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Mark 12:35-37 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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And amen. Please take out your copy of God's Word. Turn to the Gospel according to Mark, chapter 12.
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! Gospel of Mark, chapter 12. We're going to begin today in verse 35.
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And as Jesus taught in the temple, He said,
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and for His glory and for our good, we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.
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Let's pray together.
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Father, we do praise You this day that You condescended to become an author,
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that You used men who were carried along by the Spirit to pen words that have bearing for us today.
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And so as we look at these three verses, this teaching of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
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I pray that You will work a miracle in us, that You will, by Your Spirit, rightly apply the truth contained in these verses to our hearts.
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Change us, Lord. Don't let us leave here looking like we did when we came in.
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Make us more like Your Son so that His name will be exalted in the region we live in and in the nations.
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And we pray this in the precious name of Christ. Amen.
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So if we continue our verse-by-verse exposition of the Gospel according to Mark,
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we are now in chapter 12, and this is Wednesday of the Passion Week.
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We've been in Wednesday of the Passion Week for quite a mile.
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We saw at the beginning of chapter 11 on Monday, Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
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Tuesday, He takes over the temple by turning over the money-changers tables,
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by stopping the court of Gentiles from being used as a thoroughfare.
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And on Wednesday, He's kind of set up camp in the temple,
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and He's been confronted by a number of groups of people,
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the Pharisees with the Herodians, the Sadducees,
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and then a scribe or a representative from the scribes.
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And He's encountered these confrontations back to back to back.
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Now, we kind of conclude those confrontations, which we did last week,
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and you'll see in verse 34 of chapter 12, the very end, Mark records,
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and after that, no one dared to ask Him any more questions.
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These men, these religious leaders, the elite religious of that day,
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were looking to make Him look like a fool,
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and in turn, He had done the very same to them.
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And so people have stopped asking Him questions.
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They have recognized that this is a foolish thing to do.
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Now, just in case you're wondering, as we've been in the text,
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and I've repeatedly said it is Wednesday of the week,
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and you're wondering when Wednesday will be over,
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not until the end of chapter 13.
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He'll be in the temple until the end of chapter 12,
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and then He leaves the temple and continues to teach
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some rather perplexing things in chapter 13,
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which I am eager to dive into.
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We find ourselves with these three incredibly important verses in front of us
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as He turns now to teach those who are gathered,
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specifically, in this case, the Pharisees.
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How do we know this?
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Because of a parallel text in Matthew.
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Matthew 22, verse 41 and 42.
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Matthew records,
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Now, while the Pharisees were gathered together,
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Jesus asked them a question.
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So Mark records Him just beginning to teach,
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but Matthew records that He actually was asking the Pharisees a question.
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Now, others would have been gathered around Him at this time,
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so others certainly would have been hearing the teaching,
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but He's aiming this question specifically at the Pharisees.
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And I think at this point, the value to us in recognizing this
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is to know that, by and large,
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these men would reject Jesus,
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these religious leaders of the day.
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These men were apostate.
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They were not worshipers of God.
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They thought they worshipped God.
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They thought they were worshipping the right God in the right way,
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but in fact, they were worshipping Him wrongly.
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They were outside the faith itself,
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and they were leading Israel in the same way.
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Jesus has harsh words for them all throughout the Gospels.
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He calls them repeatedly hypocrites, snakes.
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He calls them a brood of vipers.
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But He has not excluded them from responding in faith with repentance.
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Here He once again turns to encounter them,
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as we can see in Matthew 22 in this parallel text.
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Luke records for us about a man named Joseph of Arimathea.
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Most of you are probably familiar that this is the man who owned the tomb
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in which Jesus' body was laid.
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In Luke 23, verse 50 and 51, Luke records,
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Now there was a man named Joseph from the Jewish town of Arimathea.
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He was a member of the council,
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a good and righteous man who had not consented to their decision and action.
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That was to crucify Christ.
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And he was looking for the kingdom of God.
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And so there were men numbered amongst these Pharisees and the Sadducees
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and the scribes that did respond in faith to the call of Christ.
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So here we see him doing that once again.
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And he asks them this interesting question in Matthew.
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What do you think about the Christ?
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And followed with the question,
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Whose son is He?
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And they respond to Him,
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this is in verse 42 of chapter 22 of Matthew,
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the Son of David.
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The Son of David.
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So their understanding of who the Messiah was to be
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is that He would be the Son of David.
