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The Model Life: Alertness, Part 6 · CCC West Covina

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Take your Bible and turn with me to the 5th chapter of First
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Thessalonians as we continue to look at this marvelous book and
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this great passage in verses 1 to 11 of chapter 5 concerning
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the coming of our Lord and what it means to the model life, the
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the life that truly exemplifies Christ.
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In chapter 4 and chapter 5 of First Thessalonians, talk to us
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about what that life looks like. It is a life of abstinence
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versus 1 to 8 of chapter 4. It's a life of aspiration.
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Verses 9 to 12 of chapter 4, it's a it's a life of
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anticipation, verses 13 to 18 as to the coming of our Lord for
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his church. It's a life of alertness, alert
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to the day of the Lord in the coming judgment upon the world.
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The model life is consumed with the coming of Christ and how we
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live in anticipation of the day of Christ, which is the rapture
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of the church and the reward for the believer.
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And we live alert to the day of the Lord, which truly is the
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revelation of Christ and his retribution upon unbelievers and
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his redemption of Israel. It's so important to understand
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these, these subjects because it, it motivates us, it
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stimulates us, it encourages us, it it moves us to action.
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And it's chapter 5, verses 1 to 11.
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He's specifically talking about the day of the Lord.
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And so he reminds them of a, of a couple of things.
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He reminds them of, of the time and ethics.
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And no one knows the day or the hour.
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He reminds him of the term the the day of the Lord.
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He reminds him of the thief that comes suddenly.
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He reminds them of of the terror that will come upon the
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unbeliever. Look at it with me, if you will,
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verse 1 of chapter 5. Now as to the times and epics,
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brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you.
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For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord
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will come just like a thief in the night, while they are saying
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peace and safety, then destruction will come upon them
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suddenly, like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they
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will not escape. But everything about this day of
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the Lord sent us around the thrill of the day of the Lord.
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And the Bible says in verse #4 But you, brethren, are not in
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darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief.
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For you are all sons of light and sons of day.
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We are not of the night nor of darkness.
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So then let's not sleep as others do, but let us be alert,
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awake, completely aware and sober.
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For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who
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get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we are of the day and
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let us be sober, have you put on the breastplate of faith and
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love as a helmet? The hope of salvation for God
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has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation
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through our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the thrill of the day of
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the Lord who died for us, so that whether we are awake or
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asleep, we will live together with Him.
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Therefore, encourage one another and build up one another, just
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as you also are doing. Here's the thrill of this day
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that that you are to encourage one another and build up one
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another just as as you are doing.
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But as I thought about that, I thought about the fact that that
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why is it there is this absence in the church today of this
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anticipation of the day of Christ and why is it there is
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this absence of alertness to the day of the Lord?
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Why is it there isn't this thrill to encourage one another
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and build up one another as you see this day approaching?
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Why is it there there is this sort of stagnation in the church
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about the coming of the King. So I thought about that and I
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and I thought, you know, that the 21st century isn't really
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much different than the 1st century.
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In other words, what we anticipate around the second
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coming of Christ in the 21st century is a lot like how they
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anticipated the first coming of Christ in the 1st century.
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As I thought about that, I thought, you know, it would be
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good for us to understand what is it about my life that that is
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not so thrilled about the day of the Lord and the day of Christ?
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Why is it I come to church and I don't live in anticipation of
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this? I'm not alert to this?
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Why is it off somewhere else in the far corners of my mind, if
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at all there? Why is it my life is as dull as
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it is? So I begin to think about that
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and begin to realize that Solomon said there's nothing new
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under the sun. So the way it was in the 1st
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century is the same way way it is in the 21st century.
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So let me explain to you the way it was in the 1st century and
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why is it Israel did not live in anticipation of the first coming
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and why they were not alert to the day of the Lord?
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They should have been, but they weren't.
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We should be, but we're not, and that's because there's nothing
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new under the sun. So I thought that it would be
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good for us to compare the 1st century with the 21st century.
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And there are several reasons why those in Israel we're not
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anticipating nor alert to the coming of the Messiah.
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The very first reason was apathy, apathy, this complacency
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about the coming of the Messiah. And if you're a Jew in the 1st
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century and you're going to the synagogue every Sabbath, and
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some would go every day to the synagogue to to learn, to read,
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to hear. The Old Testament would be
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filled with prophecies and predictions and promises around
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the arrival of the Messiah. And so they would hear and know
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from the very beginning in Genesis 315 that the seed of a
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woman, excuse me, would come and crush the serpent's head, that
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this Messiah would be born of a virgin.
