manage and organize the
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churches there. Go to verse five.
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Look at it with me. This is why I left you in Crete,
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so that you might put what remained into order and appoint
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elders in every town as I directed you.
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So think about it in a region that has a reputation of again
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producing and tolerating dishonest, self absorbed, idle
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people. You know what happened?
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God redeemed souls. God saved people, God
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transformed them and regenerated them.
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So even with a culture that was written off that had this nasty
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kind of reputation, God did a work.
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God did a work. And the point that I'm trying to
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say is that the Lord can work in the hearts of absolutely
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anybody, no matter who they are, where they come from, whether
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they be a scribe or a Cretan. And you and I have to have the
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faith that this is how powerful the gospel is.
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And I know in these days we're looking at political groups and
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we're looking at people who believe certain things and we
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might think to ourselves they're almost beyond hope.
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Listen, don't lose faith in the gospel, but let's come back to
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our main text and let's meditate further.
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Why did the scribe ask this question out of all the
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questions? Because, again, though
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individually, he might come from a different place, he's also
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connected to the scribes and the Pharisees who came up with this
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kind of inquiry. What are they trying to get at?
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What are they trying to get from Jesus?
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I believe it's pretty simple. Their hope could have been to
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have Jesus say something. That would have been wrong.
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That you would have said something that wasn't the most
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important command. That's less likely.
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I think what's more likely is that they were hoping Jesus
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would say something that would seem to have contradicted or
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eclipse what Moses taught. And So what they were trying to
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get Jesus to do at this point was to make him seem to be anti
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Moses. And you know how much they
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esteemed Moses and this isn't something that they just tried
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with Jesus. If you read the book of Acts,
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you see that they try to do this with Paul.
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The Jews always try to get something on Paul and their main
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weapon was he is trying to overtake.
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He is trying to dismiss and neglect and ignore what has been
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given to us in the law. So this is a common tactic and
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it's being used here against the Saviour.
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And so we see here that these Jewish leaders are again trying
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to trap the Lord and they're going to find out that they're
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going to be the ones who are in trap.
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But again, this man, he's delegated by the Pharisees.
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But it seems as though he asked this question, knowing that even
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among his peers this is a contested thing.
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I'm sure there was debates among these schools of what was the
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most important commandment and and I I'm persuaded that he
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himself wants to settle it in his own soul.
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He he heard that Jesus answered his rival so well concerning the
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resurrection and perhaps something in him is like I I
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just want to know this man is something else.
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As we heard earlier from Pastor Mark.
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He doesn't speak like anybody else.
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Maybe he can settle this once and for all.
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My own heart. What's the most important thing
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that God wants from me? What is it that I need to do for
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him to be pleased with me? And you Read it, did you not?
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Verse 29. Jesus answered.
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The most important is Hero Israel, the Lord our God.
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The Lord is one. He wants to 1st establish that
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there is no God like this God. We believe in one God, Jesus,
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again emphasizing that we don't believe like these pagans and a
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plethora of different gods and deities, know there is one God,
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and then he builds upon it, not just acknowledging who he is
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theologically, doctrinally, but loving.
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Him, loving him, loving Him. And his answer really is 2 part.
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Is it not? Because he speaks about loving
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God and then loving your neighbor?
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And he pulls this out of two places in the Hebrew scriptures,
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Deuteronomy 65 and Leviticus 1918.
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And notice that Jesus speaks about these two commandments as
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though they were one. So what's the most important
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commandment? And he gives 2 commandments.
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Do you know why that is? Because they are inseparable,
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they coexist and they cannot live apart from one another.
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And the apostle of love, John said in his own epistle in the
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first one, at least something that confirms this truth.
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Again, don't turn there, but listen to what John says in
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first John 4/20. He says if anyone says I love
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God and hates his brother, he is a liar for he who does not love
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his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not
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seen. You can't say that you love God
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and then hate his people or hate those who are creating his
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image. If you claim to love God who is
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invisible while also hating people that you can see, how is
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that possible? And I believe that's built upon
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this truth, that although these are two separate commands,
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they're joined together and they can never be, never be severed.
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If you're going to say that you love God, then you're also
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automatically going to love people.
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In fact, you can't love people unless you first know how to
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love God. And so Christ here is making it
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clear these are the most important commandments.
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But here's the thing. I'm looking.
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At this, and I'm wondering to myself, how do we apply it?
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And here's what I want to say. Before we break these things
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down, you have to understand that Jesus is not here
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explaining what commands you need to obey in order to be
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saved. That's not the case.
