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Voddie Baucham - Mercy in Sodom · Voddie Baucham Sermons

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the teaching ministry of Grace Family Baptist Church.
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Speaker 1: GFBC's mission is proclaiming the supremacy of Christ to all
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Speaker 1: men with a view of biblical conversion and comprehensive discipleship.
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Speaker 1: Thank you for visiting gracefamilybaptist.net.
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Speaker 2: You know, as a boy, I think about being a boy.
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Speaker 2: The games that boys play and the games that girls
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Speaker 2: play are oftentimes quite different. There are exceptions to the rule. But, again,
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Speaker 2: those games are often quite different. Oftentimes the games that
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Speaker 2: boys play have to do with hitting one another and
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Speaker 2: getting one another in headlocks and things like that. I
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Speaker 2: remember as a boy there was a game we used
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Speaker 2: to play called Mercy. Y'all remember that game, Mercy? You know,
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Speaker 2: you interlock fingers with the other guy. And the rule is,
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Speaker 2: you know, once you say go, you start turning and
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Speaker 2: twisting until one guy shouts, mercy. What a game. That's
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Speaker 2: just the essence of boyhood right there. Let's play mercy.
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Speaker 2: Let's see if I can hurt you bad enough to
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Speaker 2: make you scream for mercy. That's just boyhood, is it not?
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Speaker 2: But mercy is a very important concept for us to understand.
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Speaker 2: And unfortunately, I'm afraid that many of us don't understand
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Speaker 2: the mercy of God. We don't understand the grace of God.
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Speaker 2: And we simply must. And in our text today, we
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Speaker 2: see a picture of God's mercy. The mercy that God
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Speaker 2: extends both to the righteous and to the wicked. God
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Speaker 2: is merciful. God is always merciful. God is being merciful
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Speaker 2: to us right now. God has been merciful to us
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Speaker 2: throughout our lives. On your worst day, God was being
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Speaker 2: merciful to you. Did you hear me? On your worst day,
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Speaker 2: God was being merciful to you. Not just on your
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Speaker 2: best day. but on your works day look at me
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Speaker 2: if you will just chapter 19 verses 12 to 14
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Speaker 2: and let's look at this picture the mercy of God
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Speaker 2: that reads then the man said a lot is the
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Speaker 2: angels speaking to him have you anyone else here sons-in-law
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Speaker 2: sons daughters or anyone you have in the city bring
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Speaker 2: them out above this place for we are about to
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Speaker 2: destroy this place because the outcry against it, against its people,
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Speaker 2: has become great before the Lord. And the Lord has
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Speaker 2: sent us to destroy it. So Lot went out and
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Speaker 2: said to his sons-in-law, which were to marry his daughters, Up,
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Speaker 2: get out of this place, for the Lord is about
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Speaker 2: to destroy the city. But he seemed to his sons-in-law
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Speaker 2: to be jesting. Lord have mercy. He seemed to his
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Speaker 2: sons-in-law to be jesting. You're playing, right? You're just joking
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Speaker 2: with us, right? He wasn't joking at all. The city
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Speaker 2: was about to be destroyed. And we are about to
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Speaker 2: see an epic display of of the wrath and judgment
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Speaker 2: of God here in Sodom and Gomorrah. The twin cities,
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Speaker 2: the cities of the plain, are about to become forever
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Speaker 2: and always synonyms for wickedness and the judgment that such
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Speaker 2: wickedness deserves. God is most assuredly about to do a
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Speaker 2: thing that will never be forgotten. Thousands of years later,
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Speaker 2: We talk about Sodom and Gomorrah. It has not been forgotten.
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Speaker 2: It will not be forgotten. There are just a few
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Speaker 2: moments in Scripture that rise to this level. One of
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Speaker 2: them had happened just eight generations earlier. And that was
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Speaker 2: the flood. Now, you know, notice when you say the flood,
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Speaker 2: you don't have to say, you know, the Noahic flood.
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Speaker 2: You don't have to say the flood way back. No,
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Speaker 2: just the flood. Where the whole earth was wiped out.
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Speaker 2: Except one man and his family. And then here again,
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Speaker 2: we see with Sodom and Gomorrah. You don't have to
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Speaker 2: say which Sodom, which Gomorrah. No, just Sodom and Gomorrah.
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Speaker 2: And of course, there is the judgment that is to come.
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Speaker 2: And yet, in those instances, we see the wrath of
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Speaker 2: God juxtaposed with the mercy of God. And as I've
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Speaker 2: said before, I believe it is impossible to understand the
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Speaker 2: mercy of God and the grace of God apart from
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Speaker 2: understanding the wrath and the justice of God. We will
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Speaker 2: see that on next week, this picture of the wrath
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Speaker 2: and judgment of God. But today, let's hone in on
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Speaker 2: this picture of God's mercy that takes place in these
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Speaker 2: three brief verses. Number one, we see the mercy of
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Speaker 2: God toward the righteous. The mercy of God toward the righteous.
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Speaker 2: First of all, God is being merciful to Lot. And remember,
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Speaker 2: we refer to him as righteous Lot because that's what
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Speaker 2: we find out in the New Testament from Peter, that
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Speaker 2: he is righteous Lot. And that bothers us. And the
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Speaker 2: reason that it bothers us is because we saw what
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Speaker 2: righteous Lot just did. Number one, we see that righteous
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Speaker 2: Lot has pitched his tent in Sodom. It just doesn't
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Speaker 2: sound very righteous to us. If he's righteous, why does
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Speaker 2: he live there with those people?
