Podcasts about i lord

  BONDED TO GODS LOVE As we read the many stories from the gospels, we find that there is one gospel writer, the apostle John, who stands out as the one who was bonded to the love of Jesus from the very beginning. His writings emphasize the love of God more than any other Biblical writings. John wrote the last five books of the Bible, which included his gospel and then his three epistles and then the Book of Revelation.  In his own gospel he even refers to himself as ‘the disciple that Jesus loved'. He was not being proud in saying this - it was simply a revelation of the love of God through Jesus for all of humanity, and so he qualified for that. And in John's gospel in the story of the last supper when Jesus said that one of them would betray him all the disciples looked at Jesus and said one after another 'Is it I Lord?' But John was not feeling self-conscious or guilty as perhaps the others did and so he simply said ‘Who is it Lord?' I'm reading today from the first epistle of John which is totally about the love of God that bonds us to God and to one another. 1John 3:1. Think about how wonderful is the love that has been lavished upon us by the Father, calling us his very own sons and daughters. But realize that the world does not understand us for who we really are, because it does not understand Jesus for who he really is. 2. So, we are now true sons and daughters of God my beloved, and it is not quite clear to us as to what we shall ultimately be like. All we can know is that when he returns we will be like he is, because we will see him for who he really is. 3. And all those who keep this hope and expectation alive will purify the state of their hearts and minds, just as Jesus did. 7. My dear children don't be deceived by anybody about this; whoever is living a life that shows that they are in harmony with Jesus, is living in the same harmony with the Father as Jesus is. 9. Whoever knows that they are part of God's very life, as his child, will not oppose God outright, because he is born of the same seed, and the essence of God's life is his life. So he cannot live in hostile contradiction to him because he is part of him. 10. This is how you are going to be able see the difference between those who really are bonded to God as their Father, and those who are still bonded to darkness, in the same way. Whoever doesn't live a truthful and upright life or doesn't show love and care and kindness towards others is not bonded with God. 11. And God has been saying to us from the beginning that we must love one another. John knew how to avoid being bonded to darkness by not letting his mind and heart live in past regrets, or fear of the future, or hopelessness, or resentment, or hostility to others. John knew how to remain bonded to God in his lovingkindness, his expectation of God's goodness and the power of his might, living in peace and joy and the love of others. I believe that John would have begun each day by thinking about the love that God had for him, and that his last thoughts at night would have been about the love that God had for him. He knew this was the essence of God's nature and so he wrote ‘We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them'. And He would have known and understood completely that God had always been the same – unchanging in his love. What does God want back from us? He wants the circle of his love to come from us back round to him.  Doesn't he want obedience?  Yes – but that same apostle John who wrote about God's love for us said that if we love God, we will keep his commandments – and that doesn't just mean the Ten Commandments, it means that when we know what he wants us to do we will do it. He said that both in his gospel and in his epistles. Loving God is our will power – rejecting God's love is our won't power, so completing the circle of God's love back to him comes first and everything else comes after that.  So how do we love a God that we cannot see?  That is the work of the Holy Spirit that has been given to us by God and who sheds and spreads God's love into our hearts so that we will believe it and feel it - it all starts with God. But before we can believe in God's love for us we need to know it is true  and we can know it as a truth because the word of God tells us that – as we have seen in every line of what has been said today.  Knowing you are loved by God and believing you are loved by God is the most deep and profound spiritual thing you can do because our spirit is made up of our mind that knows and our heart that believes. What we know as truth with our mind we will believe with faith in our heart.  Our body even has a part to play in this because even our brain has been created to help us complete that circle of love back to God that causes us to know and believe his love for us and to do the things that show we love him back. We were created with a left brain and a right brain and those two parts work together so that we can make balanced decisions in our life. Our left brain is in charge of organizing and ordering and giving our thoughts structure but our right brain is more spontaneous and random and creative and colourful. It is jumping into what we want to do rather than calculating what we ought to do. That means that the left brain has to reorder the chaos of the right brain and when that balance anchors our soul, we can do very creative and inspiring things with enthusiasm and faith but it's based on love and truth and order. That is why it is good to sit quietly and gratefully acknowledge God's presence with us and focus our minds on his powerful work on our behalf in the world of the unseen. That is what faith is – believing that God is at work in our lives for our good. Paul wrote to us about being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).   Paul went on to say that It is God working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.(Philippians 2:13). And in the next chapter Paul says that God is able to subdue all thning to himself. It couldn't be any clearer than that. But if we don't focus on that and think it and believe it, we are letting the right brain chaos run our lives.  That process is a picture of what happened in the very beginning of the creation of the universe in Genesis Chapter one. The Bible says that there was darkness on the face of the deep (the Abyss) and that it was without form and void (chaos). The Spirit of God hovered above that disorder and the word of truth – the logos of God, spoke and said ‘let there be light'. And then the mighty creative work of God was put into action. That act of creation was an act of God's love for us, and that creative love in action is what happens when we sit and contemplate the love of God and give it back to him with a thank you. That is when we become creatively changed into the new creation of his likeness and we can do the creative loving of others. This is what waiting on God and contemplation is all about - nothing more nothing less – it is not a waste of time – it is not passive – it is actively embodying God's love into the world around us. Let us wait on God and contemplate on actively embodying God's love to us and into the world around us. Waiting on God is not a waste of time – it is not passive – it is active - and doing this takes practice - in consciously sitting in the presence of God and knowing that he is doing the mysterious work. Driving a car takes practice and you dont have to understand how an internal combustion engine works – it's a bit mysterious to me. But I know I have to turn the ignition on, put the car into gear and then drive from A to B – and that last part takes the most practice – but we learn and get our P plates and our licence. We become part of the car and it becomes part of us – which is like being one with God who is directing our lives in faith. The Bible says that if we get off track we will hear a voice behind us saying ‘this is the way walk ye in it' (Isaiah x.x). In a car we look at Google maps and hear it say ‘turn right at the next round about then drive 500 Metres then turn left. And if we get that wrong it keeps talking and tells us to go to the next roundabout and come back to the first roundabout  and start from there ‘This is the way - drive ye in it'. That takes faith in  our google maps program. Practice sitting with God and he will direct your path and grow your faith and renew your mind - and truth and love will run your life, not chaos and uncertainty.

Surely it's not I Lord?!

PREPARING FOR THE PASSOVER  After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead Caiaphas the High Priest unintentionally prophesied that Jesus' death would not be for Israel only, but for all the children of God scattered around the world, and from that time on the Jewish leaders began plotting the death of Jesus. The Bible says that Jesus then stopped his public ministry and left Bethany, near Jerusalem, and went to the edge of the desert, to the village of Ephraim, and stayed there for a while with his disciples before returning to Bethany. Reading on now in the next chapter of the Gospel of John. John 12:1 As the Passover approached, many people came to Jerusalem early for the cleansing rituals, and in the Temple they whispered, “Will Jesus come?” And hearing this the chief priests and Pharisees warned everyone to report him so they could arrest him. Six days before Passover Jesus arrived in Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom he had raised from the dead. A dinner was held in Jesus' honour and while Lazarus reclined with Jesus Martha served, and Mary came and poured expensive perfume on Jesus' feet, wiping them with her hair, with the fragrant aroma filling the house.  Judas Iscariot objected to Mary doing this, pretending to care for the poor, though he often stole from the disciples' funds, and Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She's preparing me for burial. The poor you will always have with you, but not me.” Crowds gathered, wanting to see both Jesus and Lazarus, while the chief priests even plotted to kill Lazarus, since many were believing in Jesus because of him. The next day, news of Jesus' arrival spread, and as Jesus entered Jerusalem for the Passover week the whole city was stirred. People in the crowd were saying “It's Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee, and the large crowd came out to meet him waving palm branches and shouting, “Hosannah. blessed is the King of Israel!”  Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a young donkey, fulfilling the prophecy from Zechariah: “Don't be afraid, people of Israel. Your King comes, riding on a donkey's colt.” But the disciples only understood this later, after Jesus was risen in glory.  Jesus then went into the Temple into the court of the gentiles and drove out the Temple money changers, angrily overturning their tables while they were selling doves at exorbitant prices to the visiting Jewish pilgrims. He said, “The Scriptures say, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,' but you've turned it into a den of thieves!” And the blind and the crippled came to him in the Temple, and he healed them, but when the chief priests and religious leaders saw the miracles and heard children shouting, “God bless the Son of David!” they were angry. “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked Jesus. “Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven't you read the Scriptures? ‘Even children and infants will give praise.' Those who had witnessed the raising of Lazarus spread the word, which drew even more people, and the Pharisees were getting desperate and said, “We've lost, everyone's following him!” Some Greeks who had come for Passover asked Philip if they could meet Jesus and Jesus responded, “The time has come for me to be glorified. Like a grain of wheat, I must fall into the ground and die in order to produce a harvest of new life in the earth. Those who cling to life will lose it; those who give it up for my sake will gain eternal life, and anyone who wants to follow me must go where I go, and the Father will honour them.” Jesus prayed, “Father, glorify your name,” and a voice from heaven replied, “I have, and I will again.” Some thought it was thunder; others said an angel spoke. But Jesus told them, “The voice was for your sake, and now is the time for a time of crisis that will test and assess the world. When I'm lifted up, I'll draw everyone to me,” referring to his death.  The crowd was confused. “Isn't the Messiah supposed to live forever?” Jesus answered, “Walk in the light while you have it. Then you will become children of light.” After saying this, he left and stayed out of sight for a short time, and despite all his miracles, many still didn't believe. But Isaiah had prophesied this, saying their eyes and hearts would be hardened so they wouldn't turn and be healed. Yet some leaders did believe, but kept silent, fearing the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue because they valued human praise more than` God's. Then Jesus came back to speak once again to the crowd and cried out, “If you trust me, you're trusting God who sent me. I've come as light into the darkness. I didn't come to judge the world but to save it. But those who reject me and my words will be judged by the truth I've spoken. These are not my own words—they're from the Father, who gives eternal life. And I say exactly what he tells me to say.” Reading on into the next chapter of John – Chapter 13:1 On the evening of the Passover supper, Jesus knew his time on earth was ending and he would soon return to the Father, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot to betray him during the supper. Jesus, fully aware of his own divine origin and destiny, showed his deep love for his disciples by getting up from the table, removing his robe, wrapping a towel around himself, and beginning to wash their feet. When he reached Peter, Peter protested, “Lord, you shouldn't be washing my feet! Jesus said, “You don't understand now, but you will later.” Peter insisted, “Never! “Jesus replied, “If I don't wash you, you can't share life with me.”  Then wash my hands and head too!” Peter said. Jesus told him, “A person who has bathed only needs their feet washed to be fully clean. And you are clean—though not all of you,” referring to Judas who would betray him. After washing their feet, Jesus put on his robe and asked, “Do you understand what I've done? You call me ‘Lord' and ‘Teacher'—and rightly so. And if I, your Lord, have washed your feet, you should wash one another's. I've just given you an example of what serving means —you know that I have served you so serve one another, and you'll be blessed. “I'm not speaking to all of you; I know whom I've chosen. But the Scripture must be fulfilled: ‘The one who shares my bread will betray me.' I'm telling you now so when it happens, you'll believe. Anyone who welcomes my messenger welcomes me—and the One who sent me.” Deeply troubled, Jesus said, “One of you will betray me.” The disciples were all stunned, and each one said to him ‘Is it I Lord, except for John who leaned in and asked, “Lord, who is it? ” Jesus answered, “It's the one I give this piece of bread to.” Then he dipped it and gave it to Judas Iscariot. As soon as Judas ate it, Satan entered him. Jesus said to Judas, “Hurry—go and do what you must do.”  The others didn't understand—some thought Jesus was sending Judas out to buy food or give money to the poor. Judas left quickly, stepping into the night. Once he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified, and God will be glorified in him. Dear children, I'll be with you only a little longer. You'll look for me, but you can't come where I'm going. “So I give you a new command: love one another as I have loved you. Your love for each other will show the world that you are my disciples.” Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied, “You can't follow me now—but you will later. “But why not now?” Peter asked. “I'm ready to die for you!” Jesus answered, “Die for me? Before the rooster crows tomorrow, you'll deny three times that you even know me.” The Last Supper was the last time Jesus would gather with all of his disciples in one place and teach them and model to them the way of serving and loving one another. When he broke the bread and drank the cup with him he said ‘do this in remembrance of me'. He was telling them of his expectation of how they would live for him with loyalty and unity and sacrificial love for one another and for the world. But he also told them the reality that in the hours to come one of them would betray him and one of them would deny him and that all of them would scatter and desert him when he surrendered himself to those who would take him and kill him. The disciples were incredulous to all of this, still not understanding the meaning of the things Jesus did and said, and this was what Jesus had expected. But the actions and words he expressed that night were immortalised, and would be lived out, serving as a remembrance for his disciples and for all of humanity who would believe. Heaven would soon bestow faith and the grace upon the earth through the Holy Spirit, and the events of that evening would encourage and inspire and challenge every soul that hears this story. The man Judas allowed darkness to take over his being because of his wilful anger and resentment because of his lost hopes to bring about his idea of justice. He regretted what he did immediately after his treachery.  Judas was unable to surrender the demand of his self-centred justice that drove his life. Instead of letting Jesus die for him and give him a new life he took his own life in his despair. Nevertheless, Jesus still died for him and said to his Father on the cross ‘forgive them Father they know not what they do.' Not one of them knew what they were doing. Perhaps Mary his mother understood because it was the sword that continually pierced her heart, which was prophesied to her by Simeon when Jesus was dedicated as a baby. The man Peter denied him just as Jesus predicted but his sin was not angry or resentful but a fear of being associated with the shame of what he saw as the failure of Jesus' mission. He lived to receive the forgiveness and repentance and faith in the totally committed love of Jesus for him. He received the commission to live in partnership with Jesus as a witness of his resurrection.  When we can believe in the totally committed love of Jesus for us and we can accept our imperfect selves as being loved with so much compassion, we can then allow that love and compassion to flow out from us into the imperfect lives of the people in our personal world. We, like Peter receive that commission to be in partnership with Jesus in reconciling people to God for forgiveness and receiving the faith and the grace to be transformed into his likeness as a New Creation. Amen