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He's not even answering that kind of a question.
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He's simply trying to explain here.
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Of what God ultimately desires from man.
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And so I hope I'm preaching to a room filled with people who have
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already done the most important thing, and that's believe on the
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Lord Jesus Christ. I want you to hear what's about
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to take place in the next. I don't know how long.
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I want you to hear it. As people who have already made
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the step of realizing that you can't abide and fulfill any law,
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you fall short and what you did do.
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I praise that you confess your inability to uphold anything God
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asks of you in the way that he asks of you, and that you've
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surrendered to the. Righteousness of Jesus Christ.
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So hear what I'm about to teach in this moment from the place of
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already believing on Christ, on the other side of believing on
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Him. Because they apply.
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They apply. As a Christian now, you should
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be preoccupied of wanting to know, how can I obey my Savior?
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What is it that he wants from me?
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Not to get right with him? You've been made right because
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of the Son of God. So here in that way, now posture
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yourself as a born again believer.
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OK, Lord, what is it that you want?
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What is it that I put my most energy and thought and affection
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toward? And now you're in the right
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place and Jesus makes it so plain and clear.
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You know, it's amazing. Christ is such a clear
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communicator. I love it.
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And this is what he says. Love God.
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Love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind,
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all your strength. You know how you can translate
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that? I don't think it's absolutely
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necessary to try to breakdown every component.
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What does it mean to love God with your heart?
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What does it mean? Yes, you can do that.
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And all it's really saying is with all your affection, with
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all your intellect, with all your energy.
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A translation to this is very simple.
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Love God with everything you are, with absolutely everything
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you are nothing less than that. And.
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If you're like me, then yes, it's plain and clear.
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But I always have questions. And here's my question.
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What does that look like? I know what it says.
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It's clear the bullseye is there.
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But what do I do to arrive there?
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How do I pursue this? What does it look like with legs
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and arms? I need to see how this is
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fleshed out. And that's what I began to ask
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reading this earlier this week. Lord, what does it look like for
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me to love you in this way? And God is merciful.
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God is very kind to us. He's very kind to me.
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Because I'm reading this earlier this week, I try to do it as
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early as possible in the week. But I also.
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Do my own reading. And so I'm reading in 1st and
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2nd Kings, Second Kings. And as I'm just reading through
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Second Kings, I stumble upon a passage as I was reading about
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in my bed yesterday morning about King Josiah.
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And there's something about King Josiah at the end of his
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biography that leaped off the page and clutched to my heart.
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And I began to rejoice in bed, being like thank you, Lord, for
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helping me with the sermon this Sunday.
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And it's going to be somewhere in Second Kings.
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If you turn with me to chapter 23, I told you we're going to
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turn to some passages today. I want you to see what the Holy
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Spirit says of this one king among the many kings of Judah.
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How he stands out in Second Kings 23, verse 25.
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It says here about King Josiah. Before him there was no king
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like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart.
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And with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all
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the law of Moses. Nor did any like him arise after
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him. I I couldn't move past that.
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And maybe because I was reading Mark 12 earlier and I thought to
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myself, what a tribute that's been given to a king.
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What a tribute that's been given to such a man.
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There was no king like him before, and there was no king
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that arose after him because he was highlighted for the love,
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the love that he had for the Lord.
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And so it got me thinking. It got me thinking, what was it
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about Josiah? What was it about this
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particular man that qualified him to have such a privileged
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honor? What was it about this man
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that's made him stand out to love God in this way, In the
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very same way that Jesus tells you and I that we must love God?
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And I'll tell you this because that's the end.
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Near the end of his life, I began to just look back at what
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is described of him and pick out some clues that I believe the
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Holy Spirit makes so obvious in terms of why Josiah was
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different, putting him in that place of being crowned with such
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a privileged honor. There are many different kings
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in Israel and Judah, and there were some reformers, but he
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stood out even among the reformers, and I believe the
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reason is. What we see at the beginning of
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his mention in the Bible. So you're still there.
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Now go to Chapter 22, Second Kings 22 and look here.
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At verse 11, here's what's happening.
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King Josiah, after becoming king, wants to work on the House
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of God. So he hires men, and he has
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people do just that. And when they're cleaning the
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place up, they discovered the book, The Book of the Law.
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And it's so staggering because when they discover the book of
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the law, they could barely recognize it.
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They could barely recognize it. And so his secretary begins to
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read from it, and and he comes into the presence of the king.
