Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #10150 - Grace. Grace. Friend of Sinners - Genesis 38

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#10150 - Grace. Grace. Friend of Sinners - Genesis 38 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

0:04
Welcome to the Study of God's Word with pastor and author Ed
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Taylor recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora, Co To learn
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more about the many resources available through Abounding
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Grace Media or to tune into our live stream services, visit us
0:19
online at Calvary, Co dot Church or download our free Calvary
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Church app. Now here's Pastor Ed to take us
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into our study. Hey man, take your Bibles.
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Open them to Genesis chapter 38. Genesis chapter 38.
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I've entitled our Bible study Grace, Grace, a friend of
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sinners. If you read ahead, you know that
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chapter 38 is a very difficult chapter and I encourage you.
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One of the advantages of studying through the Bible verse
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by verse is you can read ahead. Because our next Bible study
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will be where we left off, and we've been pretty good at being
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able to cover chat at least a chapter every Wednesday.
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And one of the things we learn in difficult chapters like this
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is that the Bible never glances over or overlooks the failures
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of its heroes. You get the full understanding
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of their life. You see the good and the bad as
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God chronicles the lives of those that he uses.
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He always includes it all, the good, the bad, and yes, the
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ugly. He doesn't just make mention of
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the difficulties and the people that he uses.
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He doesn't just put a little footnote of their lives, but
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rather he shines the bright spotlight of His Holiness on,
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you could say even for you, on our unholiness men like Adam and
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Laud and Abraham. Women like Eve, Rahab, Isaac,
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Jacob, you name them, their lives are an open book before
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us. If you want to feel the full
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weight of this truth, then just consider if your life story was
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put in the Bible. No, not necessarily the way you
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tell it, but the way it is. And you would go.
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I don't want anybody reading my story for all of eternity
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learning from my mistakes. And it's true.
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You wouldn't. You wouldn't want it even the
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the antiseptic way that you describe or or the fact that as
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you share your testimony, you leave.
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Purposely leave points out because they're so painful to
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you. The Bible's not like that.
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The Bible gives it to you all. I believe the reality of the
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Bible containing these sordid stories of its heroes.
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But all of their defects, all of their disappointments, adds to
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its credibility. It's an answer to the critics.
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And here's why. If you and I were asked to write
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an autobiography of our own lives, we would probably do the
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exact opposite of what God has done.
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We would gloss over or minimize our mistakes while highlighting
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and emphasizing the mistakes of the people we don't like too
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much. Or we may say I was bad, but
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compared to so and so I was a St. and that's just how we are.
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We may mention our mistakes, maybe even footnote them, but
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most of the book that we wrote would express the good things
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about our lives and emphasize those things that we see God has
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done, rather than dwell on the difficulties it it.
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You can see that the men that God inspired to write the Bible,
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they wrote the truth. Even someone like Saul of Tarsus
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or Paul the Apostle, when he highlights the difficulties of
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his life, he gives it to a straight and deep and you're
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looking at Paul's life. You're like, man, he was bad.
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And yet look what God can do. Chapter 38 ranks up in one of
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the one of the worst chapters in all the Bible.
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Dark and dreary, you could say. After reading it, you'll wonder
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your you may have wondered why is it even there?
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We meet people like Judah, Tamar, Perez, Zara, and if
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you're a Bible student, you read through the genealogy given to
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us in Matthew's Gospel. These names sound familiar?
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I mean, these are people in the genealogy of Messiah, Judah
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himself. Is an important man in the
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Bible. It's from the line of Judah.
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Jesus is the from the tribe of the Lion of Judah.
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He is the line of the tribe of Judah.
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I said that backwards but you can always fix it later in your
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head in Revelation chapter 5 verse 4.
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So I wept much the Bible says because no one was found worthy
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to open and read the scroll or to look at it.
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But one of the elders said to me, Do not weep.
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Behold the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of day that has
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prevailed to open the scroll and to lose its seven seals.
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We would think somebody so closely attached to the
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genealogy of Jesus, Judah, would have a stellar life and a
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perfect life. And if we went through and did a
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background check on Judah, we would come.
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He would come up clean. With a clean slate.
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But in chapter 38, you see he's not the clean slate.
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He doesn't live the clean slate life that you would expect.
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Jesus, he's known as a friend of sinners.
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That's the grace of God. Friends.
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It's a matter of fact. If Jesus wasn't a friend of
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sinners, how would you have ever been reached?
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How would you been been ever to relate to Messiah as sinners?
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We're in need of his wonderful forgiveness.
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And cleansing grace. That's the biggest barrier, the
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inability to admit our own failures.
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That's why our autobiography would look like man.
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Look at what a stellar person he is or she is.
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That's why people who refuse the Bible says in Romans chapter one
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that there is a suppression of the truth in unrighteousness.
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That's how attractive sin is. Not only do we not want to admit
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it, but we want to hide it. And push it down, as it requires
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a great humility to admit the reality of who we are.
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I believe this chapter is included not only to reveal the
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reality of the people God uses and the deep grace that God
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shows, but there's also a practical use of this chapter
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for the rest of the book of Genesis, and that is there's a
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contrast and a separation taking place.
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Remember, we're in the last section of Genesis where the
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focus is on the last of the four people, that it highlights
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Joseph. There's a separation of Joseph
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from the life of his brothers. We already know he's going to be
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separated and he because he's sold and he's already in that
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place of being sold and separated.
