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The Model Life: Adoration, Part 8 · CCC West Covina

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I don't know about you, but I love this time of year.
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Yesterday and the day before, when I was dragging all of my
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Christmas trees out of my garage and setting them up in my house,
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all 12 of them, and I still have a few more to go.
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I was thinking about the Christmas narrative.
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You know, whenever the weather turns and it gets a little
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cloudy and a little cool, the trees got to go up.
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And so in my house, they're, they're up.
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And in the morning when I get up at 4:30, I go out there to all
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my lights on. It's just me and the Lord and my
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lights. And it's a great opportunity for
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me to commune with him and to read the word of God and to
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really understand the beauty of the incarnation of Christ, God
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becoming man. And I was thinking about the
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Christmas narrative because we're studying the life of
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adoration in the First Thessalonians, chapter 5,
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because that's the model life, the life that adores God.
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And there's no better classic illustration of adoration than
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the Christmas narrative because adoration begins with with
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recognition, a recognition of who God is.
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So the Angel said, do not be afraid, for we bring you good
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news of great joy. For unto you this day in the
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city of David there's been born a Savior, who is Christ the
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Lord. That begins the the adoration of
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Christmas time, a recognition that the Christ child has come,
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the Savior has come, the Lord is among us, a fulfillment of
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Isaiah's prophecy. True adoration always begins
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with a recognition of who God is, and that recognition then
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leads to what I think is the greatest of all words and
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excitation to be with Him. Once the shepherd's heard the
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word that was given to them, the Bible says they went in haste to
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see all that the angels had said.
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I don't know how shepherds move in the haste with all of their
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sheep. I don't know if they left their
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sheep under the care of someone else.
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I don't know. All I know is that they could
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not wait to see what the angels had said to them, that there was
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this excitation to be with the Christ child.
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All true adorers of God can't wait to be with God.
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That's characteristic of everybody in the Scriptures.
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That's what a psalmist said. I was glad when they said to me,
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let us go to the House of the Lord.
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Why? Because there's one thing I
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desire, just one that I may, may dwell in the House of the Lord
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and behold his beauty. So all those who adore God,
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there's first of all a recognition of who he is.
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And there's then there's an excitation to be with him.
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That excitation to be with him leads to a proclamation about
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him. Because the shepherds then began
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to tell Mary and Joseph and all who would hear everything that
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they had heard and seen, they they could not wait to proclaim
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the good news. So those who adore their God not
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only recognize who he is and not only are excited to be with him,
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that they want to proclaim him to others.
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So there's a, a recognition of who he is.
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There's an excitation to, to be with him.
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There was a proclamation about him, and then all those who
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adore their God will always be characterized by a meditation
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upon Him. And that's when Mary would
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ponder all these things in her heart.
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You imagine being 13 or 14 years of age, just having given birth
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to the Christ child and all that that was involved in their lives
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with Mary and Joseph and how there was no room in the end.
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And the shepherd's come and proclaim to them all that the
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angels had said. The overwhelming sense of all in
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the life of Mary. She would ponder all these
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things in her heart because those who adore their God,
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there's always a a meditation upon him.
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Once there's a meditation upon him, there was always a
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satisfaction with him. That's where Simeon comes in, in
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the Christmas narrative, because he was told by the Lord that he
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would not die until he saw the Lord's Messiah, the Lord's
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Christ. And when he finally holds the
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Christ child in his arms, he said, now I can die.
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I've lived to see what I've longed to see, and now I can die
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because the light of revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of
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our people, Israel, has arrived. And there was this great longing
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and satisfaction in the life of Simeon that led him to that
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great and glorious day where he helped the Christ child.
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Because all those who adore their king are satisfied with
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their king. So there's a recognition of him.
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There is an excitation to be with him.
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There is a proclamation about him.
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There was a meditation upon him, there's a satisfaction with him,
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and there's always then a presentation to him.
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That's where the magi come in. In the Christmas narrative, when
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they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, they
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bowed before him and presented him gifts.
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Because those who adore their God can't wait to present to him
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the best of what they have. And there's a presentation to
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him. And then of course, lastly,
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there is a celebration of him. A celebration of him.