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Isaiah 714. This Messiah would be called
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wonderful counselor, mighty God, Prince of Peace, Everlasting
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Father, and the government would rest upon his shoulders.
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This was the promise Abraham had been given, a promise about a
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seed that would bless the nations of the world.
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The prophet Isaiah would speak about the suffering of this
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Messiah, and through that suffering would come men's
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redemption and they would hear these things.
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But but there was this, this apathy, this indifference, this
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non interest about the coming of their Messiah.
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After all, it had been 400 years since the prophet has spoken.
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After the prophet Malachi, there was silence.
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There was no Angel from heaven coming to make an announcement.
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There was no prophet speaking about the arrival of the
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Messiah. The Lord was not speaking from
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heaven. There was silence and Israel had
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come back from captivity and they had begun to to build the
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walls around the city and begun to rebuild the temple and
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anticipation of Messiah. But there was nothing but
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silence and Israel became more and more apathetic to the
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arrival of the Messiah. Ezekiel had seen the glory of
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the Lord depart. He had seen it leave the temple,
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crossover the Kidron Valley, ascend up the Mount of Olives
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and disappear. And the prophet Haggai chapter 2
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would speak of the fact that one day the glory of the Lord was
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going to return to the temple. And you think that Israel would
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be living in anticipation and completely alert to the arrival
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of the Messiah? But when he came, hardly anybody
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noticed. And John would say, And the
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glory of the Lord tabernacled among us, we beheld the beauty
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of the Lord, we beheld the glory of the Lord.
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And on the on the day of his, of his birth, the angels came and
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and said as the glory of the Lord would shine all around the
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shepherds, the Messiah had come. And yet outside of very few
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handful of people, nobody really cared.
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There was Zacharias and Elizabeth.
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That's because for, after 400 years, the Angel Gabriel spoke
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to Zacharias as he was doing his priestly duties and told him
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that his wife would have a son who would be the, the forerunner
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to the Messiah. So he and Elizabeth are
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ecstatic. Mary has the Angel Gabriel come
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to her and announce to her that she will be the, the mother of
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the Messiah. So Mary and Joseph know about
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this and they're ecstatic. They're anticipating the arrival
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of the Messiah. The there's, there's, there's
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Anna, who was married for just seven years.
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And so most Jewish girls were betrothed at the age of 13.
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And she would have been married around that time.
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And she was married to her husband, Luke, 2, tells us, for
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seven years. So at the age of 20, her husband
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dies and she remains a widow for 84 years.
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But Anna was looking for the redemption of Jerusalem, Luke 2
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tells us. And so she was in the temple day
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and night, fasting and praying for 84 years because she longed
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for the arrival of the Messiah. She lived in anticipation.
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She was completely alert to what the prophet said about the
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Messiah, and she could not wait for him to come.
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If you're a widow today, you probably haven't been a widow
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for 84 years. But learn the lesson of Anna.
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Her hope was resting in the arrival of her Messiah before
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she is mentioned. Luke 2 there, Simeon, he's an
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old man, he's up in years. He's a righteous and devout man.
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He's been looking for the consolation of Israel, the light
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of revelation to the Gentiles, and he's in the temple.
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And he, he was given this promise by the Lord that that
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he's not going to die until he sees the Lord's Messiah.
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So he's living in anticipation of the Lord's Messiah every day.
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He's looking, he's longing, he's waiting, he's anticipating.
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And for years he's waited until one day Mary and Joseph come and
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bring the baby Jesus to the temple, and Simeon beholds him
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and holds him in his arms and rejoices at the arrival of the
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Messiah. There were the magi, first
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Gentile converts, the magi. They, they lived in anticipation
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that they were, they were longing.
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They they weren't apathetic to the arrival of the Messiah.
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It's been passed down from generation since the the time of
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Daniel by their parents about the star that would come.
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They should follow that star because Daniel told them about
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the prophecy of Numbers 24 verse #17 that a star will rise, that
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a Jacob and a scepter will be in his hand.
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This will be the king of the Jews.
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So the Magi would, would, would, would get on their Persian
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steeds and make that 700 mile journey to Jerusalem, arrive in
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the city and say, where is he who was born king of the Jews?
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And everybody's like, who? What are you talking about?
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The Magi anticipated, but Jerusalem did not.
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And Jerusalem had all the prophecies, all the promises,
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but here come these magi. And and you would think that
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when the Magi would arrive in Jerusalem, and Matthew 2 tells
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us that Herod was terrified and the whole city was in fear.