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Speaker 3: Secondly, we have seen the stench of the sin of
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Speaker 3: Sodom on Lot's life in that while he goes out
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Speaker 3: and courageously faces this mob that is bent on sodomizing
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Speaker 3: his guests, One of the things that he.
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Speaker 2: Offers them is his two virgin daughters. We look at
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Speaker 2: that and we hear that and we say, that simply
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Speaker 2: is not righteous. And in a sense, we're absolutely correct.
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Speaker 2: Paul makes that clear in Romans chapter 3. There is
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Speaker 2: none righteous. No, not even one. In fact, let's go
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Speaker 2: there and look there for a moment, shall we? As
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Speaker 2: we look at the mercy that God demonstrates to the righteous.
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Speaker 2: Look at Romans chapter 3. And let's begin at verse 9.
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Speaker 2: What then, are we Jews any better off? No, not
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Speaker 2: at all. For we have already charged that all, both
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Speaker 2: Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written.
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Speaker 2: None is righteous. No, not one. No one understands. No
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Speaker 2: one seeks for God. All have turned aside. Together they
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Speaker 2: have become worthless. No one does good. Not even one.
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Speaker 2: Their throat is an open grave. They use their tongues
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Speaker 2: to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips.
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Speaker 2: Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet
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Speaker 2: are swift to shed blood. In their paths are ruin
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Speaker 2: and misery. and the way of peace they have not
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Speaker 2: known there is no fear of God before their eyes
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Speaker 2: now we know that whatever the law says it speaks
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Speaker 2: to those who are under the law so that every
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Speaker 2: mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be
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Speaker 2: held accountable to God for by works of the law
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Speaker 2: no human being will be justified in his sight since
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Speaker 2: through the law comes knowledge of sin so in essence
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Speaker 2: We're right to feel uncomfortable to refer to Lot as righteous.
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Speaker 2: Because he's not. But here's where we misstep. We misstep
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Speaker 2: because we're uncomfortable referring to Lot as righteous because of
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Speaker 2: two things in his past. Not because he was born
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Speaker 2: in sin and shaped in iniquity. Also, we have a
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Speaker 2: problem referring to Lot as righteous because he's done things
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Speaker 2: that we happen to not be guilty of. If you
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Speaker 2: can't say amen, you ought to say ouch. It's real
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Speaker 2: easy for us when we find people who do things
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Speaker 2: that we just absolutely would not do ourselves to stick
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Speaker 2: our finger in their face and say, you are not righteous.
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Speaker 2: So the problem is we're uncomfortable calling Lot righteous for
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Speaker 2: the wrong reasons. We ought to be uncomfortable calling ourselves
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Speaker 2: righteous as well. Because our righteousness has not come, will
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Speaker 2: not come, does not come through keeping the law. So
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Speaker 2: we see the mercy of God upon the righteous. And
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Speaker 2: first of all, that he does not give them what
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Speaker 2: their sin deserves. Listen to this. Psalm 32 verse 1.
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Speaker 2: Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin
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Speaker 2: is covered. Anybody need to say amen to that? Romans 4.8,
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Speaker 2: Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not
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Speaker 2: count his sin. 2 Corinthians 5.19, That is, in Christ,
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Speaker 2: God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their
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Speaker 2: trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore,
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Speaker 2: we are ambassadors for Christ. God making His appeal through us,
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Speaker 2: we implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
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Speaker 2: 1 Peter 2.24, He Himself bore our sins in His
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Speaker 2: body on the tree, that we might die to sin
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Speaker 2: and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.
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Speaker 2: 1 Peter 3.18, For Christ also suffered once for sins,
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Speaker 2: the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us
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Speaker 2: to God, being put to death in the flesh, but
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Speaker 2: made alive in the Spirit. Any righteousness that we have
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Speaker 2: is imputed righteousness. All righteousness that we have is imputed
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Speaker 2: righteousness because of the righteousness of Christ. The righteousness of Christ.
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Speaker 2: We see the righteousness of Christ, first of all, inherently
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Speaker 2: in him as the second person in the Godhead. Secondly,
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Speaker 2: we see it through his active obedience in that he
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Speaker 2: kept the entirety of the law without sin. And thirdly,
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Speaker 2: we see it through his passive obedience, taking upon himself
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Speaker 2: the penalty for the sins that you and I have committed.
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Speaker 2: And it is only as a result of that that
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Speaker 2: he can impute his righteousness to his elect. Why is
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Speaker 2: Lot righteous? Same reason you and I are, if we're righteous,
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Speaker 2: the imputed righteousness of Christ. That's why. And so first
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Speaker 2: of all, here we see the mercy of God in
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Speaker 2: that Lot does not get what he deserves. Lot is
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Speaker 2: rescued out of Sodom and Gomorrah. Do you see that?
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Speaker 2: You and I, in fact, you and I deserve much more,
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Speaker 2: do we not? To whom much is given, much is required.
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Speaker 2: For those of us who look at the sinner and
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Speaker 2: say to the sinner, how dare he? May I suggest
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Speaker 2: something to you? He's acting in accordance with his job description,
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Speaker 2: you're not. So whom should be afraid? You and I should.
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Speaker 2: It's the mercy of God that is extended to us.
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Speaker 2: And that we do not get what our sin deserves.
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Speaker 2: Here's the second one. And this one's a little tricky.