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And the whole Christmas narrative is about the
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celebration of the coming of the King, as spoken of in Mary's
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song and in Zacharias's song there, there was great joy.
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And that celebration is is characterized by three specific
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attitudes. And Paul gives us those
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attitudes in First Thessalonians 5, and they're in the Christmas
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narrative. They're joyful, they're
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prayerful, and they're thankful. When you look at Mary and
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Zacharias's song, it's all about the joy that comes, the great
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Thanksgiving that comes because the Messiah has arrived.
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But remember in the Christmas narrative there is there was
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Anna who was the widow for 84 years and the Bible tells us
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that she did not cease to serve and to pray night and day in the
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temple. She was prayerful.
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So when Paul comes along and says in First Thessalonians
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chapter 5, this is the life of those who adore God, they
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rejoice always, they're joyful, they pray without ceasing.
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They they are prayerful and they give thanks in everything they
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are thankful for. This is the will of God in
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Christ Jesus concerning you. This is the, the celebratory
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nature of those who adore God. But yet there's also things that
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those who adore God, they do not do, and that's in verse #19
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they, they do not quench the spirit, they do not stifle the
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spirit, they do not suffocate the spirit for a variety of
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reasons. They, they want to make sure the
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spirits work flows in and through them.
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They do not quench the spirit. That was last week's sermon.
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And they also do not despise prophetic utterances.
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That's verse #20 of First Thessalonians 5.
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They do not despise prophetic utterances.
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They do not look down upon, They do not disregard, they do not
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disesteem, they do not disrespect the revelation of the
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living God. Those who adore God don't do
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that. They don't want to do that.
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They don't want to devalue that which is absolutely valuable.
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That's why the Lord said man shall not live by bread alone,
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but by every word that proceeds for the mouth of God.
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That's the value of the truth of God's word.
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That's the value of His revelation.
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That's why you treasure God's word in your heart, that you
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might not sin against him, because you value the word of
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God, the revelation of God, the revelation of God spoken, and
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the revelation of God written, because you know that every word
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of God is breathed into existence by Him.
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Second Thessalonians, Second Timothy 316 And that word that's
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God breathed is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
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correction, for instruction and righteousness, so that the man
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of God will be thoroughly equipped, thoroughly finished,
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furnished to do all that will make him complete and perfect.
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You value the treasure of the Word of God.
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That's why Paul said in Acts chapter 20 verse #32 to the
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Ephesians elders, I commend you to God in the word of His grace,
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which is able to build you up. I'm going to leave, but I
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commend you to the word of God's grace because that's what you
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need to build you up every single day.
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The Thessalonians put out the welcome mat. 1st Thessalonians
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213 They welcomed the revelation of God, the truth of God's holy
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word. And Paul says, whatever you do,
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those who adore God, they do not despise, disregard, devalued,
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disrespect, think light of the revelation of God's holy Word.
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Paul would say in in Second Timothy chapter 4, these words
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to Timothy, I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and
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of Christ Jesus, who is the judge, the living of the dead,
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and by his appearing in his Kingdom.
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Preach the word. Be ready in season and out of
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season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with great patience and
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instruction. For the time will come when they
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will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears
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tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in
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accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears
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from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
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But you, Timothy, be sober and all things endure hardship.
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Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry whenever,
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whenever. 1 rejects the revelation of God.
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There is always a suffocation of the Spirit of God.
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But Paul is concerned that that those in Thessalonica always
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truly value that which is true and that is the word of God.
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But we live in a day and age where where people want to They
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want to hear stories about life, but they don't want to hear the
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scripture that gives life. We live in a day where where
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people want to hear social issues addressed instead of
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sound doctrine applied. We live in a day where where
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people want to hear words of comfort, not words of
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conviction. We live in a day where people
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want their ears to be tickled instead of their body to be
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tackled by the truth of the living God.
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And that's unfortunate because whether you know it or not,
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there are people all around us, in churches across the world
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that despise the revelation of God.
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And you know what? Unfortunately, there are times
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in which all of us do, and so I want to show you how that
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happens so that we don't do that.
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Remember Esau back in the book of Genesis, Genesis chapter 25,
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verse #34 it says that Esau despised his birthright.