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And he says, look, we found this book.
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And he begins to open it up and unveil the content and look at
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the reaction of this king in verse 11.
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When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his
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clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah
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the priest, and Haikam the son of Shafan, and Akbar the son of
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Makaya, and Shafan the secretary.
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And I saw the King's servant saying, Go, inquire of the Lord
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for me and for the people, and for all Judah concerning the
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words of this book that has been found.
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For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us,
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because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book.
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To do according to all that is written concerning us.
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He tore his clothes. And you're thinking, well, why
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is this important? I've seen and read about men
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who've done the same. True, but I want you to see how
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important this was to God himself, because he inquires of
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the Lord. And a prophetess by the name of
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Holda sends word back to Josiah. And notice what she says on
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behalf of the Lord. Concerning Josiah's response,
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pay attention to the word of God.
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Scroll down to verse 19. This is the prophetess speaking
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on behalf of the Lord concerning Josiah, because your heart was
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penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord when
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you heard how I spoke against this place and against his
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inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse,
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and you have torn your clothes and wet before me.
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I also have heard you, declares the Lord, Connect this with the
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truth, that he was a man who stood out for his great love for
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the Lord with all his might. And all his heart and all his
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strength. A man who loves the Lord his God
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in that way is a man who revere's the word of God.
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If you don't think that is relevant, if you don't think
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this is how God views and measures our love, then read
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again and notice that God tells Josiah.
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The only reason why I heard you is because you first heard me.
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Look back again. Look at the last part, verse 19,
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he says you have torn your clothes and wet before me.
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I also have heard you, declares the Lord, because when you heard
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my word and you responded accordingly, I will honor you by
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listening to your words. So here's the thing.
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You have to ask yourself this if you want to measure this kind of
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love that Jesus demands of us. Very simple.
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You ready? How do you view God's word?
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How do you view it? Do you do you cherish it?
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Do you enjoy it? More importantly, do you submit
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to it? Because this man here shows us
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not just an emotional response to the word of God, but also how
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he acts upon it, which is remarkable.
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It's remarkable. So let me say this.
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You cannot separate your claim of loving God with how you
25:24
relate to the Word of God. Show me a man or a woman and how
25:30
they relate to the Word, and you will tell me everything I need
25:33
to know about how they love the God of the Word.
25:36
It's inseparable. It's inseparable because it's
25:40
clear here that God makes that connection.
25:43
God has given us His Word as a means to relate to Him.
25:46
So how I treat this, how I engage with this, how I relish
25:50
this, really determines what I feel.
25:53
I know you say it, I know sometimes you get the fuzzies
25:56
when the worship songs are right.
25:58
I get it. But ultimately it is measured
26:01
according to this book, according to God's mind, by your
26:05
view of the Word. How I feel about it.
26:10
More than that, because this is not the only thing that this
26:13
prophet test said to King Josiah before this wonderful
26:17
commendation. She describes him a coming
26:19
condemnation, and she says back in verse 16 of Second Kings 22
26:23
Look at this prophecy. Thus says the Lord.
26:25
Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its
26:29
inhabitants. All the words of the book that
26:32
the King of Judah has read because they have forsaken me
26:35
and have made offerings to other gods that they might provoke me
26:38
to anger with all the work of their hands.
26:41
Therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place and
26:45
it will not be quenched. And then she goes on to say, but
26:51
I notice how you respond to my word, Josiah.
26:54
So what do we take from this? She's essentially as a
26:57
prophetess, declaring that the coming judgment against Judah is
27:01
certain. My wrath will be poured out.
27:04
It's not going to be quenched. It's definite.
27:06
Now you got to think about it this way.
27:09
If I receive word like that as a leader, as a king, I'm not sure
27:12
that provides much motivation to try to bring reform.
27:18
I'm not sure how much I would want to now get people to
27:22
recognize who God is, our negligence of His will, and then
27:26
try to provoke national repentance.
27:28
Why judgment is coming anyway, it's certain, and you would
27:33
think this would deter Josiah. You would think that this would
27:36
make him discouraged and he would slump his shoulders and
27:39
make way back into his palace thinking, well, it's.
27:41
I guess it's too late. Is that what Josiah does?
27:44
No, no, you got to keep reading. I'm not going to read it for
27:46
you, but you can if you want. He brings one of the greatest
27:49
revivals in Israel's history, not just in Judah.
27:52
It actually bleeds into the Northern Kingdom.