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Why? Because it wasn't 3 Magi on the
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backside of camels riding into Jerusalem.
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It was hundreds of kingmakers on the back of Persian steeds
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coming into Jerusalem. They were kingmakers.
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There were hundreds of them, and all of their entourage was
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following them. And they come riding into
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Jerusalem saying where is he who was born king of the Jews?
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And all Jerusalem is in fear and terrified.
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But they were apathetic. Do you think that any of the
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nasty? What are you talking about?
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Let us follow you. Where you going?
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We want to be and see this king. But no one did because apathy
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and complacency rule of the day. They just weren't interested
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anymore. It had been too long.
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They'd waited and waited and waited and nothing had come.
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So whether it's the Magi who ride into the city of Jerusalem
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announcing that there's a king and want to know where he is, or
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whether it's Simeon or Anna Zacharias or Elizabeth or Mary
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or Joseph or the shepherds, the shepherds went proclaiming
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everywhere about what they had heard and what they had seen.
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But do you think anybody said, hey, the Messiah, where is he?
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We want to see him. No, apathy ruled the day and so
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there were just a few who lived in anticipation and were alert
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to his arrival in. The same is true today.
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Most people just are not interested.
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They don't care that much. After all, it's been 2000 years
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since he came the first time and so many years have have passed
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since his arrival and his announcement that he's coming
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again. In spite of the fact that there
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is. There is more said about his
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second coming than his first coming in the Bible and that one
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out of every 25 verses speaks of His second coming in the New
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Testament and every New Testament book except for two
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Philemon, the third John, speak of the second coming of the
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Messiah. We live in apathy and we're not
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interested in his arrival. How sad Peter would say it this
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way in second Peter chapter 3, verse one.
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This is now, beloved, the second letter I'm writing to you in
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which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder.
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Peter was a master of reiteration of the same thing.
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He was a master of reminding people of the same thing over
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and over and over again. He says, I, I want to stir up
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your sincere mind. I want to remove from you the
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complacency. I want to remove from you the
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apathy, and I want to revolutionize the way you think
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about the day of the Lord. So I'm going to stir up your
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sincere mind by by way of reminder, because when I
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reiterate this truth to you, it is going to give you a renewed
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conviction. It is going to give you what you
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need to disturb you on and spur you on.
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So I'm going to write this to you by way of reminder so that
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you don't forget. Peter was a master at this.
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In fact, if you go over to to chapter one of second Peter, he
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says this verse 12. Therefore, I will always be
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ready to remind you of these things, even though you already
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know them and have been established in the truth which
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is present with you. I love that verse people say you
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review so much week after week after week.
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Of course I do. Peter did.
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And if Peter did, and he was a great apostle and preacher, I'm
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going to follow his example. So he says, I'm going to stir
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you up by way of reminder. I know you know the truth.
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I know you've been established in the truth, but but you need
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to be reminded. And they said this in verse 13.
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I consider it right as long as I am in this earthly dwelling to
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stir you up by way of reminder, knowing that the lane aside of
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my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ
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has made clear to me. In other words, I'm I'm going to
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die. My time is short, and if my time
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is short, you know what I'm going to do.
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I'm just going to keep reminding you over and over and over again
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the same thing why tells you. And I will also be diligent that
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at any time after my departure, you will be able to call these
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things to mind. One day I'm going to be gone.
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One day I'm going to die. If the Lord tarries, I'm going
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to go home to be with the Lord. And I want you to be constantly
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reminded over and over and over again of the truths that have
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been established in your heart so that when I'm with the Lord,
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you will say, our pastor used to always tell us this.
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He used to remind us of this over and over and over again
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because one day I won't be here to remind you any longer.
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So I'm just going to keep reiterating the same thing over
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and over and over again. Go back to second Peter, chapter
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3. Peter says This is now, beloved.
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The second letter I'm writing to you in which I am stirring you
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up, string your sincere mind by way of reminder that you should
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remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets
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and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your
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apostles. I'm going to remind you what the
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prophet said. I'm going to remind you what the
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apostle said. I'm going to keep reminding you
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over and over and over again so that you never forget.
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What about the day of the Lord? Look what He says.
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Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come
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with their mocking, following after their own lust, and
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saying, Where was the promise of His coming forever, since the
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fathers fell asleep, all continues, just as it was from
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the beginning of creation. For when the mountain of Excuse
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me? For when they maintain this, it
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escapes their notice that by the Word of God the heavens existed
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long ago, and the earth was formed out of water, and by
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water through which the world at that time was destroyed, being
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flooded with water. But by His Word the present
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heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the
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day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
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But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved,
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that with the Lord one day is like 1000 years, and 1000 years
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like one day. The Lord is not slow about His
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promise as some count slowness, but is patient towards you, not
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wishing for any need to perish, but all to come to repentance.
