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Who Do You Say Jesus Is? | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Bible Study Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  I'm overjoyed. I'm just filled with joy this
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  afternoon because I get to be with family who love God.
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  I hope you feel the same way about me.
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  I hope you see me as family. I see you all as family.
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  And so this feels as much as it is a service, this feels like
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  home. And I thank God for that.
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  And we come to the word of God together in Mark Chapter 8.
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  So meet me there in verse 27, Mark 827.
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  We shouldn't be people of fear, but there is such thing as godly
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  fear and there is such thing as holy anxiety.
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  And so as we read these verses, I also want to pray and ask the
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  Lord to help us with this message, because I really do not
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  want to do anything apart from the power of the Holy Spirit.
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  And I I'm sure you don't want anything to be done apart from
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  the power, the grace, the wisdom, the love of the Holy
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  Spirit. And so we will ask him to help
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  us with these verses, that our hearts would be transformed as a
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  result of what God has to say. Mark 827 And Jesus went on with
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  his disciples to the villages of Cesarea Philippi.
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  And on the way he asked his disciples, who do people say
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  that I am? And they told him, John the
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  Baptist and others, say Elijah and others one of the prophets.
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  And he asked them, But who do you say that I am, Peter?
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  Answer them. You are the Christ, and he
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  strictly charged them to tell no one about him.
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  Pray with me, Lord, help us even in this very moment.
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  Realize who we are praying to, who it is that is hearing us as
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  we seek You. Help us realize that you are the
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  living one, that you are holy, that you have created all
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  things. You have entered into your
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  creation. You have saved humanity, and
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  Lord, you will return as judge and you will reign forever and
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  ever. Help us realize that this is all
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  about you. Everything, the universe,
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  everything that we know comes back to you.
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  And so this is a holy moment. We thank you that you've given
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  us eyes to see. We pray that you would give us
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  more ability to see and that we would be transformed further
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  into the very same image that we are beholding.
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  This is our heart cry together as a church.
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  In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
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  I'm not sure if you're aware, but you will be now that we've
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  reached the milestone in the book of Mark.
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  And the reason why we've reached a milestone is because we've
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  technically arrived at the center point, the halfway mark
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  of this awesome gospel account. And the text before us, in a
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  sense, is really the pinnacle. It's the pinnacle of Mark's
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  testimony about Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
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  You can almost say that it's the climax.
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  It's the high point of this riveting report of the Messiah,
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  and you can also say that it's a significant hinge to the overall
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  story because a lot of things are going to change from this
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  point. From this point.
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  One of the things that Jesus is going to do that he hasn't
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  really done before is emphasize and prepare his own disciples
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  concerning his death and his resurrection.
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  You're going to see that even immediately after these verses.
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  And so we see that this is a turning point, not just in our
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  own reading of the story, but even in the ministry of Jesus.
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  And the Spirit of God massively puts this at the center.
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  You know, we should be more than excited of the fact that we've
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  made it this far and that we've crossed this significant point,
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  but we should also relish at what it is that we see here at
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  this threshold. What what is it here that Jesus
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  is conveying? What is it here that the Holy
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  Spirit is trying to trying to say at the the core of what Mark
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  is writing about? And really what we discover at
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  this pivotal juncture is 1 simple thing.
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  A question asked by the Lord Jesus.
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  A question, Not just any question.
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  Let me say this the most important question that can ever
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  be asked. There are a lot of inquiries
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  that you will make in this life. You've probably received wisdom
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  from a father, a mother or a friend, a mentor of some sort,
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  to make sure that you ask certain questions concerning
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  your life concerning other people, because those answers
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  will determine so much and the lack of clarity can cost you so
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  much. But there is no more significant
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  question than what we have here in this text.
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  Nothing more vital, more crucial, more important than
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  knowing the answer to what it is that Jesus asks.
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  And why is that? Why does this question operate
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  in a class of its own? Well, for one, because of its
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  universal relevance. This question applies to
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  absolutely everyone. Every man, every woman, of all
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  cultures, of all societal classes.
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  It cannot be ignored. And if you choose to ignore it,
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  if you choose even today to be nonchalant, if you choose to be
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  like this, this doesn't seem relevant to me.
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  Even that willful ignorance has consequences, and so this is
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  binding on all of humanity. This is a question that all of
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  us in this place and beyond this place will be accountable to.
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  And so this has a universal cross generational cross
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  cultural application. It's not an invitation for a
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  consideration, whether you're interested or not.
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  It applies to you whether you care about it or not.
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  Why is that? Because you see how 1 responds
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  to this question. As I said, even if it's absolute
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  indifference, we'll frame the trajectory of the rest of your
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  life. And not only will it frame the
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  trajectory of the rest of your life, it will determine your
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  life to come. So we might understand this to
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  be of most importance. We're not dealing with a
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  secondary subject. We're not dealing with some kind
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  of lighthearted thing that we can debate about.
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  This is something that demands a personal verdict.
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  This is something that will determine life or death.
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  What is that question? Verse 29.
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  And he asked them. But who do you say that I am?
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  That's the question. Let's frame it this way.
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  The most vital question that you can ever be asked, the most
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  important question that you can ever answer, is this.
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  Who is Jesus Christ to you? Who is Jesus Christ to you?
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  How would you answer them? What comes to mind?
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  What springs up in your heart? Is there peace?
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  Is there anxiety? Is there certainty?
