Latest / Admonition Podcast / The Mystery of Jesus' Life In Song - Ben Shanks - April 12, 2026

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The Mystery of Jesus' Life In Song - Ben Shanks - April 12, 2026 · Admonition Podcast

• 0:02
  Number 176, Lamb of God.
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  Your holy son no sins to hide, but you have sent him from your side to walk upon this guilty side and to become the lamb.
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  uh
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  Your gift of love they crucified, They laughed and scorned him as he died.
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  The humble king they named the fraud, And sacrificed the Lamb of God, O Lamb of God!
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  sweet lamb of God, I love the holy lamb of God.
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  Oh, watch me in His precious blood, my Jesus Christ, the Lamb of
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  I should have died, but you have brought me to your side, to be led by your staff and brawn, and to be called a lamb.
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  Sweet Lamb of God, I love
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  O watch me in His precious blood, My Jesus Christ the Lamb of
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  Please join with me in prayer to our Lord.
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  Dear God, our Father, we come to you this morning acknowledging that you are the one true and living God.
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  And God, we cannot begin to thank you enough for everything that you do for each and every one of us each and every day.
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  We are especially mindful of the sacrifice that your son Jesus made when he gave his life so that we, if we truly believe and faithfully follow your word and are baptized.
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  and repent of our sins that we have that opportunity to join you one day in heaven and live with you for eternity.
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  Lord, we come to you and we want to thank you for those amongst our congregation here that have had improving health.
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  We know that is because your hand was involved in that.
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  And Lord, we're also mindful of those that are still uh struggling with physical difficulties and ask that you be with them, especially mindful of Michael Stacks and ask
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  that you help him to continue to recovery from the surgery that he had.
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  And we're also mindful of Wade and we understand, know, Wade is
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  going through a lot of painful skin grafts and stuff and just ask that you be with him and comfort him as only you can and have that pain that he endures at each and every one of
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  those skin grafts be as minimal as possible.
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  Lord, we ask that you help us to understand the message that's being brought to us this morning and the messages that will be brought to us throughout this day as we assemble
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  here to worship your great name and use that message to further our faith in
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  you and to always be faithfully following you and putting you first in our lives.
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  And we ask that you help us to make the songs that we're singing to you and this entire worship service ah pleasing in your sight.
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  Lord as we uh go about our day to day ask that you give us the strength and the courage that we need especially if we encounter those that are not believers of yours or have not
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  even heard of you to open their eyes and their hearts and their minds and get them to understand that you are the one true living God and that they need to dedicate their lives
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  to you so that everyone has that same opportunity and that is the opportunity to live with you in heaven for eternity.
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  Pray all this through your son Jesus name, amen.
• 5:06
  Good morning, everyone.
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  I know we have a few visitors with you.
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  I want you to be assured I'm not the normal preacher today, but we're going to have a little different style of service.
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  Wanted to take a look at Jesus through a slightly different lens than we normally look at the gospel message.
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  What...
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  I kind of like to do is frame up this as in the style of a caper movie.
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  Anybody who's familiar with the caper movie, it's a movie that is sort of like Ocean's Eleven or Tinker Tailor Soldier's Side.
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  It's not always criminals who are the protagonists.
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  Sometimes it's spies, sometimes it's army movies, but there's something that's going on that's a mystery to the people who the, whether it's a con or whether it's a job that's
• 5:59
  being done.
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  And it's almost like a mini mystery movie.
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  And I wanted to take just a few minutes to ah kind of look at the mystery that is revealed with Jesus' life and Jesus' death, the mystery that's commonly talked about by Paul.
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  And having the growing up in the background of musical theater, I figured we'd do it as a musical.
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  So we'll be singing songs as we go ah through this frame of what, a little bit of what this looked like from the world's perspective.
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  um So if you look at John,
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  Chapter One.
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  In John chapter 1, we have those who finally understood what was going on, because it was a mystery to the apostles most of the time that they were with Jesus also.
