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Making Sense of Stressful Scripture · Wetumpka Church of Christ Online

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The building but on Facebook live, who get to watch that from
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home. Some people who are
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unfortunately sick. Maybe they're watching it at
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home, but I will say, as my brother Larry would say thank
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you for staying home. When you were sick, getting that
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right layer. I just call you out for that.
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That's right. I don't, I don't like being
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sick. I don't like it when other
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people are sick, but I am thankful that when you are not
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feeling well, if you feel well enough to be a part of this to
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some degree. You can be a part of it on.
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Facebook live, just a blessing to be together and to be able to
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worship our great God together. Appreciate you singing out so
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well, and Jackson leading Us in such great, hymns and praises to
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our awesome. God, preciate it, the good news
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that Brent shared with us today, all the babies, all the
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newborns. Of course, in addition to the
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ones that were mentioned. We also have Emily who is new to
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Wetumpka and new to the bridges and we're so Thankful that she
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is here, and that the three couples who were mentioned, you
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know, I noticed there was a lot of emphasis on Taylor Cochran,
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but I think David also played a part in that as well.
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So we have David and Taylor's, baby as well as the Lucky's and
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the bears. Please don't ever tell me that
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you are having a baby and you haven't told other people yet.
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Have you may have already heard that, you know, the I was told
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about someone expecting and I was like, what?
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Eric don't tell anybody. Buddy yet.
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Because we haven't told some family members in a week, or I
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thought to had gone by. And I thought well, surely.
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I mean everybody knows now, so I was talking about it and I found
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out no. There were still some people who
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did not know about it. So it let me just say in front
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of the whole church today. Don't tell me secrets,
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especially if they're good Secrets because I tend to want
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to tell other people about that. So just I'm sorry.
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Sorry if I just spilled the beans on some things.
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So if you got secrets that are really good Secrets, just don't
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tell me. Because I tend to want to tell
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people and I I mean that you know in the best way possible, I
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don't like to do bad things. But you know, sometimes you just
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you just mess up really appreciated.
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The ladies who were a part of the ladies day yesterday and
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those who organized it and took part in it.
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I heard that we had a Sisters in Christ hear from I think 17
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different congregations is that right?
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Is it was 17, and I know that our young ladies enjoyed being a
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part of that as well. So thank you all very much for
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For being a part of that want to continue, you know, there's so
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many people, so often. We, we failed just to give
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thanks to different members for all the good that they do.
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You mean tell you a couple who haven't been mentioned much
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lately in a while, and they would be embarrassed.
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If I even mentioned them, you know, Gary and Joyce way do so
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much for this congregation and Gary has been serving, not only
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as a deacon for many years, but as a Treasurer here, and I know
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that sister, Joyce helps him out a lot with the technology side
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of things. Is that right?
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Mary, and we do appreciate those who help with that.
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In fact, we have guys upstairs this morning, who helped us out
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with a technology every week. But I know, Gary and Joyce, put
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in just hundreds of hours and hundreds of hours, maybe, more
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than 1000 hours a year with keeping up with the book work
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and all of those kinds of things.
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So just appreciate them and maybe that was just a random
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thought, you know, but I just realized so often, there are so
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many of you who do so many good works in the Lord and for the
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law. Lord and his church and just
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suppose we could spend a whole hour.
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Just thanking God for you guys. You ever study the Bible and
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come across passages that almost make your heart kind of jump up
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in your throat for a variety of reasons or maybe make you were.
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Have you ever studied a passage and it made you kind of
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concerned or maybe even the term worried might be used.
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And maybe it's for a variety of reasons.
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Let me tell you when I was and I'm almost 45.
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So I know as I get older, sometimes I have these memories
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and I'm not, you know, they're not as crisp and clear.
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Like I'm not sure exactly the time how old I was and my wife
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is always there behind me making sure I get the story right, you
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know, at least the stories that she knows since she's known me
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and but I have this recollection of being a teenager in Muskogee
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Oklahoma and and coming out of the kitchen and walking down
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into our Raj area, and just remember, for some reason I must
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have just been studying it maybe in a Bible class but had this
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odd just concern that that God's word, that something must be
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wrong here. And this is kind of a random
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concern, you might say, and I don't remember the setting of it
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all. But I remember thinking, how can
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this be that when I read? For example, of Mark chapter 26
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and I read about Peters predict the prediction of G to Jesus his
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prophecy that that Peter was going to deny Jesus, three times
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before the rooster crows, and then wait a minute.
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How can it be that when I read in marks account that, it is
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recorded that Jesus said before the rooster crows twice.
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You will deny me three times. And I just remember being a
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teenager and thinking I'm a little concerned about this
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because how can Both of these scriptures, be correct, but
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apparently, I wasn't too concerned because I remember
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there being years, that went, by before I ever really studied
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this and realize, wait a minute. Here's an obvious answer to the
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question. Maybe you've studied the Bible
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for months or years. And there have been various
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passages that come to mind that kind of concern you for a few
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minutes. This morning.
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I'd like for us to look at, for lack of a better term, what I've
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called kind of Restful scriptures.
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And it, isn't it amazing how some scriptures will stress out?
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Some people more than others. I get a lot of email.
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We at apologetics press do and and it's amazing.
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Some of the randomness and of course, it's random to me, but I
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know it's not random to those individuals who are writing the
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emails, kind of the randomness of scriptures that that bother
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people. Well, this was one that bothered
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me as a teenager and I thought wait a minute.
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How can man Do you say this? And then Matthew go on to say
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that that Peter. Sure enough.