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  Is there confusion? How do you respond to that
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  question? Who is Jesus Christ and how you
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  answer that question will ultimately affect so many
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  things. One, it will affect and
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  determine who you are and what you will experience.
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  Again, not just in this existence but in an eternal one.
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  And I want to just for the sake of time, tell you that that
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  question being answered will determine two massive realities
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  2 Just two. I'm giving you two points today.
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  I'm not refreshing 2 points today.
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  Two things that answering this question will ultimately
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  determine. But before that, let's glean a
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  little bit around this. Let's go back to verse 27.
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  I can't help but smile when I read the location of this
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  conversation. This is when Jesus went on with
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  his disciples to the villages of Cicero, Phillipa, and on the way
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  he asked his disciples. On the way he asked.
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  So think about it. We're about to engage in this
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  deep, selfreflecting spiritual conversation, and Jesus is
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  engaging with his disciples. Not in the context of a
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  classroom, not in the context of a synagogue or a sanctuary.
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  He's, he's doing this on route. He's doing this while he's
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  walking and while he's traveling and while he's transitioning
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  with his boys, with this group of men.
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  And I looked at and I stepped back and I just reflected on
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  that simple phrase. He asked this on the way.
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  And my mind, perhaps yours did, to race to a particular passage
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  that is very, very familiar to you and I.
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  In Deuteronomy Chapter 6 and verse 6, the God of Israel
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  instructed his people, upon entering into the Promised Land
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  something so important. And these words that I command
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  you today shall be on your heart.
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  I pray to God that God's word has your heart, shall be on your
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  heart, not in your head, not in your notebook, not in your
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  phone. On your heart shall be on your
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  heart. And now what?
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  From there you shall teach them diligently to your children, and
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  shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk
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  by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise.
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  Now the the direct application is obvious, right?
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  It's a call for parents to disciple their children by
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  rehearsing the promises of God, the commands of God, the
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  warnings of God, upon a condition that you first have it
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  in your heart. Children not interested in
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  hypocritical parents. Anyway, it's on your heart.
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  As a parent, and it from your heart, you seek to impress it on
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  the hearts of your little ones. That's the that's a direct
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  context. But the principle can be
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  borrowed. It can expand and extend beyond
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  that. What's the principle of this?
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  What's the wisdom of God? What's his heart?
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  For this set of instructions, I believe it's this.
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  Seek to connect all of life with the word.
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  Seek to connect all of life with the Word.
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  Don't limit discipleship to an official weekly one hour lunch
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  with a colleague or pastor. Trust and aim for something more
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  than a few minutes of prayer with your children or with your
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  spouse before you put your head on the pillow.
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  Those are all wonderful things. But there's something more.
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  There's something more that God is asking if there's some.
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  There's a greater experience of the word of God and of mutual
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  encouragement, and it's found in this.
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  What Deuteronomy is saying, essentially, is learn to
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  conversationally apply God's commentary into all settings of
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  life. Isn't that wonderful?
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  So when you're driving in the car with a loved one, bring it
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  up. Bring up how the word on Friday
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  night or on Sunday morning was preached into your soul, and
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  there's something that touched you.
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  Bring it up while you're driving, while you're sitting at
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  that dinner table with your family, oh oh, would you?
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  Would you Just for fun, while you're eating and laughing and
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  talking, bring up a random quiz and ask them a question from
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  something that you read in your personal devotions?
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  When your child knocks on your door, when your friend or
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  someone a sibling calls you with a distressing situation, Please
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  don't let your counsel, don't let your exhortation be void of
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  the the scriptures. Have an example.
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  Ready. Have an exhortation ready.
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  Seek to saturate life with the word of God while you're
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  playing. While you're eating, while
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  you're traveling, while you're on vacation, seek to bring God
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  in it. And this is the kind of
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  lifestyle that we should have not official gatherings and
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  meetings. And we turn it on and turn off.
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  No. While you eat and while you walk
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  and when you rise and when you lie down.
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  And I can't help but think that Jesus here is indirectly
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  modeling that with his own disciples, as a leader, as a
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  friend. Here they are walking and
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  traveling, and here he is asking them a question.
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  Here he is guiding them concerning A revelation about
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  himself. That's a footnote.
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  And so we asked. While they're on their way,
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  Jesus gives a more general question before he gives a
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  personal one. Who do people say that I am?
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  Let me tell you from from this point, Jesus is an insecure.
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  He's not asking for what the recent polls are concerning his
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  popularity. He doesn't have this nagging
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  desire to know that people are liking him more today than they
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  did yesterday. He could care less.
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  Here's Jesus asking this question, and the disciples are
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  fully aware of the popular opinions that are circling, and
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  so they don't hesitate to give him the report.
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  Some say you're John come back to life.
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  Some say you're like Elijah. People that can't really
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  comprehend you being the Messiah that they believe the Messiah to
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  be. So they try to fit you into the
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  mold of the one who's coming to usher in the great and awesome
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  day of the Lord. Others are content to just put
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  you in a class of any one of the prophets of old.
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  And all those different shades of answers, though they may be
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  different, have one thing in common.
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  They're all wrong. They're all wrong.
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  They all missed who Jesus was. And again, Jesus isn't just
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  curious of what's happening around in the neighborhood.
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  Jesus is preparing his disciples to answer a question and he's
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  using that first question as a backdrop to challenge them for
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  the next question that will demand an answer.
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  And the challenge of asking what do other people and what are
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  other people saying about me Is a challenge for you and I as
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  well and preparation to answer that question for ourselves.
