Transcript

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Mark 12/18 and I will wait for you.
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And Sadducees came to him who say that there is no
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resurrection, and they asked him a question saying, Teacher.
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Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a
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wife but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and
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raise up offspring for his brother.
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There were seven brothers. The first took a wife and when
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he died left no offspring, and the second took her and died
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leaving no offspring, and the third likewise, and the seven
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left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died
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in the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she
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be, for the seven had her as wife.
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Jesus said to them, is this not the reason you are wrong because
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you know neither the scriptures know the power of God, for when
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they rise from the dead they neither marry nor are given in
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marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
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And As for the dead being raised, have you not read in the
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book of Moses, in the passage about the Bush, how God spoke to
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him saying, I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and
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the God of Jacob? He is not God of the dead, but
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of the living. You are quite wrong, Lord, We
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thank you that we are in the truth, and we can know the truth
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because of this precious book. But Lord, apart from the
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Spirit's help, we can be left in error.
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And so we ask for His grace and bring us closer to the truth,
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give us greater clarity, understanding that we may
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worship you with greater accuracy and affection.
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We ask these things with a genuine heart, with desperation.
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O Lord, we long to meet with you and hear your voice.
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Now in Jesus name we pray. Amen.
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Well, two weeks ago we were in mark together in this very same
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chapter and I hope you didn't forget.
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But just in case before our stand alone message last week,
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Jesus and being confronted by different groups of people
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reminds us of the nature of spiritual warfare.
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Because in the opening of that message 2 weeks ago, we
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discussed the nature of spiritual warfare.
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And one of the things that we brought up was how we can expect
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challenges and oppositions as we follow Christ wholeheartedly.
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And sometimes those spiritual incursions are more fierce on
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some days than on others, and that is what we have before us.
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In this chapter, Jesus illustrates that by way of
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example, because this is not the first group that approached him
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with animosity. Christ is ready now, at the
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final moments, approaching his fulfillment of his mission on
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earth. But it wasn't a smooth ride.
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You had one group after the other coming against him, to try
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to expose him, to try to condemn him in one way or another.
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And last time in Mark we witnessed the Lord effortlessly.
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He just sidestep so smoothly the trap that was laid before him by
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the Pharisees and the Herodians. But it didn't take much time for
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another enemy to make their move.
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They stepped up to the plate and they took their own shot at a
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crafty question, hoping to entangle Christ in another way.
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And let me remind you, when the Sadducees came before it was the
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Pharisees and the Herodians. But in the Gospel of Matthew,
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you don't have to turn there. But listen to this verse in
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chapter 22, verse 23, The same day Matthew 2223 says the same
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day Sadducees came to him. So it wasn't a week later.
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It wasn't a few few days later. It was the very same day after
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the Pharisees came and the Herodians came, that the
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Sadducees now arrived on the scene.
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Sometimes when you're walking with the Lord and it rains, it
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pours, and you can expect those days.
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And you can be assured that though you may not anticipate
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what day things come like a flood.
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You can stand tall, and you can be prepared by the word of God
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and by prayer and by His promises, being in the forefront
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of your mind. So the Sadducees come now on the
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same day, giving no breath to Christ.
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They, wanting to suffocate him, approach him at this critical
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point. What are they going to do?
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What are they going to try? What lure are they going to
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attempt? Are they going to try to cause
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Christ to stumble by flattering Him?
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Are they going to try to cause his judgement to be impaired by
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their smooth words? Or are they going to try to
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cause him to be trapped by a discourse about politics so he
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can tarnish his testimony? It's none of those things.
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The Pharisees and the Herodians tried that, and to no avail.
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But this time you have the Sadducees who come, and this is
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their plan, to expose the weaknesses of what Jesus
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preached publicly. They're coming after his belief
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system, namely the hope of the resurrection.
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They want to try to dismantle it.
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They want to try to put him in a corner.
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They want to try to have him stumble over his words.
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And I thought to myself, well, what's the point of that?
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I mean, I can see the trouble you can get yourself into by
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having a conversation about paying taxes to Caesar, but what
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kind of damage does this theological jab cause?
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Well, the worst that this conundrum can do is that by
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Jesus not being able to answer this question adequately, it
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would cause him to be embarrassed.
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And in the sight of the crowds, they would be able to now have a
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reason to question if he was really the Messiah, if he was
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really the teacher of teachers, if he was really the one that
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the Spirit anointed and appointed to be the saviour of
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this people. So in essence, they just want to
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try to vandalize his reputation, They want to try to wound his
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credibility by bringing this difficult question, I guess, in
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their minds, and make him fumble.