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Esau despised his birthright. He considered his birthright of
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the covenant blessings of God as less important than his fleshly
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desires. Esau in Genesis chapter 25 would
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sell his birthright to satisfy his belly.
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He despised the word of the Lord, and he saw.
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And all of his descendants represent all those who have
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decided that the world has more to offer than the word of God
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has to offer. It's no wonder that God said,
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Jacob I have loved, and Esau I have hated.
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Why? Because he despised the Word and
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desired the world more than the revelation that God had given to
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him concerning his covenant birthright.
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But he is just one of many examples in the Bible.
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The Bible says in Proverbs chapter 1, These words Proverbs
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chapter one verse #7 Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
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Wisdom is the the application of truth and knowledge is the
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verification of truth. And therefore fools despise the
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truth of God, because it gives wisdom and knowledge.
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Proverbs 1/22 it says fools hate knowledge.
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And then over in Proverbs chapter 23 verse #9 it says, do
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not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the
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wisdom of your words. And then over in chapter 19 of
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the book of Proverbs, the third verse, it says the foolishness
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of a man ruins his way and his heart rages against the Lord.
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Those who despise the the words of knowledge and wisdom and
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understanding are those whose hearts Rage Against the Lord.
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In fact, if you go back to the book of Numbers, the book of
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Numbers, the 15th chapter, listen to what God says.
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He says the person who does not, who does anything defiantly.
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This is Exodus 15 verse #30 the person who does anything
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defiantly, whether he is a native or an alien, that one is
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blaspheming the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from
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among his people. Why?
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Because he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken his
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commandment. That person shall be completely
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cut off. His guilt will be on him.
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God is serious about how we take his word.
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God demands and God deserves that we keep his commandments,
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that we do what his word says that that's why over in in
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Matthew Chapter 7, as the Lord would conclude His Sermon on the
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Mount by talking about what it means to to get into the Kingdom
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and to live like a child in that Kingdom, He concluded with these
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words. Therefore, everyone who hears
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these words of mine and acts on them may be compared to a wise
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man who built his house on the rock.
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The rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and
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slammed against that house, and yet it did not fall, for it had
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been founded on the rock. The rock is the truth of Christ.
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Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act upon
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them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
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The rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and
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slammed against that house, and it fell, and great was its fall.
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See, the foolish man despises wisdom, he despises knowledge,
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he despises understanding, he despises instruction.
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And Christ says that man is the foolish man.
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He builds his house upon the sand.
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There's no foundation there. There's no, there's no solid
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rock that's there. But the one who hears my word
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and acts upon them, that's the wise man.
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That man builds his house upon a firm foundation.
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And when storms come, when the winds blow, when the rains
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descend upon it, it does not move.
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It's immovable. Why?
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Because he heard the word of God, he acted upon the word of
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God. He did not despise that word.
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He did not reject that word. He did not devalue that word.
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Instead he valued it, accepted it, believed it.
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That man stood with foolish man was unable to stand because he
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despised and rejected the revelation that God had given.
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Now you're sitting there thinking, probably when you
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know, I don't do that. I don't despise the word of God,
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I don't reject the truth of God. I don't live obstinately against
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the statutes, the commands of God.
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I don't do that. I don't despise prophetic
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utterances. So let me give you an example, a
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biblical illustration of how it comes about in our lives.
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And for the most part, we don't even understand it.
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We didn't even know what's happening, but it happens.
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So the Bible gives us illustrations, it gives us
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examples. These things are written for our
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instruction. Romans 15 says that we might
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understand and have encouragement and have hope that
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we might persevere. So the the Old Testament is
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filled with instruction. So let me give you a very common
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illustration. You're going to know it very
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well, but you're going to not not going to know how it comes
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about unless you know what leads up to the person's rejecting the
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word of the Lord. And this is probably the most
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godly man in the Old Testament, and yet he would despise the
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revelation of God. It's found in the book of Second
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Samuel, the 11th chapter. Let me read it to you.
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Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to
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battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all
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Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged
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Rabbah, but David stayed at Jerusalem.
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Now when evening came, David arose from his bed and walked
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around on the roof of the King's house, and from the roof he saw
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a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful in
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appearance. So David sent and inquired about
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the woman, and one said, is this not Bathsheba the daughter of
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Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
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David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him he
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lay with her, and when she had purified herself from her
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uncleanness, she returned to her house.