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And they were right in that.
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But they didn't take it far enough.
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They understood some of the Old Testament prophecy,
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which we'll get to in just a moment.
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But they didn't understand the completion of it.
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In fact, the prevailing understanding of this day,
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of who the Messiah would be,
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would be an earthly man that would come
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and He would conquer and reign in an earthly fashion.
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He would come in a military way.
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In fact, these religious leaders were positioning themselves
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to be part of that leadership structure.
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When He came and overthrew Rome,
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they wanted to be first in line to have power
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and to have prestige.
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But instead, the Messiah comes
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as a servant from a lowly town,
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the son of a carpenter.
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One who comes and lays down His life and dies.
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Certainly reigns, but not in the way they thought.
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They thought He was merely,
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the Messiah was merely going to be a man
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who would come to reign on earth.
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But Jesus, rightly, is a son of David,
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the Messiah.
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Old Testament prophecy.
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2 Samuel 7, verses 12 and 13.
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God speaking to David said,
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When your days are fulfilled,
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and you lie down with your fathers,
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I will raise up your offspring after you
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who shall come from your body,
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and I will establish His kingdom.
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He shall build a house for My name,
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and I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever.
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You see it in there?
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Son of David, the Messiah.
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Psalm 89, verses 1-4.
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This is the psalm of a man named Ethan.
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He writes,
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I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord forever.
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With My mouth I will make known
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Your faithfulness to all generations.
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For I said,
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Steadfast love will be built up forever in the heavens.
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You will establish Your faithfulness.
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You have said,
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that is, God has said,
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I have made a covenant with My chosen one.
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I have sworn to David My servant.
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I will establish Your offspring forever,
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and build Your throne for all generations.
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And there are many other messianic prophecies
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that speak in the same way.
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That Jesus would, in fact,
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be a descendant of David.
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The people who encountered Jesus in His day
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understood this not too long ago.
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You'll recall in Mark 10, verses 47-48,
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the healing of blind Bartimaeus.
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And in those verses,
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look at how Jesus is approached.
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Verse 47 says,
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And when He heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
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this is blind Bartimaeus,
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He hears that it's Jesus of Nazareth,
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He began to cry out and say,
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Jesus, Son of David,
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have mercy on Me.
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Verse 48,
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And many rebuked Him,
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telling Him to be silent,
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but He cried out all the more,
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Son of David,
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have mercy on Me.
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There's many other encounters
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in the very same way
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where people recognized
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that Jesus was,
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as the Messiah,
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the Son of David,
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that He was in the lineage of David.
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Matthew takes great effort
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to establish this
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in chapter 1
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of his Gospel account.
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Matthew 1, verse 1,
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the book of the genealogy
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of Jesus Christ,
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the Son of David,
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the Son of Abraham,
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working to establish
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that the Old Testament
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Messianic prophecy
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is fulfilled
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in the person of Jesus.
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Verse 17 of chapter 1 of Matthew,
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So all the generations
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from Abraham to David
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were 14 generations,
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and from David to the deportation
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to Babylon,
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14 generations,
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and from the deportation
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to Babylon
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to the Christ,
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14 generations.
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And He, at length,
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in those 15 verses in between,
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establishes that Jesus
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is in fact
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in the lineage of David.
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So they were right
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in that understanding,
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but they did not
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take it far enough.
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And this is the point
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that Jesus is making
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in our text today
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when He quotes from
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Psalm 110, 1,
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that He is the Messiah
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and He is to be worshipped
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as Lord.
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Not merely a man
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that would come and rule
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as a king,
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but He was to be worshipped
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as God.
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In the Old Testament,
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God gives Himself
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the name Lord.
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In Hebrew,
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the English pronunciation
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being Yahweh.
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In fact,
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Lordship is an
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Old Testament theme.
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Over and over,
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we are told that God
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performs His mighty deeds
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so that people
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will know
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that He is the Lord.
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Whether that's
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His people Israel
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or those outside,
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those who will be
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destroyed,
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who are not His people,
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we see this as a theme
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established again
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and again
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and again.
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Let's look at some examples.
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And I just encourage you
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to be an active listener.
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Don't turn.
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Listen.
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And write these down
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if you'd like to look
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at these references later.
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Exodus 14, 4.
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God says,
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And I will harden
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and I will harden
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Pharaoh's heart
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and he will pursue them
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and I will get glory
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over Pharaoh
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and all his hosts
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and the Egyptians
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shall know
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that I am
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the Lord.
