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The Beheading of a Man of God | 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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  What a wonderful time of Praise crown him.
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  King forever. He will be king forever.
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  He is King now and has a brother said his dominion and his rule
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  in his Reign shall be Everlasting and everlasting.
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  I'm eager to be in the word of God with you.
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  And so meet me in Mark, chapter 6 and let's come together, the
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  verse 14. As we discuss this afternoon.
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  The beheading of a man of God. The beheading of a man of God, a
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  very graphic title for a message but the Bible is honest and
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  direct and plain and there is Great Value in what we have
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  before us today. And so we come to verse 14 and
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  we've read these verses before, but let's revisit the ones that
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  we covered and then explore the ones that follow it.
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  In verse 14 of Mark chapter 6, we read the King Herod heard of
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  it. For Jesus name had become known.
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  Some said, John the Baptist has been raised from the dead.
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  That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.
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  But others said he is Elijah and others said, he is a prophet,
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  like one of the prophets of old. But when Herod heard of It.
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  He said, John whom I beheaded has been raised The human
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  conscience is one of the most obvious fingerprints, that
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  testify of the reality of God, the universal impression and
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  experience that we all have with the conscience undeniably cause
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  for a Divine designer. Who has determined, what is
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  right, what is wrong? And has deposited that moral
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  awareness, in those that he has created in His image and you and
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  I looked into that we looked into the origin of the
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  conscience and we looked into the function of the conscience
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  and how it is. One of the many mercies that
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  God, has established in this fractured world and more than
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  just a mercy to restrain evil. It has a Redemptive and
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  sanctifying On purpose, once that conscience has been, has
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  been met with the gospel and it is responded to correctly and we
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  looked at that conscience and we looked at what God says about
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  it. And what we learned last week
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  about the conscience was brought forth to us because in the
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  verses that we just read, we see a man's conscience powerfully at
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  work. That man has to be dealing with
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  something to be convinced that John the Baptist has come back
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  to life. and this is nothing more than a person who is
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  haunted by his guilt and he is dealing with a past sin and he
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  can't shake it off easily. And as we come to this text, we
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  realized that herod's conscience is is alive.
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  There is a pulse scroll down quickly to verse 22.
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  Let me prove that to you. It says Universe 24 Herod
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  feared, John knowing that he was a righteous and holy man and he
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  kept him safe. Herod knew that John was a
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  righteous and holy men he could make the distinction between
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  what was righteous. What was unrighteous?
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  What was wholly? What was Unholy?
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  And it's now here to accuse him. He is done something,
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  unrighteous. He has done something that is
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  Unholy. And so as unconverted as he was
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  there is some aspect of Hope in this man.
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  But why would he think, why would he think that Jesus was
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  John the Baptist? Well, you already heard it last
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  week and you heard it again and these verses because he did
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  something to this man. John the Baptist, he performed a
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  great Injustice to this man. John the Baptist And in summary,
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  he killed him. For no justifiable reason.
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  He had him executed, he had his head removed from his shoulders.
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  And now day and night he remembers he remembers, he
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  remembers how it one command so quickly because of the pressure
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  of his surroundings he removed a holy servant of God and what he
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  lived with is this anxiety that perhaps this man could come back
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  and get me. I have the impression reading
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  about Herod that he always had this feeling that if he were to
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  do something to John the Baptist that there would be Dreadful
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  consequences that would follow. That's why he was hesitant to
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  some degree to touch him, because he knew that he was a
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  different caliber. He was not like these Pharisees,
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  he special, he is sent by God. And so, he's riddled with fear.
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  And as we're about to learn in this very taxed, we're going to
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  see that John the Baptist's death played a role in the
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  behavior of Herod here. And I look at this and I think
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  if you just scale through the verses with your own eyes, you
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  realize how much is given over to this men's martyrdom how much
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  of John, the Baptist execution is taking up real estate in our
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  Bibles. Now the Holy Spirit could have
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  summarized that he could have summarized that easily here in
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  verse 16 that John was beheaded and that he he did this Herod
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  was The one who performed this, atrocious act.
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  But instead we get this, elaborate detailed angle on how
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  it happened. Why it happened?
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  When I look at this, I realize here that this is one of the
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  most extensive accounts of a person apart, from Christ.
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  This is about chiefly John the Baptist in.
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  It's one of the most drawn-out explanations of what happened to
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  somebody or about somebody apart from Jesus himself.
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  The Mark was moved by the spirit to patiently, pain, this story,
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  which tells me, at least one thing he doesn't want us to
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  glance over it. He doesn't want us to just
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  understand that John died and he was murdered and to move on from
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  there. Obviously there's something in
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  these texts in these verses that are for our benefit and that's
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  what we will seek to do. We will seek to try to
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  understand what it is that God intended to say to us.
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  And I think the best way to go about is not to hold on to a
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  specific theme but to just pick up certain truths as we go and
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  to see what it is that God would want to say through this.
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  This terrible experience in this terrible event.
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  And so let's read, let's read from verse 17 and see what it
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  is. That the spirit of God would say
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  to us for it was Herod who had sent and sees John and bound him
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  in prison for the sake of herodias, his brother Philips
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  wife because he had married her for John.
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  Had been saying to Herod it is not lawful for you to have your
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  brother's wife. We get a flashback, we're
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  getting a flashback of what? What happened with John and why?
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  It is that Herod is feeling this disturbance that we read and we
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  learned last week and the first thing that I want to bring to
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  your attention in light of this. Truth is the Unseen work of
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  conviction. The Unseen work of conviction.