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The woman conceived and she sent and told David and said, I am
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pregnant now. We'll stop right there because
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you know the story. At least you should know the
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story. But you need to understand what
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led up to everything in David's life.
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And it begins with laziness. You want to begin to reject the
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revelation of God. It begins with the laziness, and
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laziness always leads to idleness.
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At the time when kings go out to war, the Bible says David the
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king did not go to war. But why not David?
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David was a warrior. He couldn't build a temple
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because he was a man of bloodshed.
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God said he was Israel's great warrior king.
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But when kings go out to war, David decided to stay back, not
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fulfill his responsibility as king.
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David became lazy, and laziness always leads to idleness.
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You don't do anything. So he began to wander around his
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palace, and as he wandered around his palace in idleness
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because of his laziness, it led to mindlessness.
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Always happens this way. Elates to mindlessness.
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Now what evening came? David arose from his bed, walked
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around the roof, couldn't sleep. But when you don't fulfill your
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responsibility, you probably can't sleep.
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David had maybe insomnia, I don't know.
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But instead of engaging in prayer, because prayerlessness
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is always a issue, he engaged in mindlessness and wandered around
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his his palace on the roof, and from the roof he saw a woman
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bathing. Laziness always leads to
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idleness, idleness always leads to mindlessness, and
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mindlessness always leads to carelessness.
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Carelessness. He sees a woman bathing, and
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that carelessness led to lustfulness, says.
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And the woman was very beautiful in appearance.
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How does 1 become lustful? Because he's lazy,
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irresponsible, not fulfilling the duty that God had given to
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him, and laziness will lead to idleness.
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What do I do now that leads to mindlessness, leads to
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carelessness, and then it leads to lustfulness, and that
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lustfulness leads always to foolishness says so.
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David sent and inquired about the woman.
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That's just foolish. David, you're married.
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You have wives, plural. This is just foolishness.
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And someone said, is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of
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Eliam, the wife of Uriah? Foolishness stemming from
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lustfulness always leads to covetousness, wanting that which
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is not yours, wanting your your neighbor's wife.
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Is this not the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
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Is she not married David? Do you see the downward spiral
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that David finds himself in because he was irresponsible to
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begin with? That laziness, that idleness,
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that carelessness, that that mindlessness, that lustfulness,
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that foolishness led to covetousness.
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You wanted a woman that was not his.
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David sent messengers and took her.
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Covetous always leads to stubbornness, Just complete
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stubbornness. I don't want her anyway.
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I'm taking her. I'm the king.
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I can have her. I deserve her stubbornness on
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the part of Israel's greatest king, Israel's godliest king.
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That stubbornness led to the next step, which was
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fearlessness. For it says David sent
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messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay
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with her. No Fear, No Fear whatsoever, No
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Fear of the consequences, No Fear of the violation of God.
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He has gone down this spiral so far.
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That God is not even a thought in His mind led to fearlessness,
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and that fearlessness led to lawlessness to live as if there
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was no law. He committed adultery.
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He slept with another man's wife.
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That lawlessness from fearlessness and stubbornness
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and covetousness led to shamelessness.
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Shamelessness. When she had purified herself
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from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.
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No big deal. Just a night of frolicking in
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the sheets. Shamelessness.
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Just get up, cleanse yourself, and move on as if nothing ever
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happened. That shamelessness LED to the
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relentless passion of unrighteousness.
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Why the woman conceived. She sent and told David and
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said, I am pregnant. In this relentless passion of
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unrighteousness would be the continued spiral of David's
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life, leading him further and further away from his God into
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sin by trying to figure out how to manipulate Uriah, how to
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deceive Uriah, how to ultimately kill Uriah so they could have
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Bathsheba for himself. This is the king of Israel, this
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is David. So God sends the prophet Nathan
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to David and Nathan gives a parable about a very rich man
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who had tons of sheep, whole flock, and a poor man who had
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one little you lamb who he loved, cherished and adored.
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A traveller came to the rich man and said, hey, I, I need one of
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your when you're lambs. And so instead of taking one of
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his own, he takes the poor man's only lamb and gives it to the
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traveller. And Nathan, the prophet of God,
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gives this parable to David. And David is incensed.