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  What do I mean? Well, here here's the idea.
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  The disciples and resurfacing what is being said are now ready
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  to make their own confession and they have to determine will the
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  variety of the popular and prevalent ideas of who Jesus
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  Christ is shape what I believe Jesus Christ to be.
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  In other words, before you can even answer the question who is
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  Jesus Christ, you have to 1st identify the source of your
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  answer, what you believe about the person of Jesus Christ.
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  Where does that come from? Where does it come from?
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  Is it a secondary source? Is it something that you heard
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  from others? Is it something that was
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  regurgitated? Where does that source of who
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  Jesus is come from in your mind and your heart?
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  Let me tell you something that I've heard over the years and
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  it's immediately a flag. Well, to me, Jesus Christ is.
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  Unless you're about to follow that up with what you believe
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  the Bible says, you're already in the wrong direction.
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  But if you're confident even today, as you're hearing me
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  preach, that your comprehension of Christ is established from
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  the one place that it should, the only place that it should
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  the Word of God, then be prepared to believe and follow a
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  Jesus that most of the world disagrees with more than that
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  most of the world hates with all of their hearts.
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  This is what he's saying. He first presents or ask them to
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  represent what the people are believing, and in front there
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  saying, okay, now what do you believe?
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  Is what you believe shaped by what they believe?
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  And if it's not, are you prepared to believe the truth
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  even though the rest of the world doesn't agree with you?
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  And Peter answers you're the Christ.
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  He's right. Jesus praises him in Matthew.
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  But what's at stake here? A W Tozer said.
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  What comes into our mind when we think about God is the most
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  important thing about you. What comes into your mind when
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  you think about God is the most and not your salary, not your
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  looks, not your body, not your health, not anything else.
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  The most important thing is when you think about God, whatever
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  comes to your mind, that is the most important thing about who
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  you are. And I told you that there are
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  two, two things, two things that come to my two reasons why
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  answering the person of Jesus Christ and his identity is
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  absolutely crucial. And these are pretty obvious.
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  The first one probably more than the second.
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  The answer to that question will ultimately determine one's
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  eternal destiny. Turn with me to John 823 to 24
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  and listen to what Jesus says. Concerning how important that
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  answer is. John 823 to 24 Jesus is dealing
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  with the hostile Jews, and he said to them in verse 23.
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  You are from below. I am from above.
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  You are of this world. I am not of this world.
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  I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you
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  believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.
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  Unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.
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  Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees, and he gives him a
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  solemn warning. And interestingly, the word He
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  in the Greek is not included. So it more accurately reads For
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  unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.
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  That is an absolute claim to Deity.
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  Jesus ascribing unto himself the name and the identity that
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  exclusively belongs to the God of Israel.
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  Unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.
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  But notice also the link between the necessity of believing who
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  he is and who he said to be, and determining that determining
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  your everlasting fate. For unless you believe I am who
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  I claim to be, you will die in your sins.
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  And if you die in your sins, you die with condemnation to die
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  free from my sins. Listen to this is contingent
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  upon my belief in the right Jesus.
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  To die free from my sins is contingent upon my belief in the
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  right Jesus, not just Jesus. Massive implication for our our
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  world today. Think about the millions of
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  Muslims, the millions of Mormons, the hundreds of
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  thousands of Jehovah Witnesses, the secularist, the humanist,
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  the philosophers, the psychologists who have no
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  problem claiming a Jesus, but is he V Jesus?
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  There's a big difference. Just the other day I checked my
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  mail and and the mail was a personal letter.
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  It was handwritten line paper with a pamphlet in it.
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  Nice handwriting, nice calligraphy, I had to admit.
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  Joel. And I read it and it was a
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  handwritten letter from somebody in the neighborhood who was a
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  Jehovah's Witnesses. Jehovah's Witness.
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  Inviting us and praising us for being new in the neighborhood
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  and asking us to join them in one of their conferences.
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  And they had the pamphlet for it.
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  Zeal. Passion, Sincerity.
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  But it doesn't matter which Jesus are you speaking about.
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  And this should motivate us to know what makes the true Jesus
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  different from these damning variations and to lovingly,
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  informatively present the true Jesus so that people would be
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  saved. This is the condition that
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  Christ sets. You must believe that I am He, I
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  am who I say I am. If you reject the clear
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  revelation of I am, then you do not have eternal life.
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  And I hope we know that it's not enough for somebody, as I said,
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  to include Jesus Christ in their belief system, which Jesus you
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  believe is a difference maker. Now it would be wrong for us to
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  interpret what Jesus is saying here as this, That in order to
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  be saved you have to have this ability to sophistically
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  articulate his nature, his attributes, his works.
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  It's it's not a quiz here. G's not saying if you don't
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  impressively explain the complexities of my nature then
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  you won't pass. And if you don't pass then you
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  don't get heaven. That that's not what Christ is
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  communicating because you'd be Mason on the people feel
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  intimidated that just because they may not be able to conjure
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  up until lace and to present a truth determines the depth of
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  their spirituality. I know a lot of people who can
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  explain things very, very well, but their character doesn't
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  display Christ like this at all. And I know people who are
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  illiterate and they are more Saints than the PhD.
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  This Jesus insane here that you have to you have to be able to
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  explain theology and doctrine to a certain level if you're going
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  to be accepted. What he is saying is you have to
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  be willing to wholeheartedly embrace what has been clearly
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  made known to you in the one place where you can really know
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  him. But to what extent, right.
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  Pay attention to this To what extent?