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But now we have this little parent parentheses to show how
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wicked and corrupt his brothers really are.
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And we already know about their depravity.
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If you're a Bible student, keep following along.
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We already know how bad they are.
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They had the Shekem incident, the massacre there.
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Incest is taking place, plotting, lying hypocrisies.
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But more so in Chapter 38. We see that the children of
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Jacob are becoming a lot like the world in which they live.
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They're not living a separated life.
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They're they're not living in a way to honor the God of their
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father, and they're going to pay for this.
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We learned that Leah's oldest sons were very bad men in
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Chapter 34. Simeon and Levi, they're the
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ones that massacred the Shekamites.
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In Chapter 35, Ruben remember defiles, his dad's bed.
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And now Chapter 38, we have Judah and deep in sexual sin.
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This chapter alone covers about 20 years of history, and that's
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where you get a good Bible handbook, like Haley's Bible
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handbook or a good Bible dictionary, so that when you're
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reading through the Bible, even though you're taking you're
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turning a page, things change so quickly.
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What's happening here? What time has passed?
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This whole chapter covers a lot of time, and I know when you're
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listening to Bible studies. Well, how could I ever learn
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that? Get a good Bible handbook.
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Haley's Bible Handbook is the best little introductory Bible
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handbook that you should have in your library, and I'm not sure
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if he picks up on this. I got it from a commentary.
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I'm not sure how he picked up on it, but it is it.
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You pick up on other things and you begin to learn the different
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nuances of the scriptures, even though it goes from chapter to
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chapter. So with that in mind, let's pick
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up in verse one of chapter 38. It came to pass at that time
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that Judah departed from his brothers and visited a certain a
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Doulamite whose name was Hira. And Judah saw there a daughter
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of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua.
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He married her. And went into her.
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So she conceived in Bora's son, and he called his name.
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Err she conceived again, and Bora's son, and called his name
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Onan. She conceived yet again, and
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Bora's son, and called his name Shayla.
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He was at Chesib when she bore him.
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Judah took a wife for err his first born, and her name was
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Tamar. This city of a doulum was about
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15 miles northeast of Hebron. He arrives in the town, sees an
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attractive Canaanite woman and marries her.
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They have three kids, Er, Onan and Shayla.
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Judah married off her to Tamar and we see these first few
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verses covered quite a few years.
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That that's one of the pieces you can pick up when you're
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reading that the description here of children being born and
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marriage is taking place. A lot of time has passed just in
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the beginning stages when you're reading in context.
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And here we have these years that are described here are not
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honoring to God. Judah in these years of his
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lives are not, is not living a life honoring God.
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Right away you see the spiritual condition of Judah, which by the
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name, by the way, his name means praise, but he's not living up
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to his name at this point. He's in a Canaanite land and he
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has taken a Canaanite wife with no regard to his heritage.
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Or his upbringing. Or even God's desire to bless
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his family. And you might wonder sometimes,
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even before we get into the depth of this chapter.
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You may wonder sometimes, or you may even tire of it.
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But you may wonder why, as a pastor, at least in this church,
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I continually emphasize the simplicity of nurturing your
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personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
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Sometimes it would be said, read your Bible every day.
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Pray every day. Obey what the word of God says.
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Be in Acts 242 Christian continue steadfastly in the
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apostles doctrine and in fellowship, and in the breaking
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of bread and in prayer. Share the gospel with your
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friends and family. Pray for them.
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It may come out in Jesus exhortation.
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Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all
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these things will be added unto you.
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It's on repeat, constantly, continually.
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If you're not careful, depending on what your background is or
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where you come from, you know, you may go well.
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That's just religion. That's just what pastors do.
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That's just that. That's just a religious way to
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live. You know, I'm going to do things
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my own way. I'm going to go my own path.
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And I'm telling you, I'm telling you the reason why I emphasize
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it, because if you stray from the simple things, your life
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will become a mess. It'll become far worse.
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You go wait a minute, and I'm reading the Bible and praying
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every day, My life is already a mess.
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Not as bad as it could be, because you're tethered to the
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Lord and you're holding fast to His promises and you're seeking
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His help. And even though life might be a
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mess, it's a mess in the context of your relationship with the
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Lord. If you weren't, you know, you're
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out doing your own thing and you're blowing off the Bible.
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I mean simple things. You know, sometimes people, I
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don't read the Bible. I don't want to read the Bible.
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It's too hard to understand. OK, I'll grant that to you.
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Some things in the Bible are very hard to understand.
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Here's my advice to you. Set those aside and pay
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attention to the ones you do understand.
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Don't steal. I just don't understand what
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that means. Well, what do you mean you don't
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understand what that means? Don't lie.
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I don't know what's lying. I don't know what lying.
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Like. Pay attention to the things that
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you do understand. Yeah, it's OK.
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You have permission. Here's a pastor telling you have
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permission to skip over the things that are hard for you to
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understand. Just write a little note.
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Get back to that. Get back to that.
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Maybe 50 years, you might understand it, but I'll get back
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to that. But you read it anyway.
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Just don't. Don't read so that you
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understand every single word. Read the Bible to get to know
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the author. If you're open to receive from
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God, and you're a believer in Jesus Christ, then the Holy
13:32
Spirit will teach you things, even things you can't
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understand. If you're not a believer today,
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go What? I don't care about God.