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And they did so.
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Deuteronomy 4,
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35
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To you it was shown
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that you might know
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that the Lord
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is God.
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There is no other
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besides Him.
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1 Kings
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20, 13
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in a prayer
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to be delivered
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from a king of Assyria.
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And behold,
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a prophet came near
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to Ahab king of Israel
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and said,
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Thus says the Lord,
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Have you seen
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all this great multitude?
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Behold,
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I will give it
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into your hands
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this day
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and you shall know
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that I am
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the Lord.
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Psalm 83, 18.
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Again,
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some deliverance
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from enemies.
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Verse 18,
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That they may know
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that you alone
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whose name is the Lord
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are the most high
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over all the earth.
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Again,
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Isaiah 37, 20.
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So now,
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O Lord our God,
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save us from His hand
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that all the kingdoms
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of the earth
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may know
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that you alone
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are the Lord.
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Ezekiel 6, 7.
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Last one.
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And the slain
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shall fall in your midst
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and you shall know
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that I am the Lord.
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So this is a theme
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that's established
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all throughout
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the Old Testament
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that God is Lord.
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That is,
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that He is to be worshipped
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with all that we have.
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That He is to set
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direction for us.
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We are to lay aside
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our self-direction
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and pick up His.
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That we are to follow Him
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with everything
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that we are.
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But it doesn't end there.
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Lordship is also a theme
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in the New Testament.
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In fact,
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the New Testament Greek
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word for Lord
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is applied regularly
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to Jesus Christ.
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A couple of examples.
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1 Corinthians 12, 3.
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Therefore,
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I want you to understand
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that no one speaking
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in the Spirit of God
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ever says,
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Jesus is accursed.
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And no one can say,
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Jesus is Lord,
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except in the Holy Spirit.
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Philippians 2,
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verse 10 and 11.
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So that the name of Jesus,
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every knee should bow
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in heaven and on earth
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and under the earth,
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and every tongue confess
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that Jesus Christ
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is Lord
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to the glory of God,
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the Father.
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John 20, 28.
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This is after Thomas
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touches the risen Christ's side.
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Thomas answered Him,
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my Lord
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and my God.
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In fact,
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I would argue
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that the great theme
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of the Bible
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is the Lordship
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of Jesus Christ.
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That the redemption
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of our souls
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is ultimately
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about bringing us
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back into a relationship
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with Him
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and changing our hearts
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so that we can
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worship Him
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as the Lord of all.
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These men
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failed,
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by and large,
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not only to recognize
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that the Messiah
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was not merely
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the Son of David,
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but that He is,
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in fact,
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Lord.
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And so Jesus
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gives them
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a little sermon.
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Did you know
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that Jesus
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was an expeditional preacher?
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I bet
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that you guys
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wouldn't mind
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if my sermons
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were as short
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as His this morning.
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Jesus quotes
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from Psalm 110,
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1.
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Now this is
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a massively
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important psalm.
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In fact,
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it's quoted
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more than any other psalm
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in the New Testament.
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I'm going to read to you
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Psalm 110,
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verses 1-4.
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It just sets
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a little more
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context for us.
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Remember
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that these men
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in the hearing of Jesus
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would have
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fully understood
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this psalm
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and beyond it.
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They just didn't get
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the implications
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of it.
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They had wrongly
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applied this psalm
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and Jesus corrects
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their thinking
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in this way.
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So I'm going to read to you
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Psalm 110,
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verses 1-4.
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The Lord says
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to my Lord,
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sit at my right hand
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until I make
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your enemies
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your footstool.
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This is what Jesus
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quotes.
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Verse 2,
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So this is a little
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broader context.
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text.
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And just as a bit
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of a side note,
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let me just show you
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some of the places
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that this is quoted
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elsewhere in the New Testament.
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Peter quotes from this psalm
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in his sermon
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on the day of Pentecost
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in Acts 2,
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34-35.
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Paul quotes from this psalm
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in his explanation
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of Jesus' resurrection
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and subsequent reign
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in 1 Corinthians 15,
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verses 27-28.
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The writer of Hebrews
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quotes from this psalm
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a number of times
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in making his case
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that Jesus is superior
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to angels
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in Hebrews 1-13
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and in teaching
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Jesus' supremacy
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over the present priesthood
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in Hebrews 5-6,
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7-17,
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and 7-21.