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  Notice that, although Herod could get rid of John, he could
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  not forget him, He could not easily dismiss him.
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  And what I love about this example, is that even after John
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  died, what we see here is that conviction was aggressively at
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  work in this man, this politician this King and for
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  some time Herod might have seemed calm and collected before
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  his audience. But what was happening all along
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  was that there was this internal agitation because he heard a
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  message from John and he did something to the ER, And I look
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  at that, I think I'm encouraged. I'm encouraged.
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  I'm encouraged to some extent and if you're a servant of God
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  who cares about seeing people coming to God than you'll be
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  encouraged by this as you look at it, consider it, consider it
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  further. If you are a person who wants to
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  see people surrendered their sin and embrace the Savior then
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  realize that herod's example proves to us, that sometimes
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  something is happening in some people's hearts and you're not
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  aware of it. You may not perceive it, it may
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  not be so obvious to you. I think about John and put
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  yourself in his shoes. There he is preaching and from
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  time to time Herod, would come to the one p.m. service.
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  And when Herod would come, he would be intrigued.
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  He would pay attention. It says that he listened to him
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  with gladness. But no sign of change.
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  Moreover, he mercilessly handles them, he ultimately takes his
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  life. That would be discouraging
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  concerning the effectiveness of your message. and yet, even when
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  John, the Baptist is removed from the scene, The message of
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  John. What happened to John?
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  John's submissiveness to the Providence of God at the hands
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  of Herod, is eating him up inside.
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  His keeping him up at night. This man, John might be dead,
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  but I'll tell you this, his message, and his martyrdom was
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  alive and active in the mind of this corrupt twisted and
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  cowardly ruler. And as Believers, you have to
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  understand something don't measure the impact of your life
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  of your message, the message that you love you.
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  Sing about, you hear about week after week, don't measure the
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  impact of that based on somebody's apparent response,
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  based on their reaction based on their facial expression.
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  I see a lot of facial expressions week after week.
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  I'll tell you this. I've learned over time not to
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  take any of it at face value. Look at this man.
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  Look, look at. Look at Herod riving, look at
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  him wondering, look at him, speculate him, look at him,
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  unable to shake off his encounter with John.
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  And think about your life and people you've encountered in the
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  people that you want to see come to Christ.
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  Are you discouraged so easily are you moved to despair?
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  Here, we see here, the Unseen work of conviction.
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  Let it build your faith, that truth and truth alone has the
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  power to deal with that soul. And you just have to give it and
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  give it consistently and live. It live.
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  It consistently by the grace of God.
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  I'll never forget how the Lord taught me.
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  This not just in his word but by Ants.
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  I remember many many years ago, beginning to preach.
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  Speaking at one particular meaning, and that particular
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  meaning was about the coming judgment, the coming judgment
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  for the world in the coming judgment, even for the
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  Believers, the Judgment seat of Christ.
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  And after I had preached that message months had gone by and I
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  was at a different meeting in a different state altogether,
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  several months have gone by, since that original meaning and
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  there are was at some conference sitting in the lunch Hall, and I
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  was sitting at a random Table and there was a young man beside
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  me and after just talking to them would just, you know,
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  casual surface. All conversation, this young man
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  turned to me. And he says, do you remember me
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  This is honestly, I don't, I'm sorry.
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  And he named the conference that he was at and he named some
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  people that we might have known and he said I was at one of your
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  meetings. And I was sitting in the back
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  row and I have to apologize to me and my friends were laughing
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  while you were preaching. As it to be honest, don't have
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  to apologize because I didn't even recognize any of it.
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  See, I didn't know you were there.
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  So, apology accepted, I guess. He says, no, you don't
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  understand. I wasn't really laughing.
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  We were laughing and we got up in the middle of your message
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  and left. I was dying inside.
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  You were talking about the Judgment, you were talking about
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  the coming judgment. You were talking about hell,
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  you're talking about? Are you ready to meet with
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  Christ? And I have to tell you
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  something, I'm terrified. And I've been terrified since
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  and the conviction was so strong.
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  I couldn't sit there anymore. I had to leave and had to laugh
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  it off. Try to save face.
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  And I looked at him, I says, well, are you still scared?
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  Said, I am. So we put down our pudding and
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  we left that lunch Hall. We had an hour-long conversation
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  about the condition of his soul I don't know where that young
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  man is, but I learned something valuable.
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  Even when a man is laughing while you're preaching, he could
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  be cutting and his own heart bleeding with, conviction
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  wondering. If there is a wound that could
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  be healed. I remember another time, one of
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  my brothers were there for this, so they can testify to it.
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  You'd have to figure out which one it was.
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  We're at a meeting different state, different place.
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  A message was preached, people lingered around, and I saw two
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  men sitting in one of the pews and one of them looked visibly
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  Disturbed, and the other ones seemed normal, we approached
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  them and we greeted, the, my brother was with me, and when
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  you saw these two sitting beside each other, you could easily
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  assume and see which one was Disturbed and which ones seem to
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  have just gone through the motions of that night.
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  And as we begin to speak to one who is opening up his heart and
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  distresses of life and where he's brought himself and what's
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  in has done to him. He'd even in that moment,
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  expressed how he wants Jesus. And he heard about Jesus and he
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  wants to, what does it mean to surrender the Jesus?
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  Can he deal with the situation in my life?
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  And why was conversing with this man?
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  I looked at the other one and he was Stone Cold.
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  He didn't just look disinterested.
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  He looked upset. And he just stared off into the
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  distance and so I try to include it from time to time and all
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  would get back is one word answer.