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  And in John chapter 1, starting in verse 1,
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  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
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  He was in the beginning with God, all things came into being by Him, apart from Him, nothing came into being that has come into being.
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  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
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  So here we see the setup for this story.
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  We see that Jesus was there at the beginning.
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  We see that he was actively involved in the process, so much so that he is the actual word of God.
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  And we see this word remained a mystery to the world.
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  It remained a mystery to Satan in the fact that the darkness
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  could not comprehend it.
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  We see a setup here that John is delivering that lets us know that the world and the darkness have no idea what's coming for them.
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  They don't understand God's plan because they can't begin to fathom it.
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  And it's a plan that has been obvious since the initial promise was delivered to Eve, but they couldn't comprehend it at all.
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  We see back in Genesis chapter one, where John's referring to here, we see the world.
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  In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was formless and void, and the darkness was all over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was
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  moving over the surface of the waters.
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  This is the state that the world was in before the first day of creation.
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  where God granted light.
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  Before that it was formless and void.
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  Interesting words, in Hebrew they rhyme.
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  It's tuhu-bahu.
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  And it literally means, if we were to translate it more directly than formless and void, it means chaos.
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  and without any discernible pattern to it.
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  This is what the world was like.
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  And what God does over the next six days is he builds a pattern into the world.
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  Later on when we see these words used, these two who, but who, it is often used in reference to the wilderness.
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  Jews to describe what God left to the adversary.
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  If you look over in Leviticus, chapter 16, chapter 16, you get into the law of atonement.
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  And the sacrifice for the law of atonement was two animals.
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  There's the animal that we call the animal of sacrifice that's offered to God.
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  And what we refer to as the scapegoat.
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  That translation is a little difficult because it literally means when they go through this, it says, the goat for Yahweh and the goat for Azazel.
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  Azazel being the demon of the wilderness.
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  And it is an offering that takes the sin of Satan back to Satan.
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  That's what the Israelites were doing with this atonement.
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  And that goat is ran out of the city into the wild, into the wilderness, into that tohoo, bahoo.
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  So as we see over the course of time, God loves the world so much that he keeps making promises that he's going to keep.
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  but that promise is ruined by the people he's keeping it for.
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  We see him make a promise to Abraham following Eve.
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  We see that promise to Abraham delivered in that in him all nations would be blessed.
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  The Children of Abraham ruined the other two promises.
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  They didn't accept that they were his people.
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  And because of that, they lost the land.
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  They became a multitude, but they became a multitude living in sin.
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  Very few of the Israelites remained faithful.
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  We see that promise further delivered to Isaac, further delivered to Jacob, and in Jacob, it's distributed amongst 12 clans.
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  And those 12 clans have a promise delivered down through Judah.
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  And through Judah, it's delivered down to David.
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  So this promise that the world will be saved is narrowed in its focus over time.
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  Till finally, the promise is delivered one night at a little town called Bethlehem.
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  to a virgin named Mary.
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  who didn't know what kind of world she was in for after this.
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  But at the same time that that promise gets more and more focus over time, God is helping his people learn what service to him means.
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  And we have between Abraham and Moses, we have an entire tribe of people
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  who disappear twice into history.
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  We have the tribe that came from Ishmael.
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  We have the tribe that came from Esau, who we see records of, but are eventually destroyed.
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  We see it being filtered again as they go into the kingdom and they separate into two kingdoms.
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  One kingdom that worships idols in the hills.
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  and one kingdom that still worships in Jerusalem.
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  We see those kingdoms both taken into exile because they can't follow the truth.
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  They can't follow the law.
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  And we see the people who return from exile, a much more kind, a much more just people.
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  A people still filled with failure.
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  A people who create
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  the Pharisees who want to create additional laws, who create the Sadducees who don't believe in the spirit world, who create the zealots that think God wants them to fight
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  militarily, and the Essenes who want to live in isolation.
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  We see a people still flawed, but a people who understand the importance of sending their children to school.