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Deny, Jesus once and he denied him twice and he denied him
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three times and the rooster crowed, but when you read Marx
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account, not only did Jesus predict and prophesy that Peter
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would deny him three times before the rooster crows twice,
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but then Mark goes on to indicate that Jesus, that Peter
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denied. Jesus one time and the rooster
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crows. With, and he denied him a second
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time and he denied him a third time, and the rooster crowed
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again, and it could be that you're sitting there today.
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Like, I was several years ago when I was a teenager thinking,
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this is so frustrating to me. Something is not right about
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this was Jesus. Wrong was Matthew wrong.
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Was Mark wrong. What actually happened here.
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How can both of these scenarios? Be absolutely, correct?
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And then, you know, we begin to think.
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Well, you know, there are two Riders here.
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In fact, there are four Riders of the Gospel, the one gospel,
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right? We call some people, call them
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the gospels or the gospel accounts, but there's one
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gospel. And there's, there's these
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different Riders of the events that happened.
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Some of the events that happened during the time of Christ and,
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you know, some Riders can write about the same account in
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different ways, right? Me think about this example, for
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just a moment. Let's say that you that you go
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to school. Let's say, you go to a public
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school or a private school. Oh, I know we have a lot of
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different kids here who are schooled in different ways and
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I'm thankful to live in a country where we have the
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freedom to educate our children, in different ways, as the
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parents, you know, choose to do. So and let's say that you have a
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son who's in the sixth grade and a daughter who's in kindergarten
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going to school for the first time.
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Now, you may say Larry this sounds like a random
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illustration, but just hang with me here.
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Is it possible that the kindergartener who's never been
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to school? A day in her life before is a
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little nervous about going to school.
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I mean, would you be? I'm pretty sure I probably was
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probably excited but also kind of nervous and and let's say
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that the mom and dad are going to drop the to offer school and
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they tell the sixth grader. Hey, after the Bell Rings, we're
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going to meet you right here on the side of the school at Grant
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Street. And we'll meet you right here
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where we're letting you off after the Bell.
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You see anything wrong with that statement.
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And then the the kindergartener that your mom and dad their car,
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they're already crying. You know how it is parent, you
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know, your youngest heading off to school.
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Maybe your youngest is about to graduate school, whatever.
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The parents are just their emotional about it.
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And so they they kind of sniffling just a little bit and
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the dad certainly not. He's trying not to in the moms,
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letting it go a little bit and and they say now, now, Jennifer,
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we will meet you. After.
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The sixth Bell Rings right here on the side of the school on
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Grant Street, you know, the parents just gave the kids two,
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totally different stories. If you will write, at least, it
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sounds kind of different but are both of them accurate.
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They are both accurate. Why is it the case that they
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could both be accurate? Because They're putting emphasis
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on two different kinds of bells. If you will, you know, when the
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sixth grader, hears the Bell. What does he do?
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Well depends on what bell you're talking about.
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But what is the main Bell of the day for any kid who goes to
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school? Is it the Bell after the first
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class is over? Or the second class or the third
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class or if you were like me when I was in school.
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Could you just not wait to gets kind of like when I'm ready to
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leave work? Now, I love my job.
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But when I'm ready to get out of there, I mean, Rob knows this.
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I'm gone. I'm ready to get.
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Get to the house. I have family waiting on me.
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I have a little dog. Who's happy to see me more the
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so that any of my family? I'm ready.
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I'm ready to get home to see that little dog and And so I'm
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ready to go, you know, kids are ready to go at the end of the
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day. And so to the sixth grader, the
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end of the Bell is the final Bell the clothes.
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And that's kind of like, you know, when you hear about sports
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and you you read a story about a buzzer beater, a buzzer beater.
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What does everyone mean by a buzzer beater in a basketball
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game? What do they mean?
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It's the, it's the final buzzer, but do they say final buzzer?
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Do they say now? The final buzzer beater
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occurred? And so, and so won the game.
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No, they just say the buzzer beater.
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But is it the only buzzer that goes off during a game?
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No, so you could have a young child who is told?
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Well, we'll meet you after the six bells.
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Sure enough. She's counting the Bills first
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bill, second Bell, third Bell, first day of school.
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I heard the six Bell. I'm heading out to Grant Street
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on the side of the school right here to meet my parents.
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If they had told this child, after the first Bell, or after
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the Bell, you know what she might have done.
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I mean, the first Bell Rings. She's getting up out of her
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seat. She's going to go meet mama.
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Because she's never sat in the class.
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Let's say for as long as she sitting in class now, it's kind
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of like one of the first jobs I had where I remember it was not
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thought I was gonna be working 8 hours a day and they were
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keeping his 10 hours a day, but I had been there at this
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monotonous job for about an hour and a half and I thought it had
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been about eight hours. I mean I was doing the same
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thing about every 3 seconds and you do the same thing about
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every 3 seconds. And after about an hour and a
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half, you think surely this day is about over?
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Well, I give you that scenario to think about this to Think
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Through the rooster crowing and and Peter's denials of Jesus.
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Let me ask you this. I don't own chicken.
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Some of you all do, I know the Tanners do because we eat some
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of their chicken eggs. Some and, and I think the
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Edwards do and I can't remember who all else here has has
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chickens. We're going to have to make sure
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the Edwards chickens don't have the coronavirus right there,
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coming back. I guess I shouldn't be like
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joking about that, but I know that I know that they're in our
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prayers and Don't have the coronavirus.
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Okay, but they are traveling back from Greece and Italy here
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in a few days. And as we mentioned in our 830
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period, they are for safety precautions.
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I believe the government is going to make them be
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quarantined for two weeks, and maybe all of those who are
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coming back with the Faulkner group.
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I can't recall for sure. We do want to to continue to
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pray for them as they have that transition back home, you know
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when Peter denied Jesus there was a rooster that crowed after
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his first First denial because that's what Mark tells us.
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Does Matthew Luke or John tells us?