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He's angry. In fact, he says his anger
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burned greatly. Verse #5 of chapter 12, instead
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of Nathan as the Lord live, surely the man who has done this
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deserves to die. He must make restitution for the
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Lamb fourfold because he did this thing and had no
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compassion. And Nathan said to David, David,
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you're the man. You're that man.
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David, you're the man who had everything, all you could ever
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dream of. You had it all, and you took one
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man's prized possession. So Nathan said, Thus says the
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Lord God of Israel, listen carefully.
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It is I who anointed you king over Israel.
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David, you're king because I anointed you.
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God says you're only the king because of me, David, not
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because you, you killed Goliath, not because people saying your
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praise. You're king over Israel because
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of me, and this I who delivered you from the hand of Saul as
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many times as Saul tried to kill you, you thought you escaped by
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your own creativity and your own warrior like skills.
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But you know what? You didn't escape because of
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that. You escaped because of me.
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I allowed you to escape David. It was me who protected you.
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I also gave you your master's house and your master's wives
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into your care. I gave you everything.
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I gave you the House of Israel and Judah.
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And if that had been too little, I would have added to you many
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more things like these. And as if this wasn't enough, I
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gave you power over Judah, power over Israel.
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I gave you all the possessions you could ever imagine.
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I gave you prestige. I gave you the Kingdom.
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I protected you. I gave you everything.
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And you know what? I would have given you more,
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more. Now listen carefully, verse 9.
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So why have you, David king of Israel, despised the word of the
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Lord? It's no wonder Paul says do not
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despise the revelation of God. Don't do that.
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Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His
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sight? You have struck down your riot.
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The Hittite with the sword have taken his wife to be your wife,
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and have killed him and the sword of the sons of Ammon.
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Now, therefore the sword shall never depart from your house,
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because you have despised me. You cannot despise prophetic
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utterances without despising the God who gave the revelation.
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When you despise His Word, you despise the God of the Word.
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When you despise the inspired Word, you despised the Incarnate
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Word. You cannot separate the 2.
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You've despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the
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Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the Lord, Behold, I
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will raise up evil against you from your own household.
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I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them
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to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad
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daylight. Indeed, you did it secretly, but
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I will do this thing before all Israel and under the sun, that
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little phrase. Thus says the Lord, Behold, I
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will raise up evil against you from your own household.
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Do you know that so many times as husbands, as fathers, because
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we have despised and rejected and disregarded the word of the
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Lord, there is an evil that rises up in our own homes that's
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a consequence of rejecting the word of God.
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And it did for David. David experienced death,
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defiance, defilement. He experienced complete and
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utter disclosure of all of his sins and dishonor.
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He says to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord.
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And Nathan said to David, the Lord has taken away your sin,
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you shall not die. The consequences of adultery's
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death Consequences of sin The way to sin is death.
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But the Lord has taken away your sin.
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You will not die. However, there's always the
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However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the
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enemies of the Lord, to blasphemy, the child also that
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is born to you shall surely die. You've given the enemies of the
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Lord occasion to blasphemy the name of God, because you
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disregarded, you despised the word of the Lord, which says you
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shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not
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lie, you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, you shall have
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no other gods before me. You should worship me and me
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only. David broke 9 out of 10
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commandments in one act with Bathsheba.
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God says you despise my word, you rejected my word.
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So when Paul says this, the First Thessalonians chapter 5,
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and we think that we're the we're the ones who do not
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disregard or look down upon or treat lightly the revelation of
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God. We need to think again and ask
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ourselves where have I, where have I took the word of the Lord
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lightly and not treated it with value and respect and dignity
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and honor. I could in there, but I'm not
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listen to Isaiah chapter 5 which says Therefore, as a tongue of
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fire consumes stubble, and dry grass collapses into the flame,
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so their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away
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as dust. For they have rejected the law
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of the Lord of hosts and despise the word of the Holy One of
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Israel. Isaiah's prophesying 100 years
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before captivity and tells them from the outset you have
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despised the Holy One of Israel because you have rejected his
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word. And when you turn over to the
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30th chapter of Isaiah, listen to what God says.