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  to learn Hebrew, to memorize the Psalms, to study the law of God.
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  We see a people much more focused on what it means.
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  And in this world, we see that God has also been working in the world in the background.
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  He hasn't just been refining the promise to a specific woman one day.
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  He hasn't just been filtering his people
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  so that they could have something close to a pure worship of him.
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  He's also been manipulating the entire world around.
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  whether it is the roads of Rome engineered so that easy passage could happen all over Europe and into Asia, whether it's Alexander the Great who went through an unbelievable
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  conquest all the way from Greece into India, where he not just
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  conquered a people and unified them under trade, he unified the language so that the language the Bible is written in is that language of Alexander the Great.
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  It is Greek.
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  He reframed the entire world to make the way for Jesus one day.
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  And we see Jesus coming to Mary.
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  We see the start of the greatest blessing.
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  So if you'll turn to 1003, we'll sing Silent Night.
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  Silent night
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  you
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  Bright, bright.
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  The infant so tender and mild Sleep in heavenly peace Sleep in heavenly peace Silent night
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  Holy night, wondrous star, let
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  With the angels let us sing, Alleluia!
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  Christ the Savior is born.
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  Christ the Savior is born.
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  in this world that Jesus comes into, a world ruled by the Romans, living under constant threat of being forced to take up whatever luggage the Romans had and walk a mile with
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  them.
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  Living in a world where the alternate to trial was punishment and release.
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  living in a world that they had been subservient to everyone around them for hundreds of years.
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  From the time Cyrus sent them back till now, they had always been a people who were oppressed.
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  Jesus is born into this world and the reaction to the rumors of his birth is the slaughter of children by an insecure king.
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  so that his family had to flee to Egypt.
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  In this world, Jesus stands out as a 12-year-old boy.
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  He's teaching rabbis.
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  As a young adult, he disappears from history only to reappear when he was about 30 years old.
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  and as he reappears.
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  He takes a small side trick.
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  And he goes into the wilderness for the weirdest camping trip ever.
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  He spends 40 days starving.
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  He spends this time contemplating who he is, what he is, and what he's here for.
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  Now I want to start in 1 John chapter 2.
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  1 John chapter 2, starting in verse 15.
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  Do not love the world nor the things in the world.
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  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
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  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world.
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  And the world is passing away and also its lust, but the one who does the will of God abides forever.
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  After day 40, we see
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  somebody show up.
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  We see Satan show up at Jesus' side.
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  Matthew chapter 4.
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  This is documented.
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  And the tempter came to him and said to him, if you are the son of God, command these stones to become bread.
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  I want you to think about this from Satan's perspective.
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  Is there any sin in Jesus using the power granted by God to turn stones into bread?
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  saving Logan for?
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  He's looking to figure out what the caper is.
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  He wants to know why Jesus is here and why it's happening now.
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  It's still a mystery to Satan.
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  He's trying to figure out what the purpose of this son of man is.
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  And so he tips something, Jesus was something, that all on its surface appears innocuous.
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  that on its surface appears to be something innocent.
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  But Jesus response, it is written, man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
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  So Jesus replies to this temptation with scripture.
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  And the only thing he reveals to Satan is that he serves the father first.
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  He doesn't reveal his power to Satan.
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  He doesn't reveal his purpose to Satan.
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  All he reveals to him is that he's here to serve the father.
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  So Satan tries again.
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  and he took him to the holy city and he had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple and he said to him, if you were the son of God, throw yourself down for as written, he will give
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  his angels charge concerning you and on their hands they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against the stone.
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  Satan also knows the scripture.
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  He also knows what prophecies are there, but he doesn't understand them.
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  He was trying to figure out who Jesus is.
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  What are the results if Jesus throws himself off the pinnacle?
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  It's only two.
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  God's gonna save him or smash.
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  Satan's in a win-win situation here, right?
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  There's nothing bad that if Jesus does this can come from this.