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I don't care about the Bible. Here's why you should read the
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Bible. And by the way, if you're not a
13:43
follower of Jesus Christ today, here's where you go to the
13:46
Bible. Get a Bible.
13:46
Even if you come here, if you e-mail us or send us, we'll get
13:50
you a Bible. But you can also download one on
13:52
your phone. If you look in your App Store,
13:55
you version YOU version free app, Every version you can think
13:59
of of the Bible. Open up your Bible to the Gospel
14:02
of John and if you need help, call the church here,
14:06
303-628-7200. And whoever answers the phone
14:11
can help you find the Gospel of John.
14:13
You don't have to be embarrassed about it.
14:15
We'll help you find it. We'll help you open it and just
14:17
start reading about the life of Jesus Christ.
14:21
That's why you should read the Bible to learn about God's love
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for you. So you can learn that God, he
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loves you so much that he sent his only begotten Son, Jesus
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Christ to die for your sins. That's how much he cares for
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you. I mean, you have to think about
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it in this case, how much you care for someone, just someone,
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and what you would do for that person.
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You care for what? What you how you would go out of
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your way for them. How you would give them money if
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they needed it or a place to stay.
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It's in you. The care for someone in a self
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sacrificial way is in every human being.
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Why? Because you were created in the
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image of God. Even if you don't live for God
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today, you were you were created in God's image.
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You you care, you carry some of those attributes of God.
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And as you carry them in that and you say, yeah, I've cared
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for someone before. I've helped someone before.
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I've. I've given, I've sacrificed for
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someone before. I want you to think about that
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for a moment and what you have done.
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And consider how much God, your Father in heaven loves you.
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It's possible for someone to love such a way.
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I mean, you even done it. And here you are, imperfect.
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Here you are just in a place where, man, I can't do much, but
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I'll do what I can. Well, God, he went all the way.
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He has made every way possible for you to be in a right
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relationship with him because he loves you, just as you've
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expressed. Maybe you don't call it love.
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Maybe you've done it because you care for someone.
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Maybe you've done it because you like someone.
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Maybe you've done it because it's the right thing to do, or
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just the honorable, the thing to do, or the moral thing to do
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while God's done it because he loves you completely.
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And even today, you can turn away from your sins and believe
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in the Lord Jesus Christ for you personally to become a part of
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the family of God as a pastor. I beg you.
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Not because it's the pastor thing to do, but I know by
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experience and by ministering for many, many years in the body
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of Christ if you stray away from the basics, your devotional
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life, your prayer life. Your Bible reading, your
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fellowship of remembering the Lord's body and his broken body,
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His shed blood for you. When you stray away from these
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things, unspiritual, ungodly, and unbiblical decisions will
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flow from your life. Your life will no longer honor
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God. You can't get away with it.
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It will have an effect in your life.
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It's only a matter of time before before we fall flat on
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our faces. You see here Judah, he's in the
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world, he's living for the world, he's marrying the world,
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he's creating children of the world.
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And you'll see the rest of the chapter.
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It doesn't get much better for him.
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Notice verse 7. But Er, Judah's first born, was
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wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord killed him.
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And Judah said to Onan, go into your brother's wife and marry
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her and raise up an air for your brother.
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But Onan knew that the air would not be his, and it came to pass,
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when he went into his brother's wife, that he admitted on the
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ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother.
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And the thing which he did displease the Lord.
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Therefore he killed him also. And then Judah said to Tamar,
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his daughterinlaw, remain a widow in your father's house,
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till my son Sheila has grown, For he said, lest he also dies.
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His brothers did, and Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.
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This is a sobering passage and one of great debate.
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To see God exact such severe punishment on Er and Onan has
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troubled people through the ages.
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It's here that sometimes folks will come as a critic of the
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Bible and say, look, now, what is up with God?
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There's such a different God in the Old Testament than there is
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in the New Testament. And he's so severe.
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I mean, when you step back for a second and understand the
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judgment of God, it just wants you to understand there's a
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couple things you need to know. Number one, God is the author of
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life. He owns life, and therefore he
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can take it. Life belongs to him.
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It originated from him. But secondly, when you see the
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fact that God doesn't do this all the time, you have to
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remember the grace. Why are you alive today?
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Are you so much better? Oh yeah, Pastor.
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Well, you're you're even if you're so much better.
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The reason you're alive today is by the grace of God, the breath
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you have in your lungs. I like I'm alive by the grace of
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God, and I'm able to live an abundant life by a double
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portion of the grace of God because of the blood of Jesus
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Christ. Who am I to deserve anything
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different than these guys? Well, you know you're not a
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Canaanite, but I was totally anti God my whole life.
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You don't have to be a Canaanite to be to hate God.
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I mean who are we? We've all sinned and fallen
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short of the glory of God. It it is severe and it is
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sudden, but it see the God of the Old Testament different than
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the God of the New Testament. Say it out loud.
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Church pop quiz. No.
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And I'll prove it to you as you guys studied with us not too
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long ago in the book of Acts. We have an episode in the early
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church where a husband and a wife were so inspired to sell
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their property and bring the proceeds to the church so
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everybody could see that they're just as generous as Barnabas
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was. Remember their names?
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Annaniasan. Safira.
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They conspired together to lie to God.
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And what did God do? He took their lives.