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And so this is what is happening in this part of the Bible.
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But you remember from the Pharisees and the Herodians that
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when witnessing them trying to trap Jesus, we're not just
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looking at a scene with no relation to us, we're looking at
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things that we can adopt in our own lives.
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They set a trap for Christ, and they're traps for us as well.
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And it's no different with the Sadducees.
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In the same way that the Sadducees try to corner Christ,
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be mindful of this trap on this day.
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There are people who skillfully aim to instill in your heart
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doubt, confusion, insecurity concerning the validity of the
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Bible, truths that you believe, truths that you hold to with
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your heart, with your life. Like the Sadducees, you have
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some who want to create in you, doubt about the soundness of
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what the word has to say, and that has been the strategy of
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Satan from the beginning. The very question that served as
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the doorway for sin to enter into our universe was what did
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God really say? That is the question that
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brought us into this mess thousands of years later.
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And it is the question that causes people to remain in sin
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and not find liberty in the truth of God's word.
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And it's even a question that causes genuine believers who
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believe the right truths to be saved, but not some truths to
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know greater peace and greater joy.
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Did God really say you think Satan just whisper that once in
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the beginning of creation and they never utilize that again?
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You're dead wrong. And let me remind you that in
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Genesis 3, one that before Satan asked that question, we were
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told and we were given a description of the instrument
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that he used to ask it a serpent.
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I don't want to get into the discussion about that too much,
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but I want to say this. The Bible describes the serpent
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as the most crafty of all the creatures that the Lord had
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made. That's an interesting
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description, don't you think? And it's there to inform you of
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how Satan works. Satan uses crafty things to
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convey his lies in your life and mine.
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He's very clever. He uses crafty people.
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He uses crafty means. He uses crafty packages and so
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whether that be through politicians, the arts,
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philosophy, science, and the same way he used the craftiest
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things of them all back then, he uses them today as well.
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Be very careful. He packages his lies in a very
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convincing way and people think like, how did Eve fall for the
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serpent? You remember the serpent, He, he
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was the one that came to Eve and we're looking at a serpent, most
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of us in here. I don't know anybody who likes
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snakes. I guess they're they're out
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there. But this is pre fall.
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I I'm under the persuasion that that serpent was beautiful.
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That serpent looked harmless. The snake was Slytherin.
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Through here we'd all be jumping on our pews and running for the
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doors. But when this serpent came to
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Eve, she was disarmed. I'm sure there was something
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about that serpent was very attractive, very alluring, very
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winsome, maybe even comforting. Remember pre fall?
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I know you can't imagine it now. Beware, Satan uses crafty
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things, and sometimes he'll use unfair, crafty questions to make
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your faith wobble about the Bible that you love and believe
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in. And so I want us to look at this
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portion of Scripture because it provides insights about how you
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and I also can evade the web of doubting what the Bible has to
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say and live in the Glee, the Glee and the confidence of God's
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word. But before we do that, let's
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think about who the Sadducees are.
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So if the Pharisees were exclusively religious and the
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Herodians were predominantly political, the Sadducees were
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hybrid of the two. They were religious, but they
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were also politically involved. And the Sadducees were different
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in that they made-up of the elite of their day.
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They actually occupied the most seats of the Supreme Court of
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Israel's time, the Sanhedrin. So they were men of prominence,
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they were men of influence, they were wealthy, they had great
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pedigree, and their main responsible, because they
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occupied the majority of the Sanhedrin, was to have oversight
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over the activity of the Temple in Jerusalem.
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And so that implies that they had some obvious religious
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belief and convictions. And they did, though they
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differed from the Pharisees. The Pharisees believed in the
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entirety of the Hebrew scriptures.
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The Pharisees had oral traditions that were passed
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down, and unfortunately they held up those traditions even
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above the word of God. This the the Sadducees were
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different, though, and I'll show you why they're different
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because we're told the main difference in Acts 23, verse 8.
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It's a brief verse worth looking at if we're going to understand
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why the Sadducees are asking this question and why Jesus
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answered in the way that he answered in Acts 23 eight.
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We're told for the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection,
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nor Angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.
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So the main difference between the Sadducees and their school
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of thought with the Pharisees is that they did not believe in a
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spiritual world. There are no angels.
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There are no demons that parallel our universe, that
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interact with our world. They denied an afterlife, which
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means that there are no eternal rewards that await, nor there
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anything to worry about concerning eternal punishment.
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They were annihilationist, meaning when your body died,
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your soul died with it, you cease to exist.