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  What do I need to believe about Jesus in order for me to be
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  saved? What is it about his person?
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  What is it about his attributes? What is it about his work?
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  OK, Jesus, Believe in what? What?
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  What about him? What's demanded of me?
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  What truths must I acknowledge and submit to?
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  Have you ever asked that question?
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  Have you ever been asked that question?
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  If you remember here, you you, you probably have caught on that
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  when we interview you, we ask you to explain what you believe,
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  because what you explain reveals whether or not you have the true
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  Jesus or not. And it seems intimidating,
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  right? Like, do I have to memorize
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  certain things? Do I have to cover systematic
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  theology from beginning to end? Do I need to have the
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  eschatology in place? Do I need to have my right view
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  of this in place? What is demanded of me to know
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  that my name is inscribed in the Lambs book of life?
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  That's the question I want to answer, and I believe there's
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  one verse that eloquently and sufficiently supplies what we
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  need to know. And you know, you probably
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  memorize it. We don't even have to turn it,
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  we can all just quote it together.
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  But maybe you haven't seen it in this light in Romans 10/9.
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  What does Paul say that you need to do to be saved?
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  Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and
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  believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you
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  will be saved. You will be saved.
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  So how do we do this? Usually when we tell somebody to
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  invite somebody to be saved, we haven't.
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  We usually quote that verse and we haven't repeat that verse or
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  just ask him. You know, believe in your heart
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  that God raise him from the dead.
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  But if you really pay attention to this verse, there are two
• 24:08
  categories Paul is defining. 2 categories about Christ that
• 24:15
  must be acknowledged in order for one to assure themselves of
• 24:20
  salvation. 2 Categories. I hope you never forget it.
• 24:23
  The first category deals with the nature of Jesus Christ.
• 24:27
  That is what he says here. Confess with your mouth that
• 24:30
  Jesus is something, He is someone.
• 24:35
  He occupies a certain position. Jesus is Lord.
• 24:39
  That is his nature, that is his prerogative and not just the
• 24:45
  nature of Jesus. Now the second category, the
• 24:48
  mission of Jesus, which is inferred by this that God raised
• 24:53
  him from the dead, that God raised him from the dead, which
• 24:58
  implies something about He came into this world to do something.
• 25:02
  He accomplished something, and God approved of it by
• 25:05
  resurrecting him. And So what does it take?
• 25:09
  What is it about? He that I must believe well, has
• 25:12
  to deal with His nature, and it has to deal with His mission.
• 25:15
  And listen if you don't understand what is required of
• 25:18
  you concerning His nature. In other words, if you
• 25:22
  misunderstand or skew key components of who He is, then
• 25:27
  that will ultimately affect the mission part.
• 25:30
  Let me give you an example. If I don't believe that Jesus
• 25:37
  lived a sinless life, then how can I also claim that his
• 25:44
  sacrifice satisfies in light of the requirement of what a
• 25:50
  sacrifice that atones demands? If he did have blemish, if he
• 25:54
  did have spots, if he did have error, then the nature of Jesus
• 25:58
  Christ and my understanding will affect the mission of Jesus
• 26:01
  Christ. It affects the mission of Jesus
• 26:03
  Christ and it affects my salvation.
• 26:07
  If I don't believe that Jesus Christ is God, then how can I
• 26:13
  also understand that the infinite payment for humanity,
• 26:17
  sin, can be sufficiently taken care of because it requires an
• 26:23
  infinite person to pay for it? So I'm just giving, and I can
• 26:28
  give you 10 other examples that if I don't have the accurate
• 26:31
  understanding of who He is, then I can't also have the confidence
• 26:34
  in what He has done. And if I don't have confidence
• 26:36
  in what He has done, that I don't have confidence for
• 26:38
  salvation. And so concerning who He is in
• 26:45
  connections, especially to what He has done, is what is
• 26:49
  necessary for me to be at rest. And knowing that I am accepted
• 26:53
  in the beloved. So his nature, but then his
• 26:56
  work. What do you believe Jesus Christ
• 26:58
  has done? And what do you believe about
• 26:59
  the implications of what he's done?
• 27:04
  You know it well. He came into this world through
• 27:07
  the moon of a virgin. He lived the perfect life.
• 27:10
  He died a real death. He was buried.
• 27:13
  He was raised. And when he was raised, it was
• 27:14
  God signed to the world that he has accepted what he has done in
• 27:18
  his life and in his death. And it's a sign of hope for the
• 27:20
  repentant believer that you also can expect a resurrection like
• 27:24
  his his nature and his mission. So if you can understand those
• 27:30
  two things on a foundational level concerning the ultimate
• 27:35
  mission, then you can be secure. This is what it means to confess
• 27:40
  with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, and to believe
• 27:43
  in your heart that God raised him from the dead.
• 27:44
  This is what John says at the end of his gospel, that he has
• 27:47
  written these things that you may believe Jesus is the Christ,
• 27:51
  the Son of God, and that by believing in him you would have
• 27:53
  everlasting life. I have to believe he's the Son
• 27:57
  of God, and then I have to believe that him being the Son
• 28:00
  of God, he came into this world for something.
• 28:05
  And so it is quite simple. It is quite simple.
• 28:09
  And I'm sure there are many questions.
• 28:10
  Well, what about the secondary issues?
• 28:12
  What about the other aspects of the nature of God?