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  So I thought to myself, okay, if there's a parable of the surahs
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  with the for, I can guess which one this one is and I can guess
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  which one this one is. So we just dealt with the one
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  individual who seem to be more open obviously And there was
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  tears, and there was a voice cracking.
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  And here's his friend here on move like a statue.
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  We prayed and we moved on Weeks Later months later we reconvene
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  with that, same group. And I realized something the man
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  in that moment who poured out his heart and was expressing his
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  need and his desire was nowhere to be found.
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  In fact, he was back into his old ways and guess who got
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  baptized and guess who plugged into the local church and guess
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  who is serving consistently with that place.
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  The guy that I thought, no, I don't know if his heart is open.
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  The Unseen work of conviction, you don't know what's happening
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  in that heart. You don't know what's happening
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  in their thoughts. You don't know what's keeping
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  them up at night. You don't know what they're
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  thinking about through the day. And there's another example of
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  this. In the scriptures come with me
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  to Matthew 21 and notice what Jesus says in a parable in verse
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  28 of Matthew 21. Matthew 21, 28 Jesus says, What
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  do you think? A man had two sons.
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  And he went to the first and said, Son, go and work in the
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  vineyard today and he answered, I will not. but afterward, he
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  changed his mind and went and he went to the other side and said
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  the same and he answered, I go sir but did not go which of the
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  two did the will of the of his father.
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  They said the first Jesus said to them.
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  Truly I say to you the tax collectors and the prostitutes
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  go into the kingdom of God before you Here's Jesus,
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  addressing the religious Elite. And he is massively bringing
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  them to a conclusion on their own, about their own indictment,
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  their own condemnation of how they're dealing with the gospel
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  that's been presented to them. But what I love about this, is
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  this Parable provides a principle.
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  A principle beyond the obvious notice that the two sons that
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  Jesus presents gave an immediate response.
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  They both did they both said something to the wishes of their
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  father? Once said, I will not the other
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  said I go sir. Now let me ask you between the
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  two who seemed more respectful. The second one he didn't just
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  say I go he says I go sir. So the other one was even a
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  little bit more rude than the second one.
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  And so you have these two reactions, you have these two
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  responses you have these two apparent decisions But what
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  happens? We see that there is a different
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  outcome. Now, if you were in the presence
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  of this interaction between the father and two sons, what would
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  you esteem about the relationship from the second
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  one? And the relationship between the
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  first one. I'll surely this one loves his
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  father. Surely this one will obey his
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  father. Surely this one Revere's, his
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  father and the first one, there's no hope what kind of
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  attitude is a son have like this to the wishes of his own, his
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  own dad? And if you would say that, the
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  second one was walking in obedience and pleasing the
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  father, you would be wrong, you would be wrong.
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  Even with all the presentation of politeness and obedience, you
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  would be wrong. And what Jesus is teaching here,
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  is that actions are more important than words.
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  Actions are more important than words.
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  You said it. But did you do it?
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  This is what is valuable to Jesus Christ.
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  Words are important, absolutely. But he's trying to stay here.
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  Is that actions speak louder? But more than that, here's what
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  you need to understand initial response is not the indicator.
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  Of the condition of the heart. Both of them said something.
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  One of them changed his mind. The other said, something, and
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  he was hypocritical, you didn't understand what he was agreeing
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  to. He didn't intend to actually
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  hold his word, you don't know what's happening in.
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  Someone's heart. Why am I presenting that truth?
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  You all? Would you be relieved?
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  Would you be arrest? Would you just like that
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  Parable? We heard many weeks ago, plant
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  the seed and go to sleep. And just believe that truth has
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  the ability to deal with a man Even though like John, you may
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  not even be here anymore, you may be gone altogether.
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  And there are certainly many men who are dead, but still speak.
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  John was one of those men. The Unseen work of conviction.
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  But let's move forward here and seeing these verses the
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  consistency of the Baptist for it was Herod who had sent and
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  sees John and bound him in prison for the sake of herodias,
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  his brother Philips wife because he had married her for John.
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  Had been saying to Herod it is not lawful for you to have your
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  brother's wife. Okay, we look here.
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  And we realize that Herod was obviously convicted of inciting
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  an illegitimate marriage and there's a lot of history that
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  can tell you exactly how this happened.
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  But if you just come from a purely, scriptural standpoint,
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  you'll see that all you have here is that he had his
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  brother's wife somewhere. Along the line Herod must have
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  convinced herodias to divorce his brother and to be with him
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  instead. And if that is the case, then
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  according to the law, you know, that this is an invalid and an
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  adulterous relationship and it could be that Herod did this
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  during the time. And during the ministry of John
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  the Baptist and at outrage, the Prophet this was like a scandal
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  in the headlines. And John would not keep quiet
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  about it. He had a public platform, this
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  was a public sin and he realized that this man was in a place of
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  authority and he could have influence others.
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  And so what does he do? He confronts the unrepentant,
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  man. With this message.
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  It is not lawful for you to have this.
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  What you did was illegal, what you did broke God's law.
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  Now we can turn this into a teaching of divorce but just
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  wait a few months. There's going to come that
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  teaching and Matthew Mark chapter 10 rather but instead, I
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  want you to consider something inspiring about this man of God.
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  This is the inspiring thing about him that regardless of
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  whom stood before him. He was a man who did not waver
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  He would speak the Kings the same way, he spoke to the common
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  folk of Israel. He would speak to Men of power
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  and he would speak to poor man. He would speak to Men of
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  prestige and he would speak to pathetic people.
