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Transcript

What is a Christian: Determination · CCC West Covina

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Father, thank you, Lord, for tonight.
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We are grateful for the midweek opportunity to study the Word of
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God. We thank you for what you've
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already taught us as we have looked into your Word to see
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what your Bible says about Christianity.
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And we know that you'll teach us this evening as we study the
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Word of God. Open our hearts and minds.
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Help us to be receptive to the truth of your Word.
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And our prayer, Father, is that as each of us look at our own
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lives, we would measure it according to the standard you've
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given in your word. And that, Lord, that would be
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the measuring stick by which we look at our life and ask
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ourselves the question, as Paul had said in 2nd Corinthians 13.
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Five, test yourself, prove yourself to see whether or not
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Jesus is in you. May that always be the case for
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us and may we live a life of self examination according to
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what your word says, and then maybe live according to your
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word in Jesus name, Amen. I gave you an outline tonight.
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If you didn't pick one up, they're still in the back, but I
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gave one to you just so that you kind of know where we have been
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over the last nine weeks that we've been together.
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This is week #10 but we're on point #9 because the first week
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was introductory. But all those points help you
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identify the marks of true Christianity we're looking at
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and answer the question. Question, what is a a Christian?
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And so as you look at that, you realize that a Christian is
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known by decision, by definition, by description,
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declaration, dedication, denunciation, devotion,
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disassociation, all those things we have covered over the last
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several weeks. And we've only really touched
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the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding all these
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different points. But tonight, we want you to
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understand that a Christian is known by determination.
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There there is a firmness about the believer.
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There is a resolute determination, A steadfastness
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about the believer that helps mark him out as one who truly
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knows the Christ. He is one who truly has one
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focus, and that focus is a commitment and a discipline that
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he exemplifies or she exemplifies.
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In and through their lives. They know what needs to be done
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and they do it. And the answer is in First
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Corinthians 2 verse #2 where Paul said these words.
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For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ
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and Him crucified. That is the believers
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determination. I determined to know nothing
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except the person Jesus Christ and his passion, his
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crucifixion. I determined to know nothing
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among you except the man Jesus Christ and his mission to be
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crucified, Paul says. I I determined to know nothing
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among you except the Son Jesus Christ and his sacrifice.
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I determined to know just one thing, the person and work of
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Jesus Christ our Lord. That is the believers
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determination. Paul sums it up very succinctly.
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I have one message, I have one mission.
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I have one main talking point and it centers around a person,
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Jesus Christ, and his purpose for coming his crucifixion.
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Every Christian is determined to know nothing but the Christ and
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his crucifixion, His death on Calvary.
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It is the central mission of the life of the believer.
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And yet we find ourselves more concerned about social issues
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and more concerned about political issues and more
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concerned about moral issues and more concerned about mental
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issues than we do biblical, scriptural issues.
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And that's always going to be a problem.
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But it need not be if you are determined to know nothing but
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Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Everything centers on the person
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of Christ and the power of the cross.
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Everything centers on that. We have one symbol in our
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auditorium and only one, and that symbol is behind me and is
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the cross of Christ. That's the only symbol.
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There's no other symbol necessary, for it is that which
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defines our faith. It's the one thing that
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separates us from everyone else, the person and work of Jesus
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Christ our Lord on Calvary's cross.
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That is the main thing and it means to be kept the main thing
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in the church. And over the years there have
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been all kinds of crosses. There have been Greek crosses
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and Coptic crosses and Roman Catholic crosses and Protestant
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crosses, and Christians wear crosses and non Christians wear
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crosses. And yet just because you have a
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piece of jewelry around your neck doesn't mean you have the
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person of Jesus in your heart. It's very important to recognize
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that a lot of people wear crosses, but do they even know
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what that cross means? A cross was always a symbol of
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torture. It was always a symbol of death.
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It was always a symbol of degradation and humiliation.
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It's very precious to the believer.
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Why? Because what man chose to do to
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destroy the Christ only truly magnified the Christ.
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And so we realized that the cross was something that that
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was such a, a, a painful experience.