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Tell us that there was not a rooster crowing after the first
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denial. No, they don't say that.
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But, you know what? Matthew, Luke, and John focus on
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they focus on the final crowing of the rooster.
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Now, again, I'm no expert when it comes to various kind of farm
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animals, but, you know, in McClintock, in Strong's
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encyclopedia, they mentioned, talking about the roosters that
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were growing. In the first century and
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oftentimes in that area of the world.
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They said that the cock usually crows several times about
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midnight and again about Break of day the latter time because
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he then crows the loudest and his shrill Clarion.
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As they put it is most useful by summoning man to his Labor's
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obtain the appellation of the cock-crowing where the crowing
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of the rooster. So most anybody knows well a
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rooster's not often times, you know, roosters.
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Don't just grow one time, or they may not just grow one time
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in a A four-hour period. But you know what?
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What they had in the first century is an actual time of the
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night or early morning known as it was just, it was like today,
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we talked about noon and we talked about evening.
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And we talked about morning. We talked about lunch time.
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We talked about getting off time to you know, go home from work.
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They had a time of the day and it was just called the rooster
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crowing. The cock-crowing that was eight.
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But now is that the only time that the rooster crowed.
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No, but you know in marks account, he records actually
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Jesus talking about watching, therefore watch, therefore for
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you. Do not know when the master of
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the house is coming in the evening, at midnight, at the
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crowing of the rooster, or in the morning.
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So, I know this may be somewhat of a long example, or a long
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explanation to this stressful scripture, but I tell you, when
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I was a teenager, I remember this scripture just kind of
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stressing me out. But, you know, it's not overly
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complicated. It's just often times kind of
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new to us. We're not accustomed.
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Maybe to talking like this and understanding some of these
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differences, but Mark mentions that there was actually one
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period of night known as the rooster crowing which
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incidentally and kind of interestingly, Matthew, Luke and
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John are referring to That Peter would deny Jesus three times
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before the rooster crowing before, the crowing of the
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rooster before that period of the night or early morning and
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Mark, incidentally, who it actually is the one who mentions
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this period of the night is more specific.
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He mentions that there was a rooster that crowed after Peter
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denied, Jesus the first time, and wouldn't you have kind of
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thought? And maybe we would have been as
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weak as Peter. I don't know that maybe he would
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have come to his senses. After the first to know.
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Because he heard a rooster crow. Maybe he didn't really hear it.
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Maybe it wasn't as loud as the one, who would that would come
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later, or maybe he was just going through a hard time.
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And he was scared to death and he denied Jesus again.
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And he denied him a third time. And then you have the crowing of
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the rooster, you know, a stressful, scripture for some.
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And they hear critics of Christianity, talk about this,
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sometimes are the ones in the first time, you look at this and
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these parallel. Oh passages, you think?
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Wait a minute. I don't understand how and why
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Matthew could say that when Jesus rose from the dead and his
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tomb was empty, that those who came to the tomb, were Mary
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Magdalene and the other Mary according to Matthew, or as
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Mark, put it, it was Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of
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James, and Salome or as John mentioned.
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It was Mary Magdalene. And so some may Wonder well,
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wait a minute. How can all of these be?
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How can all of these be correct? And it's a fair question to ask,
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some people are stressed out by this in part because the enemies
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of Christianity, they will latch onto versus like this and say,
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wait a minute. You shouldn't believe the Bible
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is the word of God because notice they couldn't even get,
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right? The most important day in the
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life of a Christian, the day that Jesus not only died.
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But the day that he Rose from the dead defeating death.
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The day. This is the reason why we're
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here today on the first day of the week, because that's the day
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that Jesus rose from the dead. So who was at the tomb?
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Was Mary, Magdalene there? Yes.
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Was there. Another Mary there?
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Yes. Was Salome a there?
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Yes. We'll wait a minute.
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Why did they word it? The ways that they did.
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Well, I don't know the answer to that other than, that's how the
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Holy Spirit directed them. But I also know this, don't we
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do the same things often times and The way we talk about events
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today, you know, I can tell you that Friday night when I came
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home from work. My family wasn't there because
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Jana and Shelby had gone to a soccer game with Emma and Anna,
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because they had a soccer game. And there would be nothing wrong
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with me telling you that and it's a true statement, but I
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might be somewhere else where I mentioned, maybe I don't
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mention, you know, Emma and Anna.
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Maybe I mentioned that that Jana and Shelby and three others went
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to a soccer game and I mentioned three different names.
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Will that also be a truce? Yeah.
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They were seven people in that van Friday night in Jannah made
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it home safely about midnight. I was thankful for that.
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Well, you mean, you can tell two different stories and mention
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different people and those stories.
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Because, that's exactly right. And that's what we have here.
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We have, we have the Bible writers, telling us giving
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different perspectives. If you will about the same
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event. And by the way, what if they had
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all given the exact same details down to the very minut details
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of it? All, you know, what, the enemies
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of Christianity would say. They would say, Benjamin right?
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They copied each. I remember years ago, and you've
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watched these kinds of shows, like a detective shows.
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I believe it was Law and Order. I remember where they had a
18:55
detective named Lenny or Lanny something like that and he was
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interviewing suspects. And this particular episode,
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this suspect had the exact same story as this suspect who had
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the exact same story as this suspect.
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And you know, what Lenny quickly realized is they had gotten
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together and they had colluded with one another to The exact
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same story down to the most minute details and so he said, I
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believe they've colluded together, you know, it's
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interesting that the Bible writers are similar enough and
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what they wrote. So as we can know, we can know,
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they did not collude together, but they are similar enough so
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we can know that there are no proven contradictions.
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Let me give you on a related note, kind of another stressful.
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Passage to some wait a minute, Eric, okay.