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Suddenly, it's God's sovereign prerogative to do such.
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Which would make us very grateful for our lives to live
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our live our lives, to honor God, to remember who we are and
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where we came from. I mean, imagine what the church
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would look like today if God continued to do regularly what
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he did with Anna niacin safira, bam bam bam bam bam.
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This place will be empty. Nobody would want to come.
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It's like, where's the pastor? All that was last week, man, he
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was out. He's a goner man.
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And nobody wants to be the pastor.
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Nobody. There's it's gone.
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But God is gracious. He's so good to us and gracious
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in our lives. They belong to him, belong to
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him. We don't know what err did
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exactly. There's been debate on this.
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We can see that he didn't carry through.
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What was necessary for conception to take place, We see
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that. But that's not really the issue.
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That's not the issue. The issue is, is that notice you
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come back in verse 7. He's wicked in the side of the
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Lord. Lord killed him.
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Then you come back with Onan his brother, go into your brother's
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wife, raise up an air for your brother.
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It was the custom of the day, by the way.
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It's called Leverett marriage. And what that means is that's
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the marriage of a man to his deceased brother's wife.
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And we praise God that that's not required today.
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And as you see, when a man what that when a man died, his
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brother was to marry his widow, but Onan refuses.
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And then in verse nine, he knew that the air would not be his.
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It came to pass when he went into his brother's wife.
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That he wanted the pleasure of intimacy but not the
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responsibility. And what he did verse 10
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displeased the Lord and therefore he killed him also.
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Many people have interpreted this in many ways and quite
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frankly have taken liberties beyond the clear reading of
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attacks. Some has described this as God
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judging artificial birth control.
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Others referred to a specific sexual sin like masturbation.
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A lot of different things, but clearly the Bible doesn't say
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either, doesn't declare what it is.
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It was an act of rebellion against God and how careful we
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need to be to take something that the Bible says and try to
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read into it some cultural phenomena.
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The clear reading of the text is he's rebelling against God, he's
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displeasing to the Lord, and it cost him his life.
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So with his last son Judah is very careful, cautious and puts
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up an excuse to protect him as so far he's lost two sons over
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this. Now notice in verse 12, in the
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process of time the daughter of Shua Judah's wife died and Judah
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was comforted and went up to his sheep shearers in Temna, he and
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his friend Hira the Eduomite. And it was told Tamar saying,
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look your fatherinlaw is going up to Temna to shear his sheep.
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Now remember the last time we met with the last time we heard
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about Tamar was at the end of verse 11 where she was.
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She went and dwelt in her father's house as a widow and
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she's just sort of forgotten there.
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Now we read of her again. We we hear of Judah heading up
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to the area of Tenna and she hears about it and.
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She it says she saw that Sheila was grown and she was not given
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to him as a wife again, sort of forgotten.
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And when Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot because
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she had covered her face. And then he turned to her by the
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way, and said, please let me come into you, for he did not
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know that she was his daughterinlaw.
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So she said, what will you give me that you may come into me?
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And he said I will send you a young goat from the flock.
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And she said, will you give me a pledge until you send it?
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And he said, what pledge shall I give you?
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So she said, your signet and your cord and your staff, that's
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in your hand. And they gave them to her and
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went into her. And she conceived by him.
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Time has passed. Tamar sort of realizes she's not
24:52
going to marry Sheila. She's in a place of being
24:54
neglected and overlooked. And if feelings come and arise,
24:59
could be feelings of bitterness, could be some manipulation going
25:02
on here. We we know that there is some
25:06
evil in involved here because of what happens between Judah and
25:10
her and how she sets him up. So she decides to go to Timnah
25:14
to entice Judah and dresses up in Harlot's clothing.
25:18
Now let me ask the question here just for a second.
25:21
How did she know that she would get his attention?
25:25
How did she know that this scheme would work?
25:30
She lived with him. I don't want you to miss that.
25:35
She lived with them for many years.
25:37
And I know we all have reputations in the church and
25:40
we're all known as something in the church, and we all have our
25:43
relationships in the church. But the real you people at home
25:47
know that. And my hope of course is, is
25:50
that for us, there is no difference between the real us.
25:55
And what we bring into the company of believers.
25:58
But I mean, let's not be naive. There's a lot of hypocrisy in
26:01
the church. It's one of the reasons why
26:04
people are put off by the church because they've met a hypocrite
26:07
or two, or even in our lives maybe we don't live the life of
26:10
the hypocrite, but there are seasons in our life where we
26:12
live hypocritically. It's something as we were
26:16
praying today in our prayer request that we really need to
26:18
take to heart in Psalm 139 to have the Lord search us and know
26:23
us and reveal in us. If there's any unclean thing and
26:27
not play the hypocrite. But here she lived with the man.
26:31
She knew him, she knew all about him.
26:36
And I would answer that his reputation and the depth of his
26:41
character preceded him. She knew of his sinful ways,
26:46
Why, how Ed She lived with him. And know that the men and women
26:53
and the boys and girls that live with you, know you don't.
26:58
You be deceived. You're not getting away with
27:01
anything. They know you.
27:03
And that's not to say that we're going to have a perfect life in
27:07
our homes or we're going to always make the right decisions.
27:10
But they know you. I know this is an exaggerated
27:14
example, but man, you don't want to be known as someone that
27:17
would be tempted by harlots. That have a relationship with
27:22
harlots that are mean spirited or whatever the sin might be.