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  But once again, Jesus looks at the devil and says to him, on the other hand, it is written, you shall not put your Lord, the Lord your God to the test.
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  He continues to reveal nothing to the adversary.
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  He continues to hide in plain sight something that should be obvious.
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  Now we live from the perspective of having the mystery revealed, but Satan was trying to figure out what was happening with Jesus.
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  And this is very early in his ministry.
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  Remember, he hasn't really started.
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  the tour of Galilee.
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  This is very early days, right after his baptism.
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  So we see Jesus.
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  keeping things close to the sleeve or in the sleeve, whatever that statement is, but keeping it close to his best.
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  He's not revealing to Satan what his purpose is here.
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  It would be so easy to have that pride of life overtake him here for him to be.
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  Proudful and say I am who I say I am.
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  But Jesus doesn't do that.
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  So he passes the second test, the pride of life and the lust of the eye.
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  So now we get to the third test.
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  And the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their glory.
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  And he said him, all these things I will give you if you will fall down and worship me.
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  What is the devil looking for here?
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  He's concerned about what's coming.
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  He's looking to corrupt the thing that God is doing to bring justice to the world.
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  If Jesus fell down and worshiped Satan at this point, Satan just won.
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  He's already stated that the word out of the mouth of God is the most important thing to him, that he will not tempt the Lord.
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  So the only thing, the only device left to Satan is
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  If I can corrupt him just for this one minute, I'll give him everything I have.
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  If I can just corrupt him a little bit.
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  Satan is in a win-win situation.
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  And once again, Jesus decides, I don't want to play.
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  Be gone, Satan, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only.
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  The only thing Jesus has revealed in all this is who he serves.
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  He serves Yahweh.
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  He hasn't revealed his purpose.
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  Satan's gonna have to figure that out.
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  He hasn't revealed anything about God's plan that hasn't already been revealed.
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  But we see in this in first Corinthians chapter two.
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  We see Paul's take on this a little later.
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  In chapter two.
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  versus six through nine.
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  Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature, a wisdom, however, not of this age, nor of the rulers, nor of this age who are passing away, but we speak God's wisdom in a
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  mystery.
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  The hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory.
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  The wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood.
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  For if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
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  Jesus is not only hiding in this temptation to the wilderness what the true method of God is, but he's creating the opportunity for it.
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  He's got Satan worried.
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  And I want you to think about where this is happening.
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  Where does the scapegoat get sent to?
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  The realm of Satan, the wilderness.
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  Jesus brought the fight to Satan directly.
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  He's in the realm that Satan occupies with this story.
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  It's not just that Jesus is out here to meditate.
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  He's bringing the fight to Satan.
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  So God's wisdom is a mystery.
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  We'll see number 470 because in this we saw one of the greatest victories recorded for us.
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  We see the point where the world changes and Jesus is victorious over Satan.
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  and all of history pivots on these few years that Jesus has won the earth.
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  Victory in Jesus.
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  I heard an old, story, how a changer came from glory.
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  How he gave his life on Calvary to save a wretch like me.
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  I heard about his grime.
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  of His precious blood's atoning.
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  Then I repented of my sins and won the victory.
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  Oh, victory in Jesus, my Savior forever.
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  He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood.
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  He plunged me to victory, beneath a cleansing flood.
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  I heard about a mansion, he has built for me in glory.
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  And I heard about the steel of gold, beyond the crystal sea.
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  About the angels singing, and the old redemption story.
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  And some sweet day I'll sing up there the song of victory.
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  Oh, victory in Jesus, my Savior forever.
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  He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood.
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  He loved me and I knew Him.
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  uh
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  He plunged me to victory, Beneath a cleansing flood.
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  So from here, we see Jesus deliver the message in parables.
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  In Mark chapter four,
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  verse 33 through 34.
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  And with many such parables, he was speaking the word to them, and they were able to hear it.
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  And he did not speak to them without a parable, but he was explaining everything privately to his own disciples.