**Thank you for supporting this ministry, I lovingly refer to as "The Little Green Pasture." Click here: PayPal: http://paypal.me/JoanStahl **Please prayerfully consider becoming a ministry partner: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/joaniestahl **Contact Email: jsfieldnotes@gmail.com **Subscribe to me on Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-534183 **Subscribe to me on Bitchute: I have been having trouble with the link so just go straight to https://www.bitchute.com/ and typing "Joanie Stahls Field Notes" in the search bar. Thank you! Many of us are all familiar with the old heroes of the faith. Not only those in the Bible but those came after who stand out full of the Holy Spirit and in power. We read their inspired works they left behind. We all drink it in and realize that there is nothing like it in modern day. No one like them. What happened? We all marvel at how they could know such deep and holy, beautiful insights. We stand in awe of them and realize they knew Jesus Christ like no other generation since. I have spent my entire life reading their works and now that I am older I cannot get away with a recurring thought. What happened after they died? Were they only a special group of people who existed through the centuries who simply died out? How is it that since they all died there has been no other generation as mighty as them? Something was broken along the way and seems to be extinct. But I cannot come to terms with that as the truth. I believe in my heart that we can be as they were in this final generation. In fact in my heart I am convinced of it. They lived and died and their torches are still fiery and are being held out to us. Do you want to be a final torch bearer? Raise your hand high and say, "Here am I Lord!" Make it clear to Him in prayer that you want it. "Hold the cross high so I can see it through the flames!" ~ Joan of Arc --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joanie-stahl/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joanie-stahl/support

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B - Sunday, January 14, 2024 (EPISODE:458) Readings for Sunday, 14 January 2024 FIRST READING: 1 Sam 3:3b-10, 19 Ps 40:2+4, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10. “Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.” SECOND READING: 1 Cor 6:13c-15a, 17-20 GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (John 1:41+17b). Alleluia, alleluia! We have found the Messiah. Jesus Christ, who brings us truth and grace. GOSPEL: John 1:35-42 Image Credit- Shutterstock Licensed. Stock Vector ID: 2305332479 - Jesus teaching disciples watercolour vector illustration. Vector Formats. Vector Contributor: Evoke City. ++++ References: Fr Paul W. Kelly Image Credit- Shutterstock Licensed. Stock Vector ID: 2305332479 - Jesus teaching disciples water-colour vector illustration. Vector Formats. Vector Contributor: Evoke City. ++++++++ Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com To listen to the weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog: "Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL) Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA) "The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers. Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993). (Sydney Australia). Sung "Mass in Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org. "Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - In memory of William John Kelly (1942-2017) - Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019. “Quiet Time.” Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020. “Today I Arise” - For Trisha J Kelly. Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019. Sound Engineering and editing - P.W. Kelly. Microphones: - Shure Motiv MV5 Digital Condenser. Editing equipment: -- MixPad Multitrack Studio Recording Software v10.49 (NCH Software). NCH – WavePad Audio Editing Software. Masters Edition v 17.63 (NCH Software) Sound Processing: iZotope RX 10 Audio Editor (Izotope Inc.) [ Production - KER - 2024] May God bless and keep you. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Here am I Lord, send me" is Isaiah's response when he hears God ask, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" God is looking for a willing heart, how will we respond? If you would like prayer at any time, we would love to pray with you. Let us know at www.gatewaybaptist.com.au/prayer _______ Gateway Baptist Church meets across five locations in South-East Queensland and also online. For more than 90 years we've been a community dedicated to leading people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus. To learn more about us, visit https://gatewaybaptist.com.au or join us on Sundays at https://gatewaybaptist.online.church #WillingHeart #SendMe #Isaiah #jesus #faith #christian #church #churchonline #ElenaCiobo

Claire surrendered her life to Jesus during Covid. As the crushing weight of sin lifted off her chest she said, “Jesus, I’ll go anywhere you want, do anything you want. I’m yours!” Now four years later, she’s living in the Middle East sharing with Muslims the good news that has transformed her. Claire’s from West Michigan and she’s back in West Michigan to tell us the amazing things God is doing among Muslims and to raise further support for a new Middle Eastern country her team will be launching into this year. Claire shares about the night she desperately needed to know she was forgiven. It was the night she was transformed, and it included sharing with her mom all the ways she’d been deceiving her. Then, God broke Claire’s heart for those who’ve never heard the gospel. And from her broken heart she cried, “Here am I Lord, send me!” Next, Claire shares the stories of the young Muslim man and little Muslim boy who in this last year have both embraced Jesus because of Claire’s “Yes!” And last, if you feel like God could never love you, never forgive you because of what you’ve done, Claire gets it, and she has words of eternal hope for you!Support the show: https://give.moodyradio.org/fall-share?v=def&appeal=MRWM&_gl=1%2a142i9we%2a_ga%2aNTE4MTE5MmUtY2U1Yy00YmQ3LWU4MmUtNjEwYTQ5YzAyODRj%2a_ga_4WH1937046%2aMTY5NTExODEwMS4yOTkuMC4xNjk1MTE4MTAxLjYwLjAuMA..&_ga=2.197426156.215784306.1695059984-1182841406.166859587See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who am I Lord? Who are you? Why am I here? John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/venessa-w/support

The Good, the Bad, and the UglySeries: Ezra & Nehemiah: Renewal & Rebuilding Amidst the Ruins Speaker: Rev. George SinclairMessiah DowntownDate: 25th June 2023Passage: Nehemiah 13:1-31------------------- If you are more biblical than the Bible, you are not biblical. (1-3)If you are less biblical than the Bible, you are not biblical (4-22)Be very careful of saying about a biblical narrative, "Go and do likewise." (Matt 27:5)There is only one true hero in the Bible, someone who is unfailingly courageous, wise and good. His name is Jesus.A wiser question to ask as you read a biblical narrative: "Is it I Lord?" (Matt 26:20-22)No one has a right to God's presence and love.No one is so good that they do not need God's mercy and grace, and no one is so bad that they will not freely and lavishly receive God's mercy and grace when they humbly call out to Him.The good news of the person and work of Jesus is that it turns your heart from "Remember me Lord!" to "My Lord and Saviour remembers me!"

It's Friday, April 28th, A.D. 2023. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. By Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com) Russia "weaponizing religion" and persecuting churches in Ukraine A new report by the Institute for the Study of War claims that Russian forces are persecuting and repressing the church in areas under their control. The report states that “Russia continues to weaponize religion. … Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian soldiers or occupation authorities, have reportedly committed at least 76 acts of religious persecution in Ukraine.” Russian forces have closed down or taken over 76 places of worship, looted, desecrated or destroyed 13, and have killed or seized 29 religious leaders in occupied Ukraine. Researchers describe the religious repression as “part of a deliberate campaign to systematically eradicate ‘undesirable religious organizations in Ukraine and promote the Patriarch of the Russian Church.” Walter Reed Hospital cancelled Catholic pastoral care Officials with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center have not explained their controversial decision to end a longstanding contract for Catholic pastoral care services at the beginning of Holy Week, reports Baptist News. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese for Military Services strongly criticized the nation's most well-known military hospital for issuing a “cease and desist order” to Holy Name College, a community of Franciscan Catholic priests and brothers who have provided pastoral care to Catholic service members and veterans at Walter Reed for two decades. Oddly enough, the U.S. military has awarded the new contract for Catholic pastoral care to a for-profit, secular company that the archdiocese believes cannot provide adequate care. Archbishop Timothy Broglio said the unnamed firm awarded the contract “is incapable of providing priestly care. It's like hiring a brain surgeon who didn't go to med school.” Whatever the origin and reasoning for the change — Walter Reed officials have been silent. Republican Congressmen put the blame on President Joe Biden who is, ironically, a Catholic. Was Tucker Carlson fired because he urged prayer for America? Despite the fact that “Tucker Carlson Tonight” was the highest-rated show in all cable news with an average of 3.39 million viewers, Fox News fired him recently. Some have wondered whether it was, in any way, related to a powerful extemporaneous speech that he gave to the Heritage Foundation on Friday night, April 21st, shortly after his last show, reports The Washington Stand. The 28-minute speech, available on YouTube, has already been viewed by 3.9 million people. Carlson addressed the transgender movement. CARLSON: “If you have people who are saying, ‘I have an idea. Let's castrate the next generation. Let's sexually mutilate children.' I'm sorry. That's not a political debate. What? That has nothing to do with politics. What's the outcome we're desiring here? An androgynous population? Is that really … Are were arguing for that? I don't think anyone could defend that as a positive outcome. But the weight of the government, and a lot of corporate interests, are behind that. Well, what is that? Well, it's irrational.” He talked about the modern-day abortion movement. CARLSON: “If you're telling me that abortion is a positive good, what are you saying? Well, you're arguing for child sacrifice, obviously. But when the Treasury Secretary stands up and says, ‘You know what you can do to help the economy? Get an abortion!' That's like an Aztec principle actually.” “What's the point of child sacrifice? Well, there's no policy goal entwined with that. No, that's a theological phenomenon. And that's kind of the point I'm making. None of this makes sense in conventional political terms.” Carlson called out the motivating factor of today's federal government. CARLSON: “When the federal government decides that the goal is to destroy things -- destruction for its own sake. ‘Hey, let's tear it down,” what you're watching is not a political movement. It's evil!” The former Fox News Host concluded his speech by advocating for daily prayer for America. CARLSON: “Maybe we should all take just like 10 minutes a day to say a prayer about it. (applause) I'm serious, like, why not? And I'm saying that to you, not as some kind of evangelist. I'm literally saying that to you as an Episcopalian, the Samaritans of our time. I'm coming to you from the most humble and lowly theological position you can. And even I have concluded it might be worth taking just 10 minutes out of your busy schedule to say a prayer for the future. And I hope you will.” Proverbs 14:34 says, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.” Ron Hamilton, known as “Patch the Pirate,” has died And finally, Ron Hamilton, best known as the character, “Patch the Pirate,” in the world of Christian music for children, died on April 19th. Incredibly prolific, he wrote and sang 900 songs as part of a series of character-building, comical, and musical recordings for children produced by Majesty Music. The “Patch the Pirate” albums have sold over two million copies, and the adventures are featured on over 600 Christian radio stations. To date, over a million streams of Patch are reported every month. To the glory of God, countless children have come to know Christ through “Patch the Pirate.” Listen to a portion of one song inspired by Isaiah 6:8. “Lord, I give my life to You. Take control each day. I will follow anywhere. Here or far away. (chorus with kids) “Here am I Lord, send me. Here am I Lord, send me. I will serve You faithfully. Here am I Lord, send me.” After graduating from Bob Jones University, an ophthalmologist discovered melanoma cancer in Ron Hamilton's left eye which required surgical removal.  He opted to wear a leather eye patch permanently. This earned him the title “Patch the Pirate” from children everywhere. This seeming tragedy became the greatest ministry blessing of Ron and his wife Shelly's lives. Close And that's The Worldview on this Friday, April 28th  in the year of our Lord 2023. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Daily Devotional John 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." Pastor Guy Weatherly Reflection: A few years ago, I purchased a pre-owned car that was engineered to respond to verbal commands. After it was synced in, you were supposed to be able to tell the car to do something and it would acknowledge and do it. I was so excited when I took it out for the first time. It was on a hot Florida day when the heat was radiating from the scorching pavement. I leaned over and said, "Turn the climate to 71 degrees." It spoke back, "Now turning the climate to 81 degrees." I spoke louder, "Turn the climate to 71 degrees." It responded again, this time saying, "Now turning the climate to 84 degrees." This time I bent over the dash board and in a loud voice shouted, "TURN THE CLIMATE TO 71 DEGREES!" Then it said, "This system is not programmed for temperatures above 84 degrees." It was at that moment I heard God speak, "Now you know what I feel like when I am talking to you." Busted. When we decide to follow Jesus, the Holy Spirit "syncs" us in. We can hear His voice when we are lost, we can hear His voice when we are hurting, we can hear His voice when we say "Here am I Lord, send me." All that He requires from us is to simply listen. Listening is a simple thing but it is so hard to do in our noisy world when we are thinking about other things and listening to other voices. It may require us to do impossible things like turn off the tv and push back the distractions enough so we can hear Him!  This 40 day season of Lent is an opportunity to listen for His voice - not only for ourselves but for our Church. " My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." John 10:27 .  https://www.findnewhope.com  Our staff and leadership employ what's called the “S.O.A.P. Method”. It stands for Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer. Each day, we read one or two chapters of Scripture and focus on one particular verse. We make some observations about how that verse touches us, discern how it applies to our lives, and offer a prayer related to what we have read. - Rev. Dr. Vicki Harrison -- Donate via PayPal to support the podcasts and the Technical Arts Ministry of New Hope! https://goo.gl/o2a9oU Subscribe at: http://www.findnewhope.com/soap (813) 689-4161 keywords: devotional, bible study

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark “Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside asking for you.” But he said to them in reply, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” In today's Gospel, the mother and brothers of Jesus arrive where he his preaching and send word through the crowd to him that they are there. Jesus' reply seems harsh to his family. Yet, what he says does not exclude them but rather embraces them within the family of those who do the will of God. Saint Paul quotes the psalmist in the first reading: “First he says, Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in.” Referring then to Jesus, Paul says: “Behold, I come to do your will. He takes away the first to establish the second. By this ‘will,' we have been consecrated through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.” God, help me understand your will and through that understanding, a desire to do it. Grant me the grace today to see you in the faces of people I meet and in all of the day's decisions. With the Morning Offering, I pray: “O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world.” From today's Psalm: “Here am I Lord; I come to do your will. Your justice I kept not hid within my heart; your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of; I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth in the vast assembly.” Stay with me, Lord. Saint Francis de Sales, pray for us! Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lectiodiv/videos Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/lectio-divina-daily-reflections/id1637258440 Web: https://lectiodiv.wordpress.com Support this podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=85589341 --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lectio-divina-daily/support

TEACH ME YOUR PATHS, I LORD . --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/frvincssp/message

In this podcast I share my story of why I know Jesus's return is imminent.  What would you do if you knew He was coming soon.  We are the last generation before this great prophecy will unfold.  We see the signs of the preparation of His return all around us. What are you doing to help prepare the way for our King to come?  What is your body of believers doing?  God's favor can be on your life.  You can live a life of great adventure for Jesus if you partner with Him and hear His voice and obey. Here am I Lord, send me!

“Lord, what would you have me to do?” This question has marked the lives of every man and woman who has made a difference for Christ. It was the same question Samuel asked when he said, “Speak, Lord for thy servant heareth.” It was the same thing that Isaiah meant when He said, “Here am I Lord, send me.” And it was the same question the Apostle Paul asked when He first met Jesus – “Lord, what would you have me to do?” Join Pastor Michael as he highlights three principles to knowing the will of God found in Acts 9

In this podcast I share my story of why I know Jesus's return is imminent.  What would you do if you knew He was coming soon.  We are the last generation before this great prophecy will unfold.  We see the signs of the preparation of His return all around us. What are you doing to help prepare the way for our King to come?  What is your body of believers doing?  God's favor can be on your life.  You can live a life of great adventure for Jesus if you partner with Him and hear His voice and obey. Here am I Lord, send me!