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I can see where you talk about the women who were there at the
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tomb and maybe the different writers mentioned, different
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ones. But but how do we get them
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coming to the tomb and seeing an angel, or a young man or two
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men, or two angels, who was at the tomb?
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When the women got to the tomb on the resurrection morning, the
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day that Jesus rose from the dead?
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And the answer is the answer is, they were all correct?
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How could they all be? Correct?
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Well, let me ask you this. If there were two men at the
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tomb, was there at least one? Another tune.
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That's right. And is it also the case that we
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learn from the Old Testament? Especially that Angels sometimes
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put on human flesh and would appear to people in the form of
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human beings. That's exactly right.
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Even. God himself came to Earth, the
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word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his
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glory, the glory as of the only begotten full of grace and
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truth. So even God put on flesh and
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became a man. It possible that we have here
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men who were also Angels, but they just came and the
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appearance of men and is it possible that one writer focused
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on one of the men or Angels while other writers focused on
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two of them being there? Sure enough.
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Just, as you could say that, I went to a ball game with, with
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these individuals and not mention other individuals, not
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because you're trying to deceive someone, but you have your own
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reasons, Maybe. Cuz you don't the people that
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you were talking to don't know all ten individuals that you
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went somewhere with but they know a few of them.
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And so you mentioned the few again, we're not told why the
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Bible writers wrote it exactly the way they did but the way
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they wrote it is, it's not in any way a problematic and should
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not stress us out. I mean think about it, these
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little doodads right here there we call them a phone but But are
21:49
they really? Is it really a fun?
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Welcome. No one's going to say to you.
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If you say well this is my phone.
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They're not going to say no you're lying.
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That's not your phone. But if you say, hey, this is my
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computer, you know, some might say well that's kind of odd
22:03
sounding but is it also a computer?
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I'm telling you what it cost a whole lot more than a phone.
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I know that and some might say, well, this is my GPS
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Whatchamacallit and it kind of helps me get from one place to
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another. It does it also function as that
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and all of those things are in one little, whatever you want to
22:21
call this piece of metal or piece of whatever that cost way.
22:26
Well, I Too much. It is just amazing.
22:28
What all the thing does. But you know, when when the
22:31
Angels Came To Earth they were Angels.
22:34
But what did they look like? They look like human beings.
22:38
So there's no problem here. No reason to be stressed out
22:41
here. What about this particular idea
22:44
of Jesus being God, but maybe not being God.
22:49
And before we do that. Let me just mention that, you
22:50
know, the Bible is full of scriptures that when quoted
22:53
without any consideration of the immediate or remote context a
22:57
Person can misuse passages in all sorts of ways.
23:01
I mean, think about John chapter 6 where Jesus said do not labor
23:04
for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to
23:06
everlasting life, if we took this passage to mean, we should
23:11
not work for food. Is that really what Jesus meant?
23:17
Is that what he meant? Do not labor for the food which
23:21
perishes Work for the food, which endures to everlasting
23:25
life. Jesus is not in the Bible is
23:29
clear that if a man doesn't work, neither should he eat?
23:33
The Bible is clear that God doesn't want us to be lazy.
23:37
The Bible is clear. However, that spiritual things
23:40
are what they are much, much more important than physical
23:46
things. I think somewhat of a parallel
23:48
thought you can find where Peter is talking about how we are to
23:53
clothe ourselves. And in First Peter chapter 3, He
23:57
says this, he says, do not let your adornment be outward.
24:02
Now in my new King James, it it puts in an extra word in a
24:07
italicizes it because it's trying to help us better
24:11
understand what Peter is saying, but that word is not actually in
24:14
the original. Do not let your adornment be
24:19
merely outward. Do not let your adornment be
24:22
outward. Does that mean we're not
24:23
supposed to wear clothes? Absolutely not, do not come here
24:27
without clothes on. Okay, we're close.
24:31
And be chaste and modest as he's talking about here in this
24:34
passage, and the Very previous verse.
24:36
But he says, do not let your adornment be outward.
24:39
Rather. Let it be the hidden person of
24:42
the heart, with The Incorruptible beauty of a gentle
24:46
and quiet Spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.
24:49
What's more important? The clothes you have on the
24:51
outside or what you are clothed with inwardly and spiritually.
24:58
Who you are? Who I am.
25:00
You know, when our society isn't it?
25:02
Isn't there a whole lot of emphasis in our culture on, you
25:06
know, just decorating spending so much time.
25:09
Decorating the out, can't you tell?
25:11
I decorate the outside of myself, a whole lot.
25:13
I mean, come on. I'm just kidding about that.
25:15
Okay, but I mean, there's a whole lot of emphasis put on
25:18
y'all didn't laugh at that, by the way, and I anyway, but Peter
25:22
is saying, do not do not, what do not let your adornment be
25:28
outward. He's, he's Talking about an
25:31
emphasis and he's not saying, don't wear a close.
25:34
He's saying, don't let it be merely outward, don't spend so
25:38
much unnecessary time. And so it's kind of a lesser to
25:41
greater or greater to lesser type of argument.
25:44
And that's what Jesus is saying here.
25:46
And so we have to be careful when we're looking at the Bible
25:49
that we look at the Bible as a as a whole here.
25:53
There's a passage. I don't have it on there.
25:55
Okay. I thought I had another passage
25:56
on there where the Bible talks about, you know, being being
26:00
Legit second Timothy 2:15 to rightly divide the scriptures in
26:07
part because the sum of God's word is truth.
26:10
Psalm 119 160. The entirety of his word is
26:14
truth. So it's not one scripture to the
26:16
exclusion of another. It's all of it together and they
26:18
fit perfectly together. And so, when the Bible tells us
26:21
that that, that Paul said, I thank God that I baptized.