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This is what I'm going to remind you of about the day of the
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Lord. It's coming again.
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Paul in in first Thessalonians chapter 5 says I I, I don't need
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to write anything else to you because I've already said this
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to you. But by way of reminder, let me
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tell you about the day of the Lord coming like a a thief in
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the night and sudden destruction will come up on those who are
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saying peace and safety. But know this.
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You're not of the night. You're of the day I'm going to
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remind you of these things. Why?
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Because all good preachers are into reiteration.
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They're into reminding people of that which they know.
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Because they know. They know that the only way to
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destroy the apathy in the lives of people is to keep driving
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them back to the same truth over and over and over again.
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They need to hear what the word of the Lord says.
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And you would think that Israel would know about their Messiah,
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but they were apathetic when he arrived and they missed him.
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They missed him completely. Why?
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The same reason we miss him today.
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John chapter 5, verse #39 You search the scriptures, he tells
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the religious elite, and in them you think that you have eternal
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life. But in your searching you missed
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me, the giver of life. That's why we're apathetic when
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we read the scriptures and we're in searching.
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The scriptures define that which we think we need, but we miss
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Jesus. Listen, the scriptures are all
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about Christ and if you're looking for something else when
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you read the Bible other than the Christ, you will become
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apathetic in your life because in all reality, you're looking
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for things outside of Jesus and Jesus is all you need.
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And people miss Him. The religious leaders missed him
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and therefore when he came, there was no longer an
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anticipation. No longer were they alert
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because of apathy. Let me give you another one.
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Wow, time flies. Activity.
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Not just apathy, but activity. When we become apathetic, we
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become involved in the, the meaningless and mundane things
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of, of life. There, there are certain
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responsibilities that we have. We have to go to work and we
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have to take care of our children and we have to be
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responsible. We have to pay our bills.
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Those are things that that we, we do because we're responsible
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people. But there are activities that we
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engage in because we're so apathetic that somehow they
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will, they will fill the void of our, our pathetic lives.
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If I can say it that way, that's where Solomon was, right?
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Solomon would search the ends of the earth with all the money and
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power and prestige that he had to do and, and, and fill the
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void of his life and somehow find meaning and, and
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significance in life. Then maybe it's in the gardens I
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plan, or maybe it's in the buildings that I build, or maybe
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it's in the women that I collect, or, or maybe it's in
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the gold and money that I obtained.
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Maybe it's in this or maybe it's in that.
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Maybe there's meaning here. Maybe there's meaning there, but
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you know, it's all empty. It's all vain.
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There's nothing there. That was his conclusion,
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realizing that the end is all about fearing God and keep his
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keeping his commandments. But he went on a search.
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If you're with us for the last 26 weeks on Wednesday night,
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you're well aware of his empty search for meaning and
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significance in life, even though he was the king of
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Israel. But we involve ourselves in all
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kinds of activities that really don't mean anything.
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And Paul would say in Second Timothy chapter, chapter 2,
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verse #4 I believe it is these words.
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No good soldier engages himself or entangles himself in the
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affairs of this life so that he can please his commanding
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officer. No good soldier.
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We have a lot of soldiers in the Army of God who entangle
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themselves in the everyday affairs of the world, but no
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good soldier is going to do that.
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No self respecting soldiers going to do that.
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No God fearing soldiers going to do that.
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He's not going to engage in all these extracurricular activities
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so as to detract from the arrival of the Messiah,
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anticipating his coming and living in light of his coming.
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No, he wants to please his commanding officer.
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He knows his commander is going to come.
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He knows about the day of Christ.
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He knows about the day of the Lord.
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So he lives in anticipation of those days.
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And yet like the people in the days of Jesus when they gathered
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together in Bethlehem, because there's been a, a decree set out
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by, by Caesar Augustus that there would be a census taken.
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And so everybody was going back to their their hometown.
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That's why Mary and Joseph left Nazareth and and went to
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Bethlehem when she was nine months pregnant and make that 75
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mile journey, either walking the backside of a donkey or in a
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cart. However, she would make that
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journey and everybody was busy with all kinds of activities,
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finding a place to stay, finding food to eat, doing all kinds of
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things. And here the Messiah would be
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born in Bethlehem, just like the prophet Micah said, and the
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glory of the Lord would shine all around the shepherds that
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that's the presence of God manifested in in brilliant
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light. Don't you think that's all these
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people in Bent Lane would, would at least got a glimpse of the of
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the brilliance of the light of the glory of the Lord as it
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showed around all these shepherds?