0 (16s): don't let your job. your eyes on God is madly in love with you. 0 (1m 2s): Courage. Hold on. 0 (1m 7s): 1 (9m 50s): Whenever you're going through today, Join in this moment. We are here to worship Jesus. We set everything else aside. You need to lift your hands, lift your hands. You need to go on your knees, going to turn the patio of your home. Wherever you find yourself. Right now, you put Jesus first We worship you. 1 (14m 33s): Jesus. We thank you. How do we get to be here? Lift your name. Hi, 2 (14m 38s): Hallelujah. Or we are grateful, grateful for the victory. Lord, do you made a way for us finished work on Calvary makes it possible for AF for us to have access for us, to enjoy your presence, to worship you in spirit and in truth, Lord God, your life crucifixion, your death. Your resurrection makes victory possible for us and not just possible, but the outcome for our lives as we trust you and follow you, Lord God. 2 (15m 22s): So we thank you, Lord. I pray that we would connect with that and believe that Lord and walk in that truth. God, thank you for what you're doing. Lord God, as we open up your word today, and as we take communion, and as we baptize people, as we continue to pray and praise and fellowship, Lord, I just want you to be glorified. We want you to be glorified, Lord God, and a breakthrough into areas of our life. God, where we're dealing with fear or anxiety, doubts, anger, disbelief, unbelief, whatever it is, Lord God that we would allow a breakthrough in our lives. Lord God, that we would usher in a breakthrough by faith. 2 (16m 2s): As the gracious presence of the living, God will fill us and minister to us Lord. So we're where we've been holding you back. Lord, keeping you out. Lord, I pray that we would open up and allow you in Jesus name, that we would open up and allow your grace. Allow your love. Allow your goodness Lord to permeate every part of us. Lord God, to just blanket us. Lord. Thank you, Lord. You've done so much for us already and you continue to minister to us. 2 (16m 47s): You've seated. You've been seated at the right hand of God because your atoning work is complete, but you continue to minister you. You are our mediator. You are the one who makes all things possible. New life possible forgiveness possible. Grace possible. Thank you Lord. They give you thank you that you are a good priest, a good high priest. God, we worship you. You are a prophet priest and king. You are God incarnate the creator and sustainer of all things. 2 (17m 30s): You are Jehovah Gyra, our provider. You are our banner, our Lord. We surrendered submits you in all things. Lord, be glorified in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. Thank you, sir. We're in Hebrews chapter eight today. Thanks Barry. Hebrews chapter eight. Go ahead and turn. There. We'll have stuff up on the screen as well, but a Hebrews chapter eight and then we we'll be taking communion at the end and we'll be baptizing people at the end if you've never been baptized, man, if you're a, if you are a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ, it is time to get, don't do this time to go into the waters of baptism. 2 (18m 17s): And so if you want to get kind of spontaneous, when I think of spontaneous baptism, I think about spontaneous combustion and it just kind of there's something I don't know. But if you would like to get spontaneously baptized today, we've got shorts and t-shirts and all kinds of stuff available to you. If you'd like to get dunked and I promise you will not combust. You will not spontaneously combust, but Hey, the title of the message today is Jesus completed his work and he continues his work. Doesn't that feel like life like we continue. We complete something and then we have still more work to do. It feels like that's kind of our been our motto for 19 years at harvest church, we complete a project. 2 (19m 0s): Then we move on to the next project because there's always work to be done. We're going to see in Hebrews chapter eight, that Jesus actually, he completed his work, but then he continues the work. Maybe it's like us with salvation. The work of salvation is complete in us, but God's called us to continue to press on and do the work that he has called us to do called us and equipped us to do so. The finished work of redemption has taken place, but then God calls us to move forward in the work that he's called us in equipped us for. So whatever's going on in your life? God's got, he's got redemptive work for you to partner participate in. And I just invite you into that. 2 (19m 41s): It's not always easy. In fact, most of the time, it's, it's not easy at all. It's, it's a challenge. It's difficult and it comes with all kinds of hurdles, but it is so worth it when we press in and press on and allow God to do what he wants to do. So Jesus completed his work and he continues his work Hebrews chapter eight. We're going to continue to talk about the priesthood of the Lord, Jesus Christ. The priesthood. This theme continues on into about Hebrews 10, 18. So for this chapter, a next chapter and halfway through Hebrews chapter 10, and we'll be talking about the priesthood of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Remember we're talking about the priesthood because the writer of Hebrews is pointing to the finished work of the Lord, Jesus Christ, the finished work of our great high priest. 2 (20m 29s): He's reminding people who are vacillating in their faith, particularly Hebrews in the first century, Jewish people in the first century who are vacillating in their faith about the Lord, Jesus Christ. Is he really who he said he is? And maybe we do the same thing in our lives as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ. We, we question is Jesus who he claims to be. Is he really has. He really accomplished all that he claims to have accomplished? I mean, he's just Jesus really real. And so that's first century issues that the church was dealing with. And 21st century issues that the church deals with, we wrestle with the goodness of God and the finished work of God through Christ Jesus. 2 (21m 16s): We, we wrestle with these things. And so we need to continue to come back to the word of God, allowing ourselves to be filled with the spirit of God so that we see the truth of God. And we're able to apply it to our lives as we study the word of God. So Christ is our high priest. The theme will be continued through Hebrews 10, 18. We covered this a little bit last week, but we'll cover all of Hebrews chapter eight this week in verse one, it says, here's the main points. I love that. It says that here's the main point is like, okay, pay attention, right? This is the deal. Like we need to pay attention to what the writer is about to communicate. Here's the main points. We have a high priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven. 2 (22m 6s): So we have Jesus, Jesus. He completed his work and he continue his work. Number one, he is seated. What does that mean? That he is seated? Why did Jesus sit down? Well, it's kind of a recap of what we read in Hebrews chapter one, verse three, it says the sun radiates God's own glory and expresses the very character of God. And he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven, Jesus sat down after he had finished his atoning work. 2 (22m 50s): After the work of atonement was complete. He sat down and he sat down because he finished the work necessary to redeem people, to redeem human beings, to redeem you and me. So if you're worried about the redemption, the power of God to redeem you, we need, you need to understand. We need to be reminded that Jesus sits down and he sat down because his work was complete. Hebrews 10, 11, and 12 says this under the old covenant, the priest stands. Why, what we're going to see. He stands in ministers before the altar day, after day offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. 2 (23m 40s): But our high priest offered himself to God. Jesus, our high priest offered to God as a single sacrifice for sins. Good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God's right hand. He sat down because his one and only sacrifice was sufficient for all sin for all times. So if you're wondering if your sin can be covered, can be forgiven. Hebrews tells us. Absolutely. Absolutely. So stop wrestling with past sins and then get victory over present sins know that God has given his life so that we might be forgiven, but that we also might get the victory over sin. 2 (24m 29s): So whatever you're struggling with God will give you the grace to get through it and get over it. Hebrews 12 two says because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross disregarding its shame. Now he is seated at the place of honor beside God's throne. If you're wondering if God wants to forgive you, you were the joy that was set before him for the joy set before him, he endured the cross. He wanted to see us forgiven and redeemed. 2 (25m 10s): It's always been a God's. It's always been God's idea to redeem humanity. We're going to read here just a little bit about how God it took the Israelites by the hand and led them out of Egypt. There's that intimate connection that God has with his people. Even in the old covenant, there's this connection, a heart connection that God has with his people. God wants to take his people by the hand and lead them out of, for the Israelites. Egypt represented slavery and bondage for us. Egypt represents our old life. Our old experience. God wants to take us by the hand. This is the beauty of this new covenant. 2 (25m 50s): This is why the, the writer of Hebrews is so impactfully communicating this truth so that the people who are tempted to drift back into legalism and the law, people who are tempted to drift back into an old way of relating to God, they can begin to see the truth again, and God can begin to draw them by his love and by his spirit, by his grace and by his goodness to come and follow him and to trust him, he, he is seated because he has finished the work of redemption. Some of us are still trying to work at getting that thing done in our own flesh. You know, we're, we're doing all kinds of stuff in the flesh, you know, doing, trying to earn God's favor and we're trying to figure out our God has you won't figure it out. 2 (26m 39s): There's a new covenant because people couldn't figure it out. They were broken in their sin, broken in their rebellion and God took them by the hand and ushered them out. God wants to take you by the hand, take us by the hand and assure us out because of the joy awaiting him. He endured the cross disregarding its shame, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne, Hebrews eight two, there he ministers in the heavenly tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands. And so we're beginning to see a contrast here. 2 (27m 20s): So Jesus is ministering in the heavenly tabernacle. As the people traveled through the wilderness, they erected a tabernacle, a place of worship. This place that the priest would offer sacrifices and it was to be built and constructed specifically, we'll get into that more next week, but it was to be built specifically to God's design. So we're beginning to see that this contrast again, where there there's this earthly tabernacle that was used for a moment, but it's just a shadow of what was to come now, Jesus, again, declaring the superiority of his ministry. 2 (28m 2s): He's ministering from this heavenly tabernacle that has been built by God and not by human hands. We're often trying to build something of a, of a religious experience by our own hands. And we're leaving God out of it all together by just trying to do all of the right stuff. And we're not connected. We're not connected at the heart to the living. God, we're not connected in our soul to God. We're just trying to, we've got all these external things going on, but it's not stuff that God is interested in. He's interested in, in an intimacy, a connection to a, a love relationship with him. 2 (28m 43s): He, he, that's what he's interested in. He, he continues to minister to, to that end, to draw us by his spirits. He is ministering, continually ministering everything and Hebrews points to the permanence of Jesus as our high priest. And it stands in contrast to the temporal ministry of the Levitical priest to the Levitical priests would minister to for a time they would die. New priests would come in. Jesus is our eternal priest forever. He ministers can end. He continues to minister as our high priest forever. 2 (29m 25s): What does his ministry look like? It's it gets interesting to me that that Jesus, Jesus, God, in the flesh, the incarnate eternal God, the creator sustainer of all things continues to minister. He's ministering to us. Eh, he's present with us in our lives. What does his ministry look like? Hebrews 7 23 through 25 says this. There were men again, comparing the old to the new. There were many priests under the old system for death, prevented them from remaining in office. But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. 2 (30m 9s): Therefore he is able once and forever to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. It's pretty cool that God is interceding for us, that he is praying for us. I don't think we connect to that truth. Well enough to believe that God God knows us because it it's it's the indication is that if he's praying for us, he knows us so that he knows you you're you you've never been forgotten by God. You've never drifted so far that he's forgotten about you, that he, he knows you intimately in loves you intimately. 2 (30m 49s): And he's interceding for you, praying for you. God knows us. And he cares about us. There's this intimacy that, that we're believing from scripture and understanding from scripture and that he's willing to help us. He's he's we don't have to beg him to help us. A lot of our prayers come from a place of total lack of faith. We're saying, Lord, please. And we're begging God to help us when we don't even realize that it's his idea to intercede for us in the first place, into inter and to minister, to us out of his great love and connection to us, God is he knows us. 2 (31m 31s): He cares about us. He's willing to help us and he's and he's able to help. Plus, I mean, this is the, he is without he is without into his resource. And he's able to help us in the journey. It's a discipleship program for men and women in our church and really around the globe. We like to say, God knows God cares. And God is willing. And God is able. I mean, that's just the most simplistic way to talk about the intimate relationship that God desires to have with us. He knows he cares. 2 (32m 14s): He's willing. And that's where maybe we wrestle, you know, God are you really, are you wanting to help? Are you interested in helping? He's willing? And he's completely able to help. Prayer is a powerful weapon, especially, especially when Jesus is praying, especially. And we're not going to understand on this side of heaven, I don't think all of the theological implications of Jesus as praying to God, the father, let's just trust that there's power in it, but there's power in the reality that God is ministering to us. 2 (32m 54s): He's ministering to us in somebody's profound ways we pray and he's listening. That's ministry. Once you feel ministered to, and you're, you're pouring out your heart to someone and they're just listening, right? They're just listening. It's just, it's so therapeutic and spiritually so good when somebody just will listen, we cry out to the living God all of the time. And he listens because he cares. He cares about us. There's ministry happening when he touches our bodies or encourages our spirits or reconciles our relationship when he continues to forgive us and to cast our sin, as far as the east is from the west and choosing not to remember that against us any longer there's incredible ministry. 2 (33m 49s): So it wasn't one and done. I mean, in, in the sense that we were have been redeemed, the finished work of Christ happened, and that was one. But, but then he continues. He finished his work and he continues his work. He finished it and he continues it. Maybe, maybe you're here today and you kind of gave your life to the Lord at some point, but you haven't continued on in that relationship with the Lord, he's called you to a lifetime, an eternity of walking with him and trusting him. He Romans 8 31 through 34, kind of reiterate some and communicates powerfully that the truth that I've been trying to communicate, what shall we say about such wonderful things is as these, if God is for us, who can ever be against us since he did not even spare his own son, but gave him up for us all. 2 (34m 45s): Won't he also give us everything else who dares accused us, whom God has chosen for his own. No one for God himself has given us right. Standing with himself who then will condemn us. No one for Christ. Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us. And he is sitting in the place of honor at God's right hand pleading for us. Isn't that great news, right? We live under such heavy guilt and condemnation at times. And, and, and when we allow ourselves to stay there, it minimizes and diminishes the finished work of the Lord. 2 (35m 28s): Jesus Christ. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Now, if you're feeling guilty about perpetual sin, get that dealt, get that confessed, get move on from that by God's grace, be done with that by by God's grace and in Jesus name, but then allow the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to wash over you. Don't don't allow the enemy to fill you with condemnation and, and feelings of heaviness and guilt. Once it's dealt with it's still with verse three, it says, it says incense, every high priest. Again, this is a comparison to earthly priestly system and their heavenly priestly system. 2 (36m 10s): And since every high priest is required to offer gifts and sacrifices, our high priest must make an offering to Dunn. You made did he is he is that done. Hebrews seven tells us Jesus offered himself for the people's sins. That is the sacrifice. But again, there's no comparison between the two that earthly priests continue to offer sacrifices. One year after year one, after the other, Jesus offered himself once. And for all, in fact, we're going to see that Jesus wouldn't even make it in the earthly system because he was of the tribe of Judah. And he wasn't he wasn't of the Levi tribe. It says here in verse four, if he were on earth, he would not even be a priest. 2 (36m 50s): Since there are already priests who offer the gifts required by the law, they serve in a system of worship. That's only a copy, a shadow of the real one and a heaven. It's it's not even a comparison. It's not even a comparison. What Jesus has accomplished in the new covenant, in the new system compared to the old there's no, it's the old system is a copy. It's a shadow. It's, it's a placeholder pointing us to what would come in Christ and what would be fulfilled in Christ. And so for working, if we're trusting God, believing God in some kind of with some kind of human effort to keep the law by trying to do everything just right. 2 (37m 33s): We've missed it altogether. If we, if we're trying to secure righteousness by keeping the law it's it's futile it's and, and this was the problem with the old system, keeping the law didn't make anybody righteous. Nobody was able to do it. They serve in a system of worship. That is a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven for when Moses was getting ready to build the tabernacle. God gave him this warning. Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern. I've shown you here, the mountain and, and access 25. You can read the next verse 25. 2 (38m 12s): God is giving Moses kind of the blueprint for the tabernacle and everything that was going to go into it. He said, be sure that you make everything according to the pattern. I have shown you here on the mountain. We'll talk more about the Tabernacles we get into Hebrews chapter nine next week. We'll kind of unpack that some more and the symbolism of everything that's in there, but Hebrews eight, six says, but now Jesus, our high priest has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood for he is the one who mediates for us at far better covenant with God based on better promises, I can't help, but think there, there might be people in the room who are operating in a human it through human effort, trying to connect to God, kind of our broken down old way of thinking, religious kind of way of thinking. 2 (39m 16s): There's there are people who are trying to connect to God that way. And Jesus has made it Uber clear that that old system, it was a placeholder. It was never meant to be the permanent thing. But we in the church, even though we get super legalistic about things and we get hung up on things and we, we want to relate to God, maybe in a way that is historically familiar with us, but we're not in all of that. We're not connected to the living work and the living person of the Lord, Jesus Christ. 2 (39m 59s): And this is what God is calling us to Hebrews eight, six, but now Jesus, our high priest has been given a ministry that is superior to the old priesthood for he is the one who mediates a far better covenant with God based on better promises. Number three, he's our mediator. He is our mediator. He is our go between. He's our go between during the civil war, a soldier was trying to get a meeting with Abraham Lincoln. He was trying to get permission, not to be enlisted into the armed forces, due to personal circumstances with his family. 2 (40m 46s): And so he made an appointment with the president and the day that he was scheduled to go have the appointment with the president, he went to the white house and, and they, I didn't have him on record or in the schedule. And so they turned them away. And so this young man went to the park nearby and was just sitting on a bench and, and he was dejected. He was sad. He, he missed his opportunity to speak to the president. Well, this little boy came up and noticed that he was sad and, and asked him what was going on. And so the guy just poured out his heart to this, this little boy and explained to him that he was supposed to meet with the, that he needed to meet with the president to get this waiver for service in the military. 2 (41m 39s): And he was just dejected. And Sadie said, Hey, the little boy said, Hey, come follow me. It's a little boy led him up to the white house around the back door, passing by security. And everybody, everybody just kind of waving at him and just letting him through. He walks into the white house and he walks right into the oval office. And there's the precedent. So this little boy walks up to the president and the president says, well, Hey tad, how are you? What can I do for you son? And he said, Hey dad, there's this guy who needs to talk to you. 2 (42m 22s): And that's what Jesus has done for us as our mediator. He, he gets us around all of the blue tape, all our red, what does it re red tape, whatever it's called. What's blue tape. Oh, blue tape is painter's tape. I was using, I was thinking blue tape because I was over at 1 0 2 and we were moving this vault door. So it's an old bank, right? And so there's this vault door that has been, we took it off nine months ago and it's been sitting in the middle of the room for nine months because it's 3,500 pounds, 3,500 pounds. So we finally get a forklift in and I did something. 2 (43m 2s): I cut my finger and I, I, I, we had to keep moving. And so I wrapped it with blue tape and that's what I was thinking, blue tape. So anyway, blue tape is not a good bandage, by the way, I was bleeding all over the place. And so a little tad gets this man right to the precedent. Jesus gets us right to the father. He's our mediator. We make it so complicated. And we got to do all these things. But if we just connect to the mediator, follow the mediator, we get right to the father. This is the power of the gospel, the simplicity of the gospel. 2 (43m 45s): We have access to the father through the son and it's because of the finished work of Jesus on the cross. He died so that we might be connected, have relationship to and with and live eternally with the Lord. It's easy to convolute things and confuse things. And, and the enemy wants to make things very complicated for us so that we lose track and lose touch with the simplicity of what Jesus has done. 2 (44m 25s): First Timothy two five says for, there is one God and one mediator who can reconcile and humanity. The man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time. Hebrews eight seven says if the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. But when God found fault with the people he said, the day is coming, says the Lord, I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. So this new covenant pastor David music describes is a covenant of grace and not of works. 2 (45m 13s): It's a covenant marked by believing and receiving instead of by earning and deserving. I think that's the point I was trying to make earlier. It's a covenant based on believing and receiving as opposed to earning and deserving. Hebrews eight, nine says this covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors. When I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. Again, it God's initiative. He delivered the people out of their slavery at God's initiative. He's wanting to take us today by the hand and lead us out of our old life. 2 (45m 55s): Verse continues. They did not remain faithful to my covenant. So I turned my back on them says the Lord, it sounds harsh. But a covenant normally involves the full cooperation of both parties. If one party defaults, the covenant becomes invalid. So this is virtually what happened to the old covenant. The Israelites did not continue in the covenant, which means that they broke away from its conditions. And when God says, I turn my back on, not on them, it's not to be understood as an arbitrary act of rejection or disinterest, but is as in the end inevitable consequence of his people turning their backs on the covenant that he made for their benefit and blessing. 2 (46m 42s): It was a broken system. So God brings a new system, verse 10, but this new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds. So this is the covenant he made with the people of Israel. I will put my laws in their minds and I will write them on their hearts. What was the law before was on tablets of stone, external. Where is the law? Now it's internal. It's again communicating the superiority of this new covenant, the laws in our hearts. And in our minds, he's written them there. I will be their God and they will be my people and they will not need to teach their neighbors nor will they need to teach their relatives saying you should know the Lord for everyone from the least to the greatest will know me all ready. 2 (47m 29s): So God is changing the higher red, a hierarchical system where the people must rely on a priest or a scribe to explain to them the truth that God is putting that truth in their hearts so that they understand the truth of God. And now they can relate to God. One to one through the mediator, through the Lord, Jesus Christ, the finished work there they can connect with. And so it changes this old system of the law and moves it from this outward works-based system into this intimate connection with the Lord where he's putting this, this law in their hearts. 2 (48m 12s): So Jesus is our mediator. He's our high priest. He's our go between. He's our minister. And he is the one who completed the work of redemption for humanity. So he's calling us into this place and he said, and I will forgive their wickedness. And we'll never again, remember their sins. This is the covenant by which Jesus has the power to forgive sins. Never to remember them again. When God speaks of a new covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete and it's now out of date and will soon disappear. And that thing disappeared at ADC and 80 70, when the temple was destroyed, animal sacrifices ceased, it disappeared to this day when we were in Israel a couple of years ago, w our tour guide was a Jewish man in his they're talking about gathering materials to rebuild the temple. 2 (49m 10s): And he's hoping that he will be chosen to be one who goes into the temple to offer sacrifices. There they're disconnected from the reality. Choose not to believe in the reality that Jesus is the Messiah and that he finished the work and ushered in a new covenant. We need to stop striving in our flash and trust the finished work of the Lord, Jesus Christ, whatever that means to you as the Lord, where am I striving? Where am I lacking faith in that finished work? I know I'm striving when I'm really begging God for something. 2 (49m 54s): And I'm like, Lord, you gotta do this. I it's, I, I recognize that it's not prayers of faith, but it's prayers of desperation. And then I changed my prayer and say, thank you, Lord, for what you will do in this situation. Thank you, God that you're working in this situation. Thank you God that you know about this situation. Thank you, God, that you are doing something in this situation. Even if I don't see it. Thank you, Lord God, I pray that you would just give me peace as I walked through it. And then all of a sudden it just shifts everything. I'm no longer anxious, no longer angry, no longer frustrated, but I'm just trusting Jesus. 2 (50m 35s): Jesus completed his work and he continues his work. He's seated. He is ministering. He is our mediator. And today is family Sunday for Sunday of the month, we take communion. And so I'm going to invite Jean up. She's going to lead us in communion today. And then after the service, we're going to have baptisms available. So as Jean comes forward, we're going to borrow this microphone. Come on on Jean. So alive. Give that a try there and see if that's live. 3 (51m 11s): Hello. That's a bit too much, right? Good morning. I just want to talk a little bit about community. And this morning community in is one of two sacraments that was taught by Jesus. The first was baptism, which we're doing today, which is an outward sign of one's entrance into God's family, by your faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ God's son. And the second sacrament is communion, which denotes your sanctification to be sanctified is to be consecrated. The bow of the dictionary says to be dedicated, to be made holy. So this is a holy feast, a sacrament. 3 (51m 55s): Now the word sacrament was first used by the Romans. It was called sacramentum and it was when a Roman soldier pledged to serve his nation. He made a sacrament and we do the same thing. We pledge our allegiance to Jesus and to the gospel and to God's covenant promise, which we learned about this morning to us. So it's a serious remembrance that Jesus initiated at the last supper with his disciples before his death. When after breaking the bread, he said, this is my body broken. Feel, do this in remembrance of me. And in the same way after supper, he took the cup saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me. 3 (52m 38s): So the last supper was a celebration of the Passover, which was a joyous remembrance of the saving of the lives of the Israelites. When the death angel passed over the land of Egypt, killing all the first born. So our death has also been passed over for a born into an eternal life. And this is the new covenant which Jesus made and which we celebrate each month. So we are also warned also not to take this feast unworthily, but to examine ourselves less, we participate and become sick. One Corinthians chapter 11. So there are five images to communion. 3 (53m 19s): The first is Thanksgiving to the father. And then that first century, right up and towards the end of the middle ages, which is around the 15 hundreds, communion was a joyful celebration. It wasn't the solemn thing that it became after that. Okay. Where are we? So we actually gave grateful things for the life that Jesus laid down to become the first fruits of God's family of which we are apart. The second is that we commemorate Christ as we remember just who he is and what he achieved through his death and resurrection, that he is the Lord that he never leaves nor forsakes us. That we are cleansed from all of our sins and our shortcomings. 3 (54m 4s): The third is that we sacrifice ourselves, which is our reasonable act of service. According to Paul in Romans chapter 12, we are made holy we've been cleansed for a purpose, fourthly that we love one another in acts 2 42 that says he steadfastly devoted themselves constantly to the instruction and fellowship of the apostles to the Lord's supper and prayer. We need to be participators, enjoy togetherness and care for one another. Lastly, this celebration is a foretaste of things to come. When we celebrate in heaven, the wedding feast of the lamb. When we, as Christ bride join in union with him, face-to-face forever. 3 (54m 49s): So before I invite you to take the elements and share the celebration with family, with friends or even somebody you don't yet know, I'd like to share a poem that the Lord gave me about communion. We gather here together to remember what took place to save mankind from death and hell has got offered us, his grace, his precious son, the holy Christ was part of God. You see? So it was also God, the father's pain that day at Calvary together, they designed and made this universe for man, but evil reared, its ugly head fouling up the plan. 3 (55m 29s): The father, God though sat and devised another way, chose Abraham to form a race known as the Jews today. Alas, the sinful nature kept its iron grip on man. And God revealed through profits that he had a better plan. They prophesied a Savior's birth to be in Bethlehem. Your shoer made his entrance son of God and son of man through the years that followed, he proved that he was God with teachings and miracles. No one else had done before and then embraced his destiny to Calvary. He came battered, bleeding, naked. He bore the awful shame. 3 (56m 10s): He died an agonizing death to appease the holy God, the punishment that we deserve. He took upon himself. The veil in the holy place, separated man from God was ripped from top to bottom, giving access to the Lord Jesus, death and resurrection made a pathway. We can tread and enter into life with him a life that has no end. So as we take this bread and cup with truly grateful hearts, let's stop. Be still and ponder the cost until I Lord and take this life. He's given us to focus on what's true to love and serve our precious Lord today and all life through. 3 (56m 53s): This is a celebration of the greatest sacrifice. The glorious son of God, most high laying down his life. Let's take the bread. As we just remember our laws, body broken for us And to compete. I holy feast, we, we take this a little bit of juice, but you know, it's it represents such a huge thing about it. Jesus Christ cleanses you from all your sin. 3 (57m 37s): As Steve mentioned this morning, God bless you all. 2 (57m 56s): Thank you gene. Thank you, Lord. Let's invite the worship team forward and this praise they come forward. And Lord, thank you for communion for the opportunity to be reminded where to take communion as often as we remember. So Lord, we thank you that we're reminded today of your, your great goodness, your great grace. We love you. God help us never to take it lightly, but see it as an opportunity. This act of worship taking communion Lord, that we would see that as an opportunity to refresh ourselves in you receive fresh grace, God, to recommit our lives to you. 2 (58m 55s): If you're here today and you've never accepted the grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ, it's really a simple, yet profound and powerful thing that God calls us to. He calls us to recognize our sinfulness are all of our mistakes and failures recognize that we have missed the mark fallen short of God's glorious standard and that we need his forgiveness and his grace. The Bible says that if we confess our sin, he is faithful. 2 (59m 37s): And just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So if you're here today and you need the grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ for your sin, if you need forgiveness, go and ask the Lord, ask the Lord for forgiveness, For his love and for his grace. And as you experience that forgiveness and his love and his grace, you also experience the adoption of God. You will be adopted into the family of God and you'll be no longer outside of the family, but you will be a child of God, a son or a daughter. 2 (1h 0m 19s): And then I encourage you. If you've made that decision, I would encourage you to get baptized today. Again, we will have shorts and t-shirts available in towels. And so that will be on that back patio right after service. And so Lord, we just pray God that you would just continue the good work Lord. Thank you for your grace. Thank you, Lord. I feel compelled if you are here today and you've given your life to Jesus, but you've never been baptized make today your day. Thank you for your grace. Jesus. Amen. Let's worship 1 (1h 5m 47s): Thank you, Jesus. That we get to praise your name. We lift your name. Hi, thank you for your presence in Jesus name, we pray. Amen. If you'd like prayer this morning, we have a prayer team, so you can make your way forward. If you'd like to get baptized, we have an info team out front, so you can make your way up there and sign up for that for today. Have a wonderful day.