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And so in some great sense these are kind of like the modern
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liberal theologians. They really dismissed a lot of
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the supernatural, though not entirely, but strangely these
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guys prided themselves in being devoted to the writings of Moses
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exclusively. They didn't acknowledge the
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prophets, They didn't look to any other writings except for
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the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures.
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So they were Moses only kind of believer.
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So they did have some tie to the Bible, but not like the
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Pharisees. And there's no way you can catch
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a Sadducee take seriously any of the oral traditions that were
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passed down by their opposing school of thought.
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So these guys were at odds with one another, but they found a
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common enemy in Jesus. And understanding the Sadducees
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theological framework helps us understand their way of life.
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Because yes, they were theological, but they're also
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political, actually more political than they were
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spiritual, if you can call it that.
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And it makes sense, doesn't it? Why were they so invested with
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Rome? Why were they so preoccupied
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with those things? Because they believe that this
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world is all that there is to life.
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There's no world to expect. There's no investment to make in
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the world to come. And So what do they want to do?
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They want to pursue, and they want to secure positions of
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power and wealth and influence. That's their ultimate ambition,
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because that's the fruit of their belief.
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And the worldview here of the Sadducees made them appease the
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Romans in a very heavy way. And they wanted to, in that
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maintain their places of control and honor.
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And with that, it's no surprise that they abuse their positions
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of power and honor. If the Sadducees made-up the
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majority of the Sanhedrin, and the Sanhedrin in great part were
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responsible for the temple, then even what we saw with the
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merchants in the temple makes sense.
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They made the place of God a business.
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Why? Because, again, what are we
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worried about? This is all there is to life.
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There's no judgment. There's no hell.
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There's no heaven. This is it.
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So eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.
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That's how these men lived, and This is why they weren't even
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like the Pharisees, persistent opposers of Christ.
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Because they're not concerned about a Messiah, they could care
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less about the anointed 1 to come and deliver us all.
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Right, Rome is here, and so let's do the best with Rome and
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try to make the most of this life.
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But the Sadducees appear on the scene when they realized, like
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the Herodians who are completely political, that this Jesus and
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his movement can now ruffle our ambitions.
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And so they're going to step up to the plate, not wanting there
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to be any potential risk of losing what they price so much
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by having Rome invade by being provoked by Jesus.
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So they're going to approach Christ now, and they're going to
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do their best to give a shot at his reputation so that it would
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at least give a blow to the momentum in Jerusalem.
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And in looking at this interaction, I want us to see 3
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insights of how you and I can avoid the trap of doubting God's
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word. Let's read it again, verse 18.
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And Sadducees came to him who say that there is no
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resurrection and they asked him a question saying Teacher Moses
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wrote for us that if a man, brother, man's brother dies and
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leaves a wife but leaves no child, the man must take the
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widow and raise up Austin for his brother.
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Pause. That's in the Bible.
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You're going to find that in Deuteronomy chapter 25,
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specifically in verse five and six, and you don't have to turn
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there. But it's a law concerning
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marriage, at least one law in the context of marriage.
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And what this law did is it provided for a family line, that
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if a man died leaving no offspring, then that man's
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brother was responsible to marry that wife, give her a child, and
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then the deceased husband's name and property and land will
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remain with that family. And so this was a way to
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protecting widows. It was a way of protecting also
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the inheritance of that family, of those tribes.
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And we may think that's unfair. What if that brother doesn't
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want to marry that woman for whatever reason?
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Well, there's a way out of it. It wasn't completely binding,
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but it was a thing of honor more than anything else.
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And so the the Sadducees are taking that law concerning
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marriage of the old covenant under the old covenant, and
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they're applying it in a very strange way.
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They create this ridiculous hypothetical situation.
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And you know the rest. Look at verse 20.
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There were seven brothers. And then they go on to describe
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the first took a wife and when he died left no offspring.
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The second also and in verse 22 and the seven left no offspring.
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Last of all, the woman also died.
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So they're saying now in connection to the resurrection,
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all right, if there is life after this life, then what's
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going to happen to these seven guys who are going to appear in
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the world to come? And they all married the same
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gal. Figure that one out, Lord, and
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you get the impression that if this is the question that they
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asked Jesus, then it was probably like the best thing
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that they had in the chamber. It probably was.
