Latest / CCC West Covina / The Person of Praise, Part 3

Transcript

The Person of Praise, Part 3 · CCC West Covina

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A few months before our Lord would be crucified, he was in
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the northern part of Galilee. He was about 25 miles northeast
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of the Sea of Galilee, in a region called Caesarea Philippi.
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It was named such by Philip the Tetrarch because he wanted to
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name a city after Caesar, and of course his name as well, so that
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he would be well known. But it also separated it from
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Caesarea Meritima, which is on the sea.
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And our Lord and his disciples were in this region, and there
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were all kinds of false gods around them.
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And there had been, according to Greek mythology, a a Greek God
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by the name of Pan or Panas. It was called Panas before it
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was called Caesarea Philippi. He was said to have been born in
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a cave there. If you go there today, you can
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still enter that cave. And it was here where our Lord
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would give his men an exam. It was like their final exam,
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but the exam would only have one question.
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And if you understand the question and you get the
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question right, that's good news.
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If you get the question or the answer to the question wrong,
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well, that's bad news. And so he would ask them just
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one question, because it's the question that no man can ever
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escape or avoid. In fact, everybody in the room
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today is asked the same question because everyone will have to
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face the answer. And the question was simply
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this, who do men say that I am? The question focused on the
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identity of the Lord Jesus. And so the disciples would
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answer by saying, well, some say you're Jeremiah, others Elijah,
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some say you're John the Baptist.
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Some say you're you're just one of the prophets.
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In other words, everybody is saying that you're great, but
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nobody is saying that you are God.
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Now Christ didn't ask the question for information
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purposes. He knew what the religious
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leaders thought of him. They thought he was of Satan.
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And so he wasn't asking about what the religious leaders
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thought about his identity. He wanted to know what the
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Jewish people thought of his identity, and the Jewish people
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for all practical purposes, loved Jesus.
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It was the religious establishment that hated Jesus.
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So he asked the question, what is the popular opinion?
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Not that whatever the popular opinion was would change the
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ministry of our Lord. He just wanted to know what the
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popular opinion of his ministry was.
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After all, in a few short months, he would be crucified.
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And then he asked the question towards men.
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But who do you say that I am? It doesn't make any difference
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what the multitudes say. What do you say?
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Not the popular opinion. What is your personal opinion?
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Who do you say that I am? And Peter would speak for the 12
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He would say, Thou art the Christ, the Messiah, the Son,
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equal in nature to the living God.
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And the response that Christ gives is truly remarkable
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because the Lord says, blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for
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flesh and blood did not reveal that to you, but my Father who
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is in heaven revealed that to you.
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In other words, if you are to pass the ultimate exam, you
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cannot do it on your own. You have to have a divine
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enlightenment because flesh and blood cannot reveal that to you.
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I cannot convince you that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the
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living God. I can't convince you of that.
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I can preach to you. I can show you in Scripture
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where that's the case, but unless the Lord illuminates your
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heart and your mind, you will never believe that Jesus is the
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Christ, the Son of the living God.
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Why is that? Because you have been blinded.
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You've been blinded by Satan. You've been blinded from birth.
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You have a supernatural blindness.
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Therefore you need a supernatural enlightenment.
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The Bible says that this way in 2nd Corinthians 4 verse #3 And
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even if our gospel is veiled, that is veiled to those who are
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perishing. In this case, the God of this
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world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they
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might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
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who is the image of God. Satan has blinded the mind of
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those people who do not know him, so they will not believe
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that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh.
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And so in order for you to pass the ultimate exam, you cannot do
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it because you have a proper intellect.
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You cannot do it because you're a smart person or you've read a
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lot. The only way you can pass the
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ultimate exam is if the Father in heaven enlightens your soul
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to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living
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God. That's just remarkable.
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Now here's the good news for those of us who have been
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enlightened, for those of us who know the identity of Christ, we
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want to praise His name. We want to thank Him that He has
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revealed Himself to us. Well, we want to praise Him
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because we know the identity of the Christ child.