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Were they, were they at all interested?
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No, they were busy doing everything else but the one
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thing they needed to be doing, and that is focusing on the
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coming of their Messiah. But all of their activities, all
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their busyness, all their mundane, meaningless efforts to
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fill the void of their lives, to make them somehow satisfied with
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their everyday, boring, pathetic lives, they missed the arrival
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of the Messiah. Same as true in the 21st
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century. We engage in all kinds of
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activities. We do this and we do that, and
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we go here and we go there because we're so apathetic.
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We need to somehow fill the emptiness of our lives with
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something that will give us meaning, happiness, joy.
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So we go here, we go there, we do this, we do that, and all the
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time our lives are absent from anticipation and alertness to
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the arrival of the Messiah. So whether it be apathy, whether
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it be activity or, or whether it would be familiarity, that's
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another reason we we don't live in anticipation.
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I hear this all the time. Well, yeah.
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I, I, I've heard about the coming of Jesus.
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I, I, I know all about that. Do you?
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I talk to people all the time. Oh, yeah.
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I, I know about that. OK, Explain to me the difference
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between the day of Christ, the day of the Lord, and the day of
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God. And they say what?
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And I say, explain to me where, where Jesus is going to return
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when he comes. Oh, I know, Zachariah 14, the
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Mount of Olives wrong. Didn't read Isaiah 63, Isaiah
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34, You missed it. He will eventually go there, but
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then he's going to descend there.
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So how familiar are you with the coming of the Messiah?
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I asked him, Do you know anything about the Battle of
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Armageddon? Oh, yeah, I know all about that,
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I said. There is no battle of
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Armageddon. It's called the Battle of
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Bosraw. You missed that too.
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You see, you're we're not as familiar with the coming of the
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king as we think we are. But familiarity breeds contempt,
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does it not? And we think we know enough.
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Like the days of Jesus in the 1st century, his own brothers
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did not believe in him until after the resurrection.
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They were so familiar with him in Luke 4 when, when Jesus gets
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up and quotes or reads from Isaiah 61 and, and reads about
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that prophecy and says that today this prophecy is fulfilled
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in your hearing. Every rabbi would come and say
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one day this prophecy will be fulfilled in your hearing.
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But on this day, Jesus says today, this prophecy is
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fulfilled in your hearing because the Spirit of the Lord
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is upon me, and I've come to proclaim the favorable year of
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our Lord. He closed the book and sat down
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and everybody said, whoa, is this not Josephson?
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Who is this guy? Does he actually think he's the
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Messiah? And then he would begin to
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interpret more and speak more. And they became so angry with
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them, they wanted to kill him. See, Familiarity hindered their
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alertness to the coming, the Messiah, their anticipation of
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His arrival, because they were so familiar with Him.
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His own brothers and sisters did not believe in him.
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They grew up with him. You would think that they would
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believe but they didn't until after the resurrection and then
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James his brother would write about the coming of the Lord in
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James 5I love what he says. It's so good.
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He says these words in in the 5th chapter of of James.
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He says, therefore be patient, brethren, into the coming of the
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Lord, be patient. The farmer waits for the
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precious produce of the soil, being patient about it until it
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gets the early and late rains. You too, be patient.
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Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.
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Do not complain. Listen, why do we complain?
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Why do we bellyache? Why do we moan?
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Because we're not patient until the coming of the Lord.
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His arrival is not in our mind. We're not anticipating His
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coming again. We can't be patient with anybody
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else. We complain about everybody
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else. He says do not complain
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brethren, against one another so that you yourselves may not be
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judged. Behold, the judge is standing
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right at the door. Stop complaining about your
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brother. Don't worry, God will judge.
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The judge is right at the door. You be patient unto the coming
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of the Lord, like the farmer waits for the early and late
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rains. Be patient.
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He's coming. But because of apathy, but
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because of activity, but because of familiarity, the anticipation
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wanes. We find ourselves more asleep
37:54
than alert to the day of the Lord.
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There's another reason I got a whole bunch of them.
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Religiosity. That's a good one.
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Religiosity. This was the religious elite,
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the Pharisees in the time of Jesus.
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Religion is a good word. We don't like to use it because
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quote we're Christians, but James uses it.
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James says it this way. If anyone thinks himself to be
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religious and yet not bridles his tongue, he deceives himself.
