Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #20240329 - He Died for Me - 1 Corinthians 2:2

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#20240329 - He Died for Me - 1 Corinthians 2:2 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the Study of God's Word with pastor and author Ed
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Taylor recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora, Co To learn
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more about the many resources available through Abounding
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Grace Media or to tune into our live stream services, visit us
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online at Calvary, Co dot Church or download our free Calvary
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Church app. Now here's Pastor Ed to take us
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into our study. Would you open?
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Your Bibles to. Mark chapter 10 to A Time in the
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Life. Of Jesus as he was.
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Preparing his. Followers for his.
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Coming crucifixion. It's one of these snapshots that
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were given as Jesus is trying to prepare this group.
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For the future. He says in Mark chapter 10 and
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verse 32. Now they were on the road going
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up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them, and they were
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amazed. They.
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Followed they were. Afraid.
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And he took the 12 aside again, and began to tell them the
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things that would happen to him. Behold, we're going up to
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Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered.
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To the chief priests. And to the.
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Scribes. And they will condemn him to
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death and deliver him to the Gentiles.
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And they will mock him, and scourge him, and spit on him,
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and kill him and the. Third day he.
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Will rise again. Jesus was.
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Teaching and preparing them for the.
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Cross. So we look back now, 2000 years
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later. The cross has.
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Been for the last 2000 years, the universal sign of
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Christianity, it doesn't elicit the kind of emotion that it did
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looking forward. As Jesus was.
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Preparing them, it's almost like they didn't hear the end.
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They didn't. Hear that he would rise again.
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They could only. Hear the cross.
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Of course, today people wear crosses.
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On their necks and put crosses in their homes.
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Some will even. Tattoo A cross.
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On their arms or their? Legs as a way.
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To connect with others and remember what Jesus has done, we
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find crosses on hospitals, in hospital rooms, even on grave.
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Markers crosses. Everywhere are meaningful.
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They're a reminder of this important day, a most important
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day in the history of mankind. You could say from birth to
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death those of. Us who live in this.
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Cross culture. Understand what it means and how
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it's central to our lives, So much so.
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That Paul the apostle would say it this way in.
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First Corinthians chapter. Two verse 2.
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He said. I'm determined not to know
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anything among you. Except Jesus Christ.
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And him crucified. This was a.
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Singular point in the life. Of Paul.
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He would say it again to the Galatians.
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He would say this in Galatians chapter 6 and verse 14 he would
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say. But God forbid that I should
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boast except. In the cross.
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Of our Lord Jesus Christ. By whom the world has been
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crucified to me, and I to. The world.
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The cross reminds us today, right now, that we're dealing
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with a God who understands suffering and.
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Sacrifice. A God who demonstrated.
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Love the real. Definition of love.
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The Bible actually tells us that that's.
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Where God demonstrated his love on the.
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Cross Good Friday. Is known as God's most painful
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moment, the painful moment that Jesus himself experienced on our
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behalf. While we might have these clean
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decorative crosses and jewelry reminding us of a day, that's
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not what Jesus hung on. He hung on a very crude, painful
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wooden contraption that no doubt was used many times before.
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And many times. After Jesus.
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Hung on it, he endured a most horrific thing a man could ever
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endure. Before the cross, Jesus.
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Experienced what's known as the Roman scourging.
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You remember here in Mark? He tells them.
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I'm going to be scourged, I'm going to be beaten the
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scourging. Is described by.
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Some as using this instrument that.
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Was a short whip. And in that.
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Short whip. Several.
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Single. Or braided leather.
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Thongs. Were used.
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Of variable links in which small iron?
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Balls or sharp? Pieces of sheep bones were tied
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at intervals, the man. Jesus.
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Would have been stripped of his clothing and his hands would
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have been tied to then upright. Post where?
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His back. And his buttocks and his legs
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were beaten and flogged. The scourging was intended to
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weaken the victim. To a state just short of
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collapse or death. As Roman soldiers, one on
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either. Side repeatedly struck the
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victim's back with full force. The iron balls would cause deep
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confusions and the leather thongs with the sheep bones
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would cut into the skin and the subcutaneous tissues.
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Then, as the flogging continued, the lacerations would tear into
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the underlying skeletal muscles. The two scourgers, one on either
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side of the victim, took turns. With full force.
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Beating the man relentlessly. Over and over again.
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Almost. Always the scourging.
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Would lead to one of two outcomes, Jesus being one of the
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exceptions. The scourging would either lead
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to an early confession of some crime, whether the person did it
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or not, so that the beating would stop, or a man would die
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under this beating. Yet.