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In fact, I will take it further. I don't want to speculate too
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much, but it could be that they've used this against the
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Pharisees, and the Pharisees were not able to answer the
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question for themselves. So it was like their go to
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question in a debate and they thought themselves we got
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nobody's been able to answer this, nobody's been able to
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let's do it, let's try. So they come up and they say,
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what do you say Lord? And you see in thinking that the
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scriptures were silent on this issue, namely marriage in the
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afterlife, these men thought that they had a valid
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refutation. And here's the point that I want
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to make. Similarly, there are some
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believers who argue in like manner.
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They tried to discredit the Word of God as being insufficient or
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contradictory by looking and pointing out realities that are
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not mentioned or barely emphasized in the scriptures.
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And so here's the thing to keep in mind.
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Keep in mind of if you are going to be 1, to avoid the trap of
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doubting God's Word #1, some skeptics of the Bible entangle
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others with speculation, speculation.
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And what that means is they try to bring to people's attentions
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things that are not highlighted or underscored directly in the
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Word of God. Or they they they they make
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these arguments and they they produce these unfair kind of
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hypotheticals to try to cause you to rethink the soundness,
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the validity, the accuracy, the sensibility of some of the
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things that you believe. But here's the thing that you
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and I have to do as believers. You have to be willing to humble
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yourself and be content with the truth that not every question
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given there is a direct answer provided in the Bible.
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I know that sounds shocking, but it really isn't because the
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Bible was not designed to answer every single question that one
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can come up with. You don't find a cupcake recipe
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at a math book, do you? And we don't criticize that math
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book, do we? Oh, the Bible doesn't tell me
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how to make frosted cupcakes. Or excuse me, The Bible doesn't
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tell me to do this or do that. Here's the thing.
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The Bible wasn't designed to answer absolutely everything.
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People have trouble reading the Bible as it is now.
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You want to answer every single question in the Bible in the
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world. The idea of the Bible is that it
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has been given to us specifically to disclose
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redemptive history and how mankind can be saved.
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That is, the design and every detail provided orbits around
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that central theme. And so you and I, even as
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believers, have to step back and apply Deuteronomy 2929, which
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says this. The secret things belong to the
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Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us
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and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of
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this law. There is a category of truth and
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information and data that's under the filing of secrets, and
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the only one who has the passcode to it is the Lord.
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That frustrates people, that makes people flustered, but
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that's something that we as creatures have to be willing to
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comply with. There are just some things that
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we will not know in great detail, some things that we
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might not know at all. There are secrets that belong to
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the Lord our God, and the Bible tells us that in the book.
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But what has been given to us, according to this verse, is
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sufficient, Sufficient for what it says.
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But the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children
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forever. That we may do all the words of
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this law. What has been granted is
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sufficient for us to obey God in the way that he wants us to obey
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him, to respond to God in the way that He wants us to, that
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that is given, that is laid out for us, we have no reason to
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doubt or question. Are we exactly where God wants
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us to be? In our faith, in our practice
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and the way that we interact with Him and one another?
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Everything pertaining to that has been disclosed, and there
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are other things that we will never know, and we should be OK
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with that. But in this case with the
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Sadducees, they're trying to create something that wasn't
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intended to connect this law about what a man should do for
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his brother if he dies concerning his wife and his
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family line. What does that have to do with
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the resurrection to come? Instead, we have to see here
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that His revelation intends to renew us and change the way we
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live. And that's how we approach the
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word of God. And your response with that is
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to rest. Just rest in that truth and
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resist the enchantment of endless questions and irrelevant
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disputes. You know the Bible more than one
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occasions tells Christians Be careful and the kind of
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theological debates and battles you get yourself into.
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Let me remind you in First Timothy 1/4 what we're told
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First Timothy 14. Nor devote themselves to myths
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and endless genealogies which promote speculations rather than
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the stewardship from God. That is by faith.
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There are some people who just they just love talking about
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things that there aren't really answers for philosophying and
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theological sparring. And you can devote yourself in
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such conversations where it becomes actually unfruitful.
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And instead of spending your energy and your focus on what
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has been revealed, becoming more godly and more accurate and your
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understanding of God, you're giving yourself to what ifs and
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what abouts and why nots. And that can drain you of the
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limited things that you do have to give yourself over to what
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has been known. So Paul, not not just here in
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many in many places. Tell your people, Pastor Tim,
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not to devote themselves to these things, because it's
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dangerous and it can actually lead to strange conclusions and
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theological beliefs. So how do I avoid the trap of
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doubting God's Word? Well, don't have conversations
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and don't entertain things that only lead to speculations.
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But here's the thing that's interesting about the Sadducees,
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because their argument didn't just prove that they were not
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engaging with the Word as they should.