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  This was a man who did not change.
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  This was a man who was constant. This was a man who was Fearless.
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  This was a man who had courage God help us.
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  We need a few John, the Baptist in America. and what I love
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  about this and the reason why I bring this to your attention is
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  because he was the same person with the same message, whether
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  he was addressing, whoever and this is the quality that Jesus
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  Christ, praise about John Those disciples came from the prison
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  and told Jesus about the doubts that John, the Baptist had, they
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  went back with the message that Jesus gave them and then Jesus
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  looks to the crowd that he was teaching that day and he begins
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  to commend John and to speak of his praises.
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  And he says, one thing that I love in light of this truth that
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  we see here in Matthew 11 7. He says, what did you go out to
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  see when speaking about John, what did you go out to see a
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  reed shaken by the wind? and a reed shaken by the wind
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  and the obvious answer is no, what is a read is like a tall,
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  slender grass like plant, you see them by Riverbanks, you see
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  them sometimes in the countryside as you're driving
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  along the freeway and those reeds are so sensitive that any
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  direction of the wind, they would dance to it, they would
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  dance to it, Forward backwards side to side, whatever the
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  breeze was, They Bend, they bend it to wherever the breeze said
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  to do. And what he is saying here is
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  unlike the read that is influenced by the elements
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  outside of it. John was constant?
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  John was not pressured. John was not influence.
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  John did not waver, John did not move a wink, despite of all the
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  things that might be happening around him.
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  He was an oak of righteousness who stood firm.
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  And despite the environment you found the same guy, the same
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  guy. I read that and I thought to
• 23:08
  myself, this is what Jesus loved the but John he loved that he
• 23:12
  was not a reed shaken by the wind.
• 23:14
  He loved that no matter where John found himself and who was
• 23:17
  around him, you had the same John whether he was in a palace
• 23:21
  or whether he was in the wilderness on some rocks,
• 23:23
  screaming his head off towards a bunch of people.
• 23:25
  The same guy with the same convictions, the same attitude.
• 23:31
  I thought it was Jesus. If you commend John because of
• 23:35
  this then, would you find the same characteristic in me?
• 23:40
  In me all? Would you give me the grace not
• 23:43
  to be a read? That is shaken by the wind.
• 23:46
  Oh Lord, would I not be different in my living room that
• 23:49
  I am on the pulpit than I am in the classroom that I am in the
• 23:52
  workplace. When I am at the outing Lord.
• 23:54
  Let me be the same. If this is what you look down
• 23:57
  on, you say, ah, this is a reed who is not shaken by the wind
• 24:00
  and this is what you adore and praise and love them.
• 24:03
  You find it in me. Can he find it in?
• 24:07
  You, are you a reed, shaken by the wind?
• 24:12
  Do they elements outside of you, the external factors Bend you
• 24:16
  are you pliable. Are your conviction stronger in
• 24:19
  some settings than others. Are you willing to confront sin
• 24:24
  and others? But when it comes to people who
• 24:25
  have some business relation to you or who give a certain amount
• 24:30
  to your ministry, are you more hesitant to speak up and say it
• 24:32
  is not lawful for you to do this.
• 24:35
  Oh, that you would be like an olive tree in the house of God.
• 24:40
  Oh, that you would be immovable because of your Devotion to
• 24:44
  Christ. Oh, that you would have the ever
• 24:46
  present awareness of Jesus walking with you living in you.
• 24:52
  Ever protecting you ever supervising you so that you can
• 24:56
  stand before Harrods. And you can say the same thing,
• 25:00
  you would tell some poor soul who comes whimpering to you.
• 25:05
  This is how you are saved. This is why you need to repent.
• 25:08
  This is why you need to come to Christ.
• 25:12
  See the consistency of this man of God.
• 25:15
  He was not influenced, he was the same and if you want to win
• 25:20
  the Commendation of Christ, I encourage you to ask him for the
• 25:22
  grace to not be like a reed shaken by the wind.
• 25:29
  But we see something else here when we move on.
• 25:32
  He had been saying it is not lawful for you to have your
• 25:34
  brother's wife. But then in verse 19 we realized
• 25:38
  something else happens, it herodias had a grudge against
• 25:41
  him. And wanted to put him to death
• 25:45
  but she could not for Herod feared John knowing that he was
• 25:51
  a righteous and holy man and he kept him safe.
• 25:57
  When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed and yet he
• 26:01
  heard him. Gladly Unfortunately, what you
• 26:05
  can say about John, you could not say about Herod here.
• 26:09
  We find this. Man, although confronted about
• 26:11
  his sin 0 though, dealt with concerning his conscience,
• 26:16
  although his wife would nag about him every night at dinner
• 26:20
  because he shamed their relationship with all of those
• 26:24
  things. We are told that he gladly heard
• 26:30
  John that he intentionally sat under his preaching even more.
• 26:37
  This is this is weird. This is a little strange to me
• 26:42
  and yet it is so common. We are told that he heard him,
• 26:45
  gladly the word there is with pleasure with pleasure.
• 26:50
  John was not an ordinary preacher you know that He was
• 26:53
  not like, these cold. Pharisee phds that had no
• 27:00
  unction that had no urgency. That had no Authority.
• 27:04
  No. When he preached, there was
• 27:06
  fire. When he preached, it was plain
• 27:10
  when he preached. It was direct when he preached.