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That is,
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that Jesus is
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a priest
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king.
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This is something
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that was forbidden
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all throughout
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the Old Testament
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and the only other character
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we see in the pages
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of Scripture
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that was both
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a priest and a king
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is a rather obscure character.
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One who is a priest king
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over the city of Shalom
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whose name was Melchizedek.
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And he shows up
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after Abraham's first
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battle conquest.
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Abraham gives to him
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a tenth of all the spoils.
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There's a prayer prayed
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over Abraham
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and he leaves
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and he doesn't show up again
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until the pages of Hebrews
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under the inspiration
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of the Spirit.
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So we see this priest king
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in this function
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and then we see Jesus
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functioning in this way.
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Some, I think, wrongly
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have said that was
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Jesus himself
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in Abraham's day.
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It doesn't really matter.
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The point being
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that Jesus now
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makes propitiation,
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makes sacrifice
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on our behalf
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the perfect sacrifice for us,
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stands in the gap
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between us and God
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and also rules over us
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as Lord.
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And this is what this psalm means.
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It's such a beautiful psalm
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speaking of the coming Christ.
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And Jesus very simply says to them
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using really basic logic,
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verse 37,
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if David himself calls him Lord,
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how is he merely his son?
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This is the way
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to understand this.
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How is he just his son?
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Just a son of flesh,
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right?
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That would come and rule
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in the way that David ruled.
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He would rule in a much more
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mighty way
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as a priest king.
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David recognized
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the coming Messiah
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as his Lord.
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This is the pressing point
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that Jesus is making.
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David got it.
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He got that the coming Messiah,
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the one that would be
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prophesied to be
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one day of his lineage,
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was the coming Lord.
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What you believe
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about Jesus
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is the most important thing
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about you.
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What we believe
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to be true about Jesus
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is the absolute most
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important thing
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about us.
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There are many
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erroneous understandings
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of who Jesus was
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or is,
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depending on the understanding.
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Muslims believe
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that he was a prophet,
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a real man.
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He existed.
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He was a prophet.
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He had wise things
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to say from God,
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but he was merely
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a predecessor of Muhammad.
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Jehovah's Witnesses
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believe that he was
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not God incarnate,
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but a created being.
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In fact,
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they believe that he was
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Michael the Archangel
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before he was recreated
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as a perfect man.
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Mormons,
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those known of
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the Church of Jesus Christ
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of Latter-day Saints,
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believe that Jesus
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was a, again,
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created being,
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a man who became
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a God,
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and therefore they believe
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that the same can be true
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of them.
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Many evangelicals
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believe that Jesus
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is their homeboy
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to their everlasting shame.
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And evangelicals
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also want to separate
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the recognition
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of Jesus as Savior
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from their devotion
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to Jesus as Lord.
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Two separate things.
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And I say to you
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that the two
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are inextricable.
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They cannot be separated.
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If Jesus is,
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in fact,
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your Savior,
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then he is,
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in fact,
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your Lord.
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Now,
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in Romans chapter 10,
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some of this
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misunderstanding,
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verses 9 and 10,
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upon a simple reading
20:24
of it,
20:25
Paul writes,
20:26
now in this
20:27
is in the midst,
20:28
remember,
20:28
of him talking about
20:29
God's sovereign purpose
20:31
over saving a people,
20:34
his elective purposes,
20:35
that he has moved
20:36
the gospel from beyond
20:37
the Israelites
20:38
to the Gentiles,
20:40
but yet he's still
20:41
including Jewish people
20:43
in this.
20:44
Paul says,
20:45
chapter 10,
20:46
verse 9,
20:46
because if you confess
20:47
with your mouth
20:48
that Jesus is Lord
20:49
and believe in your heart
20:50
that God raised him
20:51
from the dead,
20:52
you will be saved.
20:54
And then verse 10,
20:55
for with the heart
20:55
one believes
20:56
and is justified,
20:57
and with the mouth
20:58
one confesses
20:59
and is saved.
21:01
And so they want to say
21:02
that simply making
21:03
a profession
21:04
is salvific.
21:06
Simply saying
21:08
that I believe
21:09
that Jesus is Lord
21:11
is in and of itself
21:13
salvific.