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They proved that they didn't really know the Bible to begin
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with. Look what Jesus says in verse
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24. Jesus said to them, is this not
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the reason you are wrong? Is this not the reason you are
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wrong because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of
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God? The Lord impresses me.
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I mean, he tells the people that should know the Bible the most,
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that they don't know the Bible. He told the Pharisees, have you
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not read? It's like, excuse me, that's
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what we do. And now he tells this other
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group of religious people, you don't know the Bible.
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You don't know the Scriptures. So before dismantling this
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apparent dilemma, the Lord deals with the underlying issue of
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their question, which is their outright denial, their outright
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denial of the resurrection. And the reason why they denied
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the resurrection was not because they came to the Bible and they
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were not persuaded by the argument.
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It was because they failed to see it.
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And he's going to point that out later.
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They thought it had nothing to do with where they stood
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concerning the Scriptures. They thought it was a silly
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idea. This man made perhaps concept.
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And so they mocked it and they scorned it, and they were
24:55
ultimately ignorant of it. And because they were ignorant
24:57
of this thing called the resurrection, they ended up
25:00
what? Becoming ignorant of what God
25:02
can do, namely, raise people from the dead.
25:05
So you don't know the Scriptures, and because you
25:07
don't know the Scriptures, you don't know the power of God.
25:10
And so this is the indictment that he makes against them.
25:14
And so the second insight and overcoming the traps that are
25:17
laid before you by others who want to cause you to doubt God's
25:20
word is this. Some critics of the Bible are
25:23
critics because they don't know the Bible.
25:27
Some critics of the Bible are critics because they don't know
25:30
the Bible to begin with. And when you match that up with
25:34
somebody who claims to be a Christian, who also doesn't know
25:37
the Bible, then you got problems.
25:41
I've discovered in my conversations with people from
25:43
different faiths, different cults, even philosophies, that a
25:46
majority, if not all of them, who reject the truth, that is
25:49
the truth, have not personally made an examination of the
25:52
foundations of our faith. Have you ever discovered that
25:57
talk to people long enough from this sect, or talk to people
25:59
long enough from that expression of religion?
26:02
And what you discover is those people who represent that camp
26:05
say the same things a majority of the time because they have a
26:10
shared script. And what they receive a majority
26:14
of the times, the things that they read from all the authors
26:17
who think like them or blogs that they found or some guy with
26:20
a podcast. And they adopt these things.
26:23
And then when they find a Christian, they just shoot off
26:25
thinking that it will trip them up.
26:27
And it often does because of the Third Point that I'm going to
26:29
get to in a moment. So a lot of people just receive
26:33
and repeat from talking points and other writings that they've
26:36
discovered. But they haven't made a personal
26:37
ambition to come to this holy book and discover the harmony of
26:41
it. And how even with the basics of
26:45
the faith, even a child can understand they haven't made
26:47
that effort. Because with presuppositions
26:51
already, Because of their guard, because they're already set on
26:54
wanting to disprove this truth. They haven't made the first step
26:57
and effort to discover if it's true to begin with.
27:01
And if you've engaged with people from different places and
27:04
beliefs long enough, you'll discover that they parrot the
27:08
same things in the same ways. And so that should comfort you.
27:14
That that should comfort you because some people are
27:18
intimidated by what others say. But you shouldn't because of the
27:22
Third Point. If you want to overcome the trap
27:26
of doubting God's Word, and this is where I want to stay for the
27:28
majority in the rest of this time, is that you must be
27:30
thoroughly equipped with what God has said.
27:35
The more familiar you are with your faith, the more you have a
27:37
grasp on this truth. The less doubt will torment you.
27:44
People often ask, How can I grow my knowledge of the Word?
27:47
How can I increase in this believe?
27:49
How? Where do I start?
27:50
Can I tell you something? In my at least experience in the
27:54
first few months of walking with the Lord being very eager and
27:56
anxious to tell people about Jesus Christ, I've been
27:59
presented questions that I could not answer on the spot.
28:02
And I'm so thankful for those moments.
28:03
You know why? Because in those moments where I
28:06
was, it gave me enough motivation to lock myself in my
28:11
basement apartment and discover that truth that I could not
28:15
answer. And when I've come to this word
28:21
of my personal study over the years and I've stumbled upon
28:24
something in one account and then I compare it to another
28:26
account 1 description, I compare it to another description, my
28:30
heart begins to race a little bit because I'm like, did I just
28:32
find a contradiction in the Bible And I wrestle with the
28:37
text and I examine the text and I research about the text.
28:41
I can't tell you the relief that comes over me when I realized
28:44
no, no, no, the Bible knows exactly what it is describing.