Episode Summary:Phunware COO Randall Crowder joins us to talk about Phunware $PHUN Enables Politics.Phunware created Donald Trump's 2020 Reelection campaign app and has a strategic advantage in the political sphere.FED Talk$RGP ,$PRTS,$CAR, $PHUNGuests:12:10 pm ET Randall Crowder and Ryan Costello12:30 pm ET $RGP Resources Connection CEO, Kate Duchene12:45 pm ET $PRTS Carparts.com AMA with COO David Meniane and CEO Lev Peker1:00 pm ET Jesse Kaylor https://www.elitetradinglive.com/Hosts:Spencer IsraelTwitter: https://twitter.com/sjisraelAaaron BryTwitter: https://twitter.com/aaronbry5Subscribe to all Benzinga Podcasts hereClick here for BENZINGA TRADING SCHOOL Get 20% off Benzinga PRO here Become a BENZINGA AFFILIATE and earn 30% on new subscriptionsDisclaimer: All of the information, material, and/or content contained in this program is for informational purposes only. Investing in stocks, options, and futures is risky and not suitable for all investors. Please consult your own independent financial adviser before making any investment decisions.Unedited Transcript Welcome to Benzinger live I'm Spencer. That's a, B a K a Aaron Bree, AKA, the man who's long, every single meme stock in the world. Uh, we got a jam packed show today. We got like five guests on today's show. I think it's, it's going to be right at the top of 12, 10. Uh, we're going to have Randall Crowder.Who's the COO of Phunware. Uh, everyone's been talking about this stock, ticker P H U N. We've had Randall on a couple of times, so excited to get Randall back on the show and Ryan Costella will be joining us as well. Um, and on the board from the board of directors. Yep. And like you said, I mean, we just have a jam packed show at 1230.We have Kate Duchenne joining us from resources connection and at 1245, we've got kind of a special treat for our viewers in AMA ask me anything with car parts.com, COO David and CEO Lev peaker. Um, and so Spencer. Yeah, we'll be doing some trading with, uh, even trading with Jessie or we're just going to talking stocks.Yes. The answer to that question. Yes. But let's start the show.all right. AB let's get things started with a news update quickly, one through the headlines and we'll get to, I see you on the chat. I see you. We know why you're here. We'll get to why you're here in a second, but first real quick, let's just rip through some headlines go. Yeah. So we, of course, we're in the middle of earning season.We had more earnings, uh, last night, this Zillow reported Spencer and it was a big miss for the company. Um, so revenue came in at 1.7, 4 billion versus 2 billion estimate. Um, and Zillow, you know, gave some interesting guidance on their home buying business, essentially saying they are closing that vertical the business, and they are cutting 25% of the company's workforce.So not good news on Zillow. We've got the chart up on the screen. Um, what does that look like? It's trading down, uh, yeah, 20%. This is the ultimate like wall street bets thing. I feel like, because like y'all know that the housing market's been on fire and Zillow managed to lose money in the hottest housing market in what, 15 years, 14 years.Uh, so. Hey, that's like the ultimate waspy a thing I feel like. Yeah. And the company essentially said that the, um, uncertainty of housing prices just poses too much volatility on the company's balance sheet right now. So that's kind of why they're closing their home buying business or so they say, um, so yeah, not a great day for Zillow.Let us know in the chat. Hopefully you weren't long the company into earnings. Let us know if you're buying the dip. I know I'm certainly not because I mean, just not good news coming out of Zillow. Um, of course the open door competitor, uh, we'll check in on open. See what opens doing skip ahead. And we'll, we'll check in on bed bath and beyond in a second.Cause that's the other big news. Ah, Ooh. It's okay. It's up 2%. Oh, okay. Opens fairing a little bit better than Zillow. Zillow's new. So bed bath and beyond just skyrocketed yesterday after noon. Um, and of course, you know, the other meme stocks followed. So we had AMC GameStop bed bath and beyond, um, all running yesterday.So of course bed, bath and beyond still has a bunch of short interest. A bunch of short sellers just got crushed yesterday. Um, this looks like the stocks trading up nearly 20% right now. So, uh, you know, good, good day for, but look at the internet chart. Look at the pre-market chart is well off its highs. I mean, uh, you know, hopefully that's just people taking profits.Um, we'll definitely be watching these stocks throughout the rest of the day bed bath and beyond AMC GameStop. Um, Spencer ADP, the payroll company reported 571,000 new jobs added in October that crushes the Dow Jones estimate of 395,000. You don't care about jobs.They spin. No, I don't care about that number. I do care about jobs. I don't care about that number. All right. That was good. Good spin man. News item on my day for the docket today was lift, lift reported yesterday and reported, uh, in contrast to Zillow, very strong earnings and lifts, cited an increase in demand for rides, um, in the previous quarter.So we see Lyft trading up today, Uber up as well, trading with lifts. So, um, you know, good day for the ride share companies. So yeah, yeah, no, not really. Not really. Uh, I haven't taken a Lyft since before COVID I don't know if Uber, if you've taken a Lyft, uh, oh, that's a lie. I have, I take that back. If you've taken a Lyft or Uber since COVID drop a one in the chat, if you have not dropped it to.Uh, but, uh, that was such a great comment you made about, I don't care my job. That was some great spit. I would, I would expect that comment from one of our next guest who is a, uh, a former us house representative. He's on the board of directors, uh, at Phunware. Uh, we'll bring Ryan Castelle on, along with Randall Crowder, who you all know the CEO of.Off of Phunware. Let's get them both on here right now. Cause that was some that was some Washington DC level spin that AB just did. So congratulations, Ryan. There he is. Randall. There is good afternoon guys. How are we doing today? Doing well. How about just that? Congrats on the Barron's or capital deal.Hey, we have new bosses. You got to throw some love your way. Yeah, we, we, we sold our soul and other things here at Benzinga. Uh, so here's what we're going. This is going to be a bit of a, a new thing for us because Amy and I, we got some questions, but you you've heard us ask Randall questions before, so rather than just do that again, right?Yeah. He's dodging right. Rather than do that again, we thought we would bring Ryan on as well and how we can have a little bit of a fireside chat and have Ryan and wrangle do a little back and forth. Aaron and I are going to chime in with some questions as well. Um, but we, we want to do have we thought, how can we do something different than just you get another interview with me and Randall or Amy and Randall?Uh, so Ryan, welcome to the show first off. Good to be on. Um, and I want to just, I guess, Ryan, I want to give you the floor, uh, first, and unless you sort of start things off here, the chat is, is all over this. Uh, I, I know what they want, but uh, yeah, so, so Ryan, uh, I'll open the floor to you. Why don't you start us off here and just, you know, have that.Sure. Um, you know, I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Uh, when I graduated law school, I got very into the political process, ran for local office, ran for county office. During that time, I was also, uh, an attorney, advising companies. A lot of companies in the startup phase, uh, got elected to Congress, served the last two years of the Obama administration, the first two years of the Trump administration.And then since 2019, I've been a consultant for, uh, some associations and some other, uh, companies down here in Washington, DC, and even on the private side, uh, advising some startup companies. And so, um, when I got to learn about, uh, Phunware and, and had some discussions with Randall early on, uh, I think Randall was able to pick up that I was very excited about what Phunware does on a day-to-day basis.And I think, and I can relate this back, frankly, to when I served in Congress on the, um, on the subcommittee, on digital commerce and on the technology subcommittee, you know, you need to know where the pockets. And you need to prepare for that and you need to go get it and you need, frankly, create a business model around that.And I think we'll probably talk a little bit about, uh, you know, the role of privacy and technology policy, as well as how you can, I think ethically, um, provide a, provide a solution, um, to owning your data and, and treating it as the commodity that it is, but monetizing it your own self and not allowing, you know, certain big players to do it over and over and over.And I think we'll probably talk a lot about that in a little bit, but what specifically drew you to Phunware? Cause you know, you talked about skating to where the puck is going. There are a lot of cool futuristic companies out there, right? So w what, what was it specifically about Phunware? So you must answer to cause like I hounded him and it's like, you know, I, I figured he probably wouldn't even return my call, so this is good.So there's three or four things. First, let me just go through like you, they have good people, like they have strong management. Um, Alan is a visionary, um, and Randall is a phenomenal operator. So, you know, that's number one, I think number two, uh, when you look at what the ethos of the company is, is it is not looking to monetize you.It's looking to allow you to monetize yourself. Um, and I think philosophically that, that very much attracted me, then there's two main, the two main points in terms of their business model. Number one. Um, and again, I, I served in local government, uh, have been involved in more political campaigns that I, that I can share while I can share.Um, and, and I served on the board of a, of a local hospital. And if you look at the verticals that Phunware does, um, uh, it has a solution, um, for each one of those industries in a way that empowers, um, the operator and the individual to maximize who they are and to create value for themselves and to make their lives easier.Right. Getting, getting information to the right person the right way at the right time. Um, I think is kind of what the mantra of Phunware is. And I understood that intuitively because I've, I've been involved in every single one of those platforms before. And most particularly for me, I mean the political side I think is, is more self-evident, but on the government, on the government side, um, you know, I did a lot of public administration in my day.I mean, it is a phenomenal way to go about providing constituent service in a way that allows the constituent to learn and get answers on their own. Interacting with government, but frankly reducing the amount of, of bureaucracy that needs to be involved on a day-to-day basis. And then the final point is, is, is the, is the, um, is the fun coin fund token, uh, the role of cryptocurrency, um, you know, they are ahead of the funnel is ahead of the curve and they have very, very smart people, very smart people.And so I'm very excited to see where we go as a company. Um, and I I'll mention one final point. You know, I mentioned this to Randall the other day. I just did the, the national association of corporate directors certification process. And you learn a lot about corporate governance as part of that. Um, but one of the big things that you learn is, you know, when you're with a company that's on the move, um, you know, a lot of challenges come up and the goal is to create the right governance model and understand what they're doing operationally so that you can empower them, um, as a company to, to keep going and to keep achieving and it keeps succeeding.And so that's what they're doing and I'm proud to, you know, I'm proud to be involved. I'm excited for what the future holds, uh, Randall, if I can open it to you for, for a second here, uh, maybe, can you speak a little bit about, uh, you know, the, the, the political involvement and that's one where it has had, I don't know how much you can get you probably, I don't know how much you think about right now, but in the past.Right. And, and the involvement with, uh, uh, Trump's campaign and, and w and what else. Yeah, no, thank you. And I think Ryan teed this up so well, I mean that goal of, you know, what we kind of call contextual engagement. That's the future, you know, we've, we've ushered in a transformation in the past, going from web to mobile.Now mobile is kind of table stakes. It's what can you do with it now, if you think about just that mobile phone being a mobile computer that's location, aware that knows a whole lot about you and the world around you and politics is such an incredible vertical for that. I mean, it's actually an honorable vertical for that.I mean, you know, that is, you know, kind of underpins, you know, our society and our life. And so how do we enable politicians to better engage their constituencies, um, on the left and the right. And so, you know, going into, you know, we've, we've worked on both sides of the aisle. Um, obviously most famously, you know, we worked on the presidential election, um, for Trump, and that was a really exciting opportunity for us because an insider in the campaign, they were already going down a route towards Salesforce, actually insider in the campaign.So at time out, if you want to do this, there's only one company that can do what you're doing. Point blank at the time we were managing all of Fox's entire mobile ecosystem. I mean, you have a company that could arguably buy and build anything they want and they're outsourcing it all the fun where it's, because we were very good at this.And there's a lot of pretenders in mobile. There's a lot of people who say, oh yeah, I can build you a mobile app or I can do this. And when you start getting, you know, millions of people on it and transactions, they fail, you know, we set live streaming, concurrent records, every match of the world cup for Fox, while YouTube crashed, Google crashed, you have these game of throne moments where they crash.And so for politics, they gotta be secure and they got to work at scale. And so we got introduced in the 11th hour, uh, and ended up beating Salesforce, uh, to do, you know, Trump's, you know, mobile application. It was all about engagement. So it was not in data, what buying hat, uh, and what's cool about that is now, you know, we are building that platform for, you know, politics, both domestic and abroad, uh, and it's incredible what we have now that we can offer.So every politician should be thinking about that. If you want, you know, the Trump experience come to Fung where, and we can do that right now, um, you know, for you. Uh, and, and that's what the future of engaging people in politics is going to have to be not only just in the virtual world to build that audience, but what you can do with that and the real world, you know, whether it's rallies or events, um, or putting people on the street to kind of build, you know, a volunteer force, all of that can be done on a mobile applicant.It's not a campaign. Doesn't just, you don't press start and stop on a campaign, right. This is a 24 7 365 day type of approach. And it's not just political candidates, it's issue, advocacy organizations and associations. Um, that, that, that V that highly value, uh, this type of contextual engagement.Absolutely. So, so Ryan, you, uh, you know, as a former Congressman, you have experience, you know, communicating with constituents, um, do you think politicians need better tools to reach and engage voters in the 21st century? So the short answer is, and every politician will say this. Yes. Because you're constantly trying to improve.And, um, to the point, some of the points that Randall made. You need to find a voter where they are. That's what I would always say. Like you can't, don't try and convince a voter that you're right. Find a voter where they are and understand why they think, what they think. And, and if you can understand the why behind it, uh, by the way, there's a lot of data behind that.Um, and there's also a lot of learning that comes serving in public office. Um, when you, when you get the why to the question, um, and, and so, you know, just sort of adding to this, uh, the, the constant engagement with constituents and with voters is really the difference between winning and losing. And so you, you have to constantly be part, uh, you have to constantly engage in a learning process with your voters throughout the course of the campaign.Because if you look at the trajectory of a campaign where you start, right, and where you end up, you know, that arc, um, and how well you do during that arc understanding, uh, what people are thinking and why they're thinking it and how you can influence how they think from the perspective of informing them while your, what your positions are, um, is extremely critical and in a close race, it's the difference between winning and losing, and that's where the right type of company, the right type of engagement, um, uh, enabling engagement with voters, um, is so critical.And the data that you gather from that, by the way, that's a two-way street, right? Voters want to have engagement, um, sometimes on a daily basis with a candidate, um, and vice versa, obviously a candidate does, can you ask the question on that? Because obviously everybody's talking about. What Trump's trying to do today.And, you know, a lot of this kind of comes from this, you know, fear or concern that the platforms we have are not good enough either. A there is, you know, algorithms at work that are kind of preventing your message from getting out. So you're, you're putting out all this great content and you're thinking in the back of your mind is my constituents even getting it, you know, are we just playing for the 10% undecided in the middle?Like, and oh, by the way, how much of this content is, you know, derived from, you know, some Russian operation, you know, do politicians struggle with that today? Wondering, you know, is Facebook good enough? Is Twitter good enough? Oh, for sure. Um, and absolutely. I mean, to try and, um, to th there's not a, there's not confidence that if you get full participation on, on social media platforms or that, that the available, um, you know, penumbra of information out there is, is equally available to everyone.And I think the objective frankly, is to try and push through those algorithms, right? Like not have that, um, create a filter to what you are exposed to, to what you can learn from and vice versa. You don't want your voice to be filtered back to an elected official or back to folks, um, in some of these portals.So. And there's something, there's something to be said, right. To go straight towards, straight to voters. Right. It's the same as going straight direct to consumer. Right. It's the same idea, right. Going around the middle man, direct to the consumer direct to the voter. Um, and you've seen, uh, you know, and I'm sure Ryan, and I've seen this a lot, you know, politicians you've, you've adopted newsletters, right.From marketing. Right. You've adopted other technology are we're headed. Are we heading to a, a universe where like every single candidate could theoretically have like their own app and their own platform again, technological planet? I mean, I, I think, well, you need access to a platform. Right? Right. Um, you know, let me just let me tick.This is how important data is. Okay. And this is why having the right company, um, avail itself to enable you to, uh, empower the data that you have is so important. When you do television advertising, when you do a mail campaign, you don't even think about putting, paying to print mail and to send it out until you know who your voters are until, you know, who's going to vote.What issues matter to them, how likely they are to vote and what kind of things might get them out to vote. So you spend a lot of money. Right. Trying to get that right before you even decide to mail anything and, and successful candidates spend a heck of a lot more on data upfront before they ever put any mail in the mailbox before they do any digital ad.And so the companies that, that have expertise in that space, um, and, and who can develop, um, that data are the ones that you want to be associated with because they're the ones, they are the ones that win campaigns. Yeah. That's fair. Um, look there, there's a lot of stuff being thrown out around there right now about what Phunware may or may not be being involved in.Um, Randall, what can you say about that? And if, if you can't say anything, when will you be able to say something about that? Yeah, so I, I Lord knows. I mean, I kind of. Fun where, and Ryan talked about this before, you know, fun where, you know, we don't want to be a meme. Stock has come from the mainstay for the company and learn about what we actually do.You know, we are not a game stop or an AMC that is commercializing, you know, a bygone business model. You know, we're the future of what we're going to do with the bull. And, and politics is a, is a huge, uh, platform for that. I think what excites me the most is like Washington comments and people going, you know, we don't care what they're doing.This company has so many different things it can do from blockchain to politics, to healthcare, um, to hospitality, you know, the idea of using mobile to reach customers at a time and place when they're most likely willing to, uh, engage with a brand or an organization that is the future of how we need to think about mobile.And so, you know, for us, we're always going to be controlled by, you know, compliance to reg FD. We're always going to be controlled by, you know, certain contracts and, and what we can, and can't say with customers or partners. And so we will, we, I think we've done a pretty good job. We've endeavored to communicate as much as we can, as transparently as we can about what we're doing.We hope all the excitement in the market is getting people to kind of learn more about what we're doing. Um, you know, but what we're doing specifically in politics is building a platform. For politicians to better engage, you know, consumers. And so, you know, if you look at, you know, kind of, I can tease it just a little bit, um, you know, some of the, you know, I'll share a couple slides just from our design team, uh, that we're doing right now.Can you see that right now? Yeah, we got it. So, you know, a lot of this is all about kind of what Ryan was talking about, you know, how do you give kind of a certain customizable feel to what you're doing in politics? You know, we're doing this with hospitals, you know, hospitals have traditionally, you know, used a third-party mobile application, like my chart, if they have an epic configuration and it's not their content, it's not their brand.They're saying, Hey, I want to control my audience. And that's absolutely how everybody should be thinking about it. And so with our platform, you know, we can give people that control. So you know, who you're engaging, you know, one contents being shared and you let some of your audience kind of opt out, you know, you can also have more flexible control over your content.So, you know, how do you establish a nice rich, engaging, not just a, uh, a series of headlines and news feeds, you just kind of get lost in the mix. Um, you know, but we also, I think one of the coolest things that we had built, um, for Trump in 2020 that we didn't get to use was how do we do live events? You know, how do we do ticketing?How do we give them a fly, you know, real world experiences. And so we've built that and design that into our platform as well. Um, and just all about increasing engagement. And I think that's one thing that our platform does and Ryan. You know, we're not coming in and saying, we're going to replace everything that you use, whether you're a brand or a politician, you know, what we do is we access everything that you used and we bring it into one environment.So it's one app to rule them all. So you can still use Instagram. You can still use Twitter, but you need to have more control over your constituency and your audience. And that's what we're bringing to the table. And I think that's what everybody's so excited about. If you think about what, you know, got everybody so jacked up about what Trump is trying to do, it's disruption, it's disintermediating the middleman.And I think that's what people in their soul just do not feel comfortable with. You know, that's probably the greatest threat to our democracy is the prevention of a fair exchange of ideas. You don't necessarily have to agree with them, but by God, our system has to be in place. You know, there were, it wasn't that long ago that people of color weren't allowed to listen to politicians or engage in politics.We're creating new censorship mechanisms in a digital world that no one's paying attention to, but there's something wrong. You know, there's something, there's a glitch in the matrix. I think that's why, you know, when Trump came out and said, Hey, look, there's gotta be a better way that got everybody excited.And we've been saying that forever. And so whether it's what we're doing with mobile software or what we're doing in blockchain to not only be able to verify you know who you are, but also verify your data and have you take that control over. Controls what it's all about. And I think we have the platform to enable that and the tools to enable that we've proven it and multiple, you know, large, you know, kind of world stages with large brands like Trump, uh, like Fox.And I think, you know, we're going to, we're going to keep being a considerable player in this space. We're excited, the screenshots that you just showed us, uh, you have them like an ETA and when we might see that in the real-world standby. Standby. Okay. That's fair. Fair enough. Um, and, and I, and I also, I appreciate your, your answer, not answer about, about what you can say and, and when you can say it, um, but you know, I, I'm just, I'm looking at our chat right now and it's, it's going, it's going to preserve, um, like, like at what point do you acknowledge that they want, I mean, they, they want to know, right?They, they want to know what you're working on, who you working with at, you know, at what point can you share with them? Um, you know, everything with us is going to be for those of you that aren't familiar, you know, it's, there's a regulation fair disclosure that, you know, we have to abide by. Um, and so, you know, we, again, unless it comes out in a press release, you know, we don't really talk about it unless it comes out in the earnings.We don't really talk about it. Um, I think what people need to understand is that these kinds of transformations are not. They're not something that happens overnight. You know, Facebook didn't build Facebook overnight and Facebook didn't monetize Facebook for many years to come. Uh, and so I hope people are looking at, you know, our revenue guidance, you know, 50% growth in Q3 over a hundred percent growth in Q4.I hope they're looking at a recent acquisition. We did out there looking at the role we can play in politics, the role we can play in many other verticals. And I hope they're taking all that into consideration. And they're excited about that. You know, I don't want to just be a flash in the pan, you know, mean stock, you know, we have a very real opportunity to affect real change and usher in an entirely new paradigm for how we think about mobile, uh, in a mobile first world, that's quickly becoming mobile only.So, you know, I respect that everybody is really excited about single pieces of news. I think a lot of that is day traders. The people who have been writing me for the past week saying, thank you, you changed my life. They got in when we were below a dollar and they've been building positions in Phunware for a year or more.And so, you know, I, I hope people aren't just here for a quick flip and a day trade hope. They're realizing that, you know, we actually have a tiger by the tail. Something very considerable that could really impact the world in a positive way, uh, especially in the political vertical. Uh, and I hope that they're, you know, excited about the future.Not just anyone engagement, Ryan, what do you make of all this? You know, cause you know, you, you've known Randall for longer than, you know, there's reason period of examined here. So what do you make of all this excitement. Um, listen, it's an opportunity. Um, when you have, you know, the light shining on a company that is speaking to the very issues that I think a lot of people care about, I'll give you an example just today.You know, there's focus here in Congress on a new privacy bill, right. And the tech in the tech space, like the mission of Phunware, right? So how do you own your own data? Um, it, it it's so simple yet it hasn't happened, right. Or if it does happen, it's because a company has made the principal choice that they are going to operate in that manner.Um, and I think that the more that message gets spread, you know, the more, um, the more folks want a seat at the table and, and the more people say, you know, what, that, that company aligns with my values, that company aligns with how I want to use my phone. That company aligns with how I want to go find customers or interact with constituents or with voters.Um, so it's, it's a very exciting time to be sure. Yeah. The point about owning your own data. I think we're only now in the last couple of years, right. Grappling with our relative ignorance of the last 25 years we're at about who has our data and, and what are they doing with it? And do we care? Well, we don't, we didn't care until we cared.Right. And that, and now. Will that, right? Yeah. Um, I, I guess, you know, uh, Ryan, do you, do you expect to, you know, as a former Congressman, do you expect that we get some more, uh, how do I put this? I mean, uh, I guess, do you expect Congress this to not go away as an issue in Congress, a bipartisan issue in Congress?Uh, so it is a bi-partisan issue. I guess the question is, do we have a bipartisan solution and to your point, like five years ago, I'm not so sure that policy makers had a full grasp on what do you mean own your own data? What does that even mean? Right. And now, now I think everybody understands what that means and they understand what path we've chosen to take and how frankly that path has probably been misguided and how it's it's led to some, um, it's, it's, it's led to some unfortunate outcomes, um, and it's rewarded, it's re it's rewarded bad actors.And so the question is how do you course correct. Um, and how do you course correct in a manner that empowers the individual, right? Like, so when I go on the internet or when I choose to look something up or how I behave, will I be able to use that in a way that empowers me? And will I be able to communicate with companies, will companies be able to identify who I am in a way that gets us connected and cuts out, frankly, the, the toll booth collector.Yeah. That's yeah, that's right. Um, random Crowder. What's exciting is that that's that's, that's where fun, where