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And then he says in verse 27, James one pure religion, pure
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religion and undefiled before the father exists that you visit
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the widows and orphans in their affliction and keep oneself
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unstained by the world. So James, the brother of our
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Lord would talk about religion, but it's religiosity that's a
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killer when it comes to anticipating the return of the
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king. It's the it's the church
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attender, the one who involves himself in the rituals of his
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religion. You see, when we become so
39:29
familiar with the story, but unfamiliar with the savior of
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the story, then we engage in religious activities and our
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religiosity tends to, to, to, to hinder our anticipation of the,
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of the coming of the Messiah. And even though the scribes and,
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and, and the Pharisees would, would hear the Magi say where,
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where is he was born king of the Jews.
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And, and they would go and search the Scriptures and know
40:02
that it was Micah chapter 5, verse #2 they couldn't make the
40:08
five mile journey from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to see whether or
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not this had taken place. Why?
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Because their religion was good enough.
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The religious status was good enough.
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And we come to church and, and we sit in church and we sing a
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few songs. We, we hear a hear a sermon.
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We might put a A20 spot in the offering and, and we, we might
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even engage in some kind of service, but we quickly go home
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because we're, we're more into the religiosity of our
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Christianity than the true relationship we have with the
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Christ who is the author of Christianity.
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That's always a problem. We have so many people who come
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to church that are into religion, but not true and pure
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and undefiled religion before the Father that are willing to
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keep themselves unspotted from the world.
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So whether it be apathy or activity or familiarity or
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religiosity, there's there's, there's also also jealousy.
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This is where Herod comes in. King Herod.
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Where was he who was born king of the Jews?
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And Herod's like, whoa, there's no other king here but me.
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I'm the king. But he wasn't Jewish.
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He was an Idumean. He was a descendant of Edom, the
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Edomites. He wasn't a Jew.
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And so he, he didn't want a rival to his kingship.
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That's why he he set out to kill all those two years and, and
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younger because he was trying to assess when the Magi saw the
41:55
star and the time it was. So he figured that if I kill
41:58
everybody two years and younger, all these boys two years and
42:02
younger, then I can rid myself of any competition.
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I can still be the king. See, we have people today that
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that believe that they're own king, their own master, their
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own ruler of their own lives. And they don't want to give way
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to to the Messiah. They don't want to subject
42:25
themselves to the the King of kings and Lord of Lords that
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they don't want to deny themselves, take up the cross
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and follow Christ and be subject to another king because they
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want to rule their own lives. They want to be God of their own
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lives. Destroys the anticipation and
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the alertness to the arrival of the Messiah.
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Idolatry is another. That's Rome.
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Rome plays a big part in the life of Christ.
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It was from Rome came to decree about the census.
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It was Rome who arrested Jesus. It was Rome who killed Jesus.
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Rome was involved in the life of Jesus.
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The Rome was an idolatrous nation and they were into
43:21
worshipping other gods. Israel worshipped the true God
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the wrong way and Rome just worshipped the wrong God all the
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way. That's what they did.
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And so it's in the 21st century we we can very easily engage in
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idolatry and not even know it. Paul was saying Colossus 35 that
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that covetousness is idolatry. In Romans 7 verses 7 and 8, Paul
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says it was because the law said thou shalt not covet is where I
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realized that I was a Sinner. He would go through the whole
44:05
entire list of the commandments and realize that he was a keeper
44:08
of the commandments until he came to the end when it says
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thou shalt not covet. He realized that in his own
44:19
life, there were things he he coveted after things he wanted.
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And just because it's the last of the 10 commandments doesn't
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mean it's the least of the 10 commandments.
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It means that it's the root of the sin of all the other reasons
44:35
we break the 1st 9 commandments. The reason we murder is because
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we covet. The reason we lie is because we
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covet. The reason we commit adultery is
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because we covet. The reason we have other gods is
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because we covet. We want something other than the
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one true God. We want something else to
44:52
fulfill the emptiness of our lives, and that becomes
44:55
something more important to us than the God of Israel himself.
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In anything that rises above God in your life is your idol.
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Is that what you worship? And when you commit covetousness
45:09
because you're an idolater, what happens is that this destroys
45:14
your anticipation and your alertness of the coming Messiah.
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Another one is self-sufficiency. I'll end with this one.
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Self-sufficiency describes the chief priests, the keepers of
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the law, the interpreters of the law, the transcribers of the
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law. They live the life of
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self-sufficiency. Our lives are good enough.
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We're OK. My family's good.
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My job is good. My health is good.
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Everything's good until it's not.
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But right now, everything's good.