27:55
That tells me something about this man that tells me something
27:59
about how he viewed God's word that despite the present or the
28:04
coming circumstances that were not favorable, it didn't mess
28:08
with him. He told himself and he told
28:10
others, Despite what has been set for us, we're still going to
28:13
obey God for the time being. So you know what that tells me
28:17
about Josiah? He's he's the kind of man that
28:20
will obey God. This is so fascinating whether
28:24
or not there is a reward for it, because according to these
28:29
words, there's going to be no benefit, really, in a short
28:31
amount of time. Judgment is still going to come.
28:33
And Josiah is saying, yeah, well then what's the point?
28:37
No, no, no, no. Despite the reward being there
28:40
or not, I still I'm going to obey my God.
28:44
Because it's not about the reward, it's about the person,
28:47
it's about God himself. No wonder that he is upheld with
28:53
such esteem, loving the Lord. Why?
28:56
Because even when he was told. Yeah, you don't know what's
29:00
really going to happen now because things are going to get
29:02
very gloomy in a short amount of time.
29:04
That doesn't matter. I still discover what God said,
29:06
and I still want to please his heart.
29:11
That's a man who doesn't just value content or data, who wants
29:15
to live what God said. He has to live.
29:18
Whether he lived long, whether they was going to make him a
29:21
mighty man, a reputable man, what it was going to bring
29:24
profit to his administration. It doesn't matter.
29:27
If God said it, then I will do it.
29:30
I'm thinking of another king, of another king who also one that
29:34
we're more familiar with, who has been given one of the
29:37
greatest titles that I believe you can give another person,
29:40
especially because it comes from God.
29:43
You know who it is. All I have to tell you this.
29:45
And you know exactly what I'm speaking about.
29:47
He was someone who is after God's own heart.
29:51
Yeah, there you go. He didn't let me finish, he
29:53
said. David, you know who it is.
29:55
A man who's after mine own heart.
30:01
What else do you want than that? Forgot to say that about your
30:05
life. Fill in the blank.
30:08
Your name. In whom I have found a heart
30:12
that is after my own heart. Can I ask you something?
30:15
We love that. We quote that.
30:17
We know who that's about. What does it mean?
30:21
What does it mean? Does it mean that he wrote
30:23
wonderful worship songs? Does it mean what?
30:27
What does it mean for David to be a man after God's own heart?
30:30
Because I want that. I want that more than anything
30:32
else. Strip me any accolade, any kind
30:36
of recognition, any kind of invitation.
30:38
If God from heaven can look at me and say he's after my own
30:42
heart, I'm a very happy man and I'm thankful that it's not
30:47
cryptic in the Bible. I'm thankful that actually the
30:50
Bible tells me why David was a man after God's own heart and I
30:54
want to show it to you so you can know if you want to walk in
30:56
that same path. It's in the New Testament, Acts
30:59
chapter 13, and I want you to see this verse with me.
31:07
Acts, chapter 13. And look at verse 22.
31:26
And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their
31:29
king, of whom he testified and said, I have found in David the
31:33
son of Jesse, a man after my heart.
31:35
Here it is who will do all my will.
31:41
That's the answer. Why was David this kind of a
31:45
man? Because he was willing to do
31:48
everything that God told him to do everything.
31:53
And that's what positioned him to be.
31:55
Praise in such a manner. So if you want to know, how can
31:57
I be a man that God can say of such, just be somebody who is
32:02
ready to do everything that he makes known to you.
32:05
That's what it is. So it's not about how loud you
32:08
are when you sing. It's not about how expressive
32:09
you are. It's not necessarily about how
32:11
much activity you're involved with.
32:14
That's all lovely. But it comes down to this, who
32:17
will do all my will? So let's let's reel back now.
32:21
Jesus said the most important commandment is to love the Lord
32:25
your God with all your might, all your mind, all your heart,
32:27
all your soul, all your strength.
32:28
What does that look like? Well, Josiah, we're told that he
32:31
was a man who did that, and he actually excelled in it in
32:35
comparison to the other kings. OK, So what is it about Josiah?
32:38
We'll look at how he related to the Word and look at David.
32:44
Now, if we just brought in that testimony and we look for a man
32:46
who was after God's heart, what are we told about that?
32:48
Well, he was willing to do all that God willed.
32:51
Let me show you one more thing before we go to loving one
32:53
another. Jesus quotes that from
32:56
Deuteronomy chapter 6. Go there.
32:58
The Shema right is known as the Shema and I want you to see what
33:01
comes immediately after what Jesus quoted in that scripture.