26:26
None of you for christ did not send me to baptize, but to
26:29
preach the gospel and As some have indicated that this somehow
26:32
proves that baptism is not essential or necessary for
26:36
salvation to obey the gospel to receive the gracious gift of
26:40
Eternal salvation. That's not what Paul was talking
26:42
about it. All beginning in verse 10.
26:44
He's talking about the sad division that is there in the
26:48
church in Corinth and among some of the members, the very next
26:50
verse talks about basically the same things, these contentions
26:54
that were going on. And some were saying, I'm
26:57
appalled and I'm of a policy and I am of Peter and were you
26:59
baptized in the name. name of Paul and we'll wait a minute
27:03
Paul says I'm thankful I didn't baptize any of you and then he
27:06
names some that he baptized his point there is not baptism is is
27:11
unessential his his point was don't be don't be dividing
27:16
yourselves over this kind of stuff and he's saying listen I'm
27:21
thankful I didn't baptize any more of you than I did because
27:24
there would be even more division than there already is
27:26
based upon whose baptizing people the emphasis is not on
27:29
who baptizes you but whom you are baptized into the father son
27:35
the Holy Spirit into Jesus Christ into his body by his
27:38
death burial and resurrection and so you know we can sometimes
27:43
be stressed out by various scriptures because we're putting
27:47
emphasis on Two passages to the neglect of the immediate context
27:54
to the remote context and to all the rest of the scriptures.
27:58
And so, maybe you've had someone knock on your door and they
28:00
refer to themselves as Jehovah's Witnesses.
28:03
They haven't actually witnessed. Literally Jehovah like the, the
28:07
apostles were Witnesses of Jesus Christ and his death, burial and
28:11
Resurrection, but maybe they've knocked on your door and they're
28:14
very nice and they talked about how you know, Jesus is not God.
28:17
Maybe they gave you some literature and said Jesus.
28:19
This is not God because in John 17:3, he prayed to the father
28:23
saying you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent
28:27
allegedly by calling the Father. The only true God, Jesus is said
28:32
to have excluded himself from the godhead from being deity
28:35
from being God, but such interpretation contradicts
28:39
numerous other passages. Even in the Gospel of John
28:43
itself, where you can read that Jesus was the word which is God
28:48
John 1 1 through 5. 7 verse 14. You can read about how Jesus is
28:53
the god for whom John, the baptizer, paved the way.
28:58
And Isaiah said that John the baptizer Isaiah said there would
29:01
be one coming. Who would prepare the way for
29:05
the Lord. Thus, the Lord must have been
29:07
Jesus must have been God, the Old Testament said that the
29:11
Messiah when he came, he would be Mighty God.
29:15
Unto us. A son is Born.
29:17
The government will be upon his shoulders and we're going to
29:19
call him wonderful counselor. Everlasting father Prince of
29:23
Peace, Mighty God. Well, Jesus revealed himself
29:28
when he was in the flesh. As the Messiah, he revealed
29:31
himself to us as mighty God. Jesus said all should honor the
29:36
son just as they honor, the father.
29:37
Can you imagine any mere man saying that?
29:41
Mere Men Who were good? Men or women don't say.
29:46
I've never heard a Christian say this in my life, have you that
29:49
you should honor me? I mean, that's blasphemous, but
29:51
Jesus spoke. The truth and Jesus was not
29:55
blaspheming because Jesus is is deity.
29:58
Jesus accepted worship from one whom, he had just healed of
30:01
blindness. He said in John 10:30 and
30:04
followed and in the Jews took up stones to Stone him because he
30:09
made himself God. And you can read in John, 20,
30:12
verse 28, where Thomas confessed that he is my Lord.
30:17
And my God now, go back to John. 17:4, just a moment where Jesus
30:21
is praying and he's praying to the father.
30:25
And he says, That we read that, Jesus lifted up his eyes to
30:30
heaven and said, father. This is eternal life that they
30:32
may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have
30:37
sent. Now consider that on the eve of
30:40
Jesus crucifixion. It was completely natural for
30:44
him to pray that all flesh or all people depending on the
30:47
transit translation. You're reading from many of whom
30:51
were and still are pagans pagan idolaters.
30:55
It's Perfectly Natural, that Jesus would pray that they would
30:58
come to know, The only true God and receive eternal life.
31:05
That's Jesus. Contrasted himself not with the
31:07
father. But with all forms of pagan
31:09
polytheism as Jamison faucet and brown mention in their
31:12
commentary with all forms of pagan polytheism Mystic
31:15
pantheism, and philosophic naturalism.
31:18
Jesus was not contrasting himself with the father but
31:22
contrasting, the father God with all of the false.
31:29
Beliefs and belief systems and false gods of this world, you
31:34
know, when a person understands that Jesus statement was made in
31:36
opposition to the world's false gods and not to himself the
31:41
reference to the father being the only true God harmonizes
31:44
perfectly with the many scriptures at a test of the
31:47
deity of Christ. Let me just continue on this
31:48
thought and then, I'd like to get to one or two other examples
31:52
for us this morning. Before we wrap up this lesson.
31:55
If Jesus reference to the father in John 17:3, and I've heard
31:59
this passage used a number of times, by those, who want to
32:02
contend, that Jesus is not, was not God.
32:06
Jesus reference to the father being the only true God somehow
32:09
excludes himself from being deity.
32:13
Then, to be consistent. Jesus also must have
32:15
disqualified. He must be disqualified from
32:19
being man, savior. I mean, think about it.
32:22
We read in the Old Testament that God.
32:24
Is the Lord. And besides me, he says, there
32:27
is no Savior and Hosea, 13. For we read that.
32:30
I am the Lord your God and you shall know.