• 27:13
  It was about Jesus. Oh yeah, John John Behold the
• 27:18
  Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
• 27:20
  I'm sure Herod heard it. I'm sure you heard something of
• 27:24
  the coming of the Messiah. The coming of the kingdom of God
• 27:28
  and now only did Herod tolerate that preaching.
• 27:32
  He was Charmed by it. He was fascinated, he was
• 27:36
  mesmerised, he was Spellbound. He was, he was drawn to this
• 27:42
  immense confidence and his Consecration.
• 27:45
  And he gladly, he gladly heard him.
• 27:50
  This is disturbing. You know, why come to verse 22?
• 27:55
  For when herodias is daughter, came in this is later another
• 27:59
  scene at his birthday for when herodias.
• 28:02
  His daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod And his guests
• 28:09
  and the King said to the girl asked me for whatever you wish
• 28:13
  and I will give it to you. Okay, this type of dancing is
• 28:17
  not a professional performance. It's not an interpretive kind of
• 28:21
  dance of some sort. This is provocative, dancing.
• 28:26
  This is seductive dancing and this is the entertainment of the
• 28:32
  night for his birthday. And we are told that the same
• 28:36
  Herod who experienced pleasure sitting under the messages of
• 28:42
  John. Also knew a pleasure as he had a
• 28:47
  young lady in his home, erratically, dancing before him
• 28:51
  and his guests. Isn't that strange?
• 28:57
  A great preacher. Once said that Herod was a man
• 29:01
  who wanted heaven, but loved the road to hell.
• 29:07
  Herod was a man who wanted heaven but he loved the road to
• 29:10
  hell. And we see it plainly here.
• 29:13
  He could genuinely appreciate a sound well-crafted passionately,
• 29:20
  presented truth and yet applaud our young lady very likely
• 29:26
  stripping before him His stepdaughter.
• 29:32
  How can this be? How is the soul and yet
• 29:37
  unfortunately there's a principle here that is too
• 29:40
  common. I meditated on this
• 29:43
  contradictory way of life and here's what came to mind that
• 29:47
  delighting in the ministry of holy men and enjoying the
• 29:52
  presence of holy people is not sufficient evidence that such a
• 29:58
  person is a yoked with Christ. Delighting.
• 30:02
  To sit under the ministry of holy men and enjoying the
• 30:04
  presence of holy people is not sufficient evidence that such a
• 30:08
  person is yoked to Christ. and I can say that confidently about
• 30:13
  Herod here, because regardless of the reasons for his
• 30:16
  admiration about John, Regardless of what it is, that
• 30:20
  was pulling on his heartstrings. I know this one thing about
• 30:23
  Herod, I know, one thing was true about this, man.
• 30:27
  Whatever he was enjoying. It wasn't because of Jesus.
• 30:32
  It wasn't because of Christ saying.
• 30:34
  Prove it preacher, gladly Think about the hours just before the
• 30:40
  crucifixion and in those concluding chapters of the
• 30:43
  Gospel of Luke, we have an encounter between Jesus and who
• 30:48
  Herod. And do you remember what Herod
• 30:50
  did with Jesus? Let me remind you and Luke 23,
• 30:52
  verse 11, and Herod with his soldiers, treated him with
• 30:57
  contempt, and mocked him. That I rang him in Splendid
• 31:01
  clothing, he sent him back to Pilate.
• 31:05
  The same man who can sit under the teaching and preaching of
• 31:08
  John who surely presented Jesus when it came to a face-to-face.
• 31:13
  Visit an appointment with the same Christ that he heard about
• 31:17
  treated him with contempt. Mocked and scorned him and
• 31:22
  despised him. How well, let me tell you this
• 31:25
  one thing. Do you remember last week's
• 31:26
  message on the conscience? Do you remember how the more you
• 31:29
  ignore your conscience? The more you silence, your
• 31:31
  conscience, the worst say gets the quieter, it gets the debtor,
• 31:34
  it gets and the more danger you invite your life.
• 31:37
  I believe that's what's happening here after quieting,
• 31:40
  it and silencing. And in suppressing it the same
• 31:43
  men who feared to touch. John can now come and openly
• 31:47
  mocked Jesus Christ. How did that happen?
• 31:50
  Because between John's message and Jesus encounter, he did
• 31:53
  something with those thoughts. He buried them, he's subdued
• 31:57
  them, he ignored them. And what happened?
• 31:59
  Can more, and more seared More and more seared.
• 32:05
  But there's something else here. Could it be the how John Rather
• 32:10
  hair it is? Treating Jesus.
• 32:12
  At this point, is revealing something that was in him all
• 32:15
  along? And if that is true that think
• 32:19
  about this Herod Herod, being able to love sermons, it's
• 32:26
  possible to love sermons and treat Jesus with contempt at the
• 32:30
  same time. That's a terrifying thought.
• 32:35
  That's possible. This man proves it, I ask you
• 32:39
  today to look beyond your respect for the minister.
• 32:43
  I ask you today to look beyond your enjoyment of The Fellowship
• 32:46
  of the Saints, Being in a place with people who are kind and
• 32:50
  nice and have conservative values, look beyond that.
• 32:53
  Look beyond all of that. That might be justifying
• 32:56
  something that is actually deceiving and ask yourself this
• 32:58
  one question. This afternoon, I beg of you.
• 33:00
  Please ask yourself this question.
• 33:02
  I beg of you who is the person of Jesus to you the person of
• 33:06
  Jesus, not messages about him, not the people who claim him who
• 33:11
  is Jesus to you personally. What is your face to face
• 33:16
  relationship like with Jesus? Is it like Herod?
• 33:19
  Is it like Herod? I hope not, I pray not.