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  Jesus continues to deliver the message in the form of a mystery.
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  He delivers it in parables.
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  He delivers it in ways that, if you wanted to understand, you could.
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  Luckily, Satan didn't want to understand.
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  The world didn't want to understand.
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  So he was able to create a message of redemption prior to the coming of the kingdom.
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  Paul frequently speaks of how the mystery was revealed.
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  And all Satan had to do was watch what was going on to figure it out.
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  If you watch what Jesus does,
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  He's the janitor of Israel.
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  He spends his time cleaning up their mess.
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  The Baptism of John.
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  was a baptism of repentance.
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  It wasn't a baptism of redemption, which is what we get with the baptism of Jesus, but as a baptism of turning away from a life of sin.
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  He cleansed the temple.
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  He ran the world out of the temple, which is what had happened there.
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  Money changers selling things inside the walls of the temple.
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  Jesus was angry enough at this insult to God.
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  That is the only physical violence you see in the Bible from him.
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  He cleansed people of illness.
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  The torments of the world.
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  He cast out demons.
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  taking away the direct interference of Satan in the world.
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  He delivered the word that would eventually reveal the new covenant that was being established.
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  And the thing he was called out for was forgiving sin.
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  He's revealing that he has power over everything and can cleanse everything.
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  So what does Satan do?
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  He starts figuring out how to get rid of him.
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  So he tempts those who are in power with their own pride.
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  And he starts.
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  to develop.
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  the dumbest plan possible because it's exactly what God wants.
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  But he can't take it.
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  He can't leave Jesus here.
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  And he can't leave long enough long.
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  So.
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  Here we see Satan start the process of setting up Jesus for a downfall.
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  And the whole time Satan is working his.
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  plot.
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  Jesus is taking care of people.
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  He's training the apostles that will one day become his soldiers.
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  He's training the disciples that will one day follow him and become his kingdom.
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  He's delivering messages and words of love, of understanding, and he's setting up for a new kingdom.
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  And through these words, he's developing a new life for people.
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  Number 543, Wonderful Worlds of Light.
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  Sing them over again to me Wonderful words of love
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  See wonderful words of life.
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  Words of life and beauty.
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  Teach me faith and duty.
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  Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful.
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  Beautiful world
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  Sweetly echo the Gospel call Wonderful words of life Offer pardon and peace to all Wonderful
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  Jesus, Holy Savior, sanctified forever.
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  Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.
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  Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.
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  Throughout all of Jesus' teaching.
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  all the signs and wonders, all the direct evidence that he was losing, he remained clueless.
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  Jesus makes his final entry into Jerusalem as a king.
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  as a king of peace riding a donkey.
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  and Satan finally gets his set up.
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  We see the Last Supper.
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  Following the Last Supper, Jesus knows the betrayal's coming.
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  He's already talked about it.
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  eh
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  But you see a pattern start to happen at this point.
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  You see a pattern of threes.
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  How many times did Jesus separate himself for prayer?
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  Three times.
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  He woke the apostles up twice and then gave up on the third.
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  Came and woke them up when he had finished praying.
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  We see after he's captured.
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  We see Peter deny him three times before the clock grows.
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  We see three trials happening.
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  You have the trial before the Jews.
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  Where through a series of three trials there also inside that one trial, you have Jesus being abjectly rejected by the people who should be the first to serve him.
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  The leadership, the rabbis, the Sanhedrin.
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  too high priest reject Jesus outright.
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  We see him brought before pilot to start the final trial only for pilot to interview him and be confounded as to what they actually want.
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  So he sends him to Herod Herod starts the second trial where the only thing here at once is to see
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  and be entertained.
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  That's what here is looking for.
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  He wants to see Jesus perform.
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  And when he doesn't get what he wants, he mocks him and sends him back to pilot.
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  This pilot's the only one that can fulfill what needs to happen.
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  And pilot washing his hands of the whole situation, doing everything he can to remove himself from being part of this problem.
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  turn Jesus over to be destroyed.
