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Joseph and His 4 Dreams | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Christmas Service) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  As you and I know, this Christmas story is centered on
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  the prophetically predicted, highly anticipated, unmatched
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  birth miracle of humanity's saviour.
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  The entrance of Jesus Christ into the world is the pinnacle.
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  It's the point. It's the reason.
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  And although that is in fact unmatched moment in human
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  history, there are many supernatural events that
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  surround it. And I think about it, think
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  about all the other miracles before and after that moment.
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  As our brother said, that split time into two.
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  They think about the angelic visitation with the shepherds on
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  the field. They think about even Simeon at
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  the temple, who was led by the Holy Spirit to see the Savior as
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  a babe. What about Mary visiting
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  Elizabeth and her womb, leaping as a result of the Holy Spirit
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  moving in that womb? And there's so many other
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  instances, I'm sure, that you can recall and testify of in the
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  word of God. But I want to bring to our
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  attention today a particular miracle that occurred with an
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  interesting man. This man was from the house and
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  lineage of David. This man would be chosen by God
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  to be the legal guardian and father of the Lord Jesus Christ,
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  Joseph. There isn't very much mention
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  about Joseph in the word of God. But with the very little that is
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  given to us in the record of the Bible, it's interesting how
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  Matthew specifically highlights his experience with the
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  miraculous by way of dreams. I mean, he he, he just appears
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  there in Matthew and in Luke, and shortly after he's withdrawn
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  from these accounts. But with what we have, we
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  noticed that God not only chosen but directed him in a very
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  profound way. Joseph did not just have one
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  dream. Does anybody know the total
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  amount of dreams that Joseph had?
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  You can say it out loud if you know the answer.
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  Not 3-4. Matthew tells us a total of four
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  dreams that Joseph had, and though these are unique
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  instances, though they are separate occurrences, they do
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  share 2 main things. All these dreams have these
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  commonalities. First, all these dreams were
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  purposed to redirect Joseph in a way so that ancient prophecy
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  would be fulfilled. And so with every section where
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  these dreams are mentioned, you will read something along the
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  lines of at the end. This was to fulfill what the
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  Lord had spoken by the prophet, or what was spoken by the
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  prophets, followed by a reference, a direct quotation to
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  that prophecy or general paraphrase.
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  But it's not just to redirect Joseph in order to be positioned
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  for prophecy to be known. The second thing that all of
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  these dreams have in common is that they were calls to
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  obedience. They were not merely
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  revelations. They were practical calls to
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  trust God, submit to his wishes, and to comply merely because he
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  is God and Joseph and also we are his servants.
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  And what's so fascinating about looking at these moments is it's
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  not just seeing God fulfill His word, words that he has spoken
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  hundreds of years before. This time, what's also so
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  exhilarating is seeing Joseph's unreserved and immediate
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  obedience to the Word of God. You know, you look at this man
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  again and you see, as I mentioned earlier, that there is
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  not much written about him. But based on what you and I will
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  hear today, you will recognize this person.
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  Whenever he learned what God desired of him, did not fail to
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  fulfill it. In fact, what's so interesting
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  about Joseph is that you don't have one recorded word that came
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  from in the Bible. Joseph never said one thing, not
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  that he couldn't speak, but that the Holy Spirit has never kept
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  for us any utterance that Joseph has made.
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  He's the silent servant. And what's so great about that
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  is his actions spoke more than anything else.
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  And so whenever an Angel did visit him in a dream and gave
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  him instructions, Joseph never debated, he never challenged, he
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  never questioned, he never doubted whatever was told to
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  him. He responded with obedience,
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  with absolute and total trust. That moves me, That moves me to
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  see a man who says so much about his character, not with what he
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  says, but what what he does. And so there are two main
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  approaches that you can take with these passages.
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  You and I today can examine further the prophecies that are
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  connected to these four dreams. Or we can look at 4 insights
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  about obedience for insights about obedience from a man who
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  Matthew says in chapter one verse 19 was just or in another
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  translation righteous. And we will consider the latter
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  today. I'm speaking today to born again
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  believers. I'm speaking today to those who
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  have already responded to the Christmas message, the gospel of
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  Jesus Christ. I'm speaking to those who know
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  that everything we hear in terms of instructions or commands is
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  from the foundation of grace. I have been made righteous.
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  I have been saved by His mercy. I don't do anything to earn my
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  eternal life. I don't do anything to earn and
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  secure a right standing with God.
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  But from there, not only do we have that guarantee, but we have
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  a new set of desires. And one of those desires is I
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  long to please my master. I long to serve him.
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  I long to play any part in advancing his purposes on the
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  earth, and I want to encourage you today, even as we prepare to
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  enter into a new year, to consider 4 insights into God
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  pleasing obedience that will in fact advance His purpose for you
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  in your life and through your life.
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  And they are found in each of these dreams.
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  And so let's consider the first dream together and see what we
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  can learn about obedience from there.
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  Turn with me to Matthew chapter one and verse 20.
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  Matthew one verse 20. But as he considered these
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  things, behold, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.
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  Pause. This is not the Angel of the
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  Lord who's the Angel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  This is an Angel of the Lord. Behold, an Angel of the Lord
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  appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, Do
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  not fear to take Mary as your wife for that which is
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  conceived, and hers from the Holy Spirit.
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  She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for
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  he will save his people from their sins.