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Woe to the rebellious children, declares the Lord, who execute a
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plan but not mine, and make an alliance but not of my spirit,
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in order to add sin to sin. Have you ever executed a plan
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that wasn't God's plan? Have you ever made-up your mind
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to do something no matter what God says?
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This is Israel. You made a plan.
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And what was your plan? Their plan was to go down to
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Egypt. Assyria was coming, the great
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army, the greatest Syrian Army. And so they would flee to Egypt
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to gain wisdom and understanding and to gain an alliance.
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And Egypt in the Bible always represents the world.
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And God is condemning Israel, His people, because they decided
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to trust an alliance with the world instead of the authority
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of His Word. That's what Israel did over in
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chapter 31 verse #1 it says woe to those who go down to Egypt
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for help, cursed to be anybody who goes to the world for help
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and rely on horses and trust in Chariots because they are many
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and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they do not
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look to the Holy One of Israel nor seek the Lord.
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So often we we depend upon human resources for our strength, but
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don't trust in the Lord. And God says curse it.
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Are those who do that. Shame on those who do that.
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Verse 2, it says of chapter 30, you proceed down to Egypt
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without consulting me. You ever done something without
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consulting the Lord? Maybe the second service people
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do, but not first service people, right to take refuge in
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the safety of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of
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Egypt. You're seeking shelter in a
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shadow. Shadow has no substance.
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You're trying to seek shelter from that which has absolutely
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no quality of substance whatsoever to shadow, can't
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protect you, can't watch over you.
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The problem is you think it can. Therefore, the safety of Pharaoh
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will be your shame in the shelter, in the shadow of Egypt,
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your humiliation. You will be absolutely
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humiliated because Egypt and Pharaoh cannot do anything.
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The world cannot save you. The world cannot protect you.
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It cannot. For six, the Oracle concerning
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the beasts of the Negev through a land of distress and anguish,
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from where come lioness and lion and Viper and flying serpent.
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They carry their riches on their backs of their donkeys and their
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treasures on camels humps to a people who cannot profit them.
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Even Egypt, whose help is vain and empty, there's just nothing
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there. You're you're about to embark on
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the dangerous desert, you're filled with lions and fiery
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serpents. You're going to be filled with
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anguish and distress. Because when you decide to make
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a plan without consulting God, there is nothing but anxiety,
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There's nothing but worry, there's nothing but problems,
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there's nothing but distress, there's nothing but turmoil.
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God tells them in advance, so he says in verse #8 now go write it
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on a tablet before them, and describe it on a scroll, that it
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may serve in the time to come as a witness forever.
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Isaiah, write it down, put it in stone.
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Everybody needs to read this and understand this.
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It's a witness forever. Please write it down because
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everybody needs to know verse 9, that this is a rebellious
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people, false sons, sons who refuse to listen to the
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instruction of the Lord, who say to the seers you must not see
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visions and to the prophets you must not prophesied.
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To us what is right, speak to us pleasant words, prophecy,
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illusions. Get out of the way.
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Turn aside from the path. Let us hear no more about the
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Holy One of Israel. We don't want to hear about
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holiness. We don't want to hear about
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justice and righteousness. Just tell us things that aren't
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true. Tell us things that aren't
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right. Just tickle our ears, tell us
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things that won't bring conviction to our lives.
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We don't need to hear all that people who say that are in their
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rebellious state. That's why they don't want to be
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convicted by the word of the Lord.
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Here's the clincher verse. Well therefore, thus says the
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Holy One of Israel, since you have despised the Word and have
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put your trust in oppression and guile, and if you lied upon
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them, therefore the iniquity, this iniquity will be to you
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like a breech about to fall, a bulge and a high wall whose
45:10
collapse comes suddenly in an instant.
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You will be broken in a moment of time.
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Because you despised the revelation of God, the Word of
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the Lord, you've disregarded it, you've devalued it, you've dis
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esteemed it. You, you have looked at the word
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of the Lord as as nothing. It means nothing.
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You think you won't experience the consequences of rebellion.
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You think you won't experience the consequences of sin.
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But you have turned against Me, and you have not regarded my
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word as holy. And you don't want to hear from
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me, the Holy One of Israel, any longer.