21:16
But if you really look
21:18
at these words,
21:19
the word believe,
21:20
every time it's used
21:21
in the New Testament,
21:22
it's one Greek word,
21:24
and it's written
21:24
in the indicative mood,
21:26
which means that
21:26
the writer's portraying
21:27
something as actual,
21:30
something that's actually
21:30
carrying out
21:31
and having real effect
21:33
versus intended.
21:36
So we may believe,
21:38
I think most of you
21:39
have probably flown
21:40
on planes,
21:40
but for those of you
21:41
who haven't,
21:42
I'm sure you believe
21:43
that planes do fly.
21:45
You've seen them fly.
21:47
But it's not really
21:49
a belief in this verb's sense
21:52
until you get on the plane
21:54
and let it take off.
21:56
If you didn't believe
21:57
you'd get back
21:58
off the plane,
21:58
at least I hope you would,
21:59
unless you're just a fool.
22:01
But it has real effect.
22:03
It's working things out
22:04
in your life.
22:04
There's a result
22:06
of the belief,
22:07
something that is tangible,
22:08
something that can be measured.
22:13
But people try to pull them apart,
22:14
and I think this often happens
22:16
because of our experience
22:19
in American evangelical Christianity.
22:23
Many of you have had
22:24
this experience.
22:25
You come to faith.
22:26
You believe you come to faith.
22:28
Maybe you do.
22:29
Maybe you don't.
22:29
This is a big wrestling
22:30
in your mind.
22:32
But you come to faith
22:32
at a very early age.
22:34
You're taught the gospel
22:35
in church and at home
22:37
at a very, very early age.
22:39
And you give some response.
22:40
You give some opportunity
22:41
to respond to the gospel.
22:45
But then what happens
22:46
is the church shelters you
22:47
for decades.
22:49
pulls you in
22:51
and protects you
22:52
from the world
22:53
and maybe teaches you
22:54
some things about being moral,
22:56
like be obedient like Abraham
22:59
or be brave like David,
23:02
but doesn't really press you out
23:04
into the world
23:04
and see that as a Christian,
23:06
you are automatically
23:07
given a mission
23:08
in this world.
23:09
So there's an equipping period
23:13
of 15 to 25 years.
23:18
Someday you'll be grown up enough
23:21
in your faith
23:21
to begin to work with God
23:24
in the world.
23:26
This is a great shame.
23:29
What does it take
23:29
to be equipped to share
23:31
the good news of Jesus Christ?
23:32
If you're a believer,
23:35
you have it.
23:36
The Spirit of God
23:37
and the gospel,
23:40
which I hope you know
23:42
because you responded to it
23:43
in faith.
23:45
You have this equipping,
23:47
but we sit around
23:48
on our hands
23:48
just waiting
23:49
and waiting
23:50
and waiting.
23:53
And so there's a fear
23:54
for many evangelicals
23:55
that we're going to tend
23:57
towards a works-based salvation
23:59
if we're saying to people
24:01
in these settings
24:02
that there must be
24:03
something tangible.
24:05
There has to be fruit.
24:07
If you're going to be
24:07
a good tree,
24:08
there has to be fruit.
24:10
Is this not scriptural?
24:12
So what they want to do
24:13
is say,
24:14
you can just say
24:15
that you're a good tree
24:16
and that's good enough
24:17
for us.
24:18
Jesus is your Savior
24:19
if you say you're a good tree.
24:22
And at some point
24:23
in your life,
24:25
embrace Him as your Lord
24:26
and begin to bear fruit.
24:29
We cannot separate
24:30
the two things, beloved.
24:31
They cannot be
24:33
separated apart.
24:36
There's this great emphasis
24:38
in our time
24:39
placed on conversion
24:40
at the neglect
24:43
of discipleship.
24:46
The Great Commission
24:46
is for us to go
24:47
and make disciples.
24:49
There's this great emphasis
24:50
on growing in breadth
24:52
and not being concerned
24:53
at all about growing
24:54
in depth.
24:56
If you're going
24:58
to follow Jesus,
25:00
you cannot simply
25:02
follow Him
25:02
to the end of an aisle
25:04
and stop there.
25:05
It does not work
25:07
that way.
25:09
And this is what Jesus
25:10
is saying
25:10
to the Pharisees.
25:12
They were going
25:13
through the religious motions.
25:14
Some of them
25:15
were the right motions.
25:17
Just done
25:18
with the wrong
25:19
motivation.
25:21
Right?
25:21
We are to
25:22
empty
25:22
ourselves.