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  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the
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  prophet. Behold, the virgin shall
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  conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name
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  Emmanuel. The first lesson that you and I
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  can gather from this initial dream is about overcoming fear
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  and obedience. Sometimes obeying God is scary.
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  It is intimidating. You can sense the cost and the
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  price of it before you even move in that act of obedience.
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  And we see that truth based on what the Angel says to Joseph as
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  he is asleep, he was told do not fear, don't fear what?
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  Do not fear to take Mary as your wife.
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  Now, why would Joseph be afraid to do that?
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  As you remember, Mary has already conceived.
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  There's already evidence that she's with child.
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  And from a human standpoint, to interpret that is a mystery.
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  And the most logical explanation, again from a human
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  standpoint is, well, if this didn't happen with your husband
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  and this, this is infidelity, this is unfaithfulness, this is
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  immoral. And so there's a questionable
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  thing concerning Mary's character here, and even Joseph
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  himself, as Justin, as righteous as he was, came to an
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  unfavorable conclusion. Because before this, we read
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  that he had resolved to divorce her quietly.
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  He didn't want to create a scandal.
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  But he also said, I can't make sense of this.
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  How can I marry somebody with this going on?
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  I'm going to go my separate ways.
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  And as he pondered these things, an Angel came.
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  The Lord sent a messenger to halt him and to encourage him.
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  Joseph, don't fear. As you're thinking back and
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  forth about this, I want you to have confidence that you can
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  indeed have Mary as your wife. And then He gives a very brief
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  explanation why. But can you put yourself in his
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  shoes for a moment leading up to this?
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  How? How?
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  How can I explain the birth of this child?
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  How can we explain this to people and have them even
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  believe it? What will happen to Mary down
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  the road as more and more people understand and learn of the
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  background of this child? What will become of my
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  reputation as I marry somebody who will be deemed by many as a
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  potential adulteress? Will people think that I don't
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  value character? Will people think that I was
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  somehow coerced? What's going to happen to my
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  business? Oh man, I might lose customers
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  because of this. And though we do not know the
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  essence of Joseph's fears, we know that God challenged him to
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  not allow any worry or speculation to stand in the way
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  of obedience. And you and I also, as we walk
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  in this life, we'll learn of God's will in a matter.
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  And when you do, you might have your heart be flooded with
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  theories and ideas. And speculations that might
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  cripple you to move forward. And like Joseph, do not expect
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  to have an elaborate forecast of what your step of faith will
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  bring about. Joseph didn't receive it.
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  We should not expect it ourselves, and that shouldn't be
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  your preoccupation or mine anyway.
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  The one thing that you and I should be concerned about above
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  all else, concerning whether we should obey God in a matter or
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  not, is this. Lord, Is this what you want,
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  Lord? Is this what you're asking of
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  me, Lord? Is this your will, Lord?
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  Is this what you will be pleased with?
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  And that is enough motivation for you and I to leap over any
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  hindrance that would try to keep us from doing what God's called
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  us to do. I may not have all the answers,
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  but this one thing is clear. In this situation, in this
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  circumstance, in this predicament, God's Word has an
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  answer. So I will trust in Him.
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  I will believe Him. I will rely on Him, come what
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  may, come what may. This is so important to
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  understand. There are people, perhaps in
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  this room right now, who are hesitant to follow Jesus Christ
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  because you're afraid. You're afraid of what your
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  spouse will say. You're afraid of what your
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  friends will say. You're afraid of the cost of
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  walking and holiness and obedience and submission to the
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  Word of God in this crazy culture that more and more wants
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  to dismiss this concept of God and objective truth.
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  And so you're hesitant and maybe you're a believer in this place,
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  and you're also hesitant to obey God and trust God.
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  I've met some young people also who are in a relationship that
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  they know they should not be in, and they are hesitant to obey
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  God's will. And So what did they do?
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  Well, again, like Joseph, perhaps they have crashing
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  thoughts. Will I ever get married?
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  What will happen to this person if with this history of emotion
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  and investment, we we we split ways and a compromising job,
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  compromising relationships, compromising anything.
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  So many, Even believers can feel the crippling effects of fear
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  when God's light shines on a matter that demands faith and
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  obedience. And when you and I are faced
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  with those moments, what do we do?
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  Oh, this is a treasure chest filled with encouragement for us
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  to face any fear, even fears, as we are on the crossroads,
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  wondering if we should move forward or not.
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  Listen to these words. I just want you to listen to
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  them from Isaiah 4110, and I want you to hear them in light
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  of potential fear and walking in obedience to God's call in a
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  particular area in your life. Here's what the Lord says, not
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  just to His people, Israel, but to us today.
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  Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your
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  God. I will strengthen you.
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  I will help you. I will uphold you with my
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  righteous right hand. How many more eyes can you get?
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  How many more promises from God's personal presence and
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  power do you need? As you are standing at the
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  threshold of wondering, should I do this?
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  I know God says I need to. But all these fears.
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  Here's what the Lord says to you.
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  I'll be with you. I will strengthen you.
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  I will help you. I will uphold you.
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  You have no reason to fear as long as you know that this is my
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  will. So Joseph teaches us that you
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  and I must learn to overcome fear and obedience, because fear
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  is often a foe to faith. But let's come to the second
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  dream together, shall we? This is not the only one.
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  We come now here to Matthew, Chapter 2, verse 13.
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  Matthew, chapter 2, verse 13. Now when they had departed,
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  behold, an Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.