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You have despised my word. You have despised me.
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Verse 14, whose collapse is like the smashing of a Potter's jar,
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so ruthlessly shattered that assured will not be found among
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its pieces to take fire from a hearth or to scoop water from a
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system. In other words, there will be no
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redeeming value in what is left of you because you despise my
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word. Verse 15 here's hope for thus
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the Lord God the Holy One of Israel said in repentance and
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then rest. You will be saved in quietness,
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and trust is your strength. But you were unwilling.
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The hope is given. Repentance, rest, reliance,
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returning to me. Come back to me.
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Trust me, believe in me, hope in me.
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But you would not. You weren't willing and you said
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no, no, for we will flee on horses.
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It's no problem. We can run away from the
47:37
Assyrians. We'll flee on horses.
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The Lord says therefore you shall flee, and we will ride on
47:45
swift horses. And the Lord says, therefore
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those who pursue you shall be swifter.
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You think you can run from your enemy?
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You think that you can take care of yourself without me.
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You think that you can flee from your enemy without them catching
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you? No way.
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Think again. You got it wrong.
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As fast as your horses are, theirs are faster.
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As smart as you are, they are smarter.
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You need me, but you are unwilling. 1000 will flee at the
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threat of one man. You will flee at the threat of
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five until you are left as a flag on a mountaintop and as a
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signal on a hill. In ancient times, they they
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would communicate by putting flags on hills so people would
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know the condition and situations that people are
48:38
facing. And so he's saying you will be
48:40
like a flag on a hill. Everybody will know of your
48:43
condition, that you were defeated, that you could not
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stand, that you are unable to conquer the enemy.
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It will be known by everybody who sees the flag on the hill.
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There's hope though. Verse 18.
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Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore
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He waits on high to have compassion on you.
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For the Lord is a God of justice, and how blessed are all
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those who long for him. There's always hope.
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God is such a a graceful, merciful God.
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He there's always hope. Just just return to me.
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Oh, I long to be gracious to you.
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I long to have compassion on this is what the Lord wants to
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do. You see, it's, it's not him.
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It's us and our sinfulness, our rebellion and our turning away
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from the law of the Lord and see, it doesn't mean that much.
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No big deal. God's not that serious about it
49:45
anyway. He'll let it slide.
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He's a loving, graceful God. He is.
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But he's also God of wrath and God of justice and the God of
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holiness who wants his people to be holy.
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So Paul comes along in this long list of adoration and says those
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who adore their God will not disregard, disrespect, despise
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disesteem, treat lightly as if it doesn't matter.
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The revelation of God, it won't do that.
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And yet so many times we find ourselves in that situation.
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And when you do, guess what the God says in quietness and rest
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will be your strength. I long to have compassion upon
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you. Just return to me.
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Just come back to me. It's all He says.
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You come back to me and you long for me.
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Everything will be forgiven and we can move on.
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I don't know where you're at today.
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I don't know if you have disregarded and despised the
51:10
word of the Lord. I have no idea, only the Lord
51:12
knows. But there was always hope for
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those who do. Because you see, those who love
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the Lord, they, they don't despise His Word, they, they
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desire His word and they delight in His word.
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And that's where God wants you to be.
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And my prayer for us as a church is that that would be
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characterized by each and every one of us who are here, that we
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would not leave today without a supreme desire to delight in the
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truth of God's Word and make a commitment.
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Lord, I do not want to despise the revelation that you've given
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to me because it reveals everything I need to know about
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who you are and what you did. And because of all that, Lord, I
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want to adore you as my God. Let's pray.
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Lord, God, we thank you for today.
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We are so grateful for the word of the Lord.
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Forgive us, Lord, for not treating it as we should,
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because in despising the Word we despise the Holy One of Israel.
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So our prayer, Father, is that we would be the kind of people
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that truly long to live for the glory of their king.
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Lord, help no one to leave today without understanding that You
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long to be gracious to them. You long to show compassion upon
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them if they would be willing to come to you and to repent and to
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rest and to rely on you alone for everything.
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That's the way you work, Lord, and you are a great God and we
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thank you for that. So move us in that direction,
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Lord, that we might honor you and never dishonor the name of
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our God. We pray in Jesus name, Amen.