25:23
ourselves.
25:24
Self-determining.
25:25
We no longer
25:26
worship us.
25:27
We now worship
25:27
Jesus
25:28
as Lord.
25:31
This isn't new
25:32
at this point
25:33
in the text.
25:33
He said this before.
25:34
Turn back to Mark
25:35
chapter 8.
25:36
beginning of verse 34.
25:55
And calling the crowd
25:56
to Him
25:57
with His disciples,
25:58
He said to them,
25:59
If anyone
26:01
would come after Me,
26:03
follow Me,
26:04
Be My disciple.
26:06
Let Him deny Himself
26:08
and take up His cross
26:10
and follow Me.
26:13
Oh, you can meditate
26:14
on this for your
26:14
entire life.
26:16
Verse 35,
26:17
For whoever would
26:18
save his life
26:19
will lose it.
26:21
But whoever loses
26:21
his life for My sake
26:23
and the Gospels
26:24
will save it.
26:27
Empty ourselves
26:28
and follow Jesus
26:30
to go wherever
26:31
He goes.
26:33
And beloved,
26:33
there is so
26:35
much example
26:37
given to us
26:37
of the way
26:38
in which Jesus
26:39
functioned
26:39
and the places
26:40
in which He went
26:41
that we have
26:43
plenty of growing
26:44
to do
26:45
in this regard.
26:48
Listen to Paul's
26:49
exhortation
26:49
in 2 Corinthians 13.5.
26:53
Examine yourselves
26:54
to see whether
26:56
you are in the faith.
26:57
Test yourselves.
26:58
Or do you not
26:59
realize this
27:00
about yourselves
27:01
that Jesus Christ
27:02
is in you?
27:03
Unless indeed
27:04
you fail
27:06
to meet the test.
27:07
What is this test
27:08
that we're being
27:09
exhorted to do?
27:11
I have sat
27:12
under many,
27:13
many preachers
27:15
that want to make
27:16
this test
27:17
the remembering
27:18
of a date
27:18
and an activity,
27:21
an action.
27:22
Tell me that's not
27:23
works-based.
27:25
Right?
27:25
Write it down.
27:26
Oh, write it down
27:27
in the front of your Bible
27:28
so if you ever have
27:29
a doubt,
27:30
you can look
27:30
at that page
27:31
and then you'll know
27:33
that you're found
27:34
in Christ.
27:35
That you've declared
27:35
yourself a good tree.
27:39
Phariseeism.
27:40
This is a message
27:41
from the devil.
27:44
Air conditioning.
27:45
Right?
27:46
On a train ride
27:46
to hell.
27:47
This is not good
27:48
for people to hear.
27:50
What is the test?
27:51
The test is fruit.
27:53
And we're exhorted
27:54
to do it.
27:55
Now hear me,
27:56
the works do not
27:57
save us.
27:59
But the works
27:59
are the evidence
28:00
of God's salvific work
28:02
in our hearts.
28:04
If I asked you
28:05
this morning,
28:05
how do you know
28:06
this morning
28:06
that you're alive?
28:08
None of you would say,
28:09
because I have a birth date.
28:11
Let me share my birth date
28:12
with you.
28:13
You would give some evidence
28:14
to that fact.
28:15
Well, I'm standing
28:16
in front of you.
28:17
Look, I'm doing the things
28:18
that living people do.
28:20
Right?
28:20
Descartes would have said,
28:21
I think, therefore,
28:22
I am.
28:23
Right?
28:24
None of you would go,
28:24
well, I have a birth date.
28:25
So, of course,
28:26
I'm alive.
28:28
This is foolishness
28:29
and this is what is happening
28:30
in our churches.
28:32
Turn to 1 John 3.
28:38
The great effort
28:39
of John's first letter
28:40
is to give us
28:42
a lens by which
28:44
to hold our lives up to,
28:45
to compare to.
28:47
How do we test ourselves?
28:48
How do we know?
28:49
How do we know?
28:55
1 John 3,
29:01
beginning in verse 4.
29:02
Everyone who makes
29:04
a practice of sinning
29:05
also practices lawlessness.
29:08
Sin is lawlessness.
29:11
You know that He appeared
29:12
in order to take away sins
29:13
and in Him there is no sin.
29:16
This is Christ.
29:17
Verse 6.
29:17
No one who abides in Him
29:19
keeps on sinning.