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Speaker 2: We see the mercy of God toward the righteous and
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Speaker 2: that He extends mercy both to and through them. Don't
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Speaker 2: miss this. And we'll take a little time looking at
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Speaker 2: this one. But look at what happens here. Then the
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Speaker 2: men said to Lot, have you anyone else here, sons-in-law, sons, daughters,
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Speaker 2: or anyone you have in the city, bring them out
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Speaker 2: of this place. In other words, the angel says to Lot,
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Speaker 2: not only are we going to be merciful to you
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Speaker 2: and that you won't get what you deserve and you
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Speaker 2: will get out of here before the judgment comes, but
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Speaker 2: we're also going to allow you to take you and
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Speaker 2: yours with you. That's the mercy of God. The mercy
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Speaker 2: of God extended to and through the righteous. After all,
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Speaker 2: why are we even talking about Lot? Why is Lot
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Speaker 2: even a part of this entire scheme of God rescuing
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Speaker 2: him out of Sodom, if not for his connection to Abraham?
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Speaker 1: Amen?
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Speaker 2: It's part of this idea of the covenant blessing of God.
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Speaker 2: And I said we have to be careful here because
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Speaker 2: there's a ditch on both sides of the road. On
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Speaker 2: the one hand, we have to recognize the fact that
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Speaker 2: God does and has throughout the Scriptures been a God
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Speaker 2: who works covenantally in the lives of His people and
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Speaker 2: His people's people. Amen? We see that throughout the Scriptures.
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Speaker 2: We see that everywhere. In the Old Testament, we see,
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Speaker 2: for example, if you'll turn with me to the right
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Speaker 2: and look at Exodus. Look at Exodus chapter 20. And
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Speaker 2: I'll show you the one danger. In verse 4, we
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Speaker 2: see the second commandment here. You shall not make for
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Speaker 2: yourself a carved image or any likeness. of anything that
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Speaker 2: is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath,
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Speaker 2: or that is in the water underneath the earth. You
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Speaker 2: shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I,
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Speaker 2: the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the
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Speaker 2: iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third
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Speaker 2: and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing
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Speaker 2: steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and
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Speaker 2: keep my commandments. God repeats this, by the way, in
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Speaker 2: Deuteronomy chapter 5. He repeats this same principle in Deuteronomy
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Speaker 2: chapter 5. And we see this, do we not? How
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Speaker 2: often do we see people repeat patterns from their families?
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Speaker 2: How often do we see people who walk in the
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Speaker 2: sin of their forefathers? Here's just a little fact, just
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Speaker 2: a little ditty, a couple of things for you. Do
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Speaker 2: you know a woman who grows up in a household
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Speaker 2: where her father is an alcoholic? more likely to marry
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Speaker 2: one than not? I mean, you'd think that statistically we'd
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Speaker 2: find the opposite. I mean, wouldn't you think that just logically?
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Speaker 2: Women who grow up in homes where they're abused are
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Speaker 2: more likely to end up in relationships where they are abused.
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Speaker 2: People who were born out of wedlock and suffer from
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Speaker 2: that sin and watch it devour their family generation after
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Speaker 2: generation after generation, you guessed it, they're more likely to
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Speaker 2: have children themselves. We've seen it, have we not? We've
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Speaker 2: also seen the opposite. We've seen individuals who are blessed
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Speaker 2: Beyond measure. Because of the family that they've grown up in.
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Speaker 2: Would we see God do that? In an unbelievable sense.
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Speaker 2: But does that mean that we are either doomed or
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Speaker 2: destined to repeat or benefit from what our parents have done? No,
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Speaker 2: it doesn't. If that was the case... then Lot and
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Speaker 2: all of his people would not only get out of there,
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Speaker 2: but they would have experienced righteousness too. Is that the case? No.
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Speaker 2: Lot makes it out. The angel says, go and get
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Speaker 2: all of your people. Okay, get your wife, get your daughters,
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Speaker 2: get your sons-in-law. Well, first of all, the sons-in-law don't
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Speaker 2: even make it out. The wife, pillar of salt before
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Speaker 2: they get settled somewhere else. The daughters, need I say more?
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Speaker 2: So do they just automatically experience the blessing? Not necessarily.
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Speaker 2: Not necessarily. There was a benefit to being part of
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Speaker 2: Lot's household. So there's a ditch on that side of
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Speaker 2: the road. And here's how it sort of manifests itself
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Speaker 2: oftentimes in our culture. And as an adoptive father, this
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Speaker 2: one is of particular interest to me. There are many
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Speaker 2: and some very well-known individuals. In fact, there is one
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Speaker 2: ministry that is well-known ministry out there. It's especially well-known
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Speaker 2: among those of us in coming to your church circles,
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Speaker 2: well-known among those of us in the homeschool movement and
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Speaker 2: things of this nature. Well-known ministry out there that actually
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Speaker 2: warns people about adopting children. And they warn people about
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Speaker 2: adopting children because you do not know if perhaps the
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Speaker 2: child that you adopt is actually under a curse because
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Speaker 2: of the sins of their fathers. This is a well-known,
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Speaker 2: well-respected ministry. Be careful. Because after all, if you get
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Speaker 2: this child and all of a sudden this child comes
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Speaker 2: from a lineage of this particular sin... a lineage of
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Speaker 2: this particular curse, and voila, all of a sudden, because
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Speaker 2: you've adopted them into your household, now your household has
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Speaker 2: that curse because of this inevitable principle in God's Word.