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It was developed by the Persians, Persians in, in the
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500 B CS BC. It wasn't adopted by Rome until
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63 BC. They adopted it and perfected it
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to such a degree that that it became the the main symbol of
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torture and humiliation. You'll, you'll see people with
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crosses in their, in their homes or around their necks with, with
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the person of Christ on the cross that, that always has, has
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been a, a sticking point with me because the person on the cross
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that they have is recognizable. But the Bible says he was
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unrecognizable as a man because he was beaten beyond
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recognition. So, yeah, if you have a Jesus on
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a cross that he's recognizable, you got the wrong Jesus because
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he was not recognizable. If you have a Jesus on a cross
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that has a loincloth around him, that again is wrong because when
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people were crucified, they were always crucified naked.
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There was no loincloth on them because it was an act of
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humiliation and degradation. But you don't have people with
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crosses with naked Jesus on them.
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They got the wrong Jesus on there because he's not there.
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He died and was buried and rose again.
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So it's imperative that you get the cross of Christ right,
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because it is everything. It's the main thing.
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So Paul would say, I determined to know nothing among you except
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Jesus Christ the person and his cross, which was his passion and
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purpose for coming. So important to to understand
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that, but yet we so easily forget that.
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Paul didn't say I preach about the life of Christ.
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Paul didn't say I preach about the miracles of Christ.
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Paul didn't say I preach about the message of Christ.
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No, I preach Christ and him crucified because his life
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didn't save us. His message didn't save us.
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His miracles didn't save us. It was his work on Calvary's
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cross that saves us. And so Paul would determine to
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know nothing among those in Corinth except Jesus Christ and
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him crucify. The centrality of the cross is
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what the Bible is all about. I'll show you that in a moment.
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But everything in the Bible centers on the person and work
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of the Messiah, and that work was accomplished on Calvary's
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cross. The cross was central to the
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mission of Christ. It was central to the message of
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Christ, and it's central to the meaning of Christianity.
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The cross is everything. And so therefore you must
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understand the Christ who hung on Calvary's cross.
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It's interesting to note that the gospels, the Synoptic
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gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, 1/3 of them is all about the
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last week of our Lord's life. John's Gospel which is about the
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deity of Christ. Half of John's gospel focuses in
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on the last week of the life of Christ.
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In fact, if you got your Bible, turn me to John chapter 2
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because in John's Gospel, John would refer to the hour 7 times
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and the hour is very very important.
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As you recall in Luke's gospel that our Lord was 12 years old
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and the very first recorded words in the scripture that were
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spoken by Jesus were when he was 12.
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And there was nothing else until his ministry began and he began
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to preach about the Kingdom of of heaven.
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But the words that he spoke at 12 years of age to his mother
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while he was dialoguing with the Pharisees in the temple were
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these. Don't you know that I had to be
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about my father's business? Everything about the ministry of
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Christ centered on the business of his father.
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Very important statement. Probably the most important
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statement Christ ever made. At the age of 12, I must be
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about my Father's business. In fact, it's the the first of
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seven divine musts in the Gospel of Luke.
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If you trace those divine musts through Luke's Gospel, you'll
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realize that all of them deal with something about the truth
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of his death. Why?
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Because that was central to his message.
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It was central to his mission. So at the very beginning of
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John's Gospel and we'll, we'll embark on a great journey in the
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new year, coming in 2026 on Sunday mornings by going through
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John's Gospel. It will take us a long time to
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get through John's Gospel. It took us nine years to get
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through Luke, so it'll probably take us at least that long or
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more to get through the Gospel of John.
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But in the 2nd chapter of John, Christ is going to perform his
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very first miracle, turning water into wine.
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It's very unique. And we'll talk about this when
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we get there in in 2026. But it's it's interesting to
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note that that this is his first miracle.
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And you would think that his first miracle would make a make
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a bigger splash than turning water into wine.
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You would think his first miracle would be a resurrection.
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I mean, that would make a pretty big splash.
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But it wasn't even healing someone who was who was
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paralyzed would be a great splash.
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I mean, after all, how many times do you get to make a first
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impression? Just once.