• 33:24
  I hope that everything that you hear, no matter how practical or
• 33:27
  deep the message is it would stir Your Heart for Jesus for
• 33:31
  Christ to love him. An adornment crown him and Obey
• 33:35
  him. This was not the case for Herod,
• 33:38
  he can digest and and receive, and contemplating be perplexed.
• 33:43
  And even be convicted yet when it came to the person of Christ,
• 33:47
  Not only was there no connection.
• 33:49
  There was contempt. There's some who openly show
• 33:53
  content and others who indirectly show contempt to
• 33:58
  Christ. But I see something else about
• 34:00
  Herod here. His puzzling relationship with
• 34:02
  the truth shows shows the danger of being in a setting like this
• 34:07
  and being able to praise bold Proclamation.
• 34:10
  At the same time be shriveled up in your soul.
• 34:12
  Concerning the person of Christ, but there's more to this even
• 34:15
  more. Could you believe it?
• 34:16
  Yes. What we see here is that even
• 34:20
  Herod sitting under the ministry of John, holy men.
• 34:23
  Like John also proves that you are not guaranteed Freedom From
• 34:28
  The Bondage that you're in. Back at verse 21 of Mark 6, but
• 34:36
  an opportunity came. When Herod on his birthday.
• 34:39
  Give a banquet for his Nobles and Military commanders and the
• 34:43
  Leading Men of Galilee from when herodias his daughter came and
• 34:46
  danced. She pleased Herod and his
• 34:48
  guests. And the King said to the girl
• 34:49
  asked me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.
• 34:53
  You're told about that. You're given this scene
• 34:56
  immediately. After being informed that Herod
• 34:59
  heard John gladly, Meaning that even being under the truth
• 35:09
  accurately and powerfully proclaimed does not guarantee
• 35:13
  liberation. And transformation.
• 35:18
  This same man can come and listen to this and then go home
• 35:22
  and have such a birthday. Do you think that happens on
• 35:25
  Sundays? Think so possible.
• 35:30
  Is it because truth wasn't being preached not necessarily so you
• 35:34
  can have John Baptist come up here and preach and still have
• 35:37
  people act like Herod how Well it's just like me giving you a
• 35:42
  recipe and you hearing every ingredient, me spelling out.
• 35:45
  The instructions of how to go about it and you understand it
• 35:48
  and you might amen. And you might be even excited
• 35:49
  about what that recipe will look like and you go home and you
• 35:51
  don't you don't honor the recipe.
• 35:54
  It's like me giving you a directions to a desired location
• 35:57
  and you understand everything and all the turns and all the
• 35:59
  warnings and you're excited because you want to go to this
• 36:01
  place that you heard about, but you never get in your car.
• 36:03
  You never turn it on and you never go.
• 36:07
  You can hear all about Jesus, how wonderful he is.
• 36:09
  How glorious is, how you can know how you can grow and him.
• 36:11
  Embrace it nod your head to it, maybe even get excited about it
• 36:13
  and go home and have a birthday like Herod.
• 36:18
  It's true. It's not like people to hear but
• 36:22
  it's true. And look at this attitude that
• 36:26
  Herod has in the king said, to the girl asked me for whatever
• 36:28
  you wish, and I will give it to you.
• 36:31
  What's wrong with you, man? You're willing to give half your
• 36:35
  kingdom to a girl, a teenager I present to you the intoxicating
• 36:40
  influence of lust, Not just alcohol, I'm sure there was
• 36:44
  alcohol. But lust lust has the ability to
• 36:46
  inebriate you and to cause you to make misjudgments at the
• 36:49
  cause you to evaluate certain things more great than they are
• 36:52
  and, and see the great things as less as what they truly are men.
• 36:56
  If you can conquer lust, you can conquer so much if you can
• 37:00
  conquer the appetites of the flesh, you can conquer so much
• 37:02
  in life. And here is a man who is so
• 37:05
  stirred. So aroused.
• 37:07
  So moved by this site that he makes this silly vow your what
• 37:13
  whatever half the kingdom and I'll give it to you.
• 37:15
  It's Herod. Do you realize that Rome is your
• 37:17
  supervisor. Do you realize that?
• 37:20
  If you even if you do, if you do get this request for half the
• 37:23
  kingdom. Because he's a man who obviously
• 37:25
  kept his word, we're about to find out.
• 37:27
  You're gonna get in big trouble, you're gonna get in serious
• 37:30
  trouble. But this is, this is a picture
• 37:33
  here of how sin makes us foolish.
• 37:37
  It makes a stupid. I mean, look at it.
• 37:40
  What he's willing to throw away? Just for a moment of
• 37:43
  Satisfaction, Just because he's been exhilarated In the Flesh,
• 37:46
  look what he's willing to give up.
• 37:47
  And I think about Sinners today, that throw away so much not
• 37:50
  herod's Kingdom, God's Kingdom. His purpose is his plans.
• 37:55
  His love his satisfaction. They're willing to just just
• 37:58
  waste it and throw it away for, what, for something.
• 38:01
  So, trivial for something, so silly for something.
• 38:03
  So there is a perverted Yes, yes, Sinners makes foolish
• 38:08
  decisions. They make rash vows and make
• 38:11
  rash decisions, and they're willing to give up so much for
• 38:14
  something that is so trivial. And so temporary.
• 38:19
  But here's a man who would leave unchanged after being under
• 38:23
  John. How do you change then?
• 38:27
  How do you change will go beyond appreciation?