• 28:15
  Based on what I see from the scripture, this this is what
• 28:17
  suffices. And if there's anything that's
• 28:20
  brought further from that basic truth that is clear in the word
• 28:23
  of God that a person would deny, then there are more questions I
• 28:27
  need to be asked about what they truly believe.
• 28:31
  So a person can say I believe I I believe in who Jesus is and
• 28:36
  what he has done, but I don't believe in the Trinity.
• 28:39
  OK, now we got to pause here though the train has been
• 28:40
  clearly proven in the word of God.
• 28:42
  Not that you may not have to be able to explain, but if you
• 28:44
  clearly deny that there is the Person of the Holy Spirit once
• 28:48
  has been made no to you, then we got to sit down and we got to
• 28:50
  have a conversation. So what is this about?
• 28:55
  Listen carefully that this is where a lot of people get in
• 28:57
  trouble. So are you saying that with
• 28:58
  Jesus says in John eight that if you unless you believe that I am
• 29:02
  he, you will die in your sense that everything depend upon my
• 29:05
  salvation is a Creole confession?
• 29:08
  Are you saying that what makes me saved is the acceptance of
• 29:11
  certain facts? Yes and no, Yes and no.
• 29:17
  And this is where, again I say people are dangerously deceived
• 29:22
  because they've made a confession.
• 29:25
  They have a wonderful ability to explain.
• 29:29
  Historical Jesus Theological Jesus, Practical Jesus.
• 29:36
  But at the end of the day they will stand before Jesus and
• 29:38
  he'll say I never knew you. What?
• 29:42
  What kind of confession is Christ after?
• 29:47
  Well, go back to Mark and you'll understand.
• 29:51
  And Mark eight in the same place where he says.
• 29:53
  But who do you say that I am? Scroll down in the same context
• 29:58
  and see what he says in verse 34 of Mark 8, Mark 834 And calling
• 30:09
  the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, if
• 30:13
  anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his
• 30:18
  cross and follow me forever Would save his life, will lose
• 30:22
  it. But whoever loses his life for
• 30:23
  my sake and the Gospels will save it.
• 30:27
  For what is a profit a man, if he gains the whole world and
• 30:31
  forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in
• 30:34
  return for his soul? Here's what I'm trying to
• 30:37
  illustrate to you. Jesus has a certain quality of
• 30:39
  confession in mind. The confession about his nature
• 30:43
  and his person is a confession of truth, but it's also
• 30:47
  confession of surrender. I am making my allegiance to
• 30:55
  this person once this revelation has been made known to me.
• 31:00
  And so to say, I believe in his nature and I believe in His
• 31:03
  work, but I don't die to myself as a result of that truth.
• 31:09
  Your fate is no different than the Jehovah's Witness.
• 31:13
  Your fate is no different than the Muslims.
• 31:15
  It's no different because Jesus clarifies here that there is a
• 31:20
  standard in this confession. There's a transformation that
• 31:24
  occurs. Yes, confess with your mouth
• 31:27
  that Jesus is Lord, but not just in an objective way.
• 31:30
  Is he your Lord? If he's the Lord, is he your
• 31:35
  Lord? Now?
• 31:39
  You can't make up, and you can't deny that He's the Lord.
• 31:43
  But it's up to you to make him your Lord.
• 31:46
  And so this confession, the confession, is connected to
• 31:50
  conviction and ultimately consecration.
• 31:55
  Transformation. That's the gospel.
• 32:01
  Determining who Jesus Christ is will determine your eternal
• 32:04
  fate. But secondly, to answer that
• 32:08
  question will not only determine the life to come, it will
• 32:11
  determine. This is fascinating.
• 32:14
  The depth of your transformation.
• 32:18
  The depth of your transformation.
• 32:21
  So once you ask the question and you receive the foundational
• 32:26
  knowledge, and then you embrace it of who Jesus Christ is, you
• 32:30
  have to also understand that there's a deeper understanding
• 32:33
  of Christ that awaits you. And the deeper understanding of
• 32:38
  Jesus Christ that awaits you is dependent upon you answering
• 32:41
  that question again and again and again and again.
• 32:44
  What do I mean by that? To ask the question Who is Jesus
• 32:48
  Christ? And to answer it rightly is
• 32:53
  wonderful. But you don't stop asking it.
• 32:56
  Once you believe it, you keep asking it in.
• 33:01
  In fact, as a true Christian, your quest for the rest of your
• 33:05
  life is discovering more and more and more of the person of
• 33:09
  Jesus Christ. Who is he?
• 33:12
  Who is he? When Paul encountered Christ on
• 33:16
  the road to Damascus, he asked this question.
• 33:20
  Who are you, Lord? Who are you Lord?
• 33:24
  And you can ask that from a introductory standpoint, but I
• 33:28
  can guarantee you that you will continue to ask that if you're
• 33:30
  really born again. Why?
• 33:32
  Because the same Paul who said at the beginning facing Christ,
• 33:36
  who are you? Lord was the same one in
• 33:38
  Philippians 3 who said, oh, that I may know him and the power of
• 33:43
  his resurrection. So Paul didn't stop asking the
• 33:46
  question when he met Christ, the real Christ, the true Christ,
• 33:49
  the Messiah, he lived to discover more of him.
• 33:55
  And so this question that Jesus says, But who do you say that I
• 33:57
  am? Yes, it's the entry point, but
• 33:59
  it's also the essence of your Christian existence.
• 34:03
  But Lord, I I thank you. I know your nature, I know your
• 34:06
  work, I know what you've done. I know who you are to save me.