27:31
In Proverbs chapter 22 and verse one it says a good name is to be
27:36
chosen rather than great. Riches loving favor rather than
27:43
silver and gold I believe for a few listening today you.
27:50
You need to hear this because so much time is spent building a
27:53
career, climbing the corporate ladder, building that nest egg,
27:57
buying that new thing, jumping from this to that.
28:00
But so little time is spent building a strong character,
28:05
doing the deep work of the N word woman of the N word man,
28:12
the sacrificial work, investing your life in a reputation that
28:17
brings honor and glory to your name.
28:19
Not just to the people that see you for an hour at church, but
28:23
to the people who live with you and the people that work with
28:26
you so that your reputation does precede you as a woman of God is
28:31
a man of God as an honest person, a person of character.
28:37
I mean, this is something I have to take to heart continually as
28:41
I teach you. I don't come into the pulpit
28:43
with clean hands, but I believe I come into the pulpit with
28:46
integrity. And with a deep character that
28:49
God continues to build in my life, I don't come into the
28:53
pulpit with deceptively trying to make you think that I walk on
28:58
water and I'm just so perfect. Guys, one day you'll be like me.
29:02
You don't want to be like me. You follow me as I follow
29:05
Christ. I want to be the kind of example
29:09
that you can look up to that your kids will respect.
29:11
Yes. And anytime I forget that, I
29:14
want you to remember this. I teach Bible studies where my
29:17
kids and my wife sit in the chairs and receive the word of
29:23
God for me. I need to stand in the pulpit in
29:26
such a way where not only do they know me, but my life has
29:30
lived in such a way that they'll receive the word of God for me.
29:34
Or it'll be a double whammy or a triple whammy where there's just
29:37
like, turning me off. He's such a hypocrite.
29:38
He's such a liar. Like, I would never listen to
29:41
that guy. I can't believe you guys listen
29:42
to that guy. And as soon I I always knew when
29:44
we started the fellowship where we started with five people.
29:47
And I always knew I'd be in trouble if the church ever
29:50
shrank below 5, if Marie started going to another church.
29:55
Or they you know the kids didn't want to come or stay home like
29:58
so you got to do the deep work. You got to live lives that are
30:01
honest and forthright. You you got to be apologetic and
30:05
and and not even like learn from your mistakes.
30:07
You don't have to be constantly apologetic and just say hey this
30:10
is the way it is. Would you forgive me.
30:11
And let's move forward and live lies of integrity so that if
30:16
someone is living with you even for a season they're like man,
30:19
that that that Lady, she's a she's a godly woman.
30:22
Well how do you know that? I lived with her, man.
30:24
I watched her. I listened to her prayers.
30:27
I could hear her pray from the other.
30:28
She wasn't cussing people out on the phone.
30:30
She was praying. She wasn't ripping people off in
30:34
her business. She was helping, getting extra,
30:36
promising, little, delivering more.
30:39
She was in the word when we needed, When we were struggling,
30:43
she said this, this come to the table and let's pray and let the
30:48
Lord do the deep work. It was Charles Spurgeon that
30:51
wrote and I quote. A good character is the best
30:54
tombstone. Those who loved you, those who
30:58
were helped by you, will remember you when forget me.
31:01
Nots are withered and I love this.
31:04
Carve your name on hearts and not on marvel.
31:11
Just pour into people's lives and live a life that's upright.
31:15
Don't ever confuse an upright life with a perfect life.
31:18
None of us will land that. But I'm telling you, if you walk
31:22
in integrity, God will honor that and people will see it,
31:27
especially in a culture we live in right now that just so
31:30
plastic and fake and it's not just the world, You know, the
31:34
church is like that too, just so plastic and fake and a a bunch
31:39
of celebrity pastors, which doesn't even exist.
31:42
You know that's not even true. That doesn't even exist.
31:45
There is no such thing as a celebrity pastor.
31:48
You're a celebrity pastor right now listening in.
31:50
You better choose one. And if you choose celebrity, get
31:53
out of the pulpit. And if you choose pastor, then
31:55
shepherd the flock of God that's among you and carve your name
32:00
and carve your name on hearts and not on marvel.
32:04
That's so good. I guess some people are happy
32:09
with that. But that's Judah had a
32:12
reputation and it wasn't his name.
32:14
It wasn't praise. And she sets him up and gets
32:18
pregnant. It's like Judah should have
32:21
known better. He could have turned his eyes,
32:25
looked the other way. Doesn't see it as a trap.
32:28
That's where he was walking in the flesh.
32:30
In the world of the world for the world.
32:33
That's his life. Let me hire you.
32:36
What will you give me? I'll give you a goat.
32:40
It's like it's just so silly. But you know.
32:43
We're laughing at it as I intended.
32:44
I wanted to get a little bit of chuckle at that.
32:46
But I'll tell you, I've seen men give women less than a goat for
32:51
a night of illicit sex. I've seen men give up less for
32:56
some stupid pictures of pornography and not get anything
33:01
in return and ruin their lives and ruin their marriages and
33:07
become completely. Captivated and in bondage to
33:14
fake sexual sense. Not even real.
33:18
It's fake. So we look at it in the Old
33:22
Testament and like man, the sense of thousands of years ago
33:25
are still with us today. It's just a different delivery
33:28
mechanism in Proverbs chapter 6 and verse 26.