33:15
Deuteronomy 6/4 Hear O Israel the Lord.
33:25
Our. God the Lord is one.
33:27
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
33:29
your soul, and with all your might.
33:31
Now what does he do right after saying that?
33:33
Look what he talks about in verse 6.
33:35
And these words that I command you today shall be on your
33:37
heart. It's right there.
33:40
It's everywhere. It's the consensus of sacred
33:43
Scripture. You cannot separate your love
33:46
for God from the word of God. So love him.
33:49
And if you're going to love him, you can't do it without this
33:51
word being etched and inscribed on your heart.
33:57
On your heart. David had that heart for God.
34:00
Why? Because he did all his will.
34:02
Josiah had that heart. Why?
34:03
Because despite the reward or lack of reward, despite
34:06
punishment or prosperity, I'm going to obey God because I love
34:10
God. And even in the origination of
34:12
this command, we're told love God in the very next breath.
34:15
Now take these commands and place them on your heart.
34:19
So I know it's very practical. If you want to be a person, if
34:25
we want to be a church that walks in that way, ask God for
34:33
the eyes, for the affections, for the discipline, for the
34:37
revelation of his Word. And the more you grow in this,
34:40
the more you'll grow in that love, and the more God will be
34:43
able to save us. They're after my own heart.
34:47
They love me, but that's not the only thing he said back in our
34:52
original text. He says in verse 31.
34:56
The 2nd is this of Mark 12. You shall love your neighbor as
34:59
yourself. There is no other commandment
35:01
greater than these. What does it mean to love my
35:06
neighbor as myself? I'll tell you what it doesn't
35:09
mean. It doesn't mean that if you want
35:11
to love others better than you have to love yourself better.
35:17
I know that a lot of people are teaching that right?
35:21
There's a great campaign in these days for self esteem and
35:24
self worth, and I get it a little bit, but Jesus is not
35:30
commanding to love yourself. He's not saying if you want to
35:34
be able to love others first, you got to love yourself more
35:36
than anything else and prioritize yourself and that way
35:38
you'll be able to know what to give to others.
35:40
No. Instead, he's saying here, love
35:42
others the way you love yourself, the way you love
35:46
yourself. It's an innate human thing for
35:49
all of us to love ourselves. Now there's obviously a self
35:53
love that is wrong, prideful, dangerous, selfish, but there is
35:55
something that's wired in us that makes sense.
35:59
Even Paul himself in Ephesians tells husbands that they should
36:02
love their wives as their own bodies.
36:04
And what do they do with their own bodies?
36:05
They nurture and cherish it. That's precisely what the Lord
36:08
is conveying here. How do you love yourself while
36:11
you provide yourself protection and provision and holy and
36:15
righteous pleasure? So you put clothes on yourself
36:19
and you make sure that you feel your body and you look for some
36:22
shelter so that you are protected from the elements and
36:26
you cherish relationships and you create memories with loved
36:30
ones that everybody pursues that.
36:33
And when somebody ceases to do that, there's something
36:35
drastically wrong in their wiring, just from the standard
36:38
of human nature. So not love yourself more and
36:42
then you'll be able to love others more.
36:43
No, it's love others the way you love yourself.
36:48
And that is pretty straightforward.
36:50
But again, I'm wondering, like the first one, what does that
36:55
mean? What does that look like?
36:58
What is this Christ commissioning quality of love
37:01
manifest like? And you might argue looks like
37:05
plenty of things, because there is a vast catalogue of duties
37:09
and responsibilities and manifestations of how to love
37:12
our neighbor. And that's true.
37:13
But is there a way to summarize it?
37:15
Is there a way to categorize what it means to love my
37:19
neighbor as myself? And I believe there is.
37:22
If you're going to love your neighbor as yourself, it's going
37:24
to look like two things. It's very simple.
37:26
You'll never forget it. I'm sure loving somebody else
37:29
the way I love myself looks like me not doing certain things to
37:33
others and me willing to do certain things to others.
37:38
So there's a negative aspect of loving my neighbor and a
37:40
positive aspect. And I want to show you how
37:45
that's true, because what Jesus says here is built upon by other
37:49
writers who were given the Holy Spirit to do just that.
37:53
So let me show you what it means to love your neighbor as
37:56
yourself. And again, my desire here is to
37:59
make it as plain as possible, and the Bible makes it as plain
38:02
as possible. So here we're going to Romans
38:04
chapter 13. Look at this with me in verse
38:07
verse 10 of that chapter, Romans 13, verse 10.