32:34
No God, but me for there is no savior besides me.
32:39
But wait a minute, the Bible calls Jesus, in the New
32:41
Testament. Our Savior many times, you know,
32:43
this and I in Ephesians chapter 5, he's called the savior of the
32:47
body. One of the reasons, brothers and
32:50
sisters and friends who may be here outside of the body of
32:53
Christ that you need to be. You must be a member of the body
33:00
of Christ in order to be saved, is because Jesus is the savior
33:05
of the body, Ephesians 5:23. He's not a savior of those
33:11
outside of the body. He's willing to be he's
33:13
potentially the Savior to anyone and everyone but they must
33:17
choose to be Come apart of the elect a part of the bride of
33:22
Christ, a part of the body of Christ.
33:26
So the Bible calls Jesus, our savior.
33:28
It also caused calls God, our savior.
33:31
Well as God the Father Our Savior, yes is Jesus our savior?
33:35
Yes. If Jesus is excluded from the
33:38
godhead based on a misinterpretation of John 17:3,
33:40
then must God the Father be excluded from being man's Lord.
33:45
I mean, you know, Ephesians chapter 4, Paul wrote that there
33:48
was one Lord. You have the other ones that are
33:52
mentioned there. One of those is our God and
33:57
Father, right? One of the ones mentioned is the
34:00
spirit. One of the reasons we can know
34:03
that there is a Triune God Trinity is because the Bible
34:08
clearly says, there's one father.
34:10
There's one Spirit. There's one Lord.
34:13
They are the godhead as hard as that may be for us to wrap our
34:17
minds around. God is three, and they are three
34:22
in in one. Well, who is this lord?
34:26
Well is the father Lord? Yes, is the spirit Lord.
34:31
Yes. We know that because the New
34:33
Testament indicates that the father is also Lord that the
34:36
holy spirit is Lord. Is Jesus, lord?
34:40
Well as you read through Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 2.
34:43
It's the Lord. Jesus Christ, chapter 1 and
34:45
verse 3. Again.
34:46
It's our Lord. Jesus Christ, chapter 3 and
34:50
verse 11, it's Christ Jesus, our lord.
34:53
Well, who is the one Lord, and Ephesians chapter 4.
34:55
It's the Lord Jesus Christ. And so when you read passages
34:59
like this and others, it's not. Jesus in contrast to the father
35:05
or Jesus in contrast to the spirit, it's God in contrast.
35:09
It may be the father specifically or Jesus
35:11
specifically or the spirit specifically in contrast to all
35:15
those who are not God. And so, as former Jehovah's
35:22
Witnesses explained, like David Reed, not our David Reed, but a
35:26
David Reed, who wrote a book on this subject said Jesus being
35:29
called. Our only.
35:30
Lord does not rule out the lordship of the father, and the
35:34
Holy Spirit and the father's being called.
35:36
The only true. God does not exclude the Son and
35:39
the Holy Spirit from being deity.
35:42
I know that may be somewhat of a drawn-out explanation.
35:45
Maybe? Maybe it was somewhat quicker
35:48
than it needs to be. But the fact is it's not a
35:51
problematic passage. That is John 17 and verse 3.
35:55
Well, here's another one that has has been a head-scratcher
35:57
for some Through The Years. In fact, I just received an
36:00
email in the last few months saying I, how could God actually
36:06
Harden someone's heart. And then after he hardens, his
36:11
heart brings down all sorts of plagues upon him.
36:15
And his country, his Nation like the Egyptians did God hardened.
36:19
In Pharaoh's heart. What's the answer to that
36:21
question? Well, the answer is yes.
36:24
He hardened Pharaoh's heart. But here's another question.
36:30
How did God hardened Pharaoh's heart?
36:36
Well, let me ask you this a different way.
36:38
Did Pharaoh hardened Pharaoh's heart?
36:41
Yes. Did did God hardened Pharaoh's
36:45
heart? Yes.
36:45
Well, you know, as you read through through Exodus, you read
36:49
sure. Often in chapter 7 and verse 4,
36:51
as Cody read for us a little bit ago or verse 3.
36:55
God said, I will harden, Pharaoh's, heart 7:13.
37:01
Pharaoh's heart, grew hard chapter, 8 and verse 32, Pharaoh
37:07
hardened, his heart. So how is all of this to be
37:13
explained? Is our God, a loving.
37:15
God. Does he forced people to to
37:18
disobey? Obey him.
37:20
No, he doesn't. But you know what God does do?
37:25
Is he works in this world providentially and he also
37:32
brings things about that. You and I have a choice as to
37:36
how we will respond to them. Right?
37:40
Did God cause plagues to come upon Egypt.
37:44
He most certainly did. And Pharaoh chose to harden his
37:51
heart in response to the words of Moses, which were from God,
37:55
the words of Moses and Aaron, and to the plagues that God
37:59
brought upon him. You know, we've talked here
38:02
before about how the best way to interpret the Bible as much as
38:06
is humanly possible, is to allow the Bible to explain itself.
38:10
So let's let's allow the Bible to explain itself for a minute
38:13
and leave the context of Exodus, chapter 7 and following.
38:19
And let's turn to the Book of Job for men and I invite you to
38:21
turn to Job chapter 1 and I want you to see that.
38:25
You recall, the story their job, and you remember how in job,
38:29
chapters, 1 & 2. We have the details leading up
38:32
to the speeches of job and his friends beginning in chapter 3,
38:36
going all the way through chapter 37.
38:39
Well, what were those details? Where you recall?
38:41
That Satan came before the Lord and he was, he was critical very
38:47
critical of God and saying that God is not worthy of jobs, you
38:52
know, just devotion kind of inherent Devotion to him.