29:20
No one who keeps on sinning
29:21
has either seen Him
29:22
or known Him.
29:25
Little children,
29:26
let no one deceive you.
29:28
Whoever practices righteousness
29:30
is righteous
29:31
as He is righteous.
29:33
Whoever makes a practice
29:34
of sinning
29:34
is of the devil
29:35
for the devil
29:36
has been sinning
29:36
from the beginning.
29:38
The reason the Son of God
29:39
appeared was to destroy
29:40
the works of the devil.
29:42
No one born of God
29:44
makes a practice
29:45
of sinning.
29:47
For God's seed
29:48
abides in Him
29:49
and He cannot keep on sinning
29:51
because He has been
29:51
born of God.
29:53
By this it is evident
29:54
who are the children of God
29:55
and who are the children
29:56
of the devil.
29:57
Whoever does not
29:58
practice righteousness
29:59
is not of God
30:00
nor is the one
30:01
who does not love
30:04
his brother.
30:07
We are all indicted
30:09
by these words,
30:11
are we not?
30:12
So we need to wrestle
30:13
with this a little bit.
30:15
Right?
30:16
All of you who are perfect,
30:17
raise your hand.
30:20
No one, right?
30:21
None of us, right?
30:22
We have been set free
30:24
from sin
30:24
and yet we continue
30:25
to sin.
30:26
The great struggle
30:27
of Paul
30:28
in Romans chapter 7.
30:29
This body of death
30:30
that he carries around
30:31
that draws him
30:32
into the things
30:33
that he doesn't
30:34
want to do.
30:35
And this is the nature
30:36
of Christian living.
30:38
This ebb and flow
30:40
of righteousness.
30:41
Seasons even
30:42
that we go through
30:43
in our Christian lives.
30:46
And so John
30:46
is not saying to us
30:47
that if you sin
30:48
you are not found
30:49
in Christ.
30:51
There's a status,
30:52
right,
30:53
that is given to us
30:54
by our faith
30:55
in him.
30:56
But the general
30:57
trajectory of our living
30:59
should be towards
31:00
righteousness.
31:01
righteousness.
31:02
I don't know if
31:03
everyone in the room
31:04
can see the bald
31:05
cypresses outside.
31:07
Do you see this orange
31:07
tree that's blocking
31:09
that entire window
31:09
right there?
31:10
There's two of them
31:11
on either side
31:12
of the sidewalk.
31:13
And these are really,
31:14
really neat trees
31:15
called bald cypresses.
31:16
And most of the year
31:17
they're very green
31:18
and beautiful.
31:20
They're a deciduous
31:22
pine tree
31:23
and they turn
31:24
this beautiful orange
31:25
color for like a week
31:26
and they drop
31:28
all of the needles.
31:29
Likely,
31:30
next week
31:31
there will be not
31:31
a single needle
31:32
on either of those
31:33
two trees
31:33
and they'll all be
31:34
all over the ground
31:35
desperately needing
31:36
to be cleaned up
31:37
from the sidewalk
31:38
down there.
31:39
A really fascinating
31:41
tree.
31:42
A good portion
31:42
of the year
31:43
these trees look dead.
31:45
Totally lifeless.
31:46
If you didn't know
31:47
what they were
31:47
you would definitely
31:48
cut them down.
31:49
You'd go,
31:49
this looks kind of
31:50
like a pine tree
31:50
with no needles on it.
31:52
It's definitely dead.
31:53
Our lives are that way
31:55
at times.
31:56
No real experience
31:58
of the presence of God
31:59
in our lives.
31:59
We just seem to love
32:01
sin so much
32:02
appearing dead.
32:06
I've been coming
32:07
to this building now
32:08
for quite a few years
32:09
and I can tell you
32:09
that the general trajectory
32:11
of these trees
32:12
is that they're alive.
32:14
Every year
32:14
when they look dead
32:15
I know that they're not dead
32:16
because they continue
32:17
to grow
32:18
and year by year by year
32:19
they get a little bit bigger
32:20
and they encroach
32:21
on the building
32:22
a little bit more
32:22
and a few more branches
32:24
have to be pruned off of them
32:25
so that we can walk
32:25
down the sidewalk
32:26
and the roots
32:27
continue to advance
32:28
across the playground
32:29
and pop up
32:30
from time to time
32:31
across the playground
32:32
like I know
32:33
that they're alive
32:34
because of the general
32:35
presence of life
32:37
in those trees.