38:26
Paul says love does no wrong to a neighbor.
38:35
Now here's why I come to this. Verse because look at the the
38:37
second part of this verse. Therefore love is the fulfilling
38:40
of the law. So Paul is building upon what
38:43
Jesus taught because he says that there's no other
38:46
commandment greater than these. In Matthew's Virgin he says
38:48
this. He says that upon these two
38:50
commandments depend all the law and the prophets.
38:53
In other words, if you don't get loving God and loving your
38:55
neighbor as yourself right, you won't get the other commandments
38:58
right. All the meticulous and detailed
39:00
things you will not be able to perform without first
39:03
establishing loving God and loving your neighbor.
39:05
So he's building upon that by saying, look, love is fulfilling
39:08
of the law. And he describes what love looks
39:11
like horizontally. It looks like me not doing
39:14
things to others. And if you think that that's a
39:18
stretch. If you don't believe it, look at
39:20
the previous verse. Look at Romans 39 for the
39:23
commandments. You shall not commit adultery,
39:26
you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,
39:32
and any other commandment are summed up in this word.
39:35
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
39:39
So it's a clear connection and he's just fleshing it out.
39:44
So based on this in connection to Paul's master and our Lord,
39:49
loving my neighbor as myself looks like me willing to refrain
39:53
to do things that I shouldn't be doing to my fellow brethren,
39:57
believer and unbeliever alike. And Paul describes some of those
40:02
things. Not committing adultery, not
40:04
murdering. These are all negatives.
40:05
Not stealing, not coveting. And those seem obvious, do they
40:09
not? But you and I understand that.
40:11
Jesus Christ and coming into this world, not overthrowing the
40:15
Law, but as the Messiah prophesied, comes with the law
40:18
of Christ, and it's your duty and mine to come to the law of
40:22
Christ and discover what it is that I am called not to do, not
40:26
to do. I hope all of us in here
40:29
understand that we shouldn't murder each other.
40:32
Please. But what about the other things
40:36
that we overlook? So I'm reading and studying
40:39
this. I'm thinking to myself, just
40:41
from a surface level meditation. OK, Lord.
40:43
But what? What else do you ask me not to
40:45
do? And I thought of Colossians 39.
40:48
Do not lie to one another. Murder.
40:52
We get murder. Murder.
40:54
No, no, no, No lie. You know that.
40:59
Also means do not lie to one another.
41:00
If I really love my neighbor, I'm going to tell you the truth,
41:03
even if it hurts. I'm not going to lie to you
41:07
because I love you. I will speak the truth to you,
41:09
and it might cost me something, but I love you too much to keep
41:13
it from you. And so that's what we do.
41:17
We endeavor to discover these things that the Lord tells us
41:20
not to do. And then we applied them by the
41:22
power of the Holy Spirit. And we're walking in the
41:24
greatest commandment not to do. If I love you, it's my duty not
41:31
to speak. I'll of you.
41:33
If I love you, If I love you, then it is my duty not to and
41:39
discover what the New Covenant has to say.
41:42
But it's not just not doing. It's not just negative.
41:44
Loving my neighbor as myself is something that I'm also called
41:47
to do in action. I'm.
41:48
Supposed to pursue positively. And I believe Jesus elsewhere
41:52
peels the layer to that command so that we can see more clearly
41:55
how practically it looks like for me to love my neighbor as
41:58
myself. And I'll tell you why.
42:00
I'm going to go to this verse and ask you to turn there
42:02
because like Romans 1310, there's a statement made that
42:05
connects this verse to what Jesus says in our original text.
42:09
So it's in Matthew 7, verse 12. You know this very well.
42:11
You've memorized. It What does it mean for me to
42:16
love my neighbor as myself? Well, it means that you will not
42:18
do wrong to a neighbor. But also means in Matthew 712.
42:28
So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to
42:33
them. For this is the Law and the
42:37
prophets. That's why we're going there,
42:39
because he says this is the Law and the prophets.
42:41
Same terminology and language in connection to how loving God and
42:46
loving my neighbor upon all the commands do.
42:49
These things are hinging on, and here he comes kind of echoing
42:54
that same thing, but I believe he gives a deeper layer to the
42:56
horizontal reality of it. So whatever you wish that others
42:59
would do to you, do also to them what a God we have, what a
43:06
Messiah we have. Here's what this means.
43:08
Here's what Jesus longs for you, followers of the Way.