38:56
And that job only served him because he put a hedge around
38:59
job and he basically gave job all of this wealth and it's kind
39:04
of a backhanded way of saying Lord.
39:05
You're not worthy of just being praised Because of Who You Are
39:09
by your Nature and you recall that God allowed Satan to go out
39:14
and hurt job. He allowed it to happen.
39:18
And you recall that Satan used people and Satan use natural
39:22
events to not, only destroy all of jobs property so much of it.
39:29
The donkey's, The Oxen, the sheep, and also destroy his
39:33
children. But he said don't touch the
39:37
person job his actual body. And so, then after those events,
39:42
Satan comes back to the Lord against I wanted.
39:45
You want you to pick up there in Chapter 2 and notice chapter 2
39:49
and verse 3, the Lord said to Satan verse 3.
39:52
Have you considered my servant job.
39:54
There's none like him and all the in, on the earth, a
39:56
blameless. And upright, man, one who fears,
39:58
God and shuns evil and still, he holds fast to his integrity.
40:05
Although you incited me against him to destroy him Without a
40:11
Cause. Was God, the cause of jobs
40:17
suffering? He was not the direct cause of
40:20
it. The Bible reveals that this was
40:24
Satan's doing. But could it be said in a sense?
40:28
In fact, did God say that you incited me against him?
40:33
Continue to read their. Look at verse 5.
40:36
Well verse 4. So Satan answered the Lord and
40:39
said skin for skin. Yes, all that a man has he will
40:41
give for his life but stretch out your hand now and touch his
40:44
bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse you to your face
40:47
again, Lord, You're not worthy to be worshiped and praise.
40:49
Because if you are just just know that if you hurt him
40:53
physically, he's going to curse you.
40:55
And the Lord said to Satan behold.
40:56
He is in your hand, but spare his life.
41:00
So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck
41:02
Joe, who did Yes, was it God or was it Satan?
41:06
Well, it was Satan. Specifically.
41:10
But the Bible writers often times and this is what we're
41:13
trying to get to before we get to one last passage.
41:16
Sorry. This lesson is going a little
41:17
bit longer than than my I normally like to preach will.
41:21
Hopefully not get out of here, too late.
41:23
I'll try not to go as long as my dad used to go when I was a kid,
41:25
okay? My dad and I were just talking
41:29
about this yesterday. So, so one of the things that
41:32
the Bible Writers Do Is and it seems kind of foreign to us
41:37
today that they often times talked about God, as doing
41:41
things, when God, merely permitted them to be done.
41:47
In fact, when you get to the end of The Book of Job, chapter 42,
41:51
and and verse 11, God reveals To Us, by his inspired writer.
41:57
These words. He says, in verse 11, then all
42:00
his brothers at his jobs, Brothers, all his sisters and
42:03
all those who had been his acquaintances before came to him
42:07
and ate food with him in the house, and they consoled him,
42:11
and comforted him for all the adversity that The Lord had
42:17
brought upon him. The Lord didn't do it directly,
42:21
but the Lord did allow it to be done.
42:26
And so the Bible writers, often times, talk about God's /
42:30
mittens, permission of something to be done as having actually
42:36
done it. You know what, God, allows God,
42:39
because he created the laws of nature.
42:42
He allows a person who wants to walk off of a 10-story building
42:46
to fall to his or her death. Did God cause that?
42:50
What do you mean? Did God create the very laws of
42:53
nature that caused that to happen?
42:55
Yes. In a sense.
42:57
Yes. Did God make that person fall to
43:00
his death? Absolutely.
43:02
Not any more than he made, Pharaoh refused to Humble
43:07
himself. In fact, Moses would later write
43:09
in Exodus that Pharaoh refused to Humble himself that.
43:14
He hardened his heart that he was stubborn, the Bible reveals,
43:19
but you know what? Him stubborn in these instances
43:23
was that God was telling him through His prophets to let the
43:28
Israelites go. So before we get to one last
43:32
verse, let me just ask us this in as a point of application.
43:37
What's going on in your life? That could potentially.
43:43
Harden your heart. What's going on in your life?
43:46
What has been going on? What is going on?
43:49
What might happen to us in the future that we're going to have
43:52
to make real decisions? And say yeah, I'm going to
43:55
harden my heart or I'm going to become stubborn.
43:59
I'm going to not allow God's will to be my will I'm going to
44:03
refuse his will you know, Pharaoh's hardened heart was not
44:08
a one-time situation on this planet.
44:11
People all the time decide for themselves, how they're going to
44:14
respond to God. And what happens in this life?
44:17
Just like those in Acts chapter 2 responded, to the preaching of
44:20
the Gospel very differently than those to whom, Stephen was
44:24
preaching. Just a few years later.
44:27
One last passage in before we offer the Lord's invitation.
44:29
Let me just ask us this. Have you ever been stressed out
44:33
over what Jesus taught over what the Bible teaches about eternal
44:38
punishment. I'm amazed.
44:41
We live in such politically correct times.
44:43
Today that even in the Lord's House Jesus house, even in his
44:50
church. That's so many people who claim
44:54
to be followers of Christ. Never talked about what Jesus
44:57
said about eternal punishment. And the fact is Jesus taught.
45:01
This Jesus was very specific that those who choose not to
45:07
follow him. They are going to receive
45:09
Matthew 25:46 Everlasting punishment.
45:17
You recall that the Apostle Paul says, in 2nd Thessalonians
45:20
chapter one that Jesus is going to be revealed from heaven, with
45:24
his mighty angels, and he's going to take Vengeance on those
45:28
who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel
45:31
of our Lord, Jesus Christ. And the very next verse says,
45:34
these shall be punished with Everlasting, destruction from
45:40
the presence of the Lord. You know, what, the New
45:42
Testament tells us very loud and clearly and even what our Lord
45:45
and our savior tells us. Is there is such a thing as ever
45:50
lasting punishment. And there are some who say,
45:54
well, you know what, I, how can our God be, just how can he be
45:57
loving if there is such a thing? As eternal hell?