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  And said, rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to
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  Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, For Herod is about to
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  search for the child to destroy him.
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  And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and
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  departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod.
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  This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet
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  out of Egypt. I called my son.
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  So the wise men from the East have arrived.
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  They were supernaturally guided, another supernatural occurrence
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  connected to the story of Christmas to the child Jesus.
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  And when they came to him we were told that they worshipped
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  him, and when they worshipped him they went beyond.
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  They gave gifts to him, and then they departed back to their
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  land, and they were warned in the dream to avoid a certain
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  route. And once this took place,
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  another dream visits Joseph, and an Angel of the Lord speaks to
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  him with urgency. There is a warning now that it
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  could not afford any delay. Why?
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  Because now there is a campaign. A campaign to search for the
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  child Jesus and to destroy him. And so Joseph did not hesitate
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  again, a man with no words, but a man who spoke.
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  Through his actions he got up, and by night he made his way to
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  the South, many, many miles away from where he is now.
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  And the second lesson of obedience that we can draw from
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  this dream is this. We must learn to wait in
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  obedience. We must learn to be awaiting
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  people as we obey our God. And where do I get that from?
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  Notice the specific instruction here in the middle of verse 13.
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  He says, flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you.
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  Remain there until I tell you. If I was Joseph, I would have
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  probably asked for a little bit more details.
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  Some general timeline would have been helpful.
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  How long, Lord? Like 3 months, six months?
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  Nine months? A year and a half?
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  How long am I to go to this foreign land?
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  No answer is given, no insight is provided.
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  A simple Trust me and wait for me until I tell you what to do
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  next. It is quite interesting if you
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  study the word of God from cover to cover.
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  How much is mentioned concerning the discipline of waiting on
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  God? There are clear, direct
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  exhortations to wait on the Lord, and there are
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  illustrations and examples like what we have before us today.
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  Waiting is not a foreign experience for the faithful.
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  For those who pursue obedience, you can expect delay when you
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  desire something for the now. And this is true for this man
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  and his family. What does it mean to wait on the
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  Lord? You'll read it in Psalms again.
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  You'll see it through narratives.
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  What does it mean, though? Here's what it means to wait on
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  the Lord. To wait on the Lord is to
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  refrain from acting in the flesh to meet your need to remain.
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  Not just refrain, but to remain in obedience to God in the
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  moment that you're in, while trustingly expecting God to come
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  through with your need to refrain from acting in the flesh
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  to accomplish what you want to see accomplish, to remain
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  obedient where you are in that circumstance, the capacity to
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  which you've been given. All the while, your heart is
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  trusting and waiting on God to intervene for that need that you
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  have to wait on. The Lord is no excuse to be
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  unresponsive or inactive before you receive some kind of
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  supernatural confirmation for absolutely everything in life.
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  You don't have to be like that. There are some things that God
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  has already made plain and obvious that doesn't require you
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  to wait for an answer. And so we're not to be frozen,
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  and we're not to be stoic, and we're not to, in the name of
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  spirituality, seek audible voices for every single step you
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  make in life. But to wait on the Lord,
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  generally speaking, is the necessity to act in faith when
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  you have run out of all other natural options and the only
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  solution you have now is for God's intervention.
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  I've prayed, I've talked about it, I've knocked, I've searched,
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  I've inquired, I've visited. I've done everything that I can
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  to try to move forward in this and nothing's coming through.
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  And when you find yourself there, what is demanded of you
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  according to the word of God? Wait on the Lord.
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  That's what it means to wait on God.
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  You've done all you can as a duty.
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  You've done all as you can with the clarity of God's Word.
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  And still no results and still no clarity and still no
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  direction. What do I do now?
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  Well, God's put you in a place to act in faith.
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  And that act of faith is called waiting on him to wait on the
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  Lord. But why?
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  Because you know that delay is agonizing, right?
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  If I were to ask you here today, who here enjoys waiting, I would
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  be shocked if even one of you were to answer.
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  Yeah, I think I like waiting, actually.
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  We don't. It annoys us.
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  And we understand here that God sometimes allows it.
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  Why? Why?
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  Why can't he do everything? Am I not a servant of his?
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  Isn't time short? Why would God permit pause in my
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  life? Do you know why?
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  Because it is one of the most profound, powerful.
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  Listen to this faith revealing and faith developing exercises
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  you can endure. Faith Revealing, faith
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  Developing exercises that you can endure.
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  It exposes us, doesn't it? Does it not?
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  It's not. Waiting reveals so much about
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  us. Where's your worship now As you
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  wait. Where is it?
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  It's high and mighty. When everything is going smooth,
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  no turbulence. Hallelujah.
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  OK, now what? No answer.
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  Darkness, No clarity. Where's your worship?
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  Now? What is testified of your trust
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  when there seems to be no light? Where will you go?
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  What will you be? There's so many examples of what
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  I'm saying to you about how waiting is a faith revealing,
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  faith developing exercise. And one that comes to mind is
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  when the nation of Israel at some point was threatened to be
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  surrounded by the Assyrians and these rumors of conspiracies and
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  nations coming together to bring about a siege.
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  Has caused them to wonder how they can prepare for this.
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  And one of the most tempting thoughts to them was let's make
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  an alliance with Egypt. Let's go to Egypt.
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  Now, Biblically speaking, there's nothing wrong with
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  Egypt. There's nothing wrong with
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  Egyptians. I have Egyptian friends.