• 38:30
  Go beyond being perplexed, and stirred and challenged and come
• 38:35
  to him. Come to Jesus.
• 38:39
  Come to the Lord. He's real.
• 38:42
  He's there he's available. I remember the early days of
• 38:46
  walking with the Lord sitting under a young, adults Ministry
• 38:49
  and the Lord was so fresh to me. So real to me, still is but in
• 38:53
  that time the the you know, the first moments and I always use
• 38:57
  this example as a joke. But I remember there was a
• 38:58
  particular Sunday night. We had a Sunday night service
• 39:01
  and the preacher got up there and he shared about Elijah.
• 39:06
  When those young kids came out says go up.
• 39:08
  You bald head go Up you bald head?
• 39:12
  And Elijah turns around with the authority of God, calls a curse
• 39:15
  upon him. And two.
• 39:16
  She bears come out and Mall 40-something of those kids to
• 39:20
  tragic story but it's deeper than how it sounds.
• 39:23
  And I remember sitting there hearing that story a story that
• 39:25
  would cause the skeptic to say how can a good god do such a
• 39:28
  thing. How can the true God that, you
• 39:30
  know, what? I was feeling in my heart.
• 39:30
  Oh, Lord, you're amazing, you're beautiful.
• 39:34
  Lord. I want to spend time with you,
• 39:36
  your glorious Lord. Look at the authority.
• 39:38
  Look at the Holiness of God, look at the faithfulness of God,
• 39:41
  look at his protection over his servant.
• 39:43
  Look at how this was actually fulfillment of a warning in The
• 39:45
  Vedic is that if you were to continue to reject God and his
• 39:48
  purpose is that your children would suffer by wild animals,
• 39:51
  that's what it was. Oh, Look how deep your word is
• 39:54
  a. I just want to spend time with
• 39:55
  Jesus. After hearing about the Bears.
• 39:59
  Mauling children. Yes.
• 40:01
  Because it's God's word and it reveals God.
• 40:05
  Oh, come to him. Everything in this text even
• 40:08
  hearing about even hearing about John the Baptist being beheaded,
• 40:11
  let your heart be stirred and hear the wisdom of Christ and
• 40:15
  let it pull you to his person. I love this verse in Acts 17
• 40:20
  when Paul preached there to these Gentiles.
• 40:23
  And he said in Acts 17 27, that they should seek God talking
• 40:29
  about how God created the world and how he put different people
• 40:33
  in different parts of the world and he has determined the
• 40:35
  boundaries of their dwelling place for what purpose.
• 40:38
  And he says here in verse 27 and acts 17, that they should seek
• 40:41
  God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him.
• 40:50
  And then he says this in verse the second part of the verse and
• 40:53
  he's actually not far from each one of us.
• 40:57
  That they should seek on and perhaps feel their way toward
• 41:00
  him and find him. God created you so that you
• 41:03
  would find him. And then he goes on to say, he's
• 41:07
  actually not far from each one of us.
• 41:11
  And he confirms it in the following verse for in him.
• 41:14
  We live and move and have our being he is here, he's always
• 41:19
  around you, he's One Call Away. He is the City of Refuge that
• 41:23
  has been established at a distance where you can go and
• 41:26
  find safety. That's Christ.
• 41:30
  Also, even in A Moment Like This Before, a message, even ends you
• 41:33
  can call upon Christ, Lord, I've been far from you, but now I
• 41:36
  want to come to you, Lord. I don't want to leave this
• 41:39
  message Shackled In my sin anymore, Or how I want to be
• 41:42
  free. I want these chains to fall down
• 41:43
  at my feet, Christ can do it, he can do it.
• 41:49
  And we see here. Paul says, he's right there, you
• 41:52
  don't have to jump through hoops, you don't have to stand
• 41:55
  on your head. You don't have to climb some
• 41:56
  Mountain. You don't have to spend some
• 41:58
  weeks with monks, he's right here, Jesus, the son of the
• 42:03
  Living. God the resurrected, Lord.
• 42:05
  The one who conquered the grave, the one who will return again.
• 42:08
  He's here and he's always here. We preach a Christ.
• 42:13
  Who can save and set free. This is the Jesus whom I bear
• 42:17
  witness. This is the Jesus who
• 42:19
  commission's us to preach this truth, not the one who just
• 42:23
  saved. But one who satisfies one, who
• 42:25
  delivers one who sets free. And Herod heard it, I'm sure
• 42:31
  John preached it. But he couldn't let go of that
• 42:35
  once in he couldn't he couldn't get away from that claw. that
• 42:43
  was around his neck herodias, is her name a New Testament kind of
• 42:47
  Jezebel couldn't. He feared her, he feared the men
• 42:53
  that he invited over for his birthday more than God and it
• 42:58
  would cost him. I can say so much more, but I'm
• 43:02
  going to scroll down here. We see what happens next.
• 43:06
  He vows us to her the little girl goes to his mother.
• 43:09
  Her mother. What should I ask?
• 43:12
  What should I ask him? I want you to give me at once
• 43:16
  the head of John the Baptist on a platter.
• 43:20
  And Herod was sorry, exceedingly.
• 43:23
  Sorry, not sorry for what you would think.
• 43:25
  He's not convicted, he's worried about what kind of consequences
• 43:29
  this will breed and he's in this place of tension.
• 43:32
  If I say no, these men will mock me.
• 43:33
  I'm not a man of my word. If I say yes, the people they
• 43:37
  prize John, we can cause some kind of upheaval here.
• 43:41
  But his pride got the best of him.