28:47
God knows exactly how he authored this book.
28:49
And I am more concrete in my faith than I was when I found a
28:53
thing to begin with. Look what Jesus does in verse
29:00
25. For when they rise from the dead
29:04
they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels
29:08
in heaven. And As for the dead being
29:11
raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage
29:13
about the Bush, how God spoke to him saying, I am the God of
29:17
Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?
29:19
He is not God of the dead but of the living.
29:23
You are quite wrong. In verse 25.
29:28
You're dealing with the one who descended from heaven.
29:31
You're dealing with the one who will be the king of the world to
29:34
come. You're dealing with the one who
29:37
knows all things. And he clarifies first the
29:41
symptom of the bedrock of their faulty view.
29:43
And he says, you guys don't know what you're talking about
29:46
because you think that the resurrection is going to be a
29:49
continuation of the life as we know it.
29:51
And it's not. It's not.
29:56
There will no be no marriage in heaven.
29:59
I know the Mormon say otherwise, but it's not true because of
30:03
what Jesus says and some are conflicted by this.
30:07
May just pause your to even just meditate on the life to come.
30:10
Some are conflicted by this because they can't imagine a
30:13
world void of the deep bond that one can know in the place of
30:16
marriage. Some are baffled by this because
30:19
they can't imagine a world where they can't have access to the
30:22
ecstasy of a physical, intimate relationship with another person
30:27
that they've made a covenant with.
30:28
Right, Some of you who are in love with your spouse and I pray
30:32
that every person here is madly in love with their wives and
30:34
their husbands. You've probably even thought to
30:36
yourself and had conversations with your spouse we're not going
30:39
to be married in heaven. That would be strange.
30:43
How am I going to see you? How are you going to see me?
30:46
And some might be disappointed by Jesus.
30:48
Brief description of the world to come.
30:49
But be comforted to know that what this meant to describe is
30:53
that there will be a bliss so intense that it will make even
30:57
the joys of marital covenant relationships seem shallow.
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There will be such an intense enjoyment of the things of God,
31:07
the glory of God, the people of God.
31:09
And if we're enjoying this now and we're still in this flesh,
31:12
what's it going to be like when we're all perfect?
31:15
I know you're trying to find a perfect church.
31:17
You ain't going to find a friend.
31:18
You got to wait till heaven for that.
31:21
But all a day where we get along all the time.
31:26
No wonderful thought, A oneness in the presence of God.
31:29
That will be something that your body now would not be able to
31:33
handle. It would combust if you even
31:37
sipped of what the glory that awaits is going to do to you.
31:44
So Jesus talks about indirectly of something that is not going
31:49
to be known, something that's really sometimes even the chief
31:51
goal of people, just to find that one person that I can walk
31:55
hand in hand with and that's going to be non existent.
32:00
For some it's not even that, for some it's gold and money and
32:03
jewels and possessions. May I remind you, the goal that
32:06
people are killing and cheating about is going to become
32:09
pavement in heaven. We're going to step on that
32:14
stuff, and I can assure you that as awesome as the sight of
32:19
Golden streets will be, it's going to be the glory of Jesus
32:22
Christ that's going to apprehend you and take your breath away
32:27
for thousands upon thousands of years.
32:32
So though the Scriptures does not in the Old Covenant, at
32:36
least in the Old Testament, disclose every single activity
32:39
that will take place in heaven, it does over and over provide
32:43
this truth, that the theme of heaven will be the absolute
32:47
glory of God that you and I will know and enjoy.
32:49
Let me read to you Psalm 17, verse 15.
32:52
This is a verse about the resurrection right here in Psalm
32:54
17, verse 15. As for me, I shall behold your
32:58
face in righteousness when I awake.
33:02
I shall be satisfied with your likeness.
33:05
Like awake from what? Awake from death, Psalm 1715.
33:10
As for me and the verses proceeding that he's talking
33:12
about the wicked and what they toil after he goes, never mind
33:16
that. As for me, when I awake, I will
33:19
be satisfied with your likeness. Satisfied like real eternal
33:25
satisfaction, one might say. Well, of course the Lord can be
33:31
confident about this world to come, because he's the king of
33:34
the world and He created that world.
33:36
But wait, he's also our example. He's not just flexing his
33:39
omniscience by answering the Sadducees.
33:41
He wants to provide us a principle, because in this
33:43
moment he's about to point to the Bible, and that's what he
33:48
does in verse 26. As for the dead being raised,
33:50
have you not read in the book of Moses?