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We don't wonder as to who He is. We know who He is, which makes
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our praise of him brilliant, beautiful, because we glory in
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the fact that we have been enlightened to the truth of the
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gospel. And so it accentuates our
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praise. We want to honor the Lord.
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So as we journey this pathway of praise that we've been on now
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for for several weeks, the person of praise causes our
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journey to be filled with joy because of who Christ is.
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And so we have tried to unveil to you through the Scriptures
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the identity of the Messiah, the identity of the Christ child,
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the identity of of the Lord God of Israel.
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That is just so important. See Israel had a problem and
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that is this Hosea 4 verse #6 My people are destroyed for lack of
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knowledge. They do not know me.
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It's not that they didn't know the Scriptures that they knew
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the scriptures. We we saying come thou long
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expected Jesus. The expected one was a was a a
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title for the Messiah. Psalm 1/18/26 Psalm 40 verse #7
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He is called the Erica my, the expected one, the coming one.
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And even at the triumphal entry, Psalm 1/18/26 was quoted by the
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people of Israel. Blessed is he who comes in the
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name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming one.
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They hailed him as the expected one.
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It's the question that John the Baptist asked in in Luke's
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Gospel the the 7th chapter when he sent his men to go ask Jesus.
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Are you the expected one or should we expect someone else?
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Should we look for someone else? Are you the Messiah?
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Because the Messiah is the expected one.
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All of our expectations are in the coming Messiah.
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Are you him? But Israel did not know Him.
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They did not understand him. But we who do know him, we
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praise Him continually, we exalt His name, we magnify the Lord
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Jesus Christ. So as we journey along the
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pathway of praise, we're looking at the person of praise.
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And we began with the phrase Yahweh Hassinu, which means the
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Lord is my Maker. He's the one who forms me.
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He's the one who fashions me. And then we moved from there to
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Yave Sebayath, which is the Lord of armies.
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The one who forms me is the one who fights for me.
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And the last week we talked about Yave Rafi, which is the
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Lord is my shepherd, the one who who forms me and fights for me
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is the one who feeds me. And today I I want to take you
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to an Old Testament passage which is very familiar to us,
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but is one of the two chapters in the Old Testament that are
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absolutely pivotal to understanding the identity and
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the ministry of the coming Messiah.
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It's found in Genesis chapter 22.
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So if you got your Bible, turn back with me there, if you would
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please. Genesis chapter 22.
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And in Genesis 22, you have a couple of firsts.
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That is the first mention of certain words in the Bible.
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So again, as I said last week and the week before, whenever
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something is mentioned first in the Bible, you need to take
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note, You need to understand why this is the first time.
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So the Bible reads as follows. Genesis 22 verse #1 Now it came
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about after these things that God tested Abraham and said to
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him, Abraham, He said, here I am.
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He said take now your son, your only son whom you love.
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Isaac, stop right there. This is the first time the word
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love is mentioned in the Bible. That's very, very important
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because God is going to test Abraham as to his true love for
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him, the son of God, the living God.
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So he says, I want you to take now your son, your only son.
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But that wasn't his only son, because Ishmael was older.
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Ishmael was born first. But Ishmael was not the only
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begotten son. Isaac was the only begotten Son,
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the Son of choice, the Son who had the right to the
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inheritance. That was Isaac.
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And so when the Lord says take now your son, your, your only
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begotten Son, the Son of your love, OK, which is symbolic of
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Christ, who is the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and
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truth. And he was the only begotten
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son, the monogamies of of the Father, the the son of choice,
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the son of preeminence. He says, take the son that you
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love. And then he says this and go to
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the land of Moriah. That's the very important phrase
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because Moriah means foreseen, very important to the narrative.
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If you don't understand what Mariah means, you're going to
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miss the point of the entire narrative.