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And so we look at the turning of the water into wine in John
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chapter 2 as a so, so miracle. Oh, but it was a miracle that
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set the tone for his entire ministry, that that's why it's
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recorded and that's why it's the first miracle, because it
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describes to us exactly why Jesus came.
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And the Bible says to John too, that on the third day there was
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a wedding in Canaan of Galilee. And commentators will debate the
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the meaning of the third day. I don't debate that.
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I think it's very clear as to why John would say, why would
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John say that on the third day there was a wedding in Canaan of
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Galilee? The Jews will tell you it was
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the day of weddings, that that would be Tuesday of the week.
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Saturday, of course, would be the Sabbath and that ended at
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the evening time on Saturday. Sunday would be the first day of
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the week and so they would begin to make preparations for the
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wedding. Monday would be the the final
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duty surrounding the wedding and Tuesday would be the wedding.
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And so they would say that a lot of Jewish weddings would take
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place on a Tuesday in ancient times.
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I don't buy that, but that's what a lot of Jews will tell
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you. I think it's very important
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because I think it it sets the tone for the resurrection of
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Christ that on the third day he would rise again.
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Why? Because this is the first
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mention of the hour in John's gospel, the first of seven
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times. And so it says in in verse
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number #2 or says in verse #1 on the third day was the wedding in
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King of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.
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And both Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding.
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When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him,
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they have no wine. And Jesus said to her, woman,
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what does that have to do with us?
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My hour has not yet come. So this is the first mention of
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the hour. So I think that John inserts the
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third day because the third day is related to the hour.
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And these are the words that Christ said to His mother.
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My hour has not yet come because the very first mention of the
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hour is that which would characterize His ministry.
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Very important to understand that.
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Why? Because He would take the filthy
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water, the murky water, The Dirty water for cleansing and
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make it into the finest of wine. Because you see, that's what
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Jesus did when he saves the soul.
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He takes the murky, dirty water of your life and makes it the
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finest of wine. He makes you a brand new
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creation. That that's why Jesus came.
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That's why this is the first miracle.
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It sets the tone for what the ministry of Christ is all about.
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And that's why the very Nick scene, He's cleansing the
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temple. Why?
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Because Jesus is all about cleansing.
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And so he turns the water in the wine, and the very next scene is
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his cleansing of the temple in Jerusalem.
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And the very next scene after that is the conversation with
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Nicodemus which says that a man must be born again.
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He must be washed with the washing of water of the Word.
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Again, speaking about the cleansing of the inner man.
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Everything about the ministry of Christ was about cleaning the
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life that is so filled with sin so that we can be clothed in the
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righteousness of Christ. But that's the first mention of
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the hour and it characterized his ministry.
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The second mention of the hour is found in John Chapter 7.
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Because the Jews were were seeking to kill him.
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And it says in verse #30 of John 7.
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So they were seeking to seize him, and no man laid his hand on
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him because his hour had not yet come.
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The second mention of the hour in John's gospel.
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The first characterized his ministry, the second conveyed
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His sovereignty. His hour had not yet come.
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They wanted to kill him, but they couldn't.
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Why? Because He was on a divine
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timetable and everything about the Cross is is precise.
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And although they wanted to seize them and although they
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wanted to kill them, him, they couldn't do it because his hour
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had not yet come. But it was coming.
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And so it truly conveyed His sovereignty over an 820 is the
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third mention. It's the same thing.
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It says these words. He spoke to the treasury as he
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taught in the temple, and no one seized him because his hour had
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not yet come. Again, it's all about the hour.
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So the first mention, excuse me, clarifies His identity or His
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ministry, and the second and the third one convey to us His
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sovereignty. And then you come to the the 4th
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mention of the hour, excuse me, that's in John 12 verse #23 when
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some Greeks had come to to Philip and asked to see Jesus,
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and Philip took him to Andrew and Andrew brought them to
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Jesus. And these are the words of
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Jesus. In verse 23, He says the hour
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has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
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The hour's here. The hour has come.
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He, he, He has truly conveyed His sovereignty.
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He has truly clarified His ministry, and now he's going to
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certify His destiny. The hour has come.