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Speaker 2: Is that the principle, though? Let's look at another passage
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Speaker 2: of Scripture, shall we? Turn with me, if you will,
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Speaker 2: to Ezekiel chapter 18. Ezekiel chapter 18. And let's just read.
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Speaker 2: for a little while here in Ezekiel chapter 18. And
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Speaker 2: this is important, especially for those of you who've heard
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Speaker 2: this kind of teaching before about multi-generational curses. And we've
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Speaker 2: all heard it, the whole multi-generational curse thing. We're under
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Speaker 2: a multi-generational curse. That person's under a multi-generational curse. There's
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Speaker 2: several things wrong with that teaching. Here's problem number one.
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Speaker 2: Problem number one with that teaching is this. Those individuals
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Speaker 2: who would say, you know, this whole idea of you
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Speaker 2: go out and you adopt, there's multi-generational curses and you
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Speaker 2: might expose yourself to those multi-generational curses. If that's the case,
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Speaker 2: I never should have been a father because of the
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Speaker 2: multi-generational curses that I know about in my own family. Amen?
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Speaker 2: Adoption should be the last thing I'm worried about. I
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Speaker 2: know for a fact these multi-generational curses that are in
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Speaker 2: my family. And if we really believe that, then that
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Speaker 2: same ministry should have told me, boy, you better not
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Speaker 2: ever have any kids. Here's the second problem with that.
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Speaker 2: The second problem with that whole thinking about the multi-generational
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Speaker 2: curse is that it is an absolute blasphemy against the
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Speaker 2: blood of Christ. Because it argues that the blood of
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Speaker 2: Jesus is insufficient for certain things. That's blasphemy. It's absolute blasphemy.
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Speaker 2: There is nothing that your mother or your father has
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Speaker 2: ever done that's more powerful than the blood of Jesus.
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Speaker 2: Those of you who have adopted children in this room,
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Speaker 2: There is nothing that their mother or their father has
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Speaker 2: ever done that is more powerful than the blood of Jesus. Nothing. Nothing.
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Speaker 2: And here's the other thing that's wrong with it. Look,
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Speaker 2: right here in Ezekiel chapter 18. And we're going to
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Speaker 2: read a little while just to get the feel of this.
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Speaker 2: The word of the Lord came to me. What do
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Speaker 2: you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel?
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Speaker 2: The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth
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Speaker 2: are set on edge. As I live, declares the Lord God,
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Speaker 2: this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. Behold,
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Speaker 2: all souls are mine. The soul of the father as
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Speaker 2: well as the soul of the son is mine. The
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Speaker 2: soul who sins shall die. If a man is righteous...
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Speaker 2: and does what is just and right if he does
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Speaker 2: not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes
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Speaker 2: to the idols of the house of Israel does not
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Speaker 2: defile his neighbor's wife or approach a woman in her
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Speaker 2: time of menstrual impurity does not oppress anyone but restores
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Speaker 2: to the debtor his pledge commits no robbery, gives his
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Speaker 2: bread to the hungry, and covers the naked with a garment,
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Speaker 2: does not lend at interest or take any profit, withholds
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Speaker 2: his hand from injustice, executes true justice between man and man,
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Speaker 2: walks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully,
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Speaker 2: he is righteous. He shall surely live, declares the Lord.
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Speaker 2: Next verse. If he fathers a son who is violent...
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Speaker 2: A shedder of blood who does any of these things,
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Speaker 2: though he himself did none of these things, who even
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Speaker 2: eats upon the mountains, defiles his neighbor's wife, oppresses the needy,
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Speaker 2: commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his
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Speaker 2: eyes to the idols, commits abomination, lends an interest, and
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Speaker 2: takes profit. Shall he then live? He shall not live.
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Speaker 2: He has done all these abominations. He shall surely die.
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Speaker 2: His blood shall be upon... Himself. Next verse. Now suppose
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Speaker 2: this man fathers a son who sees that. Now this
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Speaker 2: is the wicked man. Who sees all the sins that
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Speaker 2: his father has done. He sees and does not do likewise.
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Speaker 2: He does not eat upon the mountain, lift up his
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Speaker 2: eyes to the... House of Israel does not defile his
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Speaker 2: neighbor's wife, does not oppress anyone, exacts no pledge, commits
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Speaker 2: no robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and
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Speaker 2: covers the naked with a garment, withholds his hand from iniquity,
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Speaker 2: takes no interest or profit, obeys my rules and walks
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Speaker 2: in my statutes. He shall not die for his father's iniquity.
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Speaker 2: He shall surely live as for his father. Because he
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Speaker 2: practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not
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Speaker 2: good among his people. Behold, he shall die for his iniquity.
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Speaker 2: Yet you say, why should not the son suffer for
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Speaker 2: the iniquity of the father? When the son has done
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Speaker 2: what is just and right, and has been careful to
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Speaker 2: observe all my statutes, he shall surely live. The soul
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Speaker 2: who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for
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Speaker 2: the iniquity of the father. The son shall not suffer
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Speaker 2: for the iniquity of the father. The son shall not
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Speaker 2: suffer for the iniquity of the father. Nor the father
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Speaker 2: for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the
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Speaker 2: righteous shall be upon himself. And the wickedness of the
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Speaker 2: wicked shall be upon himself. Amen. Hallelujah. This is the
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Speaker 2: word of the Lord. Enough already with this generational curse business.