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  devil thinks he won.
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  Hanging above Jesus's head was three languages.
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  There three nails used three hours of darkness.
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  It started on the third hour.
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  There were three crosses there with him.
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  There was the cross of the criminal who repented.
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  There was the cross of rejection from the other criminal and there was the cross that brought us redemption.
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  are also three Marys there.
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  His friend Mary Magdalene, mother of James and his own mother, which he spends some of the last words he has available to him to make sure she's taken care of.
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  Jesus is winning.
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  It's a horrible victory he's going through.
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  But he's winning.
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  and the devil doesn't understand yet.
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  But he will soon.
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  in about two days time.
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  Understand what a mistake he made when Jesus comes back and finishes the promise that was delivered thousands of years ago.
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  to Adam and to Eve.
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  to Abraham, to Moses, to Isaac and Jacob and Judah, to David, and even to his own mother Mary.
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  This promise that God is going to take care of the world is finally coming to pass.
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  Number 496.
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  After this song, we'll have the Lord's Supper.
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  Oh, listen to our wondrous story, counted once among the lost.
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  Yet one came down from heaven's glory, saving us at awful cost.
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  Who saved us from eternal life?
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  What did He do?
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  Where is He now?
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  Is heaven interceding?
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  Will you surrender to this Savior To accept her humbly bow?
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  You too shall come to know his favor He will save you, save you now Who saved us from eternal harm?
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  did he do?
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  Where is he now?
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  He'll in heaven interceding
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  Shall we pray for the bread?
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  Our Lord and our Father, who is above all, who is through all, who is in all, our God who formed this world, who had a plan from the very beginning, who has strength over the enemy
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  who has always been here, who has been here since the beginning of creation.
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  But you, Lord, have been here since before that.
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  And Lord, we thank you that you had a plan and you sent your son who lived this life on earth, willing to come down and came and was willing to die for our sins, suffering brutal
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  agony.
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  We thank you for the sacrifice of his body, giving of his flesh so that we could be united with you again one day.
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  Lord, we...
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  Bless this bread and thank you for your son once again and give this prayer in his holy and righteous name.
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  Amen.
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  Shall we pray for the cup?
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  our Lord and our God, we come before thee again, thanking you not only for the flesh that your Son gave for us, but for the blood.
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  You created the concept of blood at the beginning, and you taught us as mankind that the life is in the blood.
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  And then with that, with the death that your Son faced, you made eternal life available for us in His blood.
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  We thank you for your wisdom and the lessons you teach.
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  And we thank you for the redemption that we have in your son's blood.
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  And give this prayer in his holy name, amen.
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  separate and apart from the Lord's Supper, we have the opportunity to give to our Lord again.
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  Shall we bless that uh opportunity to give?
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  Lord, we come before you and we thank thee that you have blessed us so richly.
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  We thank you that you've given us every good and every perfect gift and we thank you for
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  the physical finances with which you bless us.
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  We thank you for the work we are able to do with it.
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  We thank you for the blessings that you give for us to enjoy.
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  And Lord, we thank you for the opportunity to give back to you, our God who has given all.
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  Lord, we pray for hearts that are wise and are open to the fact that you give us all that we have and that the purpose of all that we have is to serve you.
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  But Lord, we love thee and...
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  Give this prayer in your son's holy name.
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  Amen.
• 49:48
  Following his return, spent several weeks meeting with the other disciples, appearing as a mystery on one road, showing up to Thomas to offer him his wounds so that Thomas could
• 50:04
  examine them, being with his disciples for a few more days before he departs and ascends into heaven.
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  At this point,
• 50:19
  The Jewish leaders had rejected God's plan.
• 50:26
  The world and its representative, a pilot, had rejected all responsibility for what had just happened.
• 50:38
  And yet Jesus was willing to offer himself up so that both groups could be redeemed.
• 50:50
  whether you were a people who refused God, whether you were a people who refused responsibility.