it stands. It's hard to necessarily put that in a 15, second commercial, but people are starting to get it. Yeah. Randall Crowder's is COO and Ryan could steal him, was on the board of directors of Phunware.You all know that the ticker, you want to know the company and, uh, and guys, this has been great, something different. I think, uh, it was nice to get, you know, a third voice on here, like Ryan, uh, you know, sort of spice things up for us. So Randall, we appreciate, uh, the screenshots. I had not seen those before and we, we will be in touch and see how things develop and, uh, keep us informed, please.The people are, need to be kept informed of all of the comings and goings and what's happening here. So, uh, so we're looking for, we're looking forward to that and, uh, thank you both for joining us today on Benzinga live. Thank y'all. Thank you. Y'all go, honestly, y'all are doing an amazing job. You know, what y'all have done for the community of investors is incredible.And so thank you for just being a part of y'all story as well. So, you know, this is a new day that we live in and the more you can educate people the better. Uh, and so we're happy to always participate. Appreciate it. Thanks a lot, Randall. Thanks a lot, Ryan. Uh, whoever was in the chat asking for a price target, man, we don't do that.Okay. Here, I'll give you a price for I'll pull it out of the air right now. It would mean nothing, right? That's not what we're doing here. And also, even if I did have a price target, what, what value would that have to anyone while, as I said, 'cause I said, it's going to 20. W what does that mean? It means nothing, right?It doesn't mean anything. It's not, it's not the point here. Um, the point is to, to hear from the people inside the company, in the know, you know, obviously our Randall was very good at and not answering certain questions, uh, and, and dipping and dodging around certain questions. Um, you know, as he is wanting to do, frankly, uh, you know, I can ask what I want to ask and I can't make him answer in any way, shape or form.Uh, all I'll say is, um, I guess the only thing we can do is wait and see, right. Wait and see on the app. Wait and see on who they're working with, because he didn't say frankly, I mean, he didn't, he. Didn't really say he, he was, I will say I had the pleasure of speaking with Randall actually back in January, kind of when I was first starting here at Benzinga and he was one of my favorite, um, executives that I had gotten to speak to just because he was so candid.And did he show you the thing that the thing is arm thing? Oh, that was just like a month ago. I did see that, but that wasn't when I talked to him back in January, he was all healthy, still pumping iron, you know, but, uh, but my only question, I guess, that I didn't get to ask would be that if, uh, I know I didn't do a good job of telling you, but just does being associated with having done Trump's app in 2020.I mean, Randall mentioned working with both sides of the aisle. Would that make maybe members on the other side of the aisle hesitant to work with them? If there have been like linked to you should have asked, man, he should have asked, Hey, well I think I ran a Ryan back. Hey, if you liked that you can do us like the easiest solid favor in the world.Just hit the little thumbs up button on YouTube. I know it might mean nothing to you, but it really does mean something to us. So we would appreciate, I get to eat lunch. If we get to a certain amount of likes, otherwise. Yeah, that's actually true. Uh, uh, the threshold is always changing every day. And just to give you an idea of where we're at right now, uh, about 160 Spencer, I think Jason said two 50.I get to eat lunch today. So that's actually, I think that's the motivation for us to not, to not get there. Like you don't get that you want was being mean. Hopefully the chat isn't as mean as Spencer. Um, I, Spencer, we did say we have a packed show today. What do we have coming up next? We, yeah. W we're already running behind.What else is new, frankly? Uh, we have Katie's chain. I see her here backstage, uh, she's CEO of resources connection. Uh, Hey, we're going to talk jobs AB we're going to talk jobs. You love jobs. I do love jobs trying to tell them they don't like jobs over here. I like jobs where have all the workers gone.That is going to be one of my questions, uh, for Katie. She, you know what we have over here. Let's just bring her on right now. Katie, Shane, uh, here she is. Hey KJ, Shane CEO, resource connection, ticker RGP. How are we doing today, Kate? How are you guys? And thanks for having me. Thanks for, uh, coming on. Uh, w w we need to keep this show on the tracks, cause it's liable to go off the tracks at times.So we're trying, trying to, trying to keep it on the tracks. Uh, first, just tell us about, uh, resource connection and what you do, and then, and then I'll get into my actual. Great. So our operating name is RGP. And for some people that stands for really great people. We are a human capital firm, um, built with a group of knowledge workers or modern professionals.Um, we're really built to deliver professional services to the marketplace in a more modern way. And for us, that means helping our talented consultants build more of a portfolio oriented career, meaning they can decide what projects they want to work on when they want to work for whom they work and where they work.So we're a business model built for today in terms of the focus on flexibility, agility, and control for talent, where is all the talent, Kate, where did all the workers go? So it depends on what segment of the workforce you're talking about, obviously. And I think, I think the data, when you really dive into it, the data tells you that the workers that are taking a break right now, the demographic is kind of 30 to 45 year olds.And I think part of what's happened post COVID is everybody's reassessing. What's important in life. And it's not about work-life balance anymore. It's really about does work, align with what matters to you as a. As a person and as a professional. So the workers are reassessing right now. I think they're coming back, but they're going to come back in a different way.Now for our company, our demographic is a little bit older, so we haven't seen, um, the Exodus that some other companies are experiencing. Uh, but we all have to pay attention to what talent wants because it's a talent driven marketplace right now. And so, you know, the companies that think they're going to come back full steam ahead with the behaviors of the past, I think are going to lose.We have to pay attention to what talent is telling us today. Okay. I I'm with you on that. Um, so clearly, clearly the w the trends in the last year and a half has been very good for, for you and your, your business, right? You you've just, you know, reach your highest revenue figure over the last 10 years, you beat your beat, your own guidance.Um, That's all backward looking the last year and a half, right. The trends of that have resulted from COVID I've benefited you and your business. Um, but now we're co now we're talking about coming out of that now and, and, and, you know, the, the relative chaos of the last year and a half year and three quarters more normalizing.Right. So what does that mean for your business? Well, I think it's important to understand that COVID, didn't create these trends. COVID accelerated trends that we're already building in the marketplace and that are, you know, trends like talent, wanting more control, talent, wanting more flexibility, um, and the trends toward project oriented deliverables.I mean, when you, when you look back what's happening, we're about to enter, I think the fifth industrial revolution, right? And that is about bringing human and technology capability together. Um, and the pace of change is, is happening faster and faster. Um, disruption is happening in every industry.Technology allows, you know, upstarts and smaller players to challenge the behemoths in this environment. And so what's that doing to business and business leaders? It means we have to innovate faster. We have to get our groups to embrace change faster. And the kind of skills we need to pivot on different projects or change oriented transformations means the skillsets you need in an organization are constantly changing.And so this paradigm of full-time employment being the only career path for knowledge workers is gone, and I think it's gone forever. And so there was a recent article in the Harvard business review, which, you know, aligns with my thinking. I'll share that up front, which is, you know, we're finally seeing the rise of the project economy, meaning that operational change will happen based upon project teams and not necessarily full-time equivalent employees just handling the day-to-day operations at the business.And, and that was, you know, happening. Peter Drucker talked about that years and years ago, as the smartest companies will keep their core team lean and access skillsets. They need to drive innovation in their organizations. And that's really what we're seeing now, which wasn't created by COVID, but was accelerated by COVID.Right. That sounds like it's great for the business. They can keep their costs down that way. Yeah. I've yet to sell me though on how that's that great for me as the worker, other than flexibility. And I get to live in a van out, down by the river if I want to and work on my laptop, but uh, it's I also, I hear that and I, I hear.No benefits. Right. Well, okay. So let's talk about that. I mean, what I love talking about with, with you and others is that our company does offer the safety net of benefits and professional community. So it can be done. We're here to tell you that you can enjoy a gig work and a safety net and a home and a professional community and professional development, all the things that knowledge workers want, but we deliver it in a different way.And what I'd say is it, it, it's a fabulous opportunity for talent that wants more control, um, wants to be able to work on projects at some of the most beloved brands, not get involved in the politics or the hierarchy of traditional kind of employment and career growth. And, um, you can do so in a way that also protects your family protects, um, your health care needs, et cetera.And so we're really a new model for the modern age. Yeah. Um, Kate, I, I'm just curious, uh, of all the things going on in the job market, in your business at a, at a resource connection, uh, w w what is the trend right now that, that, that keeps you up.Hiring great people just having enough people for our client demand. I mean, it's interesting. Our company started about 26 years ago. I mean, we spun out of Deloitte, um, out of the big four paradigm, but we're something very different. Um, but it's always been about finding the best people who want to bring their problem solving skills to the client environment.And so the only thing that keeps me up, um, right now is making sure we attract that we become that irresistible employer for the talent. Um, you know, the most sought after talent in the future. Awesome. Katie, Shane CEO of resource connection, a pleasure to chat with you. We'll have to have you back on again, as, as the, as the market develops more and whatever trends develop more that we're, that we're maybe starting to see right, right now or changes.And we'll have to have you back on to discuss this. Cause you've, you've got a pretty unique insight from your spot in the, uh, the ecosystem. So thank you so much for joining us today. We appreciate it. Great. Thanks for having me. Uh, all right. Uh, we are back on time, everyone, if you can believe it. I know.Um, and let me see here. I see our next guests. Let's get that banner off the screen. Yeah, we can go ahead and do that. Thank you very much. Um, yeah, so coming up right now, we have car parts.com coming on for a retail investor AMA. So this is interesting if, if you've never participated in an AMA before, it's an ask me anything.So post your questions in the chat and we will go ahead and pull them on the screen. We will do that. Um, yeah. So, so without further ado, Spencer let's, let's go ahead and get to let's just bring on this CEO and the COO of car parts.com, ticker, P R T S Lev Parker, David, Minnie. And we got them here. Let's bring them on their backstage.I see them there. They are. Wait a minute. Are they on mute? Can we hear you? Hello? Looks like, wait, I think they're on a mute. Oh, no. Let's see if we can unmute them. No, I think they will have to do it on there. And can you get yeah, on the it's something on the, on your end guys here, that's moving backstage for a second and we'll be able to see when they're on a muted and um, within the, within the platform from the platform, they can do that.Uh, in the meantime, um, everyone in the chat, I, I w we have fun bowls. We have fun bears. That's what makes the market, um, and just because you sell one disagrees with you doesn't make them necessarily wrong. It doesn't mean it's not a personal attack to be. Bullish or bearish of stock. I just wanted to put that out there.Cause you guys, a lot of people fired up about Phunware right now. If you miss the phone were interviewed just for wanting to show like 20 minutes and you'll catch it. Uh, do we have David and live on mute and no, I still see them. They can't, they can't hear you guys to working on changing their speaker settings.Just a little, thank you, producer Rojas. He can't even hear us. So how would they know that we were talking to them? We wouldn't exactly write disagreements. What drives the stock market. So yeah, just like that. If you ask a question in the chat, we will bring it up on the screen provided it's appropriate and we can, you know, actually not be embarrassed and humiliated when we bring it up to them.So, um, bowls in the long-term win. Oh, in the long-term stock market. That is true. We're at all time highs. This is generally true. Uh, but of course not all stocks go up and stay up. This is why I like ETFs. All right. I think we have them back. I think we have Lev Lifepak or the CEO, David, Minnie, and the CEO of car parts.Can we get them on here? Take two, hitting the button. Um, hold on. It looks like they still cannot hear us. We're still troubleshooting this. Okay. Um, let's see. Actually it looks to me like they're frozen. Oh no, they're not frozen. I think we add them guys. Nope. All right. We're still working on that. You heard them?I heard some typing on their end, but they can't hear us, which is the problem right now. Hey man, it's alive. This is what happens on live shows. It's fun. You roll with the punches. So we'll get, we'll get Dave and then live on in a second. And then after them, we'll have Jesse Kaler from elite trading and we're just going to spend the next hour after this, just like ripping through charts.If you have a question, you might have stock drop the ticker in the chat and we'll just, we'll just run through them. We'll get, we'll get thoughts. Any stock you want to look at, we will look at, I can't promise you'll have anything good to say about it, but of course, but we'll look at it and it's what, what, what's the worst that can happen.Right? Uh, so we will do that basically for the, uh, the, the, the, the one to two o'clock hour. We'll wrap up the show at two o'clock and the timing is, uh, precipitous because that's right where we're going to get the FOMC announcement. Don't forget everyone. If you are trading today, uh, the day's liable to turn on a dime depending on what happens at, in an hour and 12 minutes from now.Um, what the fed says regarding, uh, there are tapes. Of asset of buying out, uh, um, uh, uh, bonds of buying mortgage backed securities. They're going to slow down their pace of bond. They're going to eventually stop. We just don't know when they're going to start the process. Is it going to be in December? Is it going to be in jail?It's it's trying to like, it's like trying to turn the Titanic, right? Wait, it's just such a slow, drawn out process, but the market cares about that stuff. And market cares because this was this, the bazooka gone safety net that, that the fed shot out of a cannon last March. Right now we're talking about maybe slowing down the bazooka a little bit, the fire hose of money, uh, that could, that announcement could come today in an hour and 11 minutes.And, uh, yeah. And Spencer retaught about it on Monday, as far as you know how essentially all the big banks between Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, we're expecting this announcement to come this week. To my knowledge. I, I believe it, a lot of it's priced in, but like you said, there could be a surprise in terms of when that tapering is supposed to start.If it, if it's earlier than expected, maybe the markets take a hit if it's later than expected. Um, the opposite of it hit. So we shall see this afternoon. I know all eyes are on the conclusion of that fed meeting. We will definitely be covering here on Benzinga. Um, so stay tuned. If you are interested and let us know in the chat kind of what you're trading and what you're looking, we are watching the chat.Ben Lee, what do you want us to answer, man? Mainly I see your question. He says, we're not answering you. What, what do you want us to answer? We don't know Bentley, if you're even a real person or even a real person. I don't, I know you're real. Yeah. I mean, I, I don't know. There's it seems like there's been a lot of problems, uh, w with true social, it seems like in the past couple of weeks, a lot of reports coming out, I tried to get to get the app the day that the, the I announcement.Um, and I, I guess I pre-ordered it, I'm not quite sure how that works, I guess, is what happens when you get an app it's not public yet. Is it going to show up on my phone one day? That's just how this works. Cause I, I hit download and then nothing happened. So I don't quite know. I don't know. I mean, we'll be, we'll be watching out.We'll see when the app goes live. Um, checking in on the spec that that is partnering with true social is down about 1% today holding at $64 and 30 cents. Uh, this is a stock that, you know, obviously went berserk a few weeks ago. Um, reached, got well over a hundred dollars at one point now at 64, uh, dollars.So we'll be watching, um, D whack as well, Spencer, while you've got Benzinga pro up and we're waiting for the car parts guys. Um, I want to check in on, on a cannabis stock. Uh, well, not a true cannabis stock, but one that I've said I liked in this space that is Scott's miracle grow SMG. Y um, Scott's reported earnings last night and is taking off today up about 12%.So essentially if you, if you're unfamiliar with the stock, Scott's miracle grow, of course has their different soil products known for gardening and whatnot. But, um, if you go to Scottsboro gross website, you can go under the brands they own, and they have a bunch of different brands, uh, that are, are targeting the cannabis industry.So, uh, you know, focused on the lights to help grow the cannabis, um, soil of course, all this stuff. So to me, it's a place. Gets you that multi-state operator, obviously Scott's miracle grow with the equipment, um, can kind of be a grow G competitor who, uh, grow G has been touted as the home Depot of cannabis, but never got, because you can go there to buy essentially everything you would need to grow cannabis, uh, without having to go there to, to buy home Depot with home Depot of candidates.I agree. And I think Scott's miracle grow. The brands they have under are very compelling as well. Um, all right. We are good with car parts.com. Give us a couple seconds and we will bring on peeker and David many. And we are going to go ahead with our AMA, so start spamming your questions in the chat. Can I hit the button?Hit the buttons guys, thumbs up. If you can hear me thumbs up. Let's do that. Then they can hear us. Okay. They can hear us. Oh man. We're going to do this third. Time's the charm 3, 2, 1. Yes, we have them. What's up. What's going on guys? How you doing? Good. Great, great love peaker and David Manion. David's been on the show a few times.I believe we've had Levon as well. So welcome back guys. How are y'all doing on this Wednesday? We are doing great. How are you guys? Good. Good. So for some of our audience that may not be familiar with car parts.com, can you guys just give us the quick elevator pitch 60 seconds so we can get into the school.So I'll do it. So we're, uh, we're an online retailer specializing in auto parts. We sell collision mechanical performance and accessories. And what makes us unique is that we have our own supply chain. We import straight from the factories in Asia and domestically. We bring all the inventory in our distribution centers and we sell them directly to customers.So what that does is it allows us to sell premium quality parts at competitive prices. Got it. All right. Well, give us a second because there is a site. Can we start? Cause I have some questions. Let's start with Spencer's questions. We'll get some from the chair. Can we your own supply chain? Uh, what, why, why do that?It seems like an obvious thing to do now, right? When there's supply chain chaos everywhere. But at the time, I'm sure that was not an obvious thing and there's a reason, not everyone does it. Right. So why, why, why do that, uh, at the outset? Yeah, it's a great question. And it's an obvious thing for us and it's been obvious since we joined the company three years ago, it's about controlling our own destiny.It's about vertical integration in order to offer the best quality products at the best prices you want to control the whole journey from factory to fulfillment centers, straight to the customers. So no middleman, no third party. There's no one in between making a markup and we can offer the same, same parts at great price.So it looks like we do have our first question coming in from Brian baller. He's asking thoughts on Tesla taking over the car industry. And I'm going to add to that a little bit, because I know Tesla famously has less car parts than other cars. Yeah. So I'll take that one. So I think if you think about the car park today, you know, there are 286 million vehicles on their own.And the average age of the vehicle is about 12 years. It's the oldest. We've seen, uh, cars on their own, uh, to date. Yeah. And, uh, if you really think about how many cars Tesla is selling per quarter or per year or whatever number you want to take, and it's a very small percentage of the car park. So it's going to take a long time for not just Tesla, but all electric vehicles to penetrate the car park.But we have been getting ready in January. We'll launch a car cars.com/cd. Uh, we have over 700,000 applications, uh, and different parts for electric vehicles. Uh, we were also a launch partner for TRW and their blue line, uh, which has brakes for electric vehicles. Um, so w we have been getting ready. Um, and the other misconception is that Teslas have fewer parts.You know, 90% of everything that was sell is, uh, really drives through Gnostic. So, you know, Tesla has bumper covers and mirrors and the headlights and control arms. Um, and sure you have three plays breaks less frequently because of the way the, uh, the car, uh, breaks on its own when you release the gas bottle, but it still has those parts.Wait, just real fast. Um, the average age of the car in the us 12 years, how does that compare to historical averages? I too used to be, you know, between 10 and 11 and it's been slowly climbing. So, you know, we went from 10.6, uh, maybe 10 years ago to, uh, 12 years, uh, this year. Uh, ah, okay. Moving on. So easy, Mike is asking, do you guys currently have any deals with the major automakers?I was going to say what's up easy, Mike. Cause I like the name. I think actually you bring up a good point. Then what makes our business very unique is our private brands. 90% of what we sell is our own brand and our own product. So that's how we can, we can have the same quality as the OES, but at more attractive price.And we're also, you know, early on in our journey, we decided that we wanted to reduce the paradox of choice for the consumer. So our goal is to offer the customer a good, better, best selection. And you know, if you think about an OEM part, you know, it's extremely expensive in most cases. Uh, there's really no.And a lot of we parts, uh, you know, we create our own catalog, right. Their own data. And so eventually we will offer consumer choice to buy an OEM part, but the aftermarket parts are just as good. Um, and often they're sourced at the same factories as where OAE make their parts as well. Got it. And so Eduardo Gonzalez in the chat is asking, um, do you guys offer a lifetime warranty on your parts or, or if any warranty at all?What's the duration of that? Yeah, we're actually in the process of rolling out, um, all new policies in terms of returns, uh, we're really want to be consumer centric. And so, uh, over the next few months, which we'll see, we'll see us roll out as hassle-free returns. So the first 90 days of the, uh, of you owning the product, you'll be able to return it to us.Uh, no questions asked. Um, and then after that, there'll be a lifetime replacement guarantee where, you know, if you buy a set of brake pads, you'll be able to use those brake pads. And then in a year or two years, whenever they wear out to return them to us and buy a new set and get us afraid, I think Eduardo brings up a good topic.And if you look at some of the, some of the specialty retailers that are doing really well right now, whether it's chewy or Warby Parker, some of the online players, their return policy and their warranty policies is what also makes them very unique. So that's one of the things that we're looking to match and, and improve on over the next few weeks.Got it. Yeah. That that's interesting. Um, someone else is asking a good question to chat rich. Kaiser's asking to have I saw this one. This is a great question. How far back in years do your parts go for the people who have classics? I mean, we're up here in Detroit, Michigan. So a lot of people out here are driving cars, you know, from the classic cars really from before you were born.So literally we go back to, uh, about 1980. Um, we are in the process of expanding our assortment and identifying gaps in our catalog. And so classic and the restoration is definitely, uh, one of the areas that we want to pay attention to. So you'll see us kind of start catalog. There'll be calls, you know, and go back to the 19 56, 7 twenties, um, as we kind of attack new areas and get a new, a new arts.And there was another good one here I wanted to get to your film, the chat that I just saw. Uh, and I want to, um, yeah. Okay. This is going from bread, bread goddess. I don't think we asked this one. Right. Uh, do you work with individuals or companies? Is there any you can name? Uh, so we primarily ship to individual consumers.Um, now from our research with do know that one in six customers takes the parts to be, uh, installed or replaced, uh, somewhere else, they don't do the repair. Uh, and we're also working on a lot of different initiatives to address the, do it for me market. But today our primary focus is do it yourself, individual consumer here's one from Christian.How has your supply chain slow? This is the obvious one, right? You have your own supply chain. What was surely it's affected? Right. So how is your supply chain slowed down? I've been affected over the last year and a half? You know, I think every retailer has felt some impact of supply chain, disruption, you know, for us, it's, it's an obstacle and we looked at it as an opportunity.So very early on in the pandemic, we decided to take a more aggressive approach. So we continued to expanding our supply chain by opening new buildings. We continue to pay, you know, premium rates for ocean freights to have the inventory. We like to say that inventory is our oxygen. And so the fulfillment centers is really the key and the critical component of the company.So we've been very aggressive in terms of bringing in inventory. And in fact, then we just announced it yesterday on our earnings call. Uh, we're at basically a company record in terms of inventory position. We have $130 million of inventory position on the books. That's up from 49 million, two years ago.And as we get into our peak season, having the inventory in stock is what's gonna make us win 130, 2 million, the extra 2 million actually counts. So it makes sense that France, what about, uh, foreign cars? You guys are also in those Martin you're in all carbon. Yes. So all foreign domestic, uh, 1980 and above for now.Um, but we carry it, uh, collision mechanical. We carry it all. All right. This, this isn't asking me anything. This question I highly, highly doubt you can answer, but somebody did ask about your take, I think on flying cars, I think, um, Hey, this is what we, we, we, we pulled the Jad for questions and this is what they say.Let me find the exact question because I don't want to butcher it. Um, yeah. Yeah. Okay. This is the quiz. This is the question. We'll test produce a flying car in the future. Like the ones in the Bladerunner movie. Well, I doubt they can speak to Tesla specifically, but I'll let you guys answer that as best you can.I hope so. And you know, if it falls out of the sky, there's going to be more parts to replace on it and I'll tell you for me, I'm still waiting for a flying DeLorean. Yeah. Yeah. Those, those are supposed to be out by now. I thought, um, this isn't from the chat, but I'm just curious right now. What, what brand is the most bought, um, you know, brand of car parts on your website right now?Uh, meaning for which brand of cars or yeah, for which brand of car I know it's your, I know it's car parts.com branded parts, but you know, are they for Toyota's for Volkswagens? It really follows, uh, vehicles and operations. So it's, you know, the number one selling vehicle in America is a Ford F-150. So a Ford F-150 is the most common.Uh, vehicle, that was all parts for it. And I'll give you the other ones. It's a Dodge Ram Chevy Silverado and Toyota Tundra. The remains yes. Of trucks. Yes. So, so logistically, you know, so I go to a mechanic, they, you know, typically would say, oh, we have to order these parts and there's going to be a markup for those parts.Um, so if I went to a mechanic and knew which parts I need and then went and got them myselves from car parts.com, could I bring those to the mechanic and then, uh, have them install those or do they, the mechanics themselves have to order from car parts.com. Yeah. So we've seen the pie kind of change. Uh, you know, if you would've asked me 10 years ago, I would have told you that, you know, most mechanics wouldn't take the parts that you sourced outside.Uh, but I think as kind of time went on, um, a lot of mechanics, uh, they kind of work like lawyers or doctors where, you know, they, they have a certain amount of money they want to make per hour. And so if you were to go out and source your own product and then bring it into a mechanic, uh, he might have free time and he means stole the parts.He might charge you a little bit more for labor. Uh, so, you know, if a typical labor rate has one time per hour, he might charge you 1 35 just to make a little bit more per hour. Cause