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Speaker 2: There are patterns of generational sin in our lives and
25:20
Speaker 2: in our families. Absolutely. That is different than a generational curse. Certainly,
25:30
Speaker 2: we look like our fathers, walk like our fathers, talk
25:33
Speaker 2: like our fathers, and have a tendency toward the same
25:37
Speaker 2: predilections as our fathers. But the blood of Jesus is
25:41
Speaker 2: more powerful than any of that. That's the ditch on
25:46
Speaker 2: that side of the road. There's also a ditch on
25:48
Speaker 2: the other side of the road. Look at this one.
25:49
Speaker 2: Listen to these passages of Scripture. Acts 2, 38 and 39.
25:53
Speaker 2: And Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized, every
25:55
Speaker 2: one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for
25:58
Speaker 2: the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the
26:01
Speaker 2: gift of the Holy Spirit for the promises for you
26:04
Speaker 2: and for your children, for all who are far off.
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Speaker 2: The danger in that one is not finishing the verse.
26:16
Speaker 2: Everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. Does
26:25
Speaker 2: that mean that every one of my children is going
26:27
Speaker 2: to be in the kingdom of God? No, absolutely not.
26:31
Speaker 2: Only the ones whom the Lord calls to himself. But
26:34
Speaker 2: how about this? The Lord ordains the ends as well
26:37
Speaker 2: as the means. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by
26:40
Speaker 2: the word of God. We repent. We believe the gospel.
26:43
Speaker 2: We turn to the Lord. Folks, you are much more
26:46
Speaker 2: likely to do that if you are born in the
26:49
Speaker 2: household that follows the Lord Jesus Christ and preaches the
26:53
Speaker 2: gospel to you than you are if you don't. Acts 11, 13.
26:59
Speaker 2: This is Cornelius. And he told us, How he had
27:02
Speaker 2: seen the angel stand in his house and say, Send
27:06
Speaker 2: to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter. He
27:08
Speaker 2: will declare to you the message by which you will
27:11
Speaker 2: be saved, you and all your household. You and your household.
27:16
Speaker 2: By the way, Cornelius and all of his household got saved. Amen.
27:24
Speaker 2: Happens again in Acts 16. The jailer. They said, Believe
27:27
Speaker 2: in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved,
27:29
Speaker 2: you and your household. The Philippian jailer was saved. He
27:34
Speaker 2: and his household. All of them. In both instances, don't
27:40
Speaker 2: miss this. Everybody heard the word. Not everybody. Everybody. All right?
27:47
Speaker 2: This is not what happened. Cornelius, you and your household
27:50
Speaker 2: will be saved. The word is preached to Cornelius only,
27:54
Speaker 2: and as a result of Cornelius only hearing and believing,
27:57
Speaker 2: he's saved and baptized, and the rest of his household
28:01
Speaker 2: is saved and baptized. That's not what the Bible teaches.
28:05
Speaker 2: Peter preached to Cornelius and everyone in his household. Paul
28:11
Speaker 2: preached to the Philippian jailer and everyone in his household.
28:15
Speaker 2: They believed. Everyone in their household believed. And everyone in
28:18
Speaker 2: their household was baptized because they heard the word and
28:22
Speaker 2: they believed. That's why. So understand that God does extend
28:30
Speaker 2: mercy to and through the righteous. This does not mean
28:36
Speaker 2: on the one hand that the wicked are absolutely doomed.
28:41
Speaker 2: And that the righteous are guaranteed that their descendants after
28:45
Speaker 2: them will follow God. Nothing could be further from the truth.
28:49
Speaker 2: Do you know the history of Israel? Amen? It's craziness
28:55
Speaker 2: to think that. Everything in the Bible mitigates against thinking that.
29:00
Speaker 2: It doesn't happen that way. See that pattern? It's not there.
29:06
Speaker 2: It's not there. But by the same token, We do
29:11
Speaker 2: see this blessing that is extended to and is often
29:16
Speaker 2: extended through the righteous. The mercy of God saved a
29:25
Speaker 2: lot from Sodom and Gomorrah. And the mercy of God
29:30
Speaker 2: also got his wife out. Yeah, but she turned into
29:34
Speaker 2: a pillar of salt. That's right. But she was not
29:37
Speaker 2: burned with fire and brimstone in Sodom and Gomorrah. They
29:44
Speaker 2: got his daughters out. Yeah, but they commit incest later. Yes,
29:49
Speaker 2: they do. But by God's mercy, they were not burned
29:54
Speaker 2: with fire and brimstone in Sodom and Gomorrah. And that
30:00
Speaker 2: was purely because of their connection to Lot. Which means,
30:08
Speaker 2: this is what's so ironic about this one particular ministry.
30:13
Speaker 2: And the reason I don't name the particular ministry is because, anyway,
30:19
Speaker 2: it's very difficult to locate the actual comments themselves. The
30:27
Speaker 2: tracks are being covered. And I don't in any way
30:32
Speaker 2: want to bear false witness against this particular ministry. But
30:38
Speaker 2: I can tell you what I know from what I've
30:39
Speaker 2: heard myself, and I can tell you what I know
30:41
Speaker 2: from conversations that I've had with individuals on the inside
30:44
Speaker 2: of this ministry, that it is what has been taught
30:46
Speaker 2: on a number of occasions. And here's what's ironic about it.