• 34:09
  But Lord, who are you? I want to know you.
• 34:15
  I want to discover more of you. I want to joyfully investigate
• 34:20
  your glories and listen that hunger and that discipline is
• 34:28
  the primary means of your supernatural transformation as
• 34:33
  an individual. Let me prove it to you.
• 34:36
  You know this. I'm bringing very familiar
• 34:38
  passages to you in 2nd Corinthians 318 causes and we
• 34:44
  all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord, are being
• 34:51
  transformed into the same image from 1 degree of glory to
• 34:55
  another, for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
• 35:01
  This is one of my personal favorite verses about
• 35:04
  sanctification. Beholding the glory of the Lord
• 35:11
  is not a one time thing, it's a continual act.
• 35:14
  That's actually the tense of the verb.
• 35:18
  And being transformed from 1 degree of glory to another is
• 35:23
  also a continuous consequence, not a one time reality.
• 35:29
  And notice what Paul is saying here.
• 35:30
  He's saying that when you behold the glory of the Lord, there is
• 35:36
  a reward as a result of you choosing to fix yourself on who
• 35:42
  he is. So you know what that tells me?
• 35:46
  Christian transformation is not by you behaving, it's by you
• 35:52
  first beholding big difference. People get it the opposite.
• 35:57
  People believe If I'm a Christian, I must.
• 36:01
  If I want to strive for more Christ like this, I must behave
• 36:04
  true. But if you want to really,
• 36:06
  really behave, you will. First, behold, the art of
• 36:11
  beholding the glory of God is virtually lost.
• 36:17
  It's virtually lost. And yet Paul says here that it
• 36:21
  is the instrument. It is the force that remodels
• 36:27
  you and renews you from the inside out.
• 36:31
  So if you fail to behold his glory, you will not become what
• 36:37
  he wants you to become. No wonder you're exhausted.
• 36:43
  No wonder you're discouraged. You've made your Christian life
• 36:46
  all about behaving. Just do this.
• 36:50
  Don't do this. And when you don't do the thing
• 36:51
  that you're supposed to do, or you do the things that you're
• 36:53
  not supposed to do, just try again.
• 36:56
  You're exhausted. No wonder you're miserable.
• 36:59
  Why? Because you didn't realize that
• 37:04
  what the Holy Spirit's inviting you is to behold before anything
• 37:07
  else. Behold, what are we beholding?
• 37:12
  What aspect? What aspect of the glory of God,
• 37:15
  The glory of God is so hard to describe.
• 37:18
  What aspect of his glory? His heavenly glory?
• 37:22
  His divine glory? His creative?
• 37:24
  What about his glory? You know Paul actually gives the
• 37:27
  answer. Go to 2nd Corinthians the same
• 37:29
  place. Not three, but chapter four.
• 37:32
  Look at verse 6. This is the glory that Paul has
• 37:35
  in mind for you to behold to put before the eyes of your heart,
• 37:41
  and to absorb with affection and attention.
• 37:45
  Second Corinthians 4/6 For God, who said, Let light shine out of
• 37:52
  darkness, has shown in our hearts to give the light of the
• 37:56
  knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
• 38:03
  What? What am I pointing my eyes to?
• 38:06
  What aspect of God's glory? The face of Jesus Christ?
• 38:13
  The exact imprint of his nature, the perfect reflection of the
• 38:16
  glory of the Father, is found in the face of the Son of God.
• 38:21
  What Paul wants you to behold, day in and day out, is the face
• 38:28
  of the Savior. And as you behold that face, and
• 38:35
  as you admire that face, and as you study that face, something,
• 38:41
  if your heart is truly transformed, will begin to yearn
• 38:47
  for that face to be mirrored on your face.
• 38:50
  And we're told in Saint Corinthians 318 that this comes
• 38:53
  by the Spirit. This comes from the Lord, who is
• 38:56
  the Spirit. When he realizes that this
• 38:59
  precious soul has been transformed because he, he knew
• 39:02
  who Jesus Christ was and is, and what he has done for him is now
• 39:07
  seeking to behold, he will honor that pursuit.
• 39:10
  And he will imprint on you the image of the very thing that you
• 39:14
  cherish and relish in more than anything else When you read your
• 39:21
  Bible, which is the canvas, the portrait frame of where the face
• 39:25
  of Jesus Christ has shown when you read it, please, please hear
• 39:29
  me. Please.
• 39:30
  Are you looking for the glory of Jesus?
• 39:35
  I'm not talking about? Are you looking for things to
• 39:37
  glorify Jesus? I'm not asking if you're looking
• 39:39
  for things. I'm asking are you looking for
• 39:41
  the When I say glory, I'm talking about His beauty, His
• 39:43
  Majesty, His splendor, His awesomeness, His Holiness.
• 39:47
  Are you trying to behold that, or are you just looking for
• 39:52
  doctrine? Big difference.
• 39:56
  Are you looking for platitudes? Are you looking for practical
• 40:00
  wisdom? Those things are fine.
• 40:02
  But if you're not looking for the face of Jesus Christ, you
• 40:07
  will not be transformed the way he wants you to be transformed.
• 40:10
  This is the point that I'm trying to get at.
• 40:13
  And as I thought about this is, well, how can I exemplify, How
• 40:16
  can I explain this in practical terms?
• 40:18
  I don't want to sound poetic. I don't want to sound
• 40:20
  theoretical. I want to be real.
• 40:21
  I I like practical. I like handson.