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It means foreseen. So God is telling Abraham, I
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want you to take your son, your only son, to a place that I have
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foreseen. That's the place called Mariah,
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the Book of Chronicles. It would be where Solomon would
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build the Temple on Mount Moriah.
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So he says, go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a
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burnt offering on one of the mountains, of which I will tell
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you. So Abraham rose early in the
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morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men
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with him and Isaac's son. They split wood for the burnt
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offering and the Rose and went to the place of which God had
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told him. On the third day.
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Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.
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Abraham said to his young men, Stay here with the donkey and I,
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and the lad will go over there, and we will worship and return
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to you again. The very first time the word
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worship is used in the Bible because worship always involves
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sacrifice. If you come to church and you
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don't sacrifice, you haven't worshiped.
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Worship us all about sacrifice, giving yourself away.
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And so the very first mention of the word worship, by the way,
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before Exodus chapter 20, before the 10 commandments were given,
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when God said you shall have no other gods before me, you
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should, you should only worship me.
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No other gods before that was ever given.
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The word worship is mentioned because it's all about
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sacrifice. And so God says, or Abraham
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says, I am, the lad will go up and worship and we will return
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to you. So it says verse 6, Abraham took
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the wood of the burnt offering and then laid it on Isaac his
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son, and took in his hand the fire and the knife.
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So the two of them walked on together.
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Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, my father.
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He said, here I am my son. He said, behold the fire in the
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wood. But where is the lamb for the
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burnt offering? Abraham said God will provide
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for himself the lamb for the burnt offering my son.
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So the two of them walked on together.
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Very important phrase. So the Lord God will provide for
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himself the land. The word provide is year a very
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important to the narrative. Again, why?
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Because God, we'll see. Because the word Yuri is the
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word of vision. It's used 1300 times in the Old
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Testament. All but 4 is it translated to
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see or be seen. The other four times it's
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translated to provide, but the 1296 other times it's used, it's
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used to see or be seen. So Abraham is telling his son
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Isaac the Lord will see for himself a lamb.
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Now remember they went to Moriah, which means foreseen.
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So on the place foreseen by God, God will see for himself the
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land that will be provided. So you read on.
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Then they came to the place of which God had told him.
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And Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and
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bound to son Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.
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Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knight to slay his
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son. But the Angel of the Lord, now
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that's the pre and card of Christ.
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The Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said,
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Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here I am.
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He said, do not stretch out your hand against the lad and do
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nothing to him. For now I know that you fear
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God, since you have not withheld your son, your only Son, from
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me. You mean to tell me there's
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something that God doesn't know? For God says, now I know that
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you fear me. God doesn't say that for his
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purposes, He says it for Abraham's purposes.
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He says that Abraham, now I know.
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Meaning the knowledge of You fearing Me has been seen,
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because in Your worship You are willing to sacrifice that which
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is dearest to You on behalf of Me, and only those who fear My
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name are those who sacrifice that which is dearest to them on
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My behalf. Very, very important.
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And so you read on. It says that Abraham raised his
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eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the
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thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the
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ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of
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his son. Abraham called the name of that
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place Yahweh Yuray. The Lord will provide or better
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translation, The Lord will be seen, as it is said to this day.
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In the mount of the Lord it will be seen.
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In Moriah, the mount of the Lord, in the place foreseen by
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God, what will be seen a substitute in the place of
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Isaac. So when you go to John's gospel
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and read John 856, it says Abraham rejoiced to see my day.
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When did Abraham rejoice to see Christ's day?
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Genesis chapter 22. That's when Abraham rejoiced,
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because there he called the place the Lord will be seen.
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How did Abraham know that the Lord would be seen on the place
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foreseen by God unless it was revealed to him in a
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supernatural kind of way from God himself that there would be
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a substitutionary sacrifice on behalf of man which Christ the
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Messiah would provide so that we would not have to play pay the
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penalty for our sin? And so Abraham says, on this
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place the Lord will be seen. Yahweh Yuray, the Lord that
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forms me, Yahweh Hasinu, is the Lord who fights for me.