• 43:42
  He could not deny his oath, even though his oath was for evil,
• 43:45
  and he submits to the request of his, which of a wife, And it
• 43:50
  says, in verse 27, immediately the king sent, an executioner
• 43:53
  with orders to bring John's head.
• 43:55
  He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a
• 44:00
  platter and gave it to the girl. And the girl gave it to her
• 44:03
  mother. They couldn't even wait for the
• 44:05
  birthday to end. Wonder what kind of Silence was
• 44:09
  in that room? I wonder what kind of feeling
• 44:12
  came over them as that Grizzly, man's head laid on that platter
• 44:17
  perhaps with his eyes opened. I don't just look at Herod as a
• 44:25
  coward. I look at these men who knew
• 44:27
  very well, John the Baptist as cowards just, as much, not being
• 44:31
  able to speak up to stop this evil.
• 44:34
  And here, they are with this decision, irreversible,
• 44:37
  determined done, and something happens in verse 29, when his
• 44:43
  disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in
• 44:47
  a tomb. These brave men, they came to
• 44:52
  that place. They retrieve the body,
• 44:56
  headless, their love teacher. The preacher that they learn so
• 45:01
  much from his way of life, that inspired them to be ready for
• 45:05
  the coming of the Messiah. Is no longer alive.
• 45:11
  Put him away with dignity and honor.
• 45:15
  But what I love about this verse is how Matthew adds a detail to
• 45:17
  it, and I want to show you that detail and clothes and go to
• 45:20
  Matthew 14 verse 12. Matthew 14:12 it says and his
• 45:31
  disciples came and took the body and buried it and they went and
• 45:36
  told Jesus. They went and told Jesus.
• 45:42
  Wise men. I don't know what was going on
• 45:47
  through their minds if they go tell Jesus to warn Jesus.
• 45:52
  Do you think John was afraid of Herod?
• 45:55
  Not if you preach like this, Cave, John wasn't afraid.
• 45:59
  Do you think Jesus was afraid of Jesus?
• 46:02
  Jesus was afraid of Herod know. When he was told another time
• 46:04
  about Harry's is go, tell that fox.
• 46:07
  Remember those words go tell that fox, doesn't sound like a
• 46:10
  man who was afraid about what Herod could do it then?
• 46:13
  They come and tell Jesus, I'm sure to inform them, but I'm
• 46:16
  under this persuasion, you could disagree with me.
• 46:19
  You would have to disagree with me.
• 46:20
  And Matthew Henry though. That they did more than report,
• 46:25
  what happened? They sought comfort from Jesus.
• 46:32
  Jesus, John is gone. Lord.
• 46:39
  The 4Runner, he's no longer here and they opened their hearts to
• 46:42
  him, they brought this tragedy to him, they brought their
• 46:46
  sorrows their Heavy Hearts to to the perfect person.
• 46:51
  So yes. He is so close to the sinner as
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  Paul preached in Acts 17. If he is not so far from them,
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  how much closer Is He To You. Beloved child of God, how
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  available is he to you? That you can come to him.
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  Once you are holding your arms, something that you can't fathom
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  and comprehend and trust that. As you do come to him, he can
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  console you and pour his love and his presence heal, you and
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  strengthen you I look at this and I think to myself, Lord,
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  don't only teach me how to be like, John, Who was not like a
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  reed easily shaken, by the wind, teach me to be like John's
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  disciples, who knew, who to go to when even their counselor,
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  their Mentor, their father in the faith was no longer
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  available, you know, who you can go to when the most spiritual
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  man, you know, of is no longer there, the one who called him
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  and made him the one who used him to bless your life.
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  The Source, the mouth of the river of all the blessings that
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  you enjoyed through him or through her go to Christ and sit
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  at his feet and pour your heart out.
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  But trust that men and women of God will come and go.
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  But Christ will remain forever. He's there and he's a friend and
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  he's the ever-present mentor. He's the one who's given all
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  those things. All those things through those
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  people to you. Does he not have an abundance
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  himself? Does he not have all the things
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  that you need himself? He does.
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  He surely dies all. There's so much more I can say,
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  and maybe we'll say more next week, but for now, I think
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  that's a perfect. Place to end.
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  Come to Jesus. Come to Jesus with your sorrow.
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  Come to Jesus for salvation. He is closed.
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  Lord this afternoon. We magnify Your Great Name.
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  With the Simplicity of these truths.
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  Lord, we are reminded of things perhaps that we have known.
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  But Lord, we ask that at this time, we would not be like Herod
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  far from it. Lord that what we heard today
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  would draw us closer to you and which stir us to say, oh I want
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  to be with him. I want to walk closer to him.
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  Lord, we pray that You would make us like pillars in your
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  house not like reads but pillars.
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  And Lord you would also help us as we go out into this world and
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  try to be faithful and effective that we would believe in the
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  power of your truth. And that like Herod we don't
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  know what's occupying a heart when it has come into contact
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  with who you are. Help us believe that you are in
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  control of all things and help us be like John who was faithful
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  until the end though, he could not perceive the great extent of
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  his efforts and a man as hardened and difficult.
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  And Herded and deviant, as Herod.
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  Well, we know that there are people like Herod who will be
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  convicted but never changed but oh help us.
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  Oh God, believe that there can be people like the parable that
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  Jesus taught that can say, I will not but will later change
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  their minds and submit to your will And Lord, if there is that
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  person in this place, who has many times that I will not, I
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  will not May today be the day where they say, I will.
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  I won't walk away anymore. Not only you can do it.
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  We bless you. Jesus name.
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  Amen.