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  I loved Egypt. OK, but it's it's a symbol in
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  the Bible. And the symbol of Egypt in the
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  Bible is of the world. And Israel was never to make an
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  alliance with a foreign nation, because their trust must
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  ultimately be in God. But they were entertaining this,
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  and they were ready to jump on this, and they were ready to do
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  something that God had said not to do.
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  Why? Because God was not providing
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  immediate answers to this potential threat.
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  They had to wait. And guess what?
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  Just like you and me, we don't like to wait, and they didn't
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  like to wait. So notice this.
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  This isn't a chapter and Isaiah chapter 30, verse 15.
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  You can turn there if you'd like.
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  If you want an example how waiting is a faith revealing,
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  faith developing exercise, Isaiah 30 verse 15 reads for
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  thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel.
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  This is so powerful. In returning, and rest you shall
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  be saved in quietness, and in trust shall be your strength,
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  and that profound. This is where he gets
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  heartbreaking. But you were unwilling.
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  Unwilling to do what? Unwilling to rest, unwilling to
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  remain quiet, unwilling to trust you were unwilling.
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  And you said, no, No, we will flee upon horses, he says.
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  Therefore you shall flee away, and we will ride upon swift
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  steeds. Therefore your pursuers shall be
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  swift. What's going on here?
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  Horses was a symbol of military strength, And Israel the special
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  people of God that had a covenant with God, God had told
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  Israel in the infancy of their nation.
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  You shall not acquire many horses because again, I don't
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  even want your faith and trust to be in your military might and
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  your resources. I want it to be in me.
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  And so in some sense, this is a symbol of them trusting in that
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  which God says, you don't have to put your trust there, put it
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  in me. But there's another meaning
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  according to the context. To say we will flee upon horses
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  is to imply we're running to Egypt, we're getting on the
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  fastest track, and we're making our way to make an alliance with
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  this people. You know what waiting does?
• 25:16
  It will show you where you ultimately run to and your need.
• 25:20
  Where will you run to as you wait, as you've been seeking and
• 25:25
  you have been waiting? But where will you go?
• 25:28
  Will you turn to human wisdom now?
• 25:32
  Will you turn your back from worship, worship when it really
• 25:36
  counts and put your hand in the hand of the world?
• 25:40
  Will you rely on the flesh? Will you be like Abraham and
• 25:44
  birth and Ishmael, when God is prepared to give an Isaac?
• 25:49
  Waiting reveals the quality of our faith.
• 25:54
  Waiting is what produces the fragrance of faith that truly
• 25:59
  blesses God and bears witness to a watching world.
• 26:03
  And in this case, with this generation of Israelites, they
• 26:06
  said no, we're not doing this. This faith thing is not
• 26:12
  practical. This is not relevant to real
• 26:15
  life. This is nice stories for my
• 26:18
  children to have some moral framework.
• 26:20
  But this can't be real. No, it is real.
• 26:22
  So I'm going to go my own way. I tried this God thing.
• 26:26
  It didn't really work out the way I thought.
• 26:28
  Thank you very much. We'll go to Egypt.
• 26:33
  And the Lord says, OK, flee, You're going to be pursued.
• 26:36
  All right, Ride. Swiftly upon steeds.
• 26:38
  Your pursuers are going to be faster than you.
• 26:42
  Ultimate deliverance comes from God anyway, so why are you going
• 26:44
  to run from Him? What are you going to run to?
• 26:48
  Everything else has failed, and everything else will fail unless
• 26:52
  it's done in the name and by the wisdom of our God.
• 26:56
  What do I do then, when I have again exhausted every option?
• 26:59
  I've done all that it can, practically, and yet nothing is
• 27:01
  coming through. Psalm 37, verse 7.
• 27:04
  Be still. Before the Lord and wait
• 27:08
  patiently for him. Be stilled before the Lord and
• 27:13
  wait patiently for him. Perhaps even now, today you are
• 27:18
  waiting on God for something, and that could be anything.
• 27:21
  It could even include deliverance from enemies where
• 27:26
  you are so tempted to act in the flesh to respond carnally.
• 27:31
  And the Word of the Lord says, wait for me, Vengeance is mine,
• 27:34
  whatever the case may be. Can I can Ioffer some
• 27:37
  encouragement to you to strengthen you in your waiting
• 27:40
  as you obey God? It's very simple, very simple
• 27:45
  thing that you can do. Reflect on what He's done before
• 27:47
  and where you are today, and if you're honest, to see his
• 27:50
  faithfulness, you can trust them for tomorrow.
• 27:54
  Where are you today? I know you're concerned about
• 27:56
  tomorrow. I know you're not certain for
• 27:58
  what's to come, but look at where you're at today.
• 28:01
  Has he not been faithful to you? Has he not been perfect in his
• 28:05
  provision for you? Do you realize what's on your
• 28:07
  back? Do you realize what's before
• 28:09
  you? Do you realize what's around
• 28:10
  you? Do you realize his goodness even
• 28:11
  now? And if you can sober up and see
• 28:15
  it, then you will have a little bit more strength to wait on the
• 28:18
  Lord a little bit longer. Consider in Joseph's case.
• 28:22
  You know, sometimes we read these stories and we kind of see
• 28:25
  it like a movie. We just see these random cut
• 28:27
  scenes and we don't consider the transition.
• 28:29
  We don't consider the implications of some of these
• 28:31
  things. Joseph, get up and go to Egypt.