33:32
Would you turn there with me? I want you to see it before we
33:35
head out with a few more verses, but let's crossreference this so
33:38
you just see it. You know the Bible.
33:40
It's its own. It's its own commentary and
33:43
you're looking for examples in the Bible.
33:45
The best illustrations of the Bible are from the Bible, and
33:48
this is a great one. Proverbs chapter 6, verse 26, it
33:53
was just what, 13 days, couple weeks ago?
33:55
If you're reading through the Proverbs every day on the 6th of
33:58
the month you were reading this proverb.
34:01
And here it says in Proverbs chapter 6, verse 26 for by means
34:06
of a harlot. A man is reduced to a crust of
34:10
bread, and an adulteress will prey upon his precious life.
34:16
Can a man take fire to his bosom and his clothes not be burned?
34:19
Let me say that again. But you answer it church.
34:22
It's a question. Can a man take fire to his bosom
34:25
and his clothes not be burned? Can he walk on hot coals and his
34:30
feet not be seared? So is he who goes to his
34:34
neighbor's wife, whoever touches her.
34:38
Shall not be innocent, and the same could be said for the women
34:44
who choose this as well. And what does he do?
34:48
He leaves a signet ring. His cord and his staff is
34:52
collateral. The signet king was an
34:55
identifiable mark of who Judah was.
34:59
The staff showed that he was a shepherd with authority.
35:03
The signet showed he had kingly authority.
35:07
It was almost as if he left his wallet and his ID and his phone
35:10
with the code with her to be identified exactly.
35:16
Judah left. Let a few moments of pleasure
35:19
strip him of the rest of his dignity.
35:22
And it happens all the time before it.
35:24
You think it wouldn't happen to you?
35:25
Just remember you can jot it down in First Corinthians
35:28
chapter 10. Just know.
35:32
Be careful. Read it for homework.
35:37
Understand that the significance.
35:39
Let me just read it to you and you can jot it down.
35:42
But I think it's good to hear it.
35:44
Just for those that might be plotting sin right now.
35:46
Might be planning how to get away with something, might be
35:49
thinking you're getting away, you are getting away with it.
35:52
In First Corinthians chapter 10, it says in verse 12.
35:57
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
36:02
No temptation is overtaking you, except such as common a man.
36:06
The God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond
36:10
what you were able with. The temptation will always make
36:13
the way of escape that you may be able to bear it.
36:16
There's always a way of escape. But before that in verse 11 I
36:20
went right to 12. But verse 11 says this.
36:22
Now. All these things happen to them
36:24
as examples. You're reading about Judah.
36:26
It happened as an example. Learn from Judah today.
36:30
They were written for our admonition or our instruction.
36:34
On whom the ends of the age have come, Judah tries to pay her
36:38
off. Notice in verse 19 she arose and
36:41
went away and laid aside her veil, and put on the garments of
36:44
her widowhood, to which he would recognize.
36:47
Which leads to the question, why?
36:49
How he how could he not recognize her, even though she
36:52
had the clothes of a heart of it?
36:53
On how could she not he he not recognize her?
36:57
Which leads to credibility, to the theory that she lived in a
37:00
distant part of the home of the of the compound and was
37:04
literally forgotten and left alone and neglected and
37:08
overlooked. Or he was just dumb, who knows?
37:12
Who knows what it was. But now she changes clothes.
37:17
And Judah sent the goat by the hand of his friend to receive
37:22
his pledge from the woman's hand, but he couldn't find her.
37:25
Verse 21. Then he asked the men of that
37:27
place, Hey, where's the harlot? That opening is open by the
37:30
roadside and they said there's no harlot around here bro.
37:34
Who are you talking about? And he returned to Judah and
37:38
said I cannot find her. Also the men of the place said
37:41
there's no harlot in this place and Judah said let her take them
37:45
for herself lest we be shamed for I sent this young coat and
37:49
you have not found her and it came to pass about three months
37:53
after. That Judah was told saying Tamar
37:57
your daughterinlaw has played the harlot.
38:00
Furthermore she is with child by harlot tree and Judah said bring
38:05
her out and let her be burned. Now we learned this when our
38:11
study with David's life. Remember that David was so
38:14
overcome with guilt and shame about his own sin that when God
38:19
sent his friend Nathan with a little story.
38:22
Asking David what would you do in the situation?
38:25
He pronounced the death penalty on the story when it wouldn't
38:28
didn't require the death penalty.
38:32
And here Judah is so self-righteous.
38:35
He is so far from God. Remember Remember this about
38:38
Judah in this chapter. He's in the world of the world
38:43
for the world we have a threefold enemy, don't we?
38:47
The world, the flesh and the devil.
38:50
And here he's living it in. It all started when he departed
38:52
from his brothers and visited A Doulamite and saw the Canaanite
38:57
in the world of the world. For the world you take one step.
39:02
I've been rethinking. There's this illustration that
39:04
we've used over the years that we've described people in the
39:08
church. You have 1 foot in the world and
39:10
1 foot in the church. And I've just been rethinking
39:12
that and I just don't think that's possible.
39:18
I've come to the conclusion I don't think that's possible.
39:21
If your foot is in the world, you're in the world.
39:25
Don't fool yourself. You're in the world.