• 40:24
  I like examples. So I'll give you one.
• 40:27
  I'm personally, I'm reading the book of Matthew.
• 40:31
  I'm in the Gospel of Matthew. And I mean how much more can you
• 40:36
  get the face of Jesus Christ and then the gospel accounts, right.
• 40:39
  So there I am, looking at Jesus, reading about Jesus.
• 40:42
  Things that I've like you familiar with, but asking the
• 40:46
  Lord continue. Lord, I want to see, and maybe
• 40:49
  I've seen it before, but remind me.
• 40:50
  I want to see the glory of Jesus.
• 40:51
  I want to see facets of who He is that I haven't seen before,
• 40:54
  and not just the things that we might know.
• 40:56
  As glorious as those things is right.
• 40:58
  That concerning his entrance to this world and his sinless life
• 41:01
  and his sacrifice on the crosses, resurrections,
• 41:03
  ascension. No, no, I want to see all that.
• 41:06
  He is everything, everything that's been inscribed here in
• 41:09
  the world. Let me see the glory of Jesus
• 41:11
  Christ and I'll give you an example.
• 41:14
  This is just for my personal reading, and I hope that it
• 41:17
  gives you an idea of what it means to behold the glory of
• 41:20
  Jesus. And if from beholding that glory
• 41:23
  your heart is inspired to imitate that very same image
• 41:26
  that you are admiring and loving and worshiping, go to Matthew
• 41:31
  17. This is what I my reading of
• 41:33
  this week. I want to just give you
• 41:42
  inspiration. Matthew 1724 to 27 When they
• 41:48
  came to Copernium, the collectors of two, the two
• 41:50
  drachma tax went up to Peter and said, Does your teacher not pay
• 41:54
  the tax? He said yes.
• 41:57
  And when he came to the house, Jesus spoke to him first,
• 42:00
  saying, What do you think, Simon?
• 42:02
  From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax?
• 42:06
  From their sons, or from others? And when he said from others,
• 42:11
  Jesus said to him, Then the sons are free.
• 42:13
  Pause. Here's what's happening.
• 42:16
  People are coming. The Jews are asking Peter, hey
• 42:18
  you're you're a rabbi there. Does he pay the temple tax?
• 42:22
  Does he pay the tax that funds and supports the temple, the
• 42:25
  activity and the sustenance of the place of worship.
• 42:28
  And Peter says yes. And he goes back to find Jesus,
• 42:30
  Jesus, omniscient. He doesn't have to wait for
• 42:32
  Peter. He goes, hey Peter, I heard the
• 42:33
  conversation, by the way, and he asked this important question.
• 42:38
  He says when the kings of the earth, when they take toll or
• 42:41
  tax, do they take it from their sons or from others?
• 42:46
  And Peter answers, rightly, goes others, he goes, and the sons
• 42:49
  are free. What is he saying?
• 42:53
  I'm not required to give the temple tax.
• 42:56
  Do you know why? Because it's my father's temple.
• 43:01
  In fact, the temple points to me.
• 43:03
  In fact, I'm greater than the temple.
• 43:06
  So I'm not required to give this because I'm above it.
• 43:10
  It's actually all for me. So the sons are free in the same
• 43:14
  way in the world today, a king wouldn't tax his family, he
• 43:17
  would tax the citizens of the land.
• 43:20
  I'm exempt from this Peter, and he establishes that truth.
• 43:24
  You say? Is that where you see the glory
• 43:25
  of Jesus? Well, you could.
• 43:27
  But look at verse 27. Jesus continues, however, not to
• 43:31
  give offense to them. Go to the sea and cast the hook
• 43:36
  and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its
• 43:39
  mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them
• 43:42
  for me and for yourself. And that's where I saw the glory
• 43:46
  of Jesus Christ, you said. Where I say, however, not to
• 43:50
  give offense to them, the glory of Jesus Christ.
• 43:56
  Sing, brother. I don't get it.
• 43:57
  Don't you see it? Here's a man who establishes
• 43:59
  before Peter and before us that he is free from this duty, and
• 44:04
  yet he is operating with a different frame of mind.
• 44:08
  Here's Jesus saying I'm surrendering my right for the
• 44:13
  sake of a greater cause. And though I am not obligated to
• 44:18
  do this, I want to do this. Do you know why?
• 44:22
  Because Jesus knows how to choose his battles.
• 44:26
  Do you know why? Because Jesus is not needlessly
• 44:29
  offensive. Do you know why?
• 44:32
  Because Jesus is extremely wise. How is he wise?
• 44:37
  He already has enemies, and he gave Peter a revelation about
• 44:41
  himself. I am the son of the one who owns
• 44:43
  this temple. Did other people have that
• 44:46
  revelation? No.
• 44:47
  That other people get that explanation?
• 44:49
  No, they didn't get that explanation.
• 44:50
  And if they did, they most of them didn't want to believe it.
• 44:54
  So what is Jesus saying? Why create more controversy than
• 44:59
  necessary? Why create a fence and give more
• 45:02
  ammunition to our enemies? This is not an evil thing per
• 45:07
  se. This is a neutral thing.
• 45:09
  And because of that, not to offend them.
• 45:12
  Let's just give the tax. That's glorious.
• 45:17
  That's glorious. And I'd behold.
• 45:20
  And I look at that and I go, Lord, I want to be like that.
• 45:25
  I want to be like that. I don't want my existence to
• 45:28
  orbit about about my rights, everything revolving around what
• 45:33
  I believe that I should have and all these things.