• 28:36
  You know what that requires? That requires time.
• 28:39
  That requires effort. You have a wife with a newborn.
• 28:43
  That requires expenses. That requires a shift in life
• 28:47
  altogether, moving to another country.
• 28:50
  OK, what's going to happen to my business?
• 28:53
  I'm a Carpenter. What's going to happen here?
• 28:55
  What's going to happen to the livelihood of my family?
• 28:58
  How am I going to provide for them?
• 28:59
  What are we going to do for lodging?
• 29:00
  How am I going to be able to adapt to this new culture, this
• 29:03
  new place? We got to think about this when
• 29:06
  we read things like, oh, that's nice, Joseph obeyed God.
• 29:08
  No, think about the cost. Think about the reality of the
• 29:12
  implications of it. And yet, in this very same
• 29:18
  story, you realize that God has already prepared everything that
• 29:22
  Joseph needed. God was faithful to him up to
• 29:25
  this point from the first dream, and God is preparing him for the
• 29:29
  next set of commands that he is ready to give.
• 29:31
  You're saying? What do I mean?
• 29:31
  Yeah. Consider again the expenses, the
• 29:35
  grueling travel, the unknown of how you're going to live in a
• 29:39
  place where you don't know how long you're going to stay.
• 29:41
  What happened right before this? The wise men came.
• 29:44
  And when the wise men came, they not only worship, but they gave
• 29:47
  what gifts. What were one of those gifts?
• 29:51
  Gold. Coincidence.
• 29:53
  No, no, no, no. No Sweet Providence.
• 30:00
  So even through that, Joseph would have exactly what he
• 30:03
  needed to have in order to take flight in the night and be taken
• 30:07
  care of perfectly. Consider how God has taken care
• 30:13
  of you up to this point. Consider how day by day, He's
• 30:17
  meeting your needs. Maybe not your wants, but your
• 30:19
  needs. And this is what we see with
• 30:22
  Joseph. If you're concerned about God's
• 30:25
  leading for tomorrow, remember how He has LED you until today.
• 30:31
  We have to learn how to wait as we obey and we come to the third
• 30:36
  dream. And Matthew 2 verse 19.
• 30:42
  But when Herod died, behold, an Angel of the Lord appeared in a
• 30:48
  dream to Joseph in Egypt. Saying, Rise, take the child and
• 30:55
  his mother and go to the land of Israel, For those who sought the
• 30:59
  child's life are dead. And he rose and took the child
• 31:03
  and his mother and went to the land of Israel.
• 31:07
  When coupling the third dream as we just read with the second
• 31:11
  dream together, the impression that you and I should have is
• 31:13
  that God's commands, no matter how challenging.
• 31:17
  No matter how demanding or inconvenient they may be, are
• 31:19
  always for our good. Here's the third truth about
• 31:23
  obedience. Not only must we overcome fear
• 31:26
  and obedience, not only must we learn to wait in obedience, but
• 31:29
  thirdly, we must believe that God designed His commands for
• 31:34
  our good. What's so interesting about this
• 31:38
  here is that the Angel in the second dream, when he told him
• 31:40
  to leave Israel to go to Egypt, did not tell him you're going to
• 31:44
  go. And then once Herod dies and his
• 31:46
  goons, then I'll bring you back. Go, remain there until I tell
• 31:50
  you. And it is here in the third
• 31:53
  dream where Joseph is told they're long gone.
• 31:56
  Now you can head back. It's safe for you now.
• 32:00
  What if? What if Joseph had not been
• 32:02
  patient? What if Joseph in his own mind,
• 32:06
  maybe in his discomfort, maybe in his calculation of the
• 32:09
  environment, of reports that he has heard about Herod, You know,
• 32:14
  things have maybe subsided. It's been quite a while, and I
• 32:16
  think it's safe to go back. That would have been a fatal
• 32:18
  mistake. A fatal mistake.
• 32:22
  Complete obedience to the Lord is not only necessary, it always
• 32:28
  pays off. It always You can never go wrong
• 32:33
  trusting Jesus. You can never go wrong trusting
• 32:36
  on the Lord. This is a universal promise.
• 32:38
  From this practical illustration and the instructions that Joseph
• 32:42
  received here, at this point, we're no doubt challenging.
• 32:47
  But everything that the Lord had given him was profitable.
• 32:50
  He didn't fail with the first two dreams.
• 32:52
  He's not going to fail with the third instruction.
• 32:54
  It is always profitable to go with God's way.
• 32:57
  Always, no matter what it asks of you in the natural, you can
• 33:03
  guarantee this. My God is good.
• 33:06
  His intentions are good. Yes, ultimately for His glory do
• 33:09
  I obey. But I also know that for my good
• 33:13
  he is leading me this way. Compare the command here with
• 33:19
  the second command, because if you put them side by side, they
• 33:21
  almost are identical except for the location, right?
• 33:24
  But there is one other slight difference.
• 33:27
  So let's read again the 2nd instruction from the second
• 33:30
  dream in chapter 2, verse 13. Now when they had departed,
• 33:34
  behold an Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream
• 33:38
  and said pay attention, rise, take the child and his mother
• 33:43
  and flee to Egypt. Keep that in mind.
• 33:47
  Now you come down to verse 20 and you see the third dream with
• 33:51
  the third instruction. But when Herod died, behold an
• 33:55
  Angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt saying
• 33:59
  rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of
• 34:04
  Israel. What's the difference?