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I'm self-sufficient. I ruin my own life.
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I'm good and self-sufficiency is a is a is a killer to a life of
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anticipation and alertness to the day of Christ and the day of
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the Lord just destroys it. Maybe you fall into one or two
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or even all of those categories. It will be the reason why you
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sit here today and you think, are you covering First
46:35
Thessalonians 51 to 11 again? Haven't we heard it enough?
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Are you speaking on the coming of Christ again?
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Yes, and I'm not even done yet. Although this is the 10th week
46:51
on chapter 4 verses 1318 to chapter 5, verses 1 to 11.
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This is the 10th week of covering that material and we're
46:57
just scratching the surface. Just scratching the surface.
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So let me close with this. If you have your Bible turn to
47:06
the last book of the Old Testament, the book of Malachi.
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Let me close with this. These 6 verses are are just
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absolutely rich with truth. Malachi is the messenger of God.
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Malachi means my messenger, my my Angel, and Malachi is is the
47:35
last prophet in the Old Testament.
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He's going to speak and he ends with the day of the Lord in the
47:46
coming Messiah. But he but he's speaking to a
47:47
nation. He he, he speaks the writes 100
47:51
years after the decree from Cyrus for Israel to go back to
47:57
their land and to rebuild the walls in the city of Jerusalem.
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So it's been 100 years since that decree.
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And you know why he writes? It's he writes because of the
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apathy and complacency of the nation of Israel.
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He's God's messenger and he writes because of the fact that
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they are morally corrupt. They'd come back and they had
48:29
done their duty around the city of Jerusalem, and they sat and
48:34
waited. And in there they're waiting.
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Their anticipation waned. Their anticipation became wet
48:46
and damp. And so he wants to stir them up.
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How? By way of reminder to get them
48:58
to remember. And so he he gives, he gives
49:03
this prediction, then he gives this promise, and then he gives
49:07
this plea. That's how you outline the last
49:13
6 verses of Malachi chapter 4. Here's the prediction.
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For behold the day. What day is that?
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That's the day of the Lord. The day is coming, burning like
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a furnace, and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be
49:27
chaffed. And the day of that is coming.
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We'll set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will
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leave them neither root nor branch.
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The day of the Lord is coming. It's coming like a blazing
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furnace, and everybody's going to be destroyed and be burned
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up. There's no root left.
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This is the prediction by Malachi.
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He wants them to understand that this is a guarantee because the
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Lord of Hosts or the Lord of Armies makes this decree.
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Then he gives the promise, the prediction.
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Judgement is coming, the promise.
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But joy can be yours, he says. But for you who fear my name,
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the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in its wings,
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and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the
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stall. You will tread down the wicked,
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for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day
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which I am preparing, says the Lord of Armies.
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Wow, There's going to be salvation, there's going to be
50:47
vindication, there's going to be celebration.
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That's the joy that's coming for those of you who fear my name,
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those of you, those of you who live in the fear of God, because
50:59
right now you're not doing that, but because you fear my name,
51:02
the Son of righteousness. And every rabbi before the time
51:05
of Jesus would say the Son is the star of #2417.
51:11
And he's called the Son of righteousness because in
51:13
Jeremiah 23, five and six, it's the Lord of righteousness who is
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the branch, who is the star, who is the Son.
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So the Son of righteousness is the Messiah in Psalm 8411 says
51:25
the Lord God of Israel is a sun and a shield.
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And that's why Jesus said that he was the bright and morning
51:37
star in Revelation 22. That's why the promise in
51:41
Revelation chapter 2 is you will receive the morning star.
51:46
That's why Peter calls him the day star that rises in your
51:50
hearts. And that's why Zacharias and
51:53
Luke chapter one would quote from Malachi chapter 4 about how
51:58
the Sun of Righteousness has has arisen and now is here.
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This is the joy. Those who fear my name, here's
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your promise. You'll be vindicated.
52:14
You'll be saved, you'll be protected because he'll rise
52:19
with with healing in his wings and and wings is a symbol of how
52:23
God protects his people, how he shelters them under his mighty
52:27
wings and protects his own. You'll have protection, you'll
52:31
have salvation, you'll have vindication.
52:33
Why? Because I will have performed my
52:37
ultimate destruction upon your enemies.
52:41
That's the promise. So now it gets really good.
52:46
If that wasn't good enough, now it gets really good.
52:48
Listen to this verse 4, remember?
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There he is good enough for Paul, good enough for Peter,
52:57
good enough for Malachi, good enough for me.