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Then in verse 27, now my soul has become troubled and what
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should I say? Father saved me from this hour.
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But for this purpose I came to this hour.
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Father glorify your name. The hour certified His destiny.
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And then you, you have the next mentioned, the 6th mentioned in
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chapter 13 verse #1 now before the the feast of the Passover.
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Excuse me, Jesus knowing that His hour had come, that He would
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depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who
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were in the world, He loved them to the end.
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Here He clarified His identity. And then in John 17 verse #1 is
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the 7th mention of the hour, and it says, lifting up his eyes to
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heaven, He said, Father, the hour has come, glorify your Son
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that the sun may be glorified, or that the sun might glorify
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you. So everything was about moving
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toward the hour, and this one communicated His glory.
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Father, glorify the sun, so the sun may glorify you.
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Put the sun on display so the sun can display you.
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And is it not true that at the cross the glory of the Lord was
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on display? His love was on display, His
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mercy was on display, His forgiveness was on display.
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His goodness was on display. His wrath was on display.
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Everything about the attributes of God were displayed at
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Calvary. So Paul will say, I determined
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to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified,
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because when he was crucified, his glory was on display and he
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glorified his Father by putting him on display.
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Everything is about putting Christ on display.
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That is the determination of the believer.
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I am determined to put Christ on display.
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So I'm going to preach Christ, the person and the power of the
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cross because that's the best way I can show people who Jesus
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really is. You see, we forget that that the
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cross is, is everything. Let's look at it this way.
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Eternity past eternity past before the creation of the world
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is all about the let's call it the predetermination or the
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predestination of the cross because he was the Lamb slain
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before the foundation of the world.
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So when eternity passed before the creation of the world,
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everything was about the predetermination or the
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predestination of the cross. So when the Bible says in Jesus
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one, let us make man in our image, the plan had been put
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into place. Deity communicating with deity,
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let us make man in our image. Why?
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Because the whole purpose was to redeem a bride for the Son.
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So in eternity past, it's all about the predetermination of
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the cross. So when you open your Bible and
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you read the Old Testament, the Old Testament is all about the
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preparation or the prediction of the cross.
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Everything in the Old Testament prepares you for the cross
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because everything in the Old Testament predicts the cross.
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OK, so you read Psalm 22A, Messianic Psalm written 1000
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years before the cross was about the crucifixion.
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And then you move and you you open your Bible and you begin to
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read Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53 was written 700 years
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before the cross. And then you read Zechariah
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chapter 12 verse #10 where it says that that one day they will
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look upon him whom they have pierced.
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Speaking of the of the crucifixion written 550 years
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before the cross. Now why is that important?
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Because the first recorded crucifixion in history happened
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500 years before the cross, and yet 1000 years before the cross,
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there was a prediction about it. 700 years before the cross there
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was a prediction about it. 550 years before the cross there was
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a prediction about it. But the cross did not come into
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play until 500 BC by the Persians.
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So before it was ever a thing of torture, before it was ever an
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item that that would come into play, where it would crucify
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and, and, and, and had this cruel death of people.
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The Bible had already predicted it.
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Why? Because it was predetermined in
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the eternity past that he'd be the Lamb slain before the
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foundation of the world. So in eternity past you have the
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predetermination of the cross, and then in the Old Testament
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you have the preparation or the prediction about the cross.
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And so you move through your Old Testament, you come to the
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Gospels and the Gospels is all about the mission and the
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revelation of the cross. Remember Mark's Gospel in Mark
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chapter 8 after Christ that asked the disciples who do men
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say that I am doubt the Christ, the Son of the living God.
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He says, OK, don't tell anybody that this is what I want you to
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tell them. Mark 831 And he began to teach
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them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be
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rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes,
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and be killed. After three days, rise again.
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And he was stating this matter plainly, openly.
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In other words, this what you tell everybody?
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Don't tell I'm the Christ and I'm the living God.
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Tell them that the Son of Man must suffer.
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Tell them about the divine certainty of the cross.
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And of course, that's when Peter would pipe up and say, Lord, you
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know, you don't have the mind, the things of God.