33:52
And then he goes to Exodus chapter 3, and he speaks about
33:56
the moment of the burning Bush. And he This is fascinating
34:01
because he could have gone to Daniel.
34:03
There's great verses in Daniel about the resurrection.
34:05
Could have gone to Isaiah, plenty in there about the
34:07
resurrection, could have gone to the Psalms, could have gone to
34:10
some of the minor prophets. But instead he goes to the book
34:13
of Moses. You know why?
34:14
Right. Because you heard about the
34:15
Sadducees. That's all they adhered to.
34:17
And so he, he's going to in some way, I don't think entirely, but
34:23
in in one way he's going to, he's going to show them how they
34:26
missed it even and what they exclusively believed in.
34:29
OK, you hold to only the books of Moses.
34:31
Did you realize what God said to Moses in Exodus chapter 3?
34:36
And here's the thing, the Lord who is the Word shows me here of
34:41
how much he knew the Word, because who would have pulled a
34:46
resurrection truth out of the burning Bush?
34:49
And Moses having a conversation because we right here in that
34:54
passage how God spoke to him saying, I am the God of Abraham,
34:58
the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.
35:01
Can I ask you something? When you read that in Exodus
35:02
chapter 3, did you think, oh OK, there is a resurrection?
35:08
How the Lord saw the scriptures, the depth that the Lord had and
35:12
not just seeing things at face value?
35:14
Yes, we should take the simplicity of the scriptures
35:16
with joy, but also the implications of it, the
35:20
implications of some of these truths that I want to see with
35:23
that kind of depth. Because here's what the
35:25
resurrection hinges on God telling Moses I am the God of
35:28
Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, not I was.
35:32
I am implying that though even in Exodus 3 Abraham, Isaac, and
35:38
Jacob were long gone, God could still say to his current servant
35:42
I am the God of these men. God is not the God of dead
35:48
worshippers. God is the God of living
35:51
worshippers. And for him to say I am the God
35:55
of these men shows that they were alive, though their bodies
35:58
were in a cave. Did you not realize that you
36:02
Sadducees? No wonder you're always sad.
36:07
You didn't realize that what God was saying there was showing
36:10
that he is the God of a living people.
36:13
And at the patriarchs and your Father's are alive, and they're
36:16
alive today. And so the Lord, many would say
36:22
in his brilliance, accommodates to the Sadducees by meeting them
36:26
where they were at in the books of Moses.
36:28
But I don't think he does. But not entirely.
36:35
Can I show you why? You have some people who say,
36:39
you know, if people don't believe the Bible, don't try to
36:41
prove the Bible. With the Bible.
36:44
You know, if people don't use the scriptures, you got to use
36:46
other methods and means to try to get their conscious alarmed
36:50
and awakened. Jesus doesn't do that, even with
36:53
these Sadducees who didn't believe in many things.
36:56
So we read in Acts 23 that they didn't believe in the
36:58
resurrection. They didn't believe in angels.
36:59
Remember, they didn't believe in spirits.
37:02
But go back to what Jesus said in his opening explanation,
37:05
verse 25, for when they rise from the dead, they neither
37:08
marry nor are given a marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
37:14
You're talking about angels with people who don't believe in
37:16
angels. Guess what?
37:18
Jesus doesn't care what I mean by that.
37:24
Just because these men didn't uphold these truths, didn't make
37:28
them untrue. Listen, Don't doubt the power of
37:35
the word of God. Don't doubt the power of the God
37:38
with people who vehemently stand against the word of God.
37:41
This word is God's word, and when it touches the conscience,
37:46
you never know what can happen. It can awaken even the skeptic
37:50
of all skeptics. It can convict even the most
37:52
hardened of sinners. Here's Jesus, Florida State.
37:57
Answering yes, but not being intimidated by their skepticism,
38:01
still presenting the truth as it is.
38:03
Not bending, not tiptoeing, not being cautious.
38:06
Yes, be wise. Yes, be careful.
38:08
It all depends on who your audience is, but I love how the
38:11
Lord here speaks about it being true, whether they acknowledge
38:15
it or not. I've had some conversation with
38:19
them, Asus, who obviously don't believe in the Bible, but in
38:21
those conversations I would say, but the Bible says this, the
38:25
Bible says this. And you can sometimes see the
38:27
conviction on their faces because even the Scripture talks
38:32
about how the law shuts the mouths of every person so that
38:35
they're not, they're not justified in the sight of God.
38:37
This book has been meant to be heralded in the declare to all
38:40
men, all creatures. And so I love how the Lord here
38:44
with these people who don't even believe in angels, talks about
38:47
it so casually they will be like the angels in heaven.