43:13
That in every. Situation you find yourself in
43:16
where you are invited to act in the life of another, no matter
43:20
how big or small. Jesus Christ wants us to make
43:24
the conscious effort to frame our efforts in a way that we
43:29
would want to receive it. Let me speak plain English.
43:35
Put yourself in their shoes and let that frame how you approach.
43:41
Let that frame how you engage. Let that frame how you dance in
43:45
obedience to the Lord's will in that person's life, to the best
43:49
of your ability. So let me give you an example.
43:54
One of the most uncomfortable things to do as a Christian is
43:58
what I alluded to as an example earlier.
44:00
Correction, I don't know anybody that likes confrontation.
44:04
It's the worst thing. Well, there's a lot of other
44:06
things that are bad, but it's one of the worst things for me.
44:09
Very awkward. But here's a tip.
44:13
I mean, this is just one example of many examples.
44:15
When I know that I have to do it by the grace of God, here's what
44:19
I try to do. How would I like to be
44:23
approached in this moment of correction?
44:26
Like how would my would I want my tone to be?
44:29
How would I want the words to be?
44:31
How would I want the encouragement in it to be?
44:35
How would I want to hear it if I was sitting on the other side of
44:37
the table? And some days that thought is
44:43
prevalent and it's Sundays like this where you and I are
44:46
reminded to go back there when we forgot to do it, because that
44:49
what that's what it means to love your neighbor as yourself.
44:53
Whatever I wish that others would do to me, I'm going to do
44:55
to them. In any situation that I am
44:57
invited to act in somebody else's life, I am to consciously
45:01
make the effort to think how would I want to receive this?
45:05
Anything from correction to help.
45:10
This is what we are governed by as Christians.
45:12
By the way, love. Notice that both of these
45:14
commands that Jesus gives and deems as the greatest is based
45:18
on love, Love. And so this man hears this and
45:24
let's come back and close together in verse 32 of Mark
45:26
chapter 12. And the scribe said to him, you
45:30
are right teacher. I mean, he just with his wisdom
45:36
sucked whatever remaining heir there was in that atmosphere.
45:39
You are right, teacher. You have truly said that he is 1
45:44
and there is no other besides him.
45:45
And to love him with all the heart and with all the
45:48
understanding, with all the strength, and to love one's
45:50
neighbor as oneself. And then he.
45:52
Asked for this, Jesus didn't mention this.
45:55
He's saying this is much more than all Holborn offerings and
46:00
sacrifices. Where's this conversation taking
46:05
place? If you honor the context in the
46:07
temple courts, you just try to envision that that the scribe
46:12
confesses this, while all this hustle and bustle is going on,
46:15
purchasing and and preparing and examining the place where
46:20
sacrifices took place. This man says what you just
46:24
said. Is more important than all of
46:27
this. What is he saying?
46:31
Love is more important than committed, consistent, yet empty
46:37
ritual and ceremonies. No matter how much you busy
46:41
yourself with external things, even though it looks sacred and
46:44
holy and consecrated unto the Lord, no matter how much you
46:48
stuff your weekend with things that are connected to Christian
46:53
worship, this man admits something that you and I also
46:55
have to see. It does not work if it doesn't
46:59
come from love. In other words, Christianity is
47:03
not about this. It's not about this.
47:05
It's not about this. It's about this inside.
47:09
This is what Jesus saying. Let me see your heart.
47:13
Let me see your heart. What do you say about God?
47:17
What do you say about His word? How do you view your fellow man?
47:22
This man saw it and he understood that that's even the
47:25
heart of the law. This is not something new Jesus
47:27
introduced, it's something that he unveils to the fullest
47:30
capacity. But it was always there because
47:32
it's the same God. Notice what Jesus says Verse 34.
47:38
And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him,
47:42
you're not far from the Kingdom of God.
47:46
Have you ever met anybody like that?
47:48
I've met so many of them after a service.
47:53
Maybe I haven't heard from them for a while.
47:54
And then they contact me and they say, hey man, I've been
47:56
reading my Bible or whatever the case may be.
47:58
And you can almost feel you're so close.
48:02
Have you met anybody like that? You're.
48:03
So close like you get it. Everything is there.
48:06
You just got to make that leap. You just got to make that leap.
48:09
That's what Jesus is saying here.
48:13
And so it's encouraging that somebody can be so close,
48:15
especially as scribe, but it's also terrifying.