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Yabe Savayov, the Lord who fights for me, is the Lord who
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feeds me, Yabe Rafi. And the Lord who feeds me is the
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Lord who foresees all that will happen to me.
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Yabe Yuray, God sees everything. That's how He can feed you
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properly. That's how he can fight for you
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aggressively. That's how we can form you
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perfectly. Because he foresees everything.
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He foreknows it, but he also foresees it.
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He sees it well enough in advance because he is the the
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God of eternity, the eternal nature of God.
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He sees the past, the present, and the future all at once
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because He exists in the past, the present, and the future all
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at once. He sees it all.
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And therefore we can rest and praise His glorious name as we
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journey down the pathway of praise because of who He is.
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I can rest at ease this Christmas season.
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I can rest at ease all throughout the year because it's
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my God who foresees everything in advance.
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He is the one who was mapped out all my days before there was
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even yet one of them. He knows every event that will
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take place in the future. He knows what's going to happen
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to my family, in my marriage, in my work, in my school, in my
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play. He knows it all.
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He's foreseen it all, and He is my provider.
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That's how He can provide for us because He knows in advance all
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that will happen to me. Let me give you another
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description of our Lord. Turn me to Exodus chapter 15,
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Exodus chapter 15. And when you come to Exodus
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chapter 15, you have the second experience of Israel having been
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LED out of Egyptian bondage. The first experience is when
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they come to the Red Sea and Pharaoh's army is bearing down
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upon them and they are afraid that they're going to die.
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And Moses says, stand still and watch the salvation of the Lord.
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Watch the delivering power of God.
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Watch the rescuing nature of God.
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Watch the saving nature of God at work.
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Of course, you know the story. You've seen the movie and the
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waters part. Israel goes through on dry land,
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right? Supernatural waters depart.
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There should be mud, but there was no mud.
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It was dry land. They walked through on dry land,
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and Pharaoh and his army, they went after them, and of course
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they all drowned in the sea. And then you have the song of
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Moses and Exodus chapter 15 concluded in verse #21 when
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Miriam said, sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted.
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The horse and rider he has hurled into the sea.
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Can you imagine the excitement, the joy of Israel knowing that
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their God had performed a supernatural act right before
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their eyes, part of the Red Sea? I mean, how many gods can do
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that? None except the one true and
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living God who creates the sea. And they, they walk through on
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dry land and they were able to see the salvation of the Lord.
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They were able to experience it supernaturally.
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You. You would think that that would
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take them through at least another month.
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But three days later comes another test.
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Just three days to show you how quickly we forget what God has
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done. Look what it says.
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Verse #22 Then Moses LED Israel from the Red Sea, and they went
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out into the wilderness of sure, and they went in three days in
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the wilderness, and found no water.
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This is test #2. When they came to the to Marah,
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they could not drink the waters for of Marah, for they were
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bitter. Therefore it was named Marah.
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So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
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Then he cried out to the Lord, what?
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What happened to Israel? How do they go from celebrating
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God to complaining about where they're at?
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How do they go from sheer delight to disgruntlement in
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three days? How do they go from magnifying
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the name of God to murmuring against God's chosen leader?
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How does that happen? You can ask yourself the same
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question. How can you come to church on
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Sunday morning, get in your car, and three minutes later start
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yelling at your kids and yelling at your wife and your wife
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yelling at you? How does that happen?
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How can that it possibly be? Excuse me, but it happens all
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the time. So here's Israel three days
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after watching a supernatural act of God begin to murmur.
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There was no water. They began to complain, and
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Moses cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree very
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important to the narrative, and he threw it to the waters.
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The waters became sweet there. He made for them a statue and
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regulation, and there he tested them.
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And he said, If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the
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Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and give ear
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to His commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put
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none of the diseases on you which I put on the Egyptians.