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I mean, Lord, you don't understand who you are.
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You're the Messiah. You're not going to die and
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Christ is going to be behind me, Satan.
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But they didn't understand the predetermination of the cross,
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nor did they understand the predictions about the cross.
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So you move from Mark 9, from the divine necessity of the
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cross to mark, I'm sorry, mark 8 to mark 9, which speaks about
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the divine certainty of the cross.
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He said He was teaching His disciples the Son of Man is to
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be delivered. This is divine certainty.
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What was the divine necessity? He must be delivered.
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This is divine certainty. He is to be delivered into the
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hands of men, and they will kill him, and when he has been
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killed, he will rise three days later.
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But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid
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to ask him. Why were they afraid to ask him?
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Why didn't they want to ask Jesus about the cross?
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All you got to do is read on in in Mark's Gospel and you realize
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that says the verse 33. They came to Capernaum and when
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he was in the house, he began to question them.
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What were you discussing on the way as if Jesus didn't know, but
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they kept silent for on the way they discussed with one another
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which of them was the greatest. Of course, not going to ask
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Jesus about the cross because that didn't fit into their their
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methodology of greatness. So they weren't going to tell
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him anything. But you see, the Gospels is
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about the mission of the cross and the revelation of the cross.
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So everybody knows about the cross.
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So you have the divine necessity and you have the divine
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certainty, and then you have the divine brutality of the cross.
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And that's in chapter 10 when it says these words.
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And again he took the 12 aside and began to tell them what was
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going to happen to them, saying, Behold, we are going up to
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Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief
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priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death
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and will hand them over to the Gentiles.
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They will mock him, spit on him, scourge him, kill him, and three
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days later he will rise again. The divine brutality of the
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cross. But even though he spoke about
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its necessity, its certainty, and its brutality, he always
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couched it in the victory of the cross.
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Three days later I will rise again.
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So wonder, Paul said. I determined to know nothing to
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money except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
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Why? Because everything about the
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cross was something that was predetermined in eternity past
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and everything in the Old Testament all just predicted
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what was going to happen with the death of the Messiah before
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crucifixions were ever a thing. Now you now you come to the to
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the gospels and now you have the mission of the of the cross.
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This was the divine mission of the Messiah.
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And so when he came, he came to die.
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So you move from the Gospels to where the book of Acts and the
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book of Acts is all about the explanation of the cross.
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If eternity passes about predetermination, and in the Old
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Testament is about prediction and the Gospels is about the
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mission of the cross, then in the book of Acts you have the
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explanation about the cross because you're explaining to the
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Jewish nation why it is the Messiah must come, must suffer,
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and must die and rise again. So you you have in the book of
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Acts the explanation of the cross, and with that explanation
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came the persecution of those who followed the way of the
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cross. And you move from the book of
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Acts to the Epistles. In the Epistles you have the
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application of the cross. The cross is applied to daily
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living. So you had this memorial that's
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set up called the Lord's Table, this due in remembrance of me.
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And everything about the Epistles is applying the cross
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life to your daily life because you've denied yourself.
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Take it up your cross and you follow Christ.
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And Paul would say, I've been crucified with Christ.
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I've died to myself. Christ died.
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Second Corinthians chapter 5 say you would no longer live for
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yourself, but for the one who gave himself for you and rose
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again. It's all about the application
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of the cross. Then when you're done with the
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epistles, you come to what? The Book of Revelation?
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What's the Book of Revelation about?
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It's all about the celebration of the cross.
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It's all about the celebration. It's all about the adoration of
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the cross. Why, for those of you who've
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been here, you know what I'm going to say.
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One time in the Old Testament, the Messiah is referred to as a
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lamb. Two times in the Gospels, John's
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Gospel, he's referred to as the Lamb.
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Two times in the epistles, the Messiah is referred to as the
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Lamb. But when you come to the Book of
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Revelation, 28 times he's referred to as the Lamb.
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Why? Because the Book of Revelation
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is about the celebration of the cross, the Lamb that was slain.