39:29
You're of the world. And it's only a short of my
39:32
hand. I'm glad that the other foot's
39:34
in the church, but it really doesn't matter to you because
39:36
you're in the world. You don't really care.
39:40
You're living for the world. You're living like the world.
39:43
You're living for this world. And you're going to find out
39:46
that it's going to come back to bite you.
39:48
Because the only thing that's in this world, we were told in
39:51
first John. John told us if you love the
39:54
world, you don't have the love of the father in you.
39:57
That's pretty powerful. I think over the years we've
40:00
talked about 1 foot in the world, 1 foot in the church, and
40:03
I get it. I probably will use that
40:04
illustration to bring a point home, but I just don't think
40:08
it's possible. If your foot is in the world,
40:11
it's almost like if you it's, we kind of do it like this, where
40:14
you got your feet out and you're just going to fall.
40:16
I think if your foot is in the world, in the church, your foot
40:19
is like this and your very next step is going to be completely
40:22
in the world. You're not going to straddle the
40:25
fence. If your foot is in the world,
40:28
then you have taken that step and the very next step is in the
40:32
world. Now both of them are there and
40:35
this is where Judah, it's all coming back to him and he's so
40:38
overcome by it. It could be what David was
40:42
experiencing, where he's going to pronounce judgment on Tamar
40:47
for the sin he committed, even if it wasn't with Tamar and he
40:54
didn't know how this is all going to come out.
40:58
He's pronouncing judgment on the sin that he committed.
41:02
He's pronouncing judgment on the of the sin that he deserves.
41:09
And I have found, I'm sure you have as well, that it's so much
41:12
easier to see sin and other people than in ourselves.
41:15
It's just a problem we have. Instead of allowing the Lord to
41:19
speak directly to us, Judah tries to pay her with the goat
41:24
that he owes. And she couldn't be found
41:26
because she went home, put her widow garments back on.
41:30
After a few months, she's beginning to show, and I
41:33
recognize, hey, she's pregnant. And Judah's outraged and demands
41:38
that she be burned. No balance judgment in this man.
41:42
He's out having sex with a harlot and now she he wants her
41:45
judge for being a harlot, just like King David, just where he
41:49
was. And in every one of us church,
41:53
there is this natural reaction of denial and refusal.
41:59
Denial and refusal. We deny it ever happened and
42:03
then we refuse to own up to it. To take responsibility.
42:07
So what will God do? He'll send us Nathan's friends
42:11
who have enough courage. Men and women that are close to
42:14
us have enough courage that will tell us the truth when everyone
42:18
else won't. And if he can't find a man or a
42:22
woman that will come and tell us the truth, you'll send the Holy
42:25
Spirit with great conviction. Speak to us and you can see how
42:30
it all wraps up. If you're not in the word,
42:32
you're not in prayer. You're not in fellowship.
42:35
You're neglecting people that God has sent your way.
42:37
What happens? You begin to grieve the Holy
42:39
Spirit. You become you.
42:42
You. You begin to have a conscience
42:44
that's seared like a hot iron, and then you're just on your
42:47
own. I've seen it a million times and
42:51
I I know millions exaggerated. I've seen it way too many times.
42:54
How's that? I've seen it way too many times
42:58
to people sitting right here in this room or the people
43:03
worshipping with us. Years ago, in the school,
43:06
standing right in front of me, or on a much smaller scale, when
43:09
we had Bible studies midweek, just a couple people there,
43:12
20-30 people there. And I'd be right there.
43:14
I could see them. I could feel their breath.
43:16
They're so close because the room was so small.
43:20
I've seen it happen. I've seen it happen like some
43:23
right now. Right now, you're thinking I'll
43:24
never happen to me, never happen to me.
43:26
Take heed lest you fall, given the right circumstances.
43:33
And the right timing. You can make the worst of
43:36
decisions and not take that way of escape.
43:41
But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
43:44
us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
43:47
Pick up with me as we close. When she was brought out, she
43:51
sent to his her father. I was saying by the man to whom
43:54
these belong. I am with child kind of plain
43:57
dumb, you know. And she said, please determine
44:00
who's these are the signet. The court and the staff and
44:06
Judah acknowledged them and said she has been more righteous than
44:09
I because I did not give to her. Shayla, my son, and he never
44:15
knew her again now came to pass at the time for giving birth to
44:22
Behold, twins were in her womb, and so it was when she was
44:25
giving birth that one put out the hand and the midwife took a
44:28
scarlet thread and bound it on his hand saying.
44:32
This one came out first, and it happened as he drew back his
44:36
hand that his brother came out unexpectedly.
44:39
Remind you of anybody? Little bit of a story of Jacob
44:43
and Esau. How'd you break through the
44:45
breach be upon you? Therefore his name was Perez,
44:48
and afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread
44:51
on the sand, and his name was called Zara.
44:58
When Judah was publicly identified as responsible for
45:01
Tamar's pregnancy, his response seemed to be genuine repentance,
45:07
and we'll accept it as such, He confessed, is wrong.
45:10
He repented by ceasing from further sexual relations with
45:14
Tamar, and it's evidently, as one commentator put it, because
45:20
of his repentance being genuine, that Jacob did not exclude him.