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Jesus, enduring to the end, would then take and.
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Pick up his. Cross carrying its load on his.
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Beat up body. Crucifixion was brutal.
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It was invented by the Persians. But it was perfected.
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By the Romans, the Persians. Believed that the earth was
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sacred. So the criminal was.
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Lifted up so his death wouldn't defile the earth.
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As one Jewish. Writer wrote Crucifixion.
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Is the most. Terrible.
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And. Cruel death which?
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Man has ever devised for taking vengeance on his fellow man.
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Tacitus called it a torture. Only fit.
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For slaves, it's. Fitting that the Romans would
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perfect it, and they used it more than anyone else in their
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cruelty in enforcing the law. Their law.
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Some estimate that the Romans killed some 30,000 Jews by
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crucifixion, and it sent a message if you and I were to see
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it and walk by the. Road as a.
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Person on the cross was. Displayed to us.
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It would send us a message too, and that is the messages.
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Don't mess with Rome. This will be your end.
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Rome, understanding its viciousness, kept it just.
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For a very select group of people.
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Rome would only use crucifixion for rebels, runaway slaves and
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the lowest. Type.
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Of criminal. It was so.
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Cruel that no Roman citizen would ever.
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Be crucified, crucifixion. Then would have been.
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Followed the. Scourging very closely in time
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and it would have involved laying Jesus on his open.
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Lacerated bleeding. Back on a huge, rough, splenary
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cross the Roman soldiers would then take.
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Spikes 5 to. 7 inches long and hammer them between the two arm
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bones at the wrist, crushing the medial nerve.
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The pain was absolutely unbearable.
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In fact, it was literally beyond.
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Words to describe it was so. Painful and hard on the person
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that they had to invent a new word.
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To. Describe the pain of
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crucifixion. We use it all the time, but now
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you'll know or be reminded that when you.
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Use this word. It takes you right back to the
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torturous death of our Saviour. When they describe the pain of
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someone. That was crucified.
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They would use this word. They would say it.
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Was excruciating and the word literally means from the.
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Cross or out of the cross it was.
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Pain that came out. Of the cross they had to.
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Create a new word because in the language of the day, there was
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nothing to describe what was experienced at this point Jesus
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would have been. Hoisted as the crossbar was
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attached to the vertical. Stake and then the nails were
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driven through. Jesus feet.
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Again, the nerves in his feet would have been.
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Crushed, Crushed. And severed nerves were
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certainly bad enough, but his arms would have then immediately
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been stretched beyond his. Ability to adjust.
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And as his arms would have been stretched.
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Probably at least. 6 inches in length.
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Old Shoulders would have been then dislocated, fulfilling the
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Old Testament prophecy in Psalm 20.
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Two where it? Speaks of his bones being out of
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joint. A man at crucifixion would.
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Die either by. Asphyxiation.
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Or by cardiac arrest. It was designed to prolong the
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pain and not hasten the death. It was designed to torture a
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man, and that's what Jesus went through for us.
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That's what we can remember and attach when we see a symbol of
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a. Cross or we?
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Put one on in the morning in a. T-shirt or.
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A necklace or we have one hanging in our front room that
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can be so common that we forget the significance of what it
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means. Jesus, his perfect sinless
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offering was. Provided as a way of escape for
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us. The Bible puts it this way.
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In Second Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21.
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The Bible says. He made him who knew no sin to
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be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God
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in him. Jesus would have.
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Suffered in silence throughout. All of his.
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Hours of interrogation and torture and agony.
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Like the Bible. Predicted in Isaiah.
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Chapter 50. Three and verse seven he was.
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Oppressed. And he was.
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Afflicted yet he. Opened not his mouth.
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He was. Led as a lamb to the.
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Slaughter. And as a.
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Sheep before his. Shearers as silent, He opened
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not his mouth, And yet when the weight of humanity's sins were
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poured upon him. He cries out.
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This is Matthew 2746. It says about the 9th.
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Hour. Jesus cries out with a loud
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voice. Saying Eli, Eli, Lama
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Sabachthani, that is my God my. God, why have you?
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Forsaken me. Now we are introduced or invited
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into the emotional and mental side of the Crucifixion.
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We don't often think of the kind of pain that.
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Jesus the. Human.
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The man God in human. Flesh dealt with.
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The word forsaken here literally means.
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To be deserted. Or abandoned or rejected and
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these. Words are shocking to us as we.
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Think about deity hanging in humanity upon the cross.
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They disarm us and cause us to ask the question, what does he
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mean? What is he trying to describe?
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What is he inviting us into? It's hard.