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Remember, remember what? The law of Moses, my servant,
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even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb
53:10
for all Israel. Listen, you want to receive the
53:13
joy of the Lord, understand the righteousness of God.
53:16
You need to understand this plea.
53:20
Remember my servant and His submission to my law, because
53:26
you are my servant and I want you to submit to my law.
53:32
Remember. And then he says, behold, I'm
53:38
going to send to you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the
53:42
great and terrible day of the Lord.
53:44
He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children,
53:47
in the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will
53:52
not come and smite the land with a curse.
53:55
Things are going to change when Elijah comes before the great
54:00
and terrible day of the Lord. Revelation 11 speaks of two
54:05
witnesses, one like Moses, one like Elijah on the mount.
54:10
Transfiguration with Jesus was Moses and Elijah.
54:16
In Acts chapter one there were two men in white apparel.
54:19
They were not angels. There were two men in white
54:21
apparel, maybe a definite maybe. One was Moses and one was Elijah
54:28
because in this text he mentions who Moses and Elijah.
54:36
Elijah will come before the great and terrible day of the
54:39
Lord. Well didn't Jesus say that that
54:43
that, that if you had would have received what John said he would
54:47
have been the Elijah like figure and the Kingdom would have been
54:51
restored? Yes, he did say that he did, but
54:57
they did not receive their Messiah because of their apathy,
55:02
because of their activity, because of their religiosity,
55:04
because of their idolatry, because of their familiarity,
55:08
because of their jealousy. They did not.
55:14
But the problematic guy says before the great terrible day of
55:18
the Lord is going to be Elijah, who's going to come When he
55:23
preaches the hearts of men will be revived, they'll be redeemed,
55:29
they'll be changed. So I will not curse the land in
55:37
the Old Testament closes. That's 400 years until God
55:43
speaks again. But I wonder this morning if the
55:49
Sun of Righteousness has risen in your heart, if you understand
55:56
the beauty of Christ's forgiveness.
56:03
Let the Lord Jesus Christ came because it was promised that He
56:09
would come. And they came to die because
56:13
that was the promise that he would rise again, again, the
56:18
promise that He might redeem his own, which He has done and is
56:24
still doing, but he is going to come again.
56:30
And the model life man just lives.
56:33
This great thrill that it could be today lives in anticipation,
56:43
excitement, joy, and celebration because the sun, the day star
56:50
has risen in our hearts. We know the Lord, but as the
56:54
Bride of Christ, we anticipate the coming of the Bridegroom.
57:00
We live this way. That's the model life.
57:05
And if you want to live the model life, the Christ like
57:07
life, it's centers around not just abstinence from sexual
57:11
immorality and not just aspiration to loving the
57:15
brethren, but it lives to the anticipation of the day of
57:18
Christ and the alertness to the day of the Lord and all that
57:22
entails because this is the sanctifying event of our lives.
57:31
He who has this hope in him purifies himself even as he is
57:34
pure. It was Nathan Buznitz who said
57:43
the hope of Christ's coming was of paramount importance for the
57:48
early church. In fact, it's certainty was so
57:51
real that 1st century believers would greet one another with the
57:55
term maranatha, meaning the Lord come quickly.
58:01
Instead of being frightened by the possibility, they clung to
58:06
it as a culmination of everything they believed.
58:13
Maranatha, Maranatha, my friends.
58:18
My father used to close every card, every letter he wrote with
58:26
that phrase. Maranatha our Lord come because
58:33
my father used to live in anticipation to his coming again
58:39
is a rival. I want you to live that way.
58:44
I want you to be able to walk into church and say Maranatha
58:49
and hear someone say back to you, Maranatha our Lord come,
58:58
let's pray. God, Father, we thank you for
59:01
today. The opportunity you give us, as
59:06
brief as it is to study Your word, I pray for everyone in the
59:12
room. They would know Christ as the
59:15
Lord and Savior. They would have embraced the
59:18
stun of righteousness who rises in their hearts, offers them to
59:26
protection and salvation so needed in their lives, which
59:30
leads to the ultimate satisfaction of every person, or
59:34
he who believes in him will never be disappointed.
59:37
Peter tells us. So we thank you for this day and
59:42
this opportunity once again to be reminded to remember, to stir
59:47
up our sincere minds by way of remembrance.
59:53
Lord, help us never to forget. Help us not to be so preoccupied
1:00:00
with the everyday events that we've lost.
1:00:03
Focus and touch and preoccupation with your coming
1:00:07
again. Help us to live each day
1:00:11
anticipating, alert to your arrival, until you come again,
1:00:18
as you most surely will. And all God's people said Amen.