45:23
From receiving a special blessing as he would later
45:26
exclude Ruben, Semi I, Simeon and Levi, and because Judah
45:31
humbled himself, God raised him up to be the chief of the House
45:34
of Israel and bless the children that he fathered, even though
45:39
they were a result of his sin. And here in chapter 38 we see
45:44
that is the children of Israel becoming carbon copies of the
45:47
Canaanites. It was natural for them to have
45:50
incestuous relationships. It was natural for them to
45:53
neglect. It was natural for them to go
45:55
into harlots and to hire prostitutes for a goat.
45:59
And we're seeing that God will take them out of the land.
46:05
We'll see later on that God will take them to Egypt for a
46:08
seasoned the Goshen, where they're going to grow and
46:10
prosper, but then they're going to become enslaved and treated
46:13
harshly, only to be delivered through a hand, the hand of a
46:16
man by the name of Moses. Led into the promised land once
46:20
again to gain the victory through Joshua.
46:24
And who does God send ahead to set this all up?
46:30
Joseph. And we'll get back to him in the
46:33
next chapter. This is all happening.
46:36
You're like, how can how can the coming of Messiah be so messy?
46:43
Like look at this family. Look what they've already done,
46:48
and we're not even the few chapters into this, look at look
46:51
at their lives. But then we have to step back
46:55
and go, man, isn't our life messy?
46:57
And is there all kinds of undone things?
46:59
And even if it's not outward, you know, sometimes where
47:02
Christians are really good living outward lives, but in
47:05
their their sin, in their minds, nobody knows.
47:09
But you know, they send in their faithlessness, they send in
47:14
their secret gossips. Or murdering people in their
47:18
hearts. How would we ever know that?
47:21
That you have such hatred for someone, but the Lord knows and
47:27
we give you a big hug at church? And man, what we don't know is
47:30
we're we're hugging A murderer, man.
47:35
Someone that has great issues that need to be dealt with
47:38
through forgiveness. Look, our lives are messy too,
47:43
but they don't have to be this bad.
47:45
You don't have to commit this kind of sin to humble yourself
47:48
before God. It doesn't have.
47:50
We can let these be examples to us so that we might live in a
47:54
life of appreciation of grace. I was talking to one of my kids
48:00
recently, and I was talking to another kid that's not mine, and
48:03
talking about the benefits of good decisions.
48:09
It's a principle I gave my kids all throughout our merit, all
48:11
throughout raising my kids, that there are benefits to good
48:14
decisions. And there are consequences to
48:17
bad decisions. And it's your life.
48:21
You're going to crush and break my heart.
48:23
And I'm sure if you decide to do whatever you want to do and sin
48:26
and but I'm secondary because it's your life.
48:30
It's your life. And I just want what's best for
48:34
you. And so I want to teach you how
48:37
to make good choices because God blesses good choices.
48:40
And then when you grow up. You will then enjoy the benefits
48:44
of a life of good choices. Not perfect choices, but good
48:48
choices, right? Because the testimony I have,
48:51
God pulled me out of the pit, out of the myery clay after sin
48:55
wrecked my life. Many of your testimonies, like
48:58
my kids, is that God prevented them from sin, that he delivered
49:03
them from sin. He delivered me out of sin.
49:07
Gross sin. Why?
49:08
Because I made bad choices. My, my kids, for the most part,
49:14
I mean, as far as I know, they make good choices, just like
49:17
you, as a church in a real way, although I'm not old enough to
49:21
be your dad. The God the Bible speaks of a
49:24
spiritual fatherhood of the pastor.
49:27
Paul talked about that. Remember to the Corinthians, not
49:31
a fatherhood like in Roman Catholicism, where you call me
49:33
father. Don't do that.
49:35
That's forbidden. But in a sense of helping you
49:39
guide you to your one true father.
49:42
And so I give you the same advice.
49:44
Make good choices so that you'll benefit from them.
49:47
So you live a life that honors God.
49:49
You don't have to clean up your mess.
49:51
You don't have to live with the consequences.
49:53
Well, but Ed, you know, grace, grace, grace.
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You just said a million times. Grace, grace, grace.
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Yeah. But that issue has already been
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answered in the Bible. Should we continue and sense so
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that grace may abound? Certainly not.
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Absolutely not. That is not the pathway to
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experience the grace of God. How about this Experience the
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grace of God, of his supplying strength and his fortification
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of your life to avoid sent altogether and to have less and
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less of it in your life so that anyone living with you will see
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your character and your integrity.
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You don't have to live the the life of a hypocrite.
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That God can use you greatly and before you know it you'll be
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with the Lord in heaven anyway and so carve your name.
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In hearts not in marble. And the Lord, I'll just bless
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your your life. You just enjoy the fruitfulness
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of living for the Lord. So Father, thank you for the
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privilege of your word tonight. And and just knowing that in a
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difficult chapter, there might be some difficult chapters in
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the books of our lives too. And you're so grateful we got
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through it. So grateful you pulled us
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through. So grateful God that you
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repaired and restored and we we, we are in need of that.
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Help us to abide in you, to live a humble, simple life, trusting
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you, following you closely, fighting the good fight of faith
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in Jesus Name. Amen.
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We pray that you've been encouraged by this Bible study
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delivered live from the sanctuary of Calvary Church.
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For prayer, call us at 87730 Grace.
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That's 877-304-7223. To listen to this message in its
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entirety or to join us for our live stream services, visit us
51:46
online at Calvary, Co dot Church or download our free Calvary
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Church app. Be blessed as you Worship Jesus
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this week.