30:53
Speaker 2: If you believe that there are children out there who
30:57
Speaker 2: are up for adoption, Who are under a curse. Where
31:03
Speaker 2: on earth would you rather have them than in a
31:08
Speaker 2: household that's under a blessing because of their covenant relationship
31:13
Speaker 2: with God? That is a wicked and pernicious teaching. Don't
31:21
Speaker 2: trust God to save that child who comes from a
31:25
Speaker 2: bad background. Instead, save your own house from the possibility
31:30
Speaker 2: of something that could be messy. Because that just wouldn't be.
31:36
Speaker 2: Do you hear that? We ought to be the ones saying,
31:40
Speaker 2: bring the mess on. Because we got the only answer
31:43
Speaker 2: for the mess. They go somewhere else. They get their
31:46
Speaker 2: own curse and the curse of the godless family they
31:49
Speaker 2: go to. They come to us and they get something
31:51
Speaker 2: that's more powerful than anything their father or their mother
31:54
Speaker 2: ever passed down to them. God is merciful to the
32:03
Speaker 2: wicked also. Not just to the righteous. He's also merciful
32:07
Speaker 2: to the wicked. Well, wait a minute. Merciful to the wicked?
32:09
Speaker 2: What do you mean? Yeah. He warns them of the
32:11
Speaker 2: judgment to come. God warns the wicked of the judgment
32:17
Speaker 2: to come. I want you to notice something. Go back
32:23
Speaker 2: in Genesis chapter 19 and look at verse 4 again. Now,
32:32
Speaker 2: who's in the house with Lot? The angels, Lot's wife,
32:40
Speaker 2: Lot's two daughters. That's who's in the house, right? That's
32:45
Speaker 2: all that's in the house. Now go back to verse
32:47
Speaker 2: 4 in chapter 19. But before they lay down, the
32:51
Speaker 2: men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young
32:54
Speaker 2: and old, all the people to the last man. Guess
32:58
Speaker 2: who that would have to include? Lot's sons-in-law. And yet
33:08
Speaker 2: they got a warning from Lot to come out. That's merciful.
33:16
Speaker 2: That's merciful. See the hand of mercy extended even to
33:27
Speaker 2: the wicked. God is angry with the wicked every day.
33:32
Speaker 2: And yet they're allowed to live and to breathe. That's mercy.
33:41
Speaker 2: God's merciful to the wicked. Secondly, God is merciful to
33:47
Speaker 2: the wicked in that every righteous person comes out of
33:51
Speaker 2: the ranks of the wicked. Amen. Is God merciful to
33:57
Speaker 2: the wicked? Yes. Yes. Amen. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. God's
34:03
Speaker 2: merciful to the wicked. The gospel is preached to the wicked.
34:06
Speaker 2: The wicked are converted. The wicked are saved. The wicked
34:09
Speaker 2: are rescued from the coming judgment. That is God being
34:13
Speaker 2: merciful to the wicked. Is it not? So preach the
34:22
Speaker 2: gospel to the wicked. You show mercy to the wicked
34:27
Speaker 2: when you preach the gospel to them. Preach the gospel
34:32
Speaker 2: to the wicked. It's a merciful thing to do. The
34:37
Speaker 2: merciless thing to do is not to preach to the wicked.
34:40
Speaker 2: The merciless thing to do is wash your hands of
34:42
Speaker 2: the wicked. The merciless thing to do is never get
34:45
Speaker 2: your hands dirty in the lives of the wicked. That's
34:47
Speaker 2: the merciless thing to do. The merciless thing to do
34:50
Speaker 2: is take what you know and hide it under a bushel.
34:53
Speaker 2: That's the merciless thing to do. The merciful thing is
34:56
Speaker 2: to preach the gospel to the wicked. Even though the
34:59
Speaker 2: wicked will hate you for doing it. It's the merciful
35:03
Speaker 2: thing to do. Recently, on his video blog, I forget
35:10
Speaker 2: if it's Penn or Teller, the one that talks. Penn
35:13
Speaker 2: and Teller, these magicians, one of them doesn't talk, one
35:15
Speaker 2: of them does talk. They're wicked men. They are blasphemous men.
35:21
Speaker 2: They are vulgar men and all, just all of that.
35:25
Speaker 2: But recently, and I'll just say Penn. Recently, Penn had
35:30
Speaker 2: an encounter with a guy. And this guy either worked
35:35
Speaker 2: at the place where their show was taking place or
35:38
Speaker 2: he was there. Somebody brought him to the show. And
35:40
Speaker 2: they called the guy on stage during their show. And
35:44
Speaker 2: so he was a prop in one of their magic tricks. Well,
35:48
Speaker 2: the next day, The guy comes back to the show.
35:51
Speaker 2: And after the show is over, Penn says he sees
35:53
Speaker 2: the guy and he noticed the guy. He recognized the
35:56
Speaker 2: guy from the previous show that he was the guy
35:58
Speaker 2: that they brought up as part of the show. And
36:00
Speaker 2: he could just tell. You know how you can tell
36:01
Speaker 2: when somebody's waiting to talk to you? And the guy's
36:03
Speaker 2: just waiting to talk to him. So Penn makes his
36:07
Speaker 2: way over after the show, gets the guy, I guess,
36:10
Speaker 2: backstage and talks to him. The guy takes out this
36:12
Speaker 2: tract and says, you know, the Lord just put it
36:16
Speaker 2: on my heart to give this to you. And, I mean,
36:19
Speaker 2: you do with it what you will, but I just
36:23
Speaker 2: couldn't not tell you about the God who's changed my life.