• 50:59
  Jesus was there to grant redemption to both.
• 51:05
  In Acts 2,
• 51:08
  We see it begin.
• 51:11
  We see the start of this new kingdom.
• 51:17
  We see the work of this new army.
• 51:23
  to starting in verse 29.
• 51:26
  Brethren, I may confidently say to you that regarding the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried and his tomb is with us to this day.
• 51:36
  And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants upon the throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of
• 51:47
  Christ that he was neither abandoned to herades nor did he suffer decay.
• 51:53
  This Jesus, God raised up again, to which we were all witnesses, therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the
• 52:04
  Holy Spirit, he has poured forth which you both see and hear.
• 52:11
  For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make thy enemies a footstool for thy feet.
• 52:25
  Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.
• 52:38
  Here we see the start.
• 52:42
  of something wonderful.
• 52:46
  We see the gospel being delivered.
• 52:49
  We see this message that now has been completed.
• 52:54
  This promise that has finally been fulfilled be delivered to the world.
• 53:02
  We see Jesus being taught.
• 53:09
  not doing the teaching directly anymore, but establishing his army.
• 53:15
  It starts this day.
• 53:19
  3,000 were baptized this day, and it multiplied in the following days.
• 53:28
  We see the beginning of a new type of army.
• 53:32
  We see a new type of soldier for this army.
• 53:38
  In 2 Timothy chapter 2,
• 53:44
  We see a new description of what it means to be a soldier for God.
• 53:51
  Therefore you, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus of the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men
• 54:00
  who will also teach others.
• 54:03
  Suffer hardship for me as a good soldier for Christ Jesus.
• 54:07
  No soldier active in service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.
• 54:17
  And also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.
• 54:25
  For the hardworking farmer are to be the first to receive the share of his crop.
• 54:28
  Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
• 54:33
  Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David according to my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal, but the word of God is not
• 54:45
  imprisoned.
• 54:48
  Just like the book Tinker Tailor Soldier Steps By, here we have
• 54:55
  God's soldier being identified.
• 54:59
  Soldier, athlete, farmer, criminal.
• 55:06
  We are a different type of soldier.
• 55:09
  We're a soldier that is supposed to, according to Paul in Ephesians, strapple in the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness.
• 55:24
  Cover our feet in the gospel of peace, take the shield of faith, wear the helmet of salvation, and fight with the sword of the Spirit.
• 55:38
  We're a soldier, not as the Zealots thought, a soldier of assassination, not as the Pharisees thought, a soldiers of rigorous legal law, not as the Sadducees thought, a
• 55:54
  soldier who fought through wealth.
• 56:00
  and not as the Essings thought, a monk soldier who went and hid in a tower in the wilderness.
• 56:11
  But we are a soldier who is meant to be out there and be active in spreading the word, spreading the gospel.
• 56:23
  So with that in mind, I feel like this song has been co-opted ah and I want to sing it.
• 56:30
  So don't frame your mind the way we normally sing this song.
• 56:34
  Read the words as we go through it.
• 56:37
  This is a song about serving in God's army.
• 56:45
  My eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
• 56:49
  He is straddling out the vintage where the greats are at the store.
• 56:53
  He has loosed the fateful lightning and has his terror of all so sore.
• 56:58
  His truth is marching on.
• 57:03
  Glory, glory,
• 57:18
  God is marching on!
• 58:03
  Please turn to 943.
• 58:05
  We don't have slides for this one.
• 58:06
  oh With that, if there's anyone here who would like to become part of God's army, anyone who needs prayer, anyone who is ready to sign up,
• 58:27
  to become part of God's kingdom.
• 58:31
  We have the opportunity this morning.
• 58:32
  The opportunity we have is to remember what God was willing to do for us, what Jesus was willing to sacrifice for us, how much he loves us, and how much he wants us to be with
• 58:50
  him.
• 58:52
  So with that,
• 58:53
  you would like to become part of God's army or if you need prayers for help, please come forward as we.