• 34:07
  The first time he said flee, flee to Egypt and after
• 34:13
  remaining in Egypt and he was ready to head back to his
• 34:16
  hometown. The Angel says go, go to the
• 34:19
  land of Israel. The word flee in the second
• 34:22
  dream is the same word that Jesus uses in Matthew 1023, what
• 34:26
  he instructs his disciples. When you experience persecution
• 34:29
  in one city, flee to another. It denotes the escape of danger
• 34:35
  and threats. It denotes seeking and fleeing
• 34:38
  for refuge from potential problems and powers that be
• 34:43
  against you. But the word go here doesn't
• 34:46
  have that urgency. It's not that he could delay,
• 34:51
  but it is a different pace. And this may seem like a simple
• 34:55
  observation, but it shows me something about God's
• 34:57
  instructions for us, the ones that we even find in His word
• 35:01
  primarily, You know, His commands are not arbitrary.
• 35:05
  His commands are not void of purpose.
• 35:06
  You have to hear this very carefully.
• 35:08
  They are intentional. They are calculated.
• 35:12
  Behind every decree is a perfect perception, is a richness of
• 35:18
  wisdom and a understanding that is worth trusting.
• 35:23
  When God tells us things, they're not just random
• 35:27
  instructions that have no heartbeat behind it, that have
• 35:31
  no wisdom behind it. He knows exactly what he is
• 35:36
  asking of us, and though you may not know the depth of the reward
• 35:40
  behind that obedience, you can trust that God has good in mind.
• 35:46
  How much more is this needed in a time where the commands of
• 35:49
  this book are being challenged by our culture and Christians
• 35:52
  are caving in feeling like we need to, we need to adapt.
• 35:56
  Because these things don't seem to be relevant, these things to
• 35:59
  be, this seems to be ancient and barbaric and far off, we've
• 36:02
  developed, developed into what, may I add, developed into what.
• 36:10
  So in those moments where we look at God's commands, we say,
• 36:12
  I know it's true. You can go beyond it just being
• 36:14
  true. It's good.
• 36:17
  Totally. It's perfect.
• 36:18
  He loves us and when he commands us, it's for us to know his love
• 36:23
  and his perfect. Plan.
• 36:25
  And this is what Joseph experienced.
• 36:27
  And we see that you and I also can look at every command it
• 36:31
  gives us and believe that they are designed for our pleasure.
• 36:36
  Yes, holy pleasure and His glory.
• 36:40
  Let's come to the last dream together.
• 36:42
  The last dream provides our last insight among many insights that
• 36:47
  you can pull from these things. Look at Matthew 2, verse 22 and
• 36:51
  23. But when he heard that Archelaus
• 36:55
  was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was
• 37:00
  afraid to go there. And being warned in a dream he
• 37:04
  withdrew to the district of Galilee.
• 37:07
  And he went, and he lived and lived in a city called Nazareth,
• 37:11
  so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled,
• 37:14
  that he would be called a Nazarene.
• 37:20
  I make this point here as a concluding observation to
• 37:24
  Joseph's overall experience. Here it is.
• 37:27
  The 4th insight concerning obedience is that we must never
• 37:30
  forget that a life of obedience is intensely practical,
• 37:35
  intensely realistic. You know, you might look at
• 37:40
  Joseph's experience here with these dreams and think to
• 37:44
  yourself, what a privileged man. I mean, not only did he have
• 37:47
  dreams, but there was no need for interpretation.
• 37:49
  It wasn't ambiguous. It was as clear as day.
• 37:52
  This is what you do. And go do it.
• 37:54
  All right, great. There is no denying that it was
• 37:56
  of God. It was there.
• 37:57
  This is not a debate of whether or not this is what you ate last
• 38:01
  night or if this is really from God.
• 38:02
  It was from God. And there was no question about
• 38:04
  it, Clear and direct. And some people would say, oh, I
• 38:10
  would like that kind of guidance in life.
• 38:12
  Who wouldn't? Imagine God being able to tell
• 38:14
  you. Marry her.
• 38:15
  OK, Thank you. Move here.
• 38:18
  Thank you. OK, time to move on.
• 38:20
  Thank you. People dream about this stuff.
• 38:22
  And you have genuine Christians who are wondering, how can I
• 38:24
  have that kind of direction in my life?
• 38:28
  We would all want that every step of the way to get God's
• 38:31
  perfect leadership on it and for it.
• 38:35
  So why does Joseph get to have it and not me?
• 38:37
  Well, there's a difference between you and Joseph.
• 38:40
  Joseph was called to supervise the Son of God.
• 38:44
  I know Jesus is in your heart. It's not the same thing.
• 38:47
  I know you're a child of God, but it's not the same thing.
• 38:50
  To take care of and watch over the Incarnate Son of God, you
• 38:55
  would think, requires a little bit more special attention,
• 38:57
  right? That is true.
• 39:01
  And without dismissing the unique things that Joseph
• 39:04
  experienced, I would actually look at it in a different way.
• 39:08
  You're saying In what way? Well, if we are dealing with
• 39:11
  God's compass and God's GPS for Joseph and primarily his son,
• 39:19
  you would think that there would be more miracles.
• 39:23
  You would think that there would be more divine interventions.
• 39:25
  You think that there would be more demonstrations of
• 39:27
  supernatural power, Wouldn't you?