32:40
So John's not saying
32:41
to us that we have
32:42
to be perfect
32:42
in every way
32:43
but that we should be
32:44
generally hating sin
32:46
and generally
32:47
loving righteousness.
32:49
if this isn't true of you
32:52
then you are not
32:53
found in Christ.
32:56
You have not
32:57
recognized Him
32:58
as Lord.
32:59
You've added Him
33:01
as a slip of paper
33:02
of fire insurance policy
33:03
that you folded up
33:04
and you stuck
33:05
in your back pocket
33:05
which is of no value
33:07
to you whatsoever.
33:09
If your heart
33:09
has not been changed
33:10
if you have not
33:11
been propelled
33:12
by the work
33:13
in your heart
33:14
of the Holy Spirit
33:14
to follow Him
33:15
to worship Him
33:16
as Lord
33:17
then you are not
33:18
found in Him.
33:21
Repent
33:22
and believe.
33:24
Repent and believe.
33:26
Pray that He would
33:26
do a work
33:27
in your life
33:28
like that.
33:31
And for those of us
33:32
who have recognized
33:32
Him as Lord
33:33
but yet deal with
33:34
the day-to-day
33:35
how do we continue
33:36
to submit ourselves
33:37
to Him as Lord?
33:38
I have to say
33:39
that that very question
33:40
which I know
33:40
none of you asked
33:41
but I posed it to you
33:42
as well
33:42
demands the point
33:44
that I'm making.
33:46
Those of us
33:47
who are found
33:48
in Christ
33:48
who call Him
33:49
Savior and Lord
33:51
should know
33:53
how to follow Him.
33:55
He has spoken
33:56
to us
33:57
by His
33:58
Word.
34:00
This is the way
34:01
in which we came
34:02
to Him
34:02
by the work
34:03
of the Spirit
34:03
in our lives
34:04
that we would
34:05
continue in that
34:06
and that we would
34:06
go to His Word
34:07
to know Him.
34:10
This is the way
34:11
in which we continue
34:12
to submit to Him.
34:14
Young people
34:15
so many of you
34:17
want to know
34:18
the will of God
34:19
for your life
34:19
but it has really
34:20
nothing to do
34:21
with Lordship
34:22
and submitting
34:22
yourself to Him
34:24
day by day
34:25
week by week.
34:27
It's really just
34:27
because you want
34:28
answers
34:28
and it is your hope
34:30
that if it's God's answer
34:31
that it's going to be
34:32
a good one
34:33
that's going to work
34:33
out favorable
34:34
for you.
34:36
Self-serving
34:36
in that way.
34:38
You don't submit
34:39
yourselves daily
34:40
to the Lord
34:40
and say
34:41
what would you
34:41
have me do
34:42
in this day?
34:43
What major
34:44
should I have?
34:45
Who should I marry?
34:47
Where should I live?
34:49
Where should I invest
34:50
in church?
34:51
Who should I be
34:52
sharing the Gospel
34:53
with?
34:55
Your search
34:57
serves your ends
34:59
and not His.
35:02
Many of you
35:02
want to know
35:03
the will of God
35:03
but you don't
35:04
know your Bible
35:04
and He has revealed
35:06
His will to us
35:07
in the Scriptures.
35:09
Our Lord
35:09
has written us
35:10
a book.
35:12
We should know it.
35:14
Why do we neglect
35:15
this so much?
35:17
Recognize
35:17
that there is a battle
35:19
a war being waged
35:20
within you
35:21
to get you away
35:22
from this book.
35:24
To hear God speak
35:25
day by day
35:27
by day
35:28
and submit yourself
35:29
to what He would
35:30
have you do.
35:31
Practice
35:31
the revealed
35:32
will of God.
35:34
All that other stuff
35:35
the petty stuff
35:36
who you'll marry
35:38
where you'll work
35:38
where you'll live
35:39
where you'll go to church
35:40
will all sort out
35:41
in the end.
35:42
Submit yourself
35:43
to the Lordship
35:45
of Jesus Christ.
35:47
Stop being
35:48
self-determining
35:49
and then always
35:51
submit
35:52
to Him.
35:53
This is what it means
35:55
to be a Christian,
35:56
to be
35:57
a disciple
35:58
of our Savior
35:59
and Lord
35:59
Jesus Christ.
36:01
Let's pray together.
36:02
Let's pray together.