Each year on Yom Kippur the Lord releases a prophetic word that will be carried out in the coming year and coming season.  On today's Podcast we declare the word given this year and it comes with great warning and requirements on us believers.  Listen in and declare, "Here am I Lord, send me!!!"

Episode 77: If a tree falls Something a little different today. Reverend Ruth is away on vacation this week, so instead of our regular podcast, we have a question for you. Who are you? We know that people are out there listening to our podcast, but we don't know who or where you are. You might be part of our congregation listening from home due to Covid. You might be a member or friend who lives too far away to join us for services. Or you may be someone who found us online and has become a regular listener. Whoever you are, we would like to hear from you. Let us know what you love about the podcast, why you listen, and what you would change if you could. You can reach us by sending an email to podcast@communitychurchoffontana.org, or by calling the church office at 262-275-2808. We look forward to hearing from you. Here I Am, Lord by Dan Schutte (Hymn will play in full at the end of the podcast.) I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry. All who dwell in darkness now My hand will save. I who make the stars of night, I will make their darkness bright. Who will bear my light to them? Whom shall I send? Here I am, Lord. It is I Lord. I have heard you calling in the night. I will go, Lord, where you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart. I, the Lord of snow and rain, I have borne my people's pain. I have wept for love of them. They turn away. I will break their hearts of stone, Give them hearts for love alone. I will speak my words to them. Whom shall I send? Here I am, Lord. It is I Lord. I have heard you calling in the night. I will go, Lord, where you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart. I, the Lord of wind and flame, I will tend the poor and lame. I will set a feast for them. My hand will save. Finest bread I will provide, Till their hearts be satisfied. I will give my life to them. Whom shall I send? Here I am, Lord. It is I Lord. I have heard you calling in the night. I will go, Lord, where you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart. Words & Music: Daniel L Schutte. © 1981 OCP Publications. Music licensed through mymidi.audo.

Paul Cain was the last remaining prophetic evangelist from the great healing revivals of the 1940's and 1950's. In this episode, you will hear The Conversion – and Life – of Paul Cain, as re-told by Paul's longest-serving ministry assistant, Reed Grafke. Paul's life was marked from the womb onward by the miraculous healing power of God. His mother, Anna Cain, was 45 years old when she became pregnant with Paul. While pregnant, she also had four terminal diseases in her body (tuberculous, heart disease, breast cancer in both breasts, plus 3 tumors in her womb), all preventing the birth of her child. She was sent home to die, but she cried out to God to save the child in her womb. Shortly thereafter, the angel of the Lord appeared by her bedside at night, laid his hand on her shoulder and said, “Daughter be of good cheer! You will live and not die. The child you bear is a male child. You shall name him “Paul of Troas,” and he shall preach the gospel as did the apostle Paul of old, binding up the sickness and infirmities of My people. And he shall stand before kings and rulers of nations.” She was not only healed of all of her diseases, she gave birth to Paul, and then went on to live until she was 105 years old.  When Paul was 8 years old, this same angel appeared to him in the middle of the night. Paul's sister, Mildred, witnessed this event and called out to the angel, “Here am I Lord, speak to me too!!”  But the angel was only sent to confirm Paul's special birth and calling, though Mildred was graced by being able to witness Paul's call to ministry. From that time on, the prophetic and healing gifts began to be activated in Paul's life and he came to be named the ‘boy prophet'. As he grew, he went on to hold miracle meetings with William Branham and with all the generals of the healing revivals.  Over the years, Paul had a recurring vision (over 150 times) of stadiums being filled with people who were “nameless and faceless,” who ministered day and night for weeks on end. In the vision, everyone on the stage was filled with the power of God.  It seemed as though the whole world was turning to Jesus. You can listen to Paul recount this incredible vision at the end of this podcast. 

Here am I Lord, send me - Speller's Home - Morning - Isaiah 6:8

Leanna is a reformer who has impacted nations through mobilizing the “people of the land” into strategic action. Her outcomes are sustainable and reproducible. In this program you will be inspired by her adventures in bringing transformation to some of the toughest areas of the world and to entire communities.    Our God of mercy desires to heal the land, and we are his agents of restoration, reformation and revival.  Today, the Spirit is saying to the Church, “ARISE! Fear not! You are My reformers to bring My presence, peace and paradigm to communities and nations. You are My legislative community to guide kings into alignment with My will.”    Leanna success will give you hope and confidence in what God can do through you! This is a moment to press forward, not to draw back. The people of Christ's Kingdom are being matured and mobilized to be healers and restorers. The Spirit is ready to fill, empower and send forth anyone who is willing. When Abraham negotiated with God concerning Sodom and Gomorrah , God said that he would not destroy the city for ten righteous people. The Spirit is calling us to be those ten righteous in our cities, our communities and our nations. This message will inspire you to grasp this once-in-a-millennia moment and say, “Here am I Lord, send me!”     Leanna is the Founder and President of a nonprofit organization ‘We Ignite Nations' (WIN) www.WIN.global.

Isaiah 50 again, “The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, That I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear; And I have not rebelled, have not turned back.” This is our mission, entrusted to us by Jesus. “I will praise the name of God in song, and I will glorify him with thanksgiving: “See, you lowly ones, and be glad; you who seek God, may your hearts revive! For the LORD hears the poor, and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.”” Is it I Lord? Am I the betrayer? Yes, I am. Forgive us Father. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/sofia-fonseca7/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sofia-fonseca7/support

Second Sunday Ordinary Time year B - Sunday, January 17, 2021 (EPISODE: 273) Readings for 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - B FIRST READING: 1 Sam 3: 3b-10, 19 Ps 40: 2+4, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10. “Here am I Lord; I come to do your will. ” SECOND READING: 1 Cor 6: 13c-15a, 17-20 GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (John 1: 41+17b). Alleluia, alleluia! We have found the Messiah. Jesus Christ, who brings us truth and grace. GOSPEL: John 1: 35-42 Image - Shutterstock licensed Image: ID:167252546. Sacrifice. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Illustration in Byzantian style. By Julia Raketic References: Fr Paul W. Kelly Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here. NB - It is often a week or so Ahead: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul’s homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog: "Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL) Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA) "The Psalms” ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers. Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia). Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org. - "Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - in memory of William John Kelly - Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019. “Quiet Time.” Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020. - “Today I Arise” - For Trisha J Kelly. Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick’s Prayer. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019. [ Production - KER - 2021] May God bless and keep you.

I'm not doing very well, am I Lord?

Scripture from the Book of Ezekiel Chapter 33 1:7 and 30:33 read by Lisa Sheehan. Message and Meditation presented by Deacon Weechie Baker. As beautiful divine, yet earthly beings, we all have a purpose to fulfill in this lifetime. Even in the most seemingly difficult of times, we must answer to the internal and eternal yearning of our souls. In the Old Testament, Ezekiel reminds us of the importance of committing to, “here am I Lord” and heeding to the sound of the trumpet (the Holy call from within). Our divine right comes with responsibility. I invite you on a short journey with me, into the realm of spiritual responsibility in our earthly experience. “Every single thing that touches your life, religious, socially, and politically, must be an instrument of your liberation or you must throw it into the ashcan of history.” - Dr. John Henrik ClarkeSupport the show (https://www.unityinthefoothillsct.org/donations)

Candice Coffey is a wife, mother of two daughters, and the founder of EverBe Cosmetics. The FIRST EVER beauty brand to AFFIRM a woman's God-given identity https://everbeyou.com/ Candice's story will surely amaze you because cosmetics wasn't even in her wheelhouse when she said "Yes" to what God was calling her to do! Psalm 34 was deposited into Candice through a dream and is the foundational verse for EverBe. "He called me to create a makeup line that proclaims the Word of God. He called me to encourage the literal application of God's Word to our own faces. But who am I Lord? I have no experience, no contacts, no knowledge of the cosmetics industry! Well, He has shown me first-hand that when He calls you to it, He will qualify you for it! EverBe is no longer a dream – these products are a beautiful reality and a direct message from the Father, to his daughters. I'm just the messenger and am humbled to be serving as his hands and feet." “Let's make him famous! Let's make his name glorious to all.” Ps. 34:3 God is moving mountains for EverBe. Priscilla Shirer has even highlighted EverBe on her own personal Instagram.

Isaiah, Paul and John the Baptist all offered their lives in service for the Lord. As we follow their example, may the words of the Psalmist, "Here am I Lord, I come to do your will" echo in our hearts! January 19, 2020 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com  

Since I had travel problems yesterday I decided to sneak one more program in before I -Lord willing- fly out this afternoon. Talked a little about the textual variant at 1 Peter 3-15 and then moved on to the controversy that has arisen regarding the assertion that one must see David as a -rapist- regarding Bathsheba -2 Samuel 11-12, Psalm 51-.

We are looking at the spiritual battlefields in this modern age. You remember last week we looked at spiritual battlefields, and we saw that beyond what we can see and feel there is a battlefield that is ferocious, in the heavenlies.   Ephesians 6:12 (ESV Strong's) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.   As we saw with the federal election last week, there is a spiritual battle happening over our nation, and our people, and this week I want to develop that as we look at the battlefield of society.   Ezekiel 22:30 (ESV Strong's) And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.   God is looking throughout the earth for those who will stand in the gap for our nation, for our people. Are you that person? If God asks you, and I believe He is asking you, will you say , “Here am I Lord, send me!” At this pivotal time in history for our nation, I believe God is raising up men and women of faith, and you and I have the chance to fight in this battle… and win!   THE BATTLEFIELD STRATEGY… LINES ARE DRAWN   The battle lines are drawn, and the two opposing armies are in position. What we have seen over the last year or so are the opening skirmishes, but they are not the true battle, they are probes, reconnaissance missions by the enemy to find our weakest point so they can attack in force.   What we saw in this election was the people of God finally uniting in prayer and starting to push back against a previously largely unchallenged enemy. It was a victory for righteousness of sorts, but it is just the first of many battles to come in this war.   Peter offers a promise that could have been written to our people in our generation…   1 Peter 5:8-10 (ESV Strong's) Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.   Christ will indeed restore, confirm, strengthen and establish us, but there will also be suffering and fighting before then. The most persecuted people in Australia today are not the gays, or transgenders, the Muslims or sex workers