36:29
Speaker 2: So Penn goes and he reads this track. On his
36:32
Speaker 2: video blog, this is what he says. How much would
36:38
Speaker 2: somebody have to hate me not to tell me about
36:41
Speaker 2: Jesus if they believe I'd go to hell for not
36:45
Speaker 2: knowing about him? How much would somebody have to hate
36:51
Speaker 2: me to not do for me what this guy did?
36:55
Speaker 2: He's an atheist. He's not a Christian. And this atheist says,
37:00
Speaker 2: how much do you Christians have to hate us to
37:04
Speaker 2: not get your hands dirty in our lives and to never, ever,
37:08
Speaker 2: ever tell us about Jesus Christ? How much must you
37:11
Speaker 2: hate us in order to live like that? In order
37:15
Speaker 2: to completely and utterly separate yourselves from us. To the
37:18
Speaker 2: extent that you don't even proclaim the gospel to us.
37:22
Speaker 2: You won't even rub elbows with us. You won't even
37:26
Speaker 2: have us over to your home and tell us why
37:29
Speaker 2: it is that you live so distinctly from us. How
37:35
Speaker 2: much do you have to hate us in order to
37:39
Speaker 2: do that? The mercy of God is extended to the
37:45
Speaker 2: wicked in the proclamation of the gospel to them and
37:51
Speaker 2: in the warning of the coming judgment. Noah builds an
37:55
Speaker 2: ark for a hundred years. For a hundred years, God
37:59
Speaker 2: is merciful to the wicked. Every day it didn't rain,
38:02
Speaker 2: God was being merciful to the wicked. Every day Noah preached,
38:06
Speaker 2: God was being merciful to the wicked. Every day. And
38:11
Speaker 2: when these angels send Lot into Sodom and Gomorrah and says,
38:14
Speaker 2: go tell all those who are even anyway connected with you,
38:19
Speaker 2: he's being merciful to the wicked. Through his long suffering
38:24
Speaker 2: and through that proclamation. I love the fact that there's
38:29
Speaker 2: this reprieve here. In the first half of Genesis chapter 19,
38:36
Speaker 2: we see the establishment of the guilt of Sodom and Gomorrah.
38:41
Speaker 2: Nothing more need be said. In the last half of
38:46
Speaker 2: Genesis 19, we see the execution of the verdict and
38:51
Speaker 2: the punishment against Solomon Gomorrah. And God is completely and
38:58
Speaker 2: utterly righteous in doing so. There is absolutely no need
39:04
Speaker 2: for verses 12 through 14 other than this. To establish
39:10
Speaker 2: the mercy of God in the midst of Him meeting
39:15
Speaker 2: out His righteous judgment upon the wicked. That's it. That's
39:23
Speaker 2: the answer to the question, why those three verses? That's it.
39:29
Speaker 2: Because God is merciful. Right before you see Him do
39:34
Speaker 2: one of the most terrible and awful things in the
39:39
Speaker 2: entire Bible, know this. God is merciful. He's merciful to
39:48
Speaker 2: the righteous. And that He delivers them out of the judgment.
39:55
Speaker 2: And in that even through them, He offers mercy to
40:01
Speaker 2: those who are connected to them. He's merciful to the wicked.
40:08
Speaker 2: And that He even gives a word of warning. Extends
40:12
Speaker 2: this opportunity, if you will. He's merciful in that there
40:19
Speaker 2: were days, months, even years before when he would have
40:26
Speaker 2: been well within his rights to destroy the city. But
40:31
Speaker 2: he was patient. He was long-suffering. And though judgment would
40:39
Speaker 2: ultimately and inevitably come, he was merciful in that he waited.
40:50
Speaker 2: God is merciful. We don't understand the mercy of God
40:56
Speaker 2: and we don't appreciate the mercy of God because we
40:59
Speaker 2: actually think we deserve it. And that's our first problem.
41:06
Speaker 2: You and I deserve the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah.
41:10
Speaker 2: All day, every day, twice on Sunday, we deserve the
41:12
Speaker 2: fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. The only reason we are
41:16
Speaker 2: righteous is the very reason that Lot is righteous. It's
41:20
Speaker 2: imputed righteousness. It's an alien righteousness. It's not our own righteousness.
41:24
Speaker 2: It's a righteousness that is declared, not because of, but
41:27
Speaker 2: in spite of what we have done. And as we close,
41:35
Speaker 2: I'll leave you with this. Just in case there is
41:38
Speaker 2: anyone who is under the illusion that God is giving
41:41
Speaker 2: you what you have earned and deserve and not being
41:44
Speaker 2: merciful to you. A couple of things. James chapter 2
41:52
Speaker 2: and verse 10. You don't have to turn there. Instead,
41:55
Speaker 2: turn to Matthew. Matthew chapter 5 for a moment. James
42:00
Speaker 2: chapter 2 and verse 10. If anyone keeps the whole
42:04
Speaker 2: law but stumbles at one point, he is guilty of
42:07
Speaker 2: breaking all of it. Let me say it again. If
42:10
Speaker 2: anyone keeps the whole law but stumbles at one point,
42:19
Speaker 2: he is guilty of of breaking all of it. You
42:25
Speaker 2: are a lawbreaker. Period. End of discussion. No matter what
42:30
Speaker 2: else happens, if you stumble at one point, don't tell
42:33
Speaker 2: me about the two or three laws that you've become
42:36
Speaker 2: adept at keeping. And in case that doesn't do it
42:40
Speaker 2: for you, let's listen to Jesus for a while, shall we?