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For I, the Lord and your healer, Yavay Rafa, I am your healer.
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The Lord who forms us is the Lord who fights for us.
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The Lord who fights for us is the Lord who feeds us.
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The Lord who feeds us is the Lord who foresees all that will
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happen to us, and the Lord who foresees all that will happen to
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us is the Lord who will fulfill us as only He can.
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I am your healer. When we read that, we, we
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naturally go to physical healing as if God is going to heal me
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physically. But it's so much deeper than
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that. It's so much more important than
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understanding that which is in the temporal to that which is
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eternal, that which is physical as to that which is spiritual.
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Because sin has ravaged our souls, it's destroyed our souls
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and we are in need of a physician who heals the
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condition of our souls. Notice that it was a tree that
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was thrown into the waters because it would be the great I
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am who hung on a tree who would bring the ultimate healing to
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people's lives. Listen to what the Bible says in
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Isaiah chapter 1. Isaiah chapter 1 is as as God
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describes Israel verse 2. Listen O heavens and hero earth,
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for the Lord speaks. God is speaking.
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Sons I have reared and brought up, but they have revolted
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against me. Israel has revolted against me.
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And Ox knows its owner and a donkey its masters manager.
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But Israel does not know. My people do not understand.
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My people do not understand my identity.
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They don't know who I am. That's why the question, who do
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men say that I am? Who do you say that I am is so
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important. You got to get it right.
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It's not about accumulation of all kinds of knowledge about who
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God is. It's about knowing him in a
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personal sense, knowing him for who he really is.
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Because if Jesus is truly the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of
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the living God, He is all He claims to be, then He is yave
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Rafa in my life and yave Yire in my life, and yave Hassinu in my
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life, and yave Sabayov in my life and yave Rafi in my life.
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That's who he is, and I live in accordance to that.
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But Israel haven't experienced all that God did.
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Through all the wilderness wanderings and all the
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supernatural dealings that God did with Israel, they still did
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not know Him. That's why Christ asked the
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question who the men say that I am?
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Because you see, when Christ came, what did He do?
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He healed everybody. He practically banished all
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disease from the land of Israel. Every person blind, healed,
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paralyzed, healed, can't walk, healed.
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You got an issue, you're dead. Raise them up.
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God did everything, and yet they still did not know Him well.
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Some say you're Jeremiah, some say you're Elijah, John the
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Baptist, one of the prophets. Everybody's saying you're great,
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but nobody's saying you're God. In spite of all the miracles, in
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spite of all the supernatural acts that he performed.
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Feeding the 5000, feeding the 4000, walking on water.
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They still did not know the identity of the Christ child.
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How sad is that? But that was always Israel's
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problem. They did not understand their
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God. And yet he revealed himself over
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and over and over again. And so he says, alas, verse 4A,
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sinful nation, people weighed down with iniquity, offspring of
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evildoers, sons who act corruptly.
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They have abandoned the Lord, they have despised the Holy One
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of Israel, they have turned away from Him.
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This is why they were going into bondage, yet it would be 100
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years away. And so the Lord God would say to
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Israel those very familiar words in verse 18, Come now and let us
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reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are a scarlet,
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they will be as white as snow. Though they be red like Crimson,
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they will be like wool. If you could send and obey, you
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will eat the best of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you
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will be devoured by the sword. Truly, the mouth of the Lord has
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spoken. God says, I want to heal you.
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Listen to what He says in Jeremiah 30 verse #17 for I will
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restore you to health, and I will heal you of your wounds.
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Those are not physical wounds. Those are spiritual wounds.
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Jeremiah 3 verse #22 return you backsliding children and I will
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heal you're backsliding. Isaiah 30 verse #26 I will heal
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the stroke of your wounds. Why?
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Because he's Jaffe Rafa the Lord, your healer.