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For us as human beings, even to fathom what's taking place.
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Here. We're on holy ground as we look
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into. Such a subject.
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Yet the impact on our lives is so significant that.
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It does bear. A few moments.
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To discuss, I think, if. We better understand what Jesus
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actually went through and the incredible pain he experienced.
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It would give us even a greater appreciation, that's why.
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We take a day. To commemorate the crucifixion,
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the celebration of the resurrection is just a.
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Few days later. But again, as you consider.
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The. Apostles and the.
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Followers of Jesus. They don't fully understand
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what's going to happen yet. They've been prepared, they've
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been taught. A.
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Lot of you hang in the balance in a very similar way.
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You don't know how something's going to turn out.
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You have the promise of God. You have.
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You have the assurance of. God you have.
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People in your life coming alongside of you, getting you
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through the moment, but you don't know yet.
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What a glorious day awaits still yet.
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Future. You see when.
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Jesus, said my God, my God. Why have you?
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Forsaken me. They weren't the delusions of a
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man in pain. His.
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Faith. Here was not failing him.
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I believe as Jesus was. Hanging there at this moment he
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was bearing the sins of the world even.
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As the Bible says. He was dying as a substitute for
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you and for me, even as we personalize it.
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He was. Bearing your sin at that moment,
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how can we not consider, I mean even driving in today and
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considering the moments that I'll have?
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Here today. In just such a high and holy
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moment, how can I not remember what God saved me from my sin
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and my walk and relationship? With God.
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To him was imputed the. Guilt.
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And the shame. Of.
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All of our sins and his suffering was the necessary
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punishment for those sins on our behalf, even unto death.
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It was no sterile transaction. It was.
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A Relational Sacrifice. The essence of that punishment
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was the outpouring of. God's wrath.
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Upon sinners. What we deserve?
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There's so much talk today when there's injustice and challenges
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and inequities. Personally, culturally,
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politically. It's just this immediate.
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Cry for justice. And of course, in our
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imperfections we we interpret justice in a variety of
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different ways. Some even go so far to think
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justice is vengeance and retribution.
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But you have to understand here. God has settled.
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The matter of your sin, and mine by laying it upon his own
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innocent son on that. Good Friday, which is?
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Startling to me, isn't it? Startling to us to think.
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Of the worst. Injustice.
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Literally the worst. Day of humanity and all the
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worst days that are in this room right now that are watching
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online listening all the. Worst days that.
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We've all experienced, we have. Quite a few.
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Including the worst of the. Worst this.
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Day in Human History. Was the worst.
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Far surpassing all of. Ours.
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Combined and mixed. Together it's.
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Startling to me. That here we are a.
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Few thousand years later, thinking about the.
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Worst. Day and considering it as.
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The best day? God can do that.
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It's hard to. Believe, and it requires an
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amount, a massive amount of faith, to consider that.
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Our worst days? Can actually become.
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Best days. In the hands of God, in some
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mysterious. Way that we.
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Can never fully understand during these awful hours on the.
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Cross the Father. Was pouring out the full measure
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of his wrath against sin and the recipient of that wrath.
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Was God's. Only beloved Son, listen, God
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was punishing. Jesus as if he.
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Personally committed every. Wicked deed.
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Committed by every wicked Sinner, and in doing.
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So he could. Treat and forgive.
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Those. Redeemed ones as if they lived.
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Christ's perfect. Life in righteousness.
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It's a glorious transaction and transformation and substitution
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on our behalf. We know this event happened.
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We know there was a moment that on Calvary, when the sin of the
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world was poured upon him, when he was, who knew no sin was made
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to be sin for us. The problem with sin is that it
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creates separation. That is the greatest issue with.
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Sin. It separates us from God, but on
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a very. Real way we live.
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In a world where sin has separated us from one another as
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well, sin produces separation. Friends from friends, parents
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from children, and mankind from God even here.
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For a free. Few brief moments in a way,
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that's. Hard for us to fully grasp.
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Separating the Son from the Father.
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The Bible says. That God cannot look upon sin
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and. Jesus was forsaken by God that
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he would. So that we would never have to
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be in Hebrews chapter 13, it says let your conduct be without
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covetousness. Be content with such things as.
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You have for. He himself has said I will never
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leave you nor. Forsake you.
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And So what is John he records for?
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Us the words that. Are so important, so important
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for. Us to grasp.
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That when? Jesus received.
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The sour wine, he said. It is finished.
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It is finished. And bowing his head, he.
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Gave up his spirit. You know, it's more than just
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good. Friday.
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With those final. Words Good Friday.