38:52
So yes, be wise, yes, be strategic and how you present
38:55
the truth. But don't ever doubt what the
38:58
truth can do to those who don't even believe in it.
39:02
Share it, declare it, counsel with it, and people can be
39:07
changed by it. I'm not sure if it did happen
39:10
with these Sadducees, but I want you to see that in the pursuit
39:15
of knowing the Scripture, knowing the truth, being able to
39:18
defend it, being able to deflect every objection that comes your
39:20
way, that you never forget the personal ambition of the word of
39:25
God in your life. So in this account he talks
39:28
about the burning Bush and that passage.
39:32
But I want you to see how the Lord describes it in Matthew 22.
39:36
Let's go to Matthew 22 verse 31. But in verse 29 of Matthew 22.
40:02
Let's read from there. But Jesus answered them.
40:04
You are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the
40:06
power of God. For in the resurrection and
40:09
neither Mary nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in
40:11
heaven. And As for the resurrection of
40:13
the dead, have you not read what was said to you?
40:18
He didn't say that in Mark. Have you not read what was said
40:24
to you by God? I am the God of Abraham and the
40:28
God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.
40:29
He is not the God of dead, but of the living.
40:31
And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his
40:34
teaching. But notice that phrase, what was
40:36
said to you? And you've heard me talk about
40:39
this not too far back, but I think it's worth mentioning
40:41
again since we're here, Moses hearing a voice from a burning
40:46
Bush, God commissioning him, though that is a historical
40:51
event not to be repeated. That is something to be examined
40:56
as a past event. Still, Jesus says in that
40:59
moment, God still has something to desire to speak to you.
41:03
There's a truth even in that historical component of
41:05
redemptive history that is meant tailor made to edify, convict,
41:12
challenge you. So when I come to the
41:15
scriptures, when you come to the scriptures, don't just treat it
41:19
as a collection of things that you should believe and be able
41:22
to memorize and say and defend and argue and debate.
41:27
You know people like that. That doesn't change that.
41:31
That that might make you more confident in the place of back
41:34
and forth dialogue concerning what true religion is there, But
41:38
that won't change you. I love how Jesus sets the
41:42
present here. This is something meant for you
41:45
when you come to the Word, no matter where you're at.
41:47
Even in Exodus, you used to believe that God wants to speak
41:49
to me. God wants to challenge me.
41:52
God wants to comfort me. What is it?
41:54
And then with the eyes and the help of Christ as he was able to
41:57
find a resurrection truth and God declaring that he is the God
42:00
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, only the Lord opened our eyes to
42:03
see deeper things in his truth. And so that is something that
42:07
you have to constantly remember that I'm not just coming to this
42:10
word to defend my faith, though that's important.
42:14
I'm coming to this word to hear God's voice for me and to speak
42:18
to me. And when you come with that
42:20
expectation, hunger, you'd be amazed on how these eternal
42:23
truths that have been set by God's promise that nothing will
42:28
ever overtake or demolish or delete this truth, it can speak
42:32
into your life in profound ways, in profound ways.
42:37
And so Jesus was able to again divert what these Sadducees came
42:41
up with. But it's not going to be the
42:43
only trap. There's going to be another one
42:46
that we're going to discover next week, but for now, let's
42:49
pray and ask God's help to find great courage in His word once
42:52
again. We do ask, Lord, that you would
43:10
help us believe that you have provided exactly what is
43:15
necessary for us to be exactly who you want us to be.
43:21
We pray, Lord, that this Word through this message would
43:25
ignite a fresh desire to know what you would say to us through
43:29
it. And so we pray for that desire
43:32
to awaken again. Lord, we pray for those who
43:35
might be frustrated in their ability to grasp the truth.
43:40
We pray for those who might be shy, maybe even tempted to be
43:45
embarrassed about what the Bible has to say.
43:49
But, Lord, we pray that, like the sun exemplified, that we
43:54
would discuss these things, knowing that they are binding on
43:57
all men. It is God's truth whether people
44:01
believe it or not. We asked, Lord, that if we are
44:04
tempted to get into speculative thoughts and arguments, rescue
44:08
us from that. And when it comes our way, Lord,
44:11
may we be prepared by what your word has to say to be able to
44:14
stand strong. And so, Lord, we just pray that
44:18
as a people of the Book, you would reinforce that conviction
44:22
that we would indeed be people of the book.
44:25
We look to you in Thanksgiving for giving us the example in
44:29
this text. In Jesus name we pray.
44:32
Amen. Amen.