46:02
And that's a that's a okay question to ask.
46:04
There's nothing wrong. If we're going to be respectful
46:06
about it to ask the question. How is that is that very
46:10
possible? Is that is that really possible
46:12
that our God is loving and just and yet they're being Eternal
46:17
Health. Let me ask you this.
46:19
What would you think about a local judge?
46:23
Or maybe it's a judge in a higher Court who after hearing a
46:28
case in after everyone on the planet has heard, it knows that
46:31
there is a certain individual. Who murdered someone not just
46:35
someone will say 100 people in Cold Blood in two minutes.
46:41
And the judge says, you know what, I'm a loving judge.
46:44
I'm going to let you go free and how would the world react to
46:48
such a judgment? Well, you know, they would react
46:51
to this, we would react this way in.
46:53
That is not a good judge. That's not a just judge.
46:58
That's a ridiculous judge to allow such a heinous crime to go
47:03
unpunished. And so punishment is not
47:08
antithetical to a just person or just gaudy any more than a
47:13
parent needs to correct. And discipline his or her
47:16
children, any more than children in school need to be
47:19
disciplined. And one of the reasons we have
47:20
as many problems as we do in school systems around the
47:23
country is because of a lot of unruly kids who are growing up
47:27
in unruly homes, who give a lot of school teachers, a lot of
47:31
problems and we live in such politically correct times that
47:34
it's like well, wait a minute. Can we?
47:36
Is it inappropriate to punish people who deserve to be
47:39
punished? Not at all?
47:40
Well, some people say well Eric, how can you have eternal
47:43
punishment? How can that be?
47:45
Just and again? It's a fair question to ask,
47:48
nothing wrong with asking the question.
47:49
And I'm not saying that I know all of the answers about this,
47:53
but of one thing I do know is Almost all the time punishment.
47:59
I say, almost all the time, much of the time just punishment last
48:03
much longer than the crime took. If a man can kill 100 people and
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say two or three or four minutes.
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Is it possible? That man will be sentenced to
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prison for the rest of his life? And is the rest of his life, not
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millions of times longer than it took for him to commit the
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crime. Can our God be a just God and
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choose. Two sentence individuals who've
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committed the crime to Eternal punishment.
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You know, only our omnipotent omniscient.
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God is in a position to determine how long since should
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be punished. I mean, let me ask you, this
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should Sinners Like Us. Should we get to decide what the
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punishment for sin is? You know, when I was a kid, my
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parents were discipline Aryans. But you know what, I would have
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loved as a kid when I did some really bad things.
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Can I decide how I get punished? Because if I got to decide how I
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got punished, I mean that spanking wouldn't have heard
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near as bad that grounding would not have been nearly as long,
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but who knew better how long the punishment needed to be?
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My parents are me, who's in a better situation to know what
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the punishment of sin? Should be.
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All-knowing Almighty. Eternal God.
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Or little ol Eric God who knows not only the sin itself, but all
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of the consequences of such sin. Am I in a position to be able to
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say well I know how you and I should be punished by know how
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long that punishment should be. I don't but I trust that my God
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does. you know, the criticism of the reality of Eternal Hill is
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in part, the result of One not recognizing the heinousness of
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sin and to the prideful rejection of the Savior.
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Again, we live in a day and time brothers and sisters, where if
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we are not careful if you and I are not careful.
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If parents are not careful, if young people are not careful,
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we're going to become desensitized to sin and it's
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going to cause us to think thus the ramifications of such the
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consequences of such are not that big of a deal.
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And our God is so awesome and he is so holy that the Bible tells
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us he cannot fellowship with sin.
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He is of purer eyes than to behold it.
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The prophet habakkuk said And so there are consequences for
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consequences which are death physical death.
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Yes. But also spiritual death.
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The wages of sin is death. But as we close, here's the good
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news. Here's the good news.
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God said, my people whom I created in my image are going to
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choose sin. We rebelled against him.
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All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
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And so God says, I'm going to step out of heaven and I'm going
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to take the punishment for their sin so that they can come live
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with me and my presence and be holy and be justified just as if
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they never sinned. If they respond to my Grace by
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faith. Initially by faith is coming to
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know. Jesus is the answer to the sin
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problem, repenting of sin confessing faith in Jesus Christ
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as the Saviour of the world and being immersed in water for the
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Forgiveness of sins. Just as about 3,000 did, on
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Pentecost in Acts chapter 2, And by faith, we continue to walk by
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faith and not by sight we continue to walk in the light
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and not in darkness. We continue not as perfect
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people in the sense that we never fail again, but that we
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walk in the perfect light of the Savior trusting in Him,
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habitually following him, and not deciding to and habitually
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following Satan and walking in darkness.
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The fact of the matter is, as the Hebrews writer wrote in
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Hebrews chapter 10. Those who go to eternal hell are
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those who trampled underfoot the Savior, the Son of God, let's
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not leave here today. In that situation.
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You don't have to. I don't have to the good news is
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God is not willing that any one should perish but that all
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should come to repentance. Second Peter chapter 3 and verse
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9, but we do have to come. To repentance, we have to say.
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You know, what? I'm not going to hell.
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I'm going to go where my God wants me to go where he's
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prepared for us to go where he's given everything his very life
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for God. So loved the world that he gave
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his only begotten, son, that whoever believes in him, should
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not perish but have everlasting life.
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For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the
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world. But that the world through him
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might be saved. If you need to respond to God's
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invitation. Won't you do?
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So as we stand as we sing?