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Remember on that day in Nazareth in Luke chapter 4 when Christ
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would read from Isaiah chapter 61, because that was the reading
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of the day, and every prophet or every rabbi who came would say
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one day this will be fulfilled. But on this day Jesus says this
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has been fulfilled in your hearing.
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He says the Spirit of the Lord is upon me.
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So He's saying that He is the Messiah.
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Isaiah 11 verse #2 Isaiah chapter 42 verse #1 Isaiah 61
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verse #1 It's all about the Spirit of the Lord being upon
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the Messiah. So he says the Spirit of the
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Lord is upon me because He anointed me to preach the gospel
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to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim
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release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind,
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to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the
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favorable year of the Lord. And they closed the book, gave
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it to the attendant, sat down, and the eyes of all in the
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synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them,
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Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.
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I am the one who has come to preach the gospel to the poor.
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I am the one who has come to proclaim release to the
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captives. I am the one who has come to
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provide sight for the blind. I am the one who has come to
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produce freedom to those who are oppressed.
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I am your healer. I am here.
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And when Christ came, remember everything that the Lord does in
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the physical realm is symbolic of what He does in the spiritual
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realm. Christ came to heal people that
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were that. That's what His credentials were
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all throughout the Old Testament.
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The Lord would come and do supernatural acts and He would
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heal those who were physically infirmed.
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Why? Because they would prove His
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messianic credentials, but He didn't come to heal them
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physically. He came to heal them
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spiritually, but they didn't want that.
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Remember in Matthew chapter 4, and we'll talk about this in the
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new year when we go to through Matthews 5-6 and seven, he, he
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heals everybody. All who are paralyzed, all who
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are diseased. He heals everybody.
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Throngs of people would follow him.
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Why? Because he's healing everybody.
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And so he sets him down on this mount called this sensational
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sermon by our Savior on the mount there on the northern
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slopes of the Sea of Galilee. He says, I want to give you true
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blessing. I know you think you're blessed
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because you're blind, but now you see.
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I know you think you're blessed because you were paralyzed, but
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now you're not. I know you think you're blessed
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because you were sick, but now you're well.
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But that's not true blessing, and it gives those great
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beatitudes. Blessed are the poor in spirit,
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for there's the Kingdom of heaven.
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Blessed are those who who mourn over their sins, for they and
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they only, they'll be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they
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will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and
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thirst for righteousness, for they will truly be satisfied.
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You see, you think you're satisfied because yesterday you
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were sick, but today you're better.
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Yesterday you were in bed, but now you're up.
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But I got news for you. You're still going to die.
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You might feel better today, but you're going to die tomorrow.
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Everybody's going to die. So you got to be spiritually
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made. Well, you have to be spiritually
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healed. And if not?
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Then you will die and live a Christ less eternity.
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How sad is that? And that's why in Luke's gospel,
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when John the Baptist said are you the expected 1, he said his
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disciples to ask him what did Christ do?
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He immediately healed everybody in the crowd.
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One fell swoop, boom, they're all healed.
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Now you go tell John what you just saw, because nobody but the
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Messiah can do that. You see Christ is Yahweh, Rafa
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the Lord your healer. So many times we we
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misunderstand the soul healing nature of our King.
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He's the only one who can free the captives.
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Every person born is born enslaved to Satan.
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Everybody. You're dead in your trespasses
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and sin. And so God grants man repentance
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that he might be freed from the the captivity of Satan sets the
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prisoner free, doesn't mean he goes to the jails and locks the
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doors. It means he goes and sets you
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free from Satan's oppression in your life and the captivity that
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Satan has on your soul. This tree, according to first
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Peter chapter 2 verse 24, Peter says this, He himself bore our
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sins in his body on the cross, literally on the tree.
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So we might die to sin and live to righteousness.
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For by his wounds you were healed.
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You healed spiritually. Yes, there will come a day where
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we are physically healed, we have glorified bodies, and we
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are perfectly healthy in eternity.