• 39:30
  Wouldn't you? What are you?
• 39:31
  Saying. What do you mean, Preacher?
• 39:32
  Here's what I mean. So Herod wants to kill the Son
• 39:35
  of God, the savior of the world, right?
• 39:37
  Kill him? Why call this family with
• 39:41
  limited resources, with looming danger to get up and and go to a
• 39:46
  different country? Can you just deal with the
• 39:48
  problem right there? Right then?
• 39:49
  Yes, he could have. OK, never mind dealing with
• 39:52
  Herod. Why the travel?
• 39:55
  Even we read in Acts chapter 8 that Philip, after baptizing the
• 39:58
  eunuch, was what he was taken up by the Spirit of Lord and
• 40:01
  brought to a completely different location.
• 40:03
  Couldn't he have done the same for this family?
• 40:05
  All right, you need to get to Egypt.
• 40:07
  There you are. OK, You need to go back.
• 40:09
  There you are. Why the packing?
• 40:13
  Why the uncertainty? Why not the preparation to that?
• 40:16
  Family and friends know we're not going to be here.
• 40:18
  We don't know how long. None of that.
• 40:19
  Why? Well, it says something about
• 40:23
  God and how he leads the faithful and how he guides the
• 40:29
  obedient. If Joseph's journey in many ways
• 40:32
  included ordinary means to fulfill God's will, why should
• 40:36
  we doubt God's leadership in our lives as he uses similar
• 40:40
  procedures? There can be no doubt that there
• 40:45
  are moments where God can do a miracle.
• 40:48
  But consider the miraculous in Joseph's life.
• 40:50
  Here's a miracle, Here's another miracle, Here's another miracle.
• 40:53
  But what's going on in between practical, real life, day-to-day
• 40:58
  decisions and you and I have to understand that's how God often,
• 41:07
  moreover, more often, leads us in our day-to-day.
• 41:12
  And I think about all the hopes and dreams that we even have as
• 41:15
  a church, as we are seeking His provision, as we are looking to
• 41:19
  transition. We should not limit God in
• 41:23
  guiding us in the way we think He should, in the miraculous, in
• 41:26
  the fascinating and the story gripping ways that we would like
• 41:31
  him. He can do that.
• 41:32
  He's able to. We have no doubt that he can.
• 41:34
  But what if he does it through natural means?
• 41:38
  What if he does it through obvious ways?
• 41:40
  Is it any less God? It's not.
• 41:43
  You see it here? He treats.
• 41:45
  Even one of the most obedient servants in the word of God, So
• 41:52
  we should expect the same for ourselves.
• 41:53
  Don't be discouraged. I want to see God's fingerprints
• 41:57
  of my life. Praise God.
• 41:58
  I want to see it too, but just look a little closer.
• 42:03
  Remove the filter of the miraculous and and see it
• 42:06
  through the word of God and understand how God works with
• 42:08
  His people. We must overcome fear and
• 42:13
  obedience. We must learn to await in
• 42:15
  obedience. We must believe that God's
• 42:18
  commands are designed for our good.
• 42:19
  And we must understand that the life of obedience is intensely
• 42:22
  practical, intensely practical. I hope that encourages the
• 42:27
  believer in this place as you seek to obey God.
• 42:30
  But I want to speak to the person here today who is hearing
• 42:32
  about Jesus for the first time or the 100th time.
• 42:34
  But you don't know him. I'm afraid that you can leave a
• 42:39
  place like this and think that Christianity is all about
• 42:41
  obeying. Christianity is about obeying,
• 42:47
  but with a different motivation that you might think We're not
• 42:51
  about a bunch of righteous people who have gathered here
• 42:54
  today to figure out how we can be more righteous so that we can
• 42:56
  have better rewards. Now every single person here who
• 43:00
  truly follows Jesus Christ and believes in him understands that
• 43:03
  they are far from righteous. And they've come to the place
• 43:08
  where they realize that no obedience, no matter how
• 43:10
  extravagant or consistent or pure it might be, can ever,
• 43:15
  ever, ever satisfy God's holy, righteous demands.
• 43:22
  And So what? What are we about then?
• 43:24
  Well, we're about understanding that in our failure to be holy
• 43:30
  and to be righteous before God, God in His love sends his Son
• 43:34
  Jesus Christ to live a life of perfection and then to die a
• 43:40
  death that he did not deserve but that we deserve.
• 43:44
  So that by understanding that we would also see that he did this
• 43:48
  for us. You saying what do you mean for
• 43:51
  us? Well think about it.
• 43:53
  In your lack of perfection, he has supplied your perfection so
• 43:57
  that through his life of perfect obedience, if you believe in him
• 44:01
  and trust that his life is in fact a perfect life, then the
• 44:06
  righteousness he has now becomes yours.
• 44:09
  Think of it as a transfer of funds.
• 44:12
  You are bankrupt. He is rich in righteousness and
• 44:15
  mercy. And when you just claim that you
• 44:18
  indeed are bankrupt and you need to pay off this debt called sin,
• 44:22
  he's willing to give you the funds necessary.
• 44:26
  And more than that, he dies of death that you and I deserve.
• 44:30
  He takes the punishment right 'cause he's a righteous judge.
• 44:33
  He doesn't just sweep crime underneath the carpet.