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Becomes Great Friday transformation of lives for you
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and me. Consider these thoughts and let
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them sink in. As we leave.
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This room in a few moments, and every time you take of the
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elements of communion, you're coming.
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Back to this. Time not merely to a sterile
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room, perhaps in a final meal. Where the Passover.
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Is being shared and the bread is being spread around and the cup
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of wine is being given. It's not to.
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That that. Symbol is not taking you.
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Back to the Passover. Room it's taking.
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You back to the cross. It's far more significant than
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sometimes our minds will allow it to.
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Be a good. Friday becomes a great.
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Friday, because God did. Such a great thing on our
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behalf. Your sins can be forgiven and
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washed clean. Now is not the time in the world
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in which we live. Today just to.
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Attend religious services and have some kind of moral
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appearance to other. People.
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It's not that time, even as you head back home or go.
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Back to work. Now is the time to get.
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Serious with a God who loves you and take the blood of Jesus
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Christ seriously. And the price that was paid on
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our behalf, some of you even today you.
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You have to. Say God, I'm a Sinner, and I ask
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you to forgive me. I believe you.
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Died on the cross. And that you did this for me,
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and I give you my life, I release control.
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I turn away from my sin, I repent of it, and I turn to
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Jesus as. Savior.
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As the Lord fills me. With his spirit, today's a day.
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Of seriousness, you think of being with Jesus for a moment.
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How the? Disciples left the.
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Day. You know, the Bible says that
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they abandoned him. They ran away, maybe looking
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from a distance, some closer than others.
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But they all. They couldn't take it.
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And that has an effect When you're met with great love and
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great love has responded with great sin or mistakes.
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You know, whether they did that as a sin or they just ran away
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because they couldn't take it, I can understand all the different
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emotions that would be surrounding them, but they lived
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with that. For three days they lived with
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the. Consideration that.
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All was lost. They lived with the.
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Sensation that their best friend was just tortured and they
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couldn't do or didn't do anything for him, you think?
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Of Peter. And what he had to endure,
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because not only did he turn his back on his friend, he denied
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him. And, you know, God allows these
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things in our lives when we're matched up with great, amazing.
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Like like this? Event is intended to draw us
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away from just the mundane and religious.
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Activity of life. It's.
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It's meant to get. US to a higher level.
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Of understanding and faith, even though our response may not be
22:16
measured up to the occasion, but God is working in your life and
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He wants you to. Rise to the.
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Occasion. He desires you, God's heart for
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us. As if we might rise to the
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occasion of the days in which we live, and we can.
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Because. Of what Jesus has done for us.
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So as we. Leave here in a few moments.
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There'll be no final song. There'll be no anything.
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I'm just going to pray and we're going to say Amen.
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And then you're going to leave. With this on your mind, we'll
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gather again. We're not going to wait three
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days for the resurrection of Jesus.
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We'll be. Here, in almost 24 hours
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celebrating his resurrection, but indeed, we're celebrating
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something that has already happened, we get to know the end
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of the story. But the disciples?
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The Apostles. Didn't.
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And even some of you don't know the end of the story of what
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you're going through right now either.
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And you can trust. God that.
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There's a better day coming. That there's a.
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Sunday to match your Friday as you trust him.
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So, God, we want to rise to the occasion as we consider the
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reality. Of great sacrifice we are truly.
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In a a solemn moment like Holy Ground and life is going to suck
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us right back in so quickly, as I'm sure it did with the.
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Disciples. They had to go into life with
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emotions and they had to go into life with failure and they had
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to go into life with so much. Because life is life.
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We can't live in a. Bubble So I pray for your church
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today. All the good.
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Friday gatherings today and tonight and the holy and high
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moment of a weekend. Filled with worship.
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And adoration, celebration, release, resurrection services.
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But it's more than a celebration.
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It's a solemn occasion for dedication and consideration of
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all that you've done on our. Behalf God, have your way with
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us. That we might rise to another
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level from today in this moment, and that we might receive the
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comfort and encouragement that's only available.
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To us by faith. And.
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Publicly because you're. Alive now Jesus, we say thank
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you for enduring the cross and changing our lives in Jesus
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name. Amen.
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We pray that you've been encouraged by this Bible study
25:01
delivered live from the sanctuary of Calvary Church.
25:04
For prayer. Call us at 87730 Grace.
25:09
That's 877-304-7223. To listen to this message in its
25:15
entirety or to join us for our live stream services, visit us
25:19
online at Calvary Co dot Church or download our free Calvary
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Church app. Be blessed as you Worship Jesus
25:27
this week.