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Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive glory and honor
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and praise. It's all about the celebration
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of the cross. And then after the Book of
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Revelation, where are you? You're in the eternal state.
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And you know what's going to happen in the eternal state.
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It's all going to be centered around.
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Get this now, the illumination of the cross.
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Listen to this Revelation, chapter 21, verse 23.
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And the city has no need of the sun or the moon to shine on it,
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for the glory of God has illumined it.
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And it's lamp is the lamp, the illumination of the cross.
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It's that which illuminates eternity, future.
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And so you, you, you go through all that, you begin to realize
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everything in the Bible is about the cross.
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So no wonder Paul said, I determined to know nothing among
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you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
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Why? Because that's everything.
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That's what we do. That's who we are.
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And so after the predetermination of the cross
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and after the prediction about the cross and the mission of the
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cross and the explanation of the cross, and then you have the
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celebration of the cross and the illumination of the cross.
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What's left? The invitation to the cross.
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There's always the invitation that's given because it's Christ
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to invite you to come. If any man come after me, let
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him deny himself, take of his cross and and follow me 6 times.
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Christ talks about the cross and following him because that's the
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gospel invitation. It's all about the cross.
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Remember way back in, in, in the book of Exodus, Christ gave
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Moses his memorial name. Exodus 3 verse #15 this is my
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name, my memorial name that is to be remembered from generation
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to generation. And that name is is given when,
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when, when Moses is speaking to God, who's speaking to him
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through a burning Bush, He says, who should I say?
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Send me? Tell him I am sent you.
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I am is commonly called the tetragrammaton, the the four
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Hebrew consonants that make up the name of God, the yod, the
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hey, the vav in the hey pronounced yave.
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We had some vowels in there to call it Jehovah, but the right
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pronunciation pronunciation is yave in the Greek.
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It's ego a me I am, and Christ would say in John 824, unless
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you believe that I am ego a me, which is the translation of the
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for Hebrew consonants in the book of Exodus, the 3rd chapter.
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Unless you believe that I'm the God who spoke to Moses from the
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burning Bush, you'll die in your sins.
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That's His memorial name because everything about His name is to
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be memorialized. Because in that name I am that I
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am. God declared his preeminence,
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demonstrated his power, described his provision, and
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delivered his people. That's the memorial name of God.
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And that's exactly what happened on Calvary.
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He declared his preeminence. How?
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By the inscription above the cross, Jesus of Nazareth, King
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of the Jews, the thief would look at him and say, Remember Me
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when you come into your Kingdom. Everything about Calvary's cross
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demonstrated the preeminence of Christ on the cross, because
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everything happened precisely as He described it and planned it
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out. And it was through His death on
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Calvary that He destroyed the power of sin over death and
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destroyed the power of Satan in your life and mine.
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He declared His preeminence on Calvary.
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He also demonstrated His power. John 10 verse #18 Nobody takes
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my life from me. I lay it down on my own
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initiative. And if I lay it down on my own
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initiative, guess what? I take it right back up again.
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That's power. That's real power.
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And he demonstrated his power. He demonstrated his power when
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when the world became dark, he demonstrated his power through
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the earthquake and the and the falling of the rocks.
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He demonstrated his power when when many people came out of the
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tomb. He demonstrated his power when
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the veil was torn in two. But everything about the great I
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am didn't just declare his pre eminence, but it truly
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demonstrated his power. Now, Calvary, did he describe
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his provision? Yes, he did.
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He looked at his mother and said, behold your son, and
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looked at John and said, behold your mother.
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Even in his dying breath, he would provide for his mother.
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Even in his dying breath, he honored his mother and he would
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provide forgiveness. Father, forgive them, for they
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know not what they were doing. He died so that man could be
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forgiven, and so he would provide forgiveness.
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The great I am would do this. Why?
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So he could deliver his people. And that's exactly what he did
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to the thief, he said. Today you'll be with me in
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paradise. And if it wasn't for Calvary's
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cross, we'd still be dead in our sins.
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But we experienced deliverance from the power of sin, from the
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penalty of sin, ultimately one day from the presence of sin.
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Why? Because of the cross of Christ.