• 44:35
  He doesn't just let things go. He has to deal with it as a as a
• 44:39
  just judge would. And he takes that punishment
• 44:41
  even upon himself so that now your death and the crimes that
• 44:46
  you've committed, the the breaking of all the laws of God
• 44:49
  have been satisfied, have been taken care of in the person of
• 44:55
  Jesus Christ. So let me simplify it.
• 44:59
  What is Christianity all about? It's about humbling yourself and
• 45:04
  realizing that you need a savior and believing that this savior
• 45:08
  will give you his perfection. He will take your debt.
• 45:12
  He paid for it on the cross. And you now, upon confessing
• 45:17
  your sin, repenting of it and saying yes to the Lord Jesus
• 45:20
  Christ will indeed be guaranteed righteousness, eternal life and
• 45:25
  life even now. That's the truth.
• 45:28
  So everything you just heard in the past 50 minutes, Yeah, I
• 45:32
  know it's been 50 minutes. Everything that you just heard
• 45:35
  about obedience and what it means to obey is from the place
• 45:38
  of being accepted by God in Christ Jesus.
• 45:42
  That's what it's from, and that's what it's about.
• 45:45
  So we're not here trying to grope our way and seek for God's
• 45:48
  approval. We've been approved by Christ
• 45:50
  and in Christ now we are clothing his righteousness.
• 45:53
  So God the Father looks upon you and he sees the perfection of
• 45:56
  his Son. This is the gospel.
• 46:05
  So I'm afraid. I don't want there to be any
• 46:06
  mistranslation or misunderstanding from this
• 46:08
  sermon. I may never see you again.
• 46:10
  I hope so. I can see you.
• 46:11
  I'd love to see you again. More important, like to see you
• 46:13
  in heaven. Time is running short.
• 46:19
  Look, even the unbelieving or thing.
• 46:21
  Judgment day is coming, man. It's getting really bad out
• 46:23
  here. They believe that more than some
• 46:26
  Christians do. Some Christians are in La La
• 46:28
  land. So destructed, distracted by the
• 46:31
  world and sin. Praise God, not in this place.
• 46:35
  I hope we understand the seriousness of the hour.
• 46:38
  We understand that this is about life and death.
• 46:40
  We understand this is about heaven and hell.
• 46:41
  We understand that this life, this world is temporal.
• 46:44
  And there's something more real after this.
• 46:47
  Your heart knows it. Your soul knows it.
• 46:50
  Eternity has been written on our hearts.
• 46:52
  You know it in your heart. You didn't just come out of goo
• 46:55
  coming together in a collision. You're not just the result of
• 47:01
  some accident. There's purpose behind your
• 47:05
  existence. There's reason for who you are
• 47:09
  in that instinct, instinct, that you realize there's something
• 47:12
  more than this. That is God's code on your soul.
• 47:16
  That's in your DNA. It's because you were created to
• 47:19
  know him and be with him. But there's something that's
• 47:21
  separating you from him. That's sin.
• 47:24
  And praise God, 2000 years ago he dealt with it and you can
• 47:28
  deal with it once and for all today if you just humble
• 47:30
  yourself before the cross and say I've been arrogant.
• 47:33
  I've been willing to deny you and suppress this truth because
• 47:37
  I want my way. I want to be the God of my life.
• 47:40
  I don't want somebody in the sky to tell me what to do.
• 47:43
  Well, how's that working out for you?
• 47:50
  Jesus says I've come that they might have life and have it more
• 47:53
  abundantly. And you can know that life.
• 47:58
  You can know the peace of forgiveness.
• 48:01
  You can know the joy of wholeness, because you will find
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  your purpose in him alone. And you will have not just
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  eternal life. You have a relationship with
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  this God who has indeed saved us.
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  I want that for you. I want that for you.
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  Silver and gold. I have not.
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  I don't. And whether I see you in this
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  place again, that's between you and God.
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  But what I want you to have more than anything else is the
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  assurance that you have Christ. That's it.
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  So you might be wondering today, this is a little bit more
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  intense of a Christmas service that I'm used to.
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  So be it. 1 Preacher said I preach as a dying man, unto
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  dying men. And so I believe this truth.
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  This church believes this truth. And we want you to know this
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  truth. That's all this is.
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  Would you say yes to him? Lord, we thank you.
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  We thank you. We thank you that in the word of
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  God we have wisdom for salvation, but you also have
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  wisdom for those who have received salvation.
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  Thank you then the story of Joseph.
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  You've given us a wonderful example of the kind of obedience
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  that you look for from a just and righteous man.
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  According to Matthew, help us as believers with the greatest
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  motivation and grace to be able to excel and a life that's
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  consecrated unto you. And when we feel the cost of
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  conformity, may we not be afraid.
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  And when we feel the drudgery of waiting, may we trust in you and
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  Lord. When we doubt your goodness and
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  your leading and commands over our lives, may we see the good
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  in it, and Lord. And when we think that perhaps
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  you're not really writing the story of our lives, may we know
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  that you are intensely practical.
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  You can do miracles, and we want to see it.
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  But Lord, you are intensely practical.
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  Lord, help us this week to no rest.
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  Rest in you. Prepare us for a new year.
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  And if it's your will for us to have a new year that we would
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  live that near With a greater delight and zeal for your name,
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  we worship you. Now in closing with Thanksgiving
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  in Jesus name, Amen. Amen.
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  Hey church, can we stand? Let's worship.
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  This is the reason for the season.
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  It's about Christ. It's about his love for us.
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  It's about him being our gift for all eternity.