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That one day is going to come. That's the result of ultimate
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salvation. But in the meantime, we have
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been set free and healed in our souls so that we experience a
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true blessing of Yahweh Rafa, the God who heals.
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He gives us living water, waters that are fresh and clean and
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pure. In fact, listen to this the Book
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of Revelation chapter 22 verse #1 John says.
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Then he showed me a river of the water of life.
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Now my friends, you need to know there is no water in heaven.
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There is no more sea, there's no hydrological cycle, there's no
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rain. So what is the water of life?
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He says that he showed me a river of the water of life.
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What is that if there's no sea, if there's no rain, if there's
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no water in heaven, because there's no need to drink
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anything in a glorified state, what is the water of life?
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Chapter 22 verse #17 At the last invitation of our Lord, he says,
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the Spirit and the Bride say, Come, and let the one who hears
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come, and let the one who was thirsty come.
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Let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
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The water of life is the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Look at this, he says. They showed me a river of the
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water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God
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and of the Lamb. So whatever the water of life
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is, it's not the H2O like we know it.
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It's this salvation experience that comes and flows from the
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throne. It flows from God and the Lamb.
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And that's where salvation originates from.
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The God who is a God who delivers and rescues and saves.
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And it says in the middle of a street on either side of the
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river was the tree of life, the tree of life bearing twelve
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kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month.
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And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
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What is that? There's no injury in heaven.
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There's no illness in heaven. There's no sickness in heaven.
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Why do the nation's need to be healed?
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Think about it, The tree of life, there's all kinds of fruit
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every month. There is no time in heaven.
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There's no clock in heaven. There's no calendar in heaven.
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What do you mean it bears fruit every month?
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It talks about the unending succession of the variety of
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enrichment that God gives to His people who have drank from the
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water of life because it provides healing therapia.
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Get our English word therapeutic.
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It's like taking vitamins. Vitamins don't heal you, but
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they keep you fresh and lively. You don't eat because you need
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to eat. You eat because of the enjoyment
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of the enrichment that God gives.
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It provides healing nourishment, life giving tree that provides
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health giving life forever. So the psalmist says these
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words, Psalm 124, verse #8 Our help is in the name of the Lord
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who made heaven and earth. Where does my help come from?
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From the name, the character, the attribute of the Lord.
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So the psalmist says in Psalm 147 verse #3 he heals the broken
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hearted and binds all their wounds.
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That's Yahweh. Rafa, listen to this Isaiah 12.
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God says, you will say on that day I will give thanks to you, O
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Lord, for all. Though you were angry with me,
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your anger is turned away and you comfort me.
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Build. God is my salvation.
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I will trust and not be afraid for the Lord.
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God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.
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Therefore you will joylessly draw water from the springs of
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salvation, and in that day you will say, give thanks to the
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Lord and call on His name. Make known as deeds among the
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peoples. Make them remember that His name
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is exalted. What name?
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Yave Rafa. Yave Rohi, Yave Sabayath, Yave
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Yuray, all those titles, all those descriptions make the name
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of the Lord. We haven't even covered Yave
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Mekadiskam, which is the Lord your sanctifier, or Yave
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Sidkanu, which is the Lord your righteousness, or Yahweh Shema,
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which speaks of the Lord who is there because he never leaves.
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The unending study of the person of praise goes on and on and on.
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We can never exhaust it. And my prayer for you is that
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you will be able to journey with joy the pathway of praise
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because you understand the person of praise.
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Let's pray. Father, we thank you for today
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and the opportunity you give us to spend time in Your Word.
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So much to cover and so little time to do it, yet we are
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blessed because of who You are. I pray that everyone in the room
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would know Christ as Lord and Savior.
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They would know you as their Deliverer.
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They would be able to answer effectively.
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Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, and live
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accordingly. So Lord, as we depart this day,
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go before us and may we journey with joy the pathway you've
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called us to live, the pathway of praise in Jesus name, Amen.