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So Paul would say, I determined that there is nothing among you
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except one thing, Jesus Christ and him crucified.
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AW Tozer has written a a devotional.
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It's called The Pursuit of God, The Pursuit of man.
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It's very small devotional. You can't buy it on Amazon
42:18
because I bought the last 13 copies yesterday.
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Sorry, but I bought them. It's such a unique devotional.
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And in there he describes the cross.
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Listen to what he says. The cross where Jesus died
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became also the cross where his apostle died.
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The loss, the rejection and the shame belong both to Christ and
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to all who are in very truth His.
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The cross that saves them also slays them, and anything short
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of this is a pseudo faith and not true faith at all.
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But what are we to say when the great majority of our
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evangelical leaders walk not as crucified men, but as those who
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accept the world at its own value, rejecting only its
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grosser elements? How can we face Him who was
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crucified and slain when we see his followers accepted and
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praised, yet they preach the cross and protest loudly that
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they are true believers. Are there not 2 crosses?
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And did Paul mean one thing and they another?
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I fear that that is so, that there are two crosses, the old
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cross and the new cross. He says.
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If I see you right, the cross of popular evangelicalism is not
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the cross of the New Testament. It is rather a new bright
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ornament upon the bosom of self assured and carnal Christianity,
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whose hands are indeed the hands of Abel, but whose voice is the
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voice of Cain. The old cross slumin.
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The new cross entertains men. The old cross condemned.
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The new cross amuses. The old cross destroyed.
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Confidence in the flesh. The new cross encourages
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confidence in the flesh. The old cross brought tears and
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blood. The new cross, well, it brings
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laughter. The flesh, smiling and
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confident, preaches and sings about the cross.
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Before the cross it bow, bows, excuse me.
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And toward the cross it points with carefully staged
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hysteronics. But upon that cross it will not
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die. And the reproach of that cross
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is stubbornly refused to bear. I will know how many smooth
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arguments can be marshaled in support of the new cross.
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Does not the new cross win conference and make many
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followers and so carry the advantage of numerical success?
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Should we not adjust ourselves to the changing times?
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Have we not heard the new slogan, New days, new ways?
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And who but someone very old and very conservative would insist
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upon death as the appointed way to life?
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And who today is interested in a gloomy mysticism that would
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sentence its flesh to a cross and recommend self effacing
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humility as a virtue actually to be practiced by modern
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Christians? These are the arguments, along
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with many more flippant still, which are brought forward to
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give an appearance of wisdom to the hollow, meaningless cross of
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popular Christianity. Doubtless there are many whose
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eyes are open to the tragedy of our times, but why are they so
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silent when their testimony is so sorely needed?
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In the name of Christ men have made void the cross of Christ.
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Men have fashioned a golden cross with a graven tool, and
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before they sit down to eat and drink and rise up to play in
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their own blindness, they've submitted, or, excuse me, they
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have substituted the work of their own hands for the working
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of God's power. Perhaps our greatest present
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need may be the coming of a prophet to dash the stones at
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the foot of the mountain and call the church out to
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repentance or to judgement. So articulate was a man who said
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this almost 100 years ago. But he saw what was happening
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with the cross of Christ and how man refuses to carry his cross
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and be slayed by that cross. True Christianity, the true
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believer has one determination and that is Jesus Christ and Him
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crucified. Every believer is determined,
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focused, steadfast, resolute on fulfilling 1 Main purpose, 1
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objective, 1. Discipline, 1 Focus.
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Christ and His cross. It's everything.
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It's that which gave you life. Why would you focus and be
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determined to do anything else? Let's pray.
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Lord, we thank you for tonight. We thank you for your word.
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We thank you, Lord, for the conviction that it brings.
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Truly, Lord, there is so much in the Word of God and everything
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about it. It's about the cross, your
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coming, your death, your Burrow, your resurrection, the victory
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of that which was certain, of that which was necessary, of
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that which was brutal. It was victorious.
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And we who have embraced Christ and His cross live a victorious
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life. Our prayer is that Lord, every
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single day we would manifest that victorious life because we
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have determined to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him
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crucified. Jesus name Amen.