42:47
Speaker 2: Matthew chapter 5, beginning in verse 21. Verse 21. You
42:51
Speaker 2: have heard that it was said to those of old,
42:53
Speaker 2: you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable
42:56
Speaker 2: to judgment. And so we pound our chest and say, yes,
43:01
Speaker 2: I am not guilty of the sin of murder. Jesus continues,
43:07
Speaker 2: but I say to you, everyone who is angry with
43:10
Speaker 2: his brother will be liable to judgment. Whoever insults his
43:14
Speaker 2: brother will be liable to the council. And whoever says
43:18
Speaker 2: you fool will be liable to the fire of hell.
43:22
Speaker 2: So if you are offering your gift at the altar
43:26
Speaker 2: and there remember that your brother has something against you,
43:30
Speaker 2: leave your gift there before the altar and go. First
43:34
Speaker 2: be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer
43:36
Speaker 2: your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while
43:40
Speaker 2: you are going with him to court, lest your accuser
43:45
Speaker 2: hand you over to the judge and the judge to
43:47
Speaker 2: the guard and you be put in prison. Truly I
43:50
Speaker 2: say to you, you will never get out of it.
43:53
Speaker 2: Until you have paid the last penny. Anyone ever been
43:56
Speaker 2: angry with a brother? Anyone ever insulted a brother? Called
44:03
Speaker 2: a brother a fool? Jesus says you harbor the same
44:07
Speaker 2: guilt as the individual who's committed murder. You are not
44:14
Speaker 2: righteous in and of yourself. But wait. There's more. Verse 27.
44:21
Speaker 2: Verse 27. You have heard that it was said, you
44:24
Speaker 2: shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that
44:26
Speaker 2: everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has
44:29
Speaker 2: already committed adultery with her in his heart. You are
44:40
Speaker 2: not righteous in and of yourself. You are guilty. And
44:46
Speaker 2: you deserve the punishment that fell on Sodom and Gomorrah.
44:50
Speaker 2: Every last one of us yet God has been merciful
45:02
Speaker 2: but don't do this don't mistake the mercy that God
45:08
Speaker 2: has extended by holding back his ultimate judgment from you
45:12
Speaker 2: a wretched man for the mercy that is extended to
45:18
Speaker 2: those who place their faith and trust in in the
45:21
Speaker 2: Lord Jesus Christ. Repent of their sin and believe in
45:25
Speaker 2: Him and Him alone and His finished work for their salvation.
45:28
Speaker 2: Because many have made this mistake. You are a rank,
45:33
Speaker 2: wretched sinner. And because God hasn't killed you, you think
45:38
Speaker 2: you're okay. But you have not come to faith in repentance.
45:42
Speaker 2: And you are taking God's kindness for weakness. No, no, no. Repent. Believe.
45:51
Speaker 2: Place your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn from
45:54
Speaker 2: your sin and turn to Him completely and utterly as
45:58
Speaker 2: your only answer and your only hope for your sin problem. Otherwise,
46:04
Speaker 2: you are merely marking time and the day of your
46:08
Speaker 2: judgment is sure and it will be swift and there
46:12
Speaker 2: will be no hope for you then. Do not mistake
46:19
Speaker 2: God's kindness for weakness. Do not mistake the fact that
46:24
Speaker 2: you have not gotten what your sins deserve for the
46:29
Speaker 2: fact that your sins still deserve it. Repent of your sin.
46:36
Speaker 2: Place yourself on His mercy and be saved. This is
46:41
Speaker 2: our only hope. Take advantage of the reprieve between the
46:46
Speaker 2: first half of chapter 19 and the second half of
46:51
Speaker 2: chapter 19 Call upon his mercy while it may be found.
47:02
Speaker 2: Let's pray. Father, thank you for your goodness toward us,
47:14
Speaker 2: for your mercy toward us. We are so grateful that
47:19
Speaker 2: you have not dealt with us according to what our
47:22
Speaker 2: sins deserve. I pray for every soul under the sound
47:35
Speaker 2: of my voice. That your word would resonate clearly and
47:45
Speaker 2: powerfully in our hearing. That we would not take your
47:55
Speaker 2: mercy for granted. Amen. but that we would cry out
48:02
Speaker 2: to you in repentance and faith. Thank you for the
48:09
Speaker 2: mercy that you have extended to every one of us.
48:14
Speaker 2: We are grateful. God, will you forgive us for being
48:18
Speaker 2: merciless to sinners around us? May we dutifully and mercifully
48:27
Speaker 2: preach the gospel to them. May we mercifully and dutifully
48:33
Speaker 2: employ all biblical means in doing so. May we mercifully
48:43
Speaker 2: and dutifully consider them in light of our own wickedness
48:49
Speaker 2: and not sit in judgment of superiority. And every time
48:54
Speaker 2: we are sickened by the sin of the wicked, may
48:59
Speaker 2: we in turn be sickened by our own sin, and
49:06
Speaker 2: more so in light of the grace that has been
49:09
Speaker 2: extended to us in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
49:13
Speaker 2: Thank you, Lord God. Thank you.
49:25
Speaker 1: Grace Family Baptist Church is located in Spring, Texas. For
49:29
Speaker 1: any questions or comments regarding Grace Family Baptist Church, call
49:32
Speaker 1: toll-free at 877-651-8814