• 45:36
  I don't want that. Lord, help me live like you
• 45:38
  lived based upon A cause greater than myself, to live not for my
• 45:44
  rights, but for my testimony. And even if I have to give up my
• 45:48
  right for the sake of my testimony, then so be it.
• 45:50
  Do you see how that works now? You see something glorious about
• 45:55
  Jesus Christ and from seeing how awesome it is, you now want to
• 45:59
  imitate it. And that's a Holy Spirit thing.
• 46:02
  The Holy Spirit doesn't just show it.
• 46:03
  The Holy Spirit inspires you and says strive for that and I'll
• 46:06
  empower you to do it. So I look at Jesus here and I
• 46:10
  say, oh, I want that for myself. This is glorious.
• 46:16
  OK, let me give you another example.
• 46:17
  This one came to mind this morning in John chapter 8.
• 46:22
  Notice what happens to Jesus and John 8.
• 46:23
  He's again with the religious leaders and they're going back
• 46:27
  and forth, and Jesus is just making one good point after the
• 46:29
  next, to the point where these men get so frustrated they
• 46:32
  insult Jesus. Whenever somebody insults you
• 46:34
  personally in a debate or an argument or a conversation, it
• 46:38
  means that they don't have substantial arguments left just
• 46:41
  to give you a hint, right? And so they now begin to hurl
• 46:45
  insults to Jesus and John 848 the Jews answered him.
• 46:53
  Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a
• 46:59
  demon? Jesus answers, I do not have a
• 47:04
  demon, but I honor my father and and you dishonor me.
• 47:08
  Glory, Glory, Glorious Jesus saying, What are you talking
• 47:13
  about? This is not describing the
• 47:16
  eloquent doxology that Paul tends to give in his letters of
• 47:19
  his creative power and of his Lordship of the universe.
• 47:22
  Where's the glory? Oh, it's there.
• 47:25
  So here's what they say. You're a Samaritan.
• 47:28
  And hey, are we right in saying you also have a demon?
• 47:30
  Okay, when you're saying you're a Samaritan, you realize the
• 47:33
  relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans, right?
• 47:35
  That's not. That's not a compliment by any
• 47:37
  means. They actually put Samaritan in
• 47:40
  the same category as a demon. Are we not in your you're a
• 47:45
  Samaritan. You're false.
• 47:47
  You're you're you're off and and on top of that you probably have
• 47:50
  a demon with it. You're saying what's the glory?
• 47:54
  Did you see Jesus's answer? Jesus answered.
• 47:57
  I do not have a demon. But he doesn't address the
• 48:00
  Samaritan part. He doesn't.
• 48:05
  He doesn't defend himself when they called him a Samaritan when
• 48:08
  it came to the demon? Yes.
• 48:11
  You're saying why? Because Jesus is glorious, and
• 48:14
  Jesus in his glory, in his humanity and his service to God.
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  He knew that criticisms would come, and he knew which
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  criticisms to answer and which ones to ignore.
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  He knew which ones were important to address for the
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  sake of the validity in the testimony of his ministry, and
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  which ones to just fall off his back.
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  There are some accusations worth defending, and there are some
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  that are not worth defending. I look at Jesus and Johnny and I
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  say that's glorious. And I say, Lord, I want to be
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  like that. I want to be like that.
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  Serve God long enough. Serve God long enough in the
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  front lines. You're going to know slander.
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  You're going to know accusations.
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  You're going to know gossip. You're going to know false
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  reports. So how do you imitate the glory
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  of Jesus? Well, I see it here.
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  He knew what to say, to defend when he needed to defend, and he
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  knew what to ignore, because it had no value in addressing
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  beholding the glory of the Lord, beholding the glory in the
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  obvious and the not so obvious, and in the Holy Spirit.
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  As He sees you engaging with the glory of the Lord, He assures
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  you now I'm going to make you like that very thing.
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  Not in His divinity, not in His exclusive prerogative, in His
• 49:37
  moral majesty. I'm going to Polish you, I'm
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  going to chisel you. But you can't become unless you
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  first behold. So the question Who is Jesus
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  Christ is essential for your salvation, and it is inseparable
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  from your sanctification. You keep asking who is Jesus
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  Christ? And I pray leaving this place
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  you have a fresh lens to read your Bible.
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  And as you read your Bible, you're looking for the glory of
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  Jesus Christ in the Epistles and the proverbs in the Old
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  Testament and the Gospels. Jesus, I want to see your glory
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  and I want it to rub off on me. I want to become like the very
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  thing I'm beholding. Lord, we ask that you would help
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  us arrive there from 1 degree of glory to another.
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  We thank you that it is not an instantaneous work.
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  It is something that takes a lifetime.
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  You open our eyes in one season, and the next you open our eyes
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  again to something that we didn't see in the previous one.
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  But Lord, we just pray that there will be this new ambition
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  to ask the question, who is Jesus Christ, not just in his
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  nature and his mission concerning the gospel, but
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  concerning his person, his character, his attitude, his
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  example? And so for the person here who
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  has not answered the first type of question concerning their
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  redemption, may they ask it and know the answer to it and be
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  saved today. And for the person who has the
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  confidence that they have the right answer to who is Jesus
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  Christ, may they now be excited to know that there's so much
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  more to know about him. We worship you in this house
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  today, giving you all glory and honor in Jesus name, that name
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  that saves, that names, that transforms.
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  Amen. Amen.
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  Let's stand and worship the Lord.