48:19
You know it's possible to be almost saved, almost redeemed,
48:27
almost engrafted, almost forgiven, almost assured, almost
48:35
numbered among the saved. I don't know if I can think of a
48:40
more pathetic place to be in life than almost saved.
48:45
Is there any indication that this man did come to Christ?
48:48
No. I hope one day we will see him.
48:53
But this is also a reminder that you can even accurately
48:57
understand what truth is and still not be saved.
49:03
You can listen to this If somebody were to ask you in
49:06
similar fashion, what is the gospel?
49:09
And you give a Spurgeon esque answer and still not be part of
49:15
the Kingdom of God. Why?
49:18
Because it's about here. It's about what that truth has
49:21
already done to you. I wonder if you're almost saved
49:26
today and maybe you fooled yourself and others because you
49:31
can talk like the scribe. How do I know if somebody's
49:37
saved? How do I know if I'm saved?
49:42
Tell me about your relationship with God.
49:46
You want to discover a lot about a person.
49:48
I figured this out and others have figured out long before me.
49:53
Just ask them what they think about Jesus.
49:56
Just ask them who's Jesus to you and you'll know so much.
50:03
You'll know so much just by that one question, because a lot of
50:08
people can tell you, the heathen can tell you that God came into
50:13
this world to forgive sinners. I've talked to drunk people on
50:17
the street who are half naked, who told me what Jesus Christ
50:23
did for their sin. That's an important question.
50:27
But now tell me, who's Jesus to you?
50:33
And I want to ask you that question.
50:35
Do you love God because he first loved you?
50:41
And the only appropriate response to the great love that
50:44
he has shown is the unreserved love that he deserves.
50:50
If you don't know him, if you know about him, if you know many
50:54
things in this book but it, unlike Josiah, hasn't
50:58
translated, hasn't got into your blood, you know it could change
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today. It can change today.
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I want you to go from the place of being almost saved to
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certainly saved. I've said this before.
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I'll say it again when I go to funerals and sometimes when I'm
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asked to speak at them. The most uncomfortable funerals
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I've been to is when people don't know for certain if that
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person was saved. It's it's so strange.
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The best ones are when you know, say you know where this person's
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at, you know it and you almost want to wear white because you
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want to celebrate. They graduate into glory.
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But those were, it's like, yeah, I think they were like they came
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to church. They were like they were good, I
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guess. But those make me feel very
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uncomfortable and I've been to far too many of those.
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I don't want that to be you. I want you primarily to be
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assured I belong to Him. My sins are forgiven, and
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because he has forgiven me, I love him.
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I love His word and by His grace I see people differently and I
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want to love them with the same love that I've been loved with.
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How do I get there? Acknowledge that you need your
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sins forgiven. Come to him and ask him to
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cleanse you from all you're wrong.
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Accept the fact that only Christ can make you whole.
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It can make you right before God.
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And when you do that sincerely with a repentant faith, you will
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know an infusion of hope and peace that can only be deemed as
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supernatural. And you won't have to be like
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this scribe where you're almost there.
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Well, we thank you for this time together.
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Thank you for reminding your children of the greatest
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commandment to love God and love our neighbors ourselves.
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So Lord, help us now strengthen our love for the word.
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Not just to know it, though it is important to do that, but
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Lord, like Josiah, like David, like Deuteronomy 6 says to bind
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them on our hearts, to apply them to our lives.
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All of it, Lord, from Genesis to Revelation, May that be our
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treasure as an expression of our love to you and Lord, when we
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look out to the world and we see opportunities to love our
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neighbor as ourselves, we pray that we would remember that love
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Looks like me choosing not to do certain things while also
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wishing to do to others what I would desire for them to do for
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me. Help us know when to do that,
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how to do that with discernment and all knowledge according to
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Philippians 19. Help us love and increase in
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that kind of a love. Thank you, Lord, that this
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motivation, this charge to love comes from the place of being
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accepted in the beloved. And so, Lord, we do not sit here
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in condemnation. We sit here as your children,
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being reminded of our duty in this brief life.
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Lastly, for the person like this scribe who knows that there's
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something different about this book about these words.
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May they not be impressed merely, but may they come to the
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place of applying their faith to it and throwing themselves at
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this truth and complete surrender.
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May this day be the day where they go from almost to
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assuredly. Only your spirit can help in
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that. So we petition and ask.
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We worship you today, Lord and song.
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Thank you for reminding us our true purpose in this life.
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Loving you, loving our neighbor. Amen.
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Amen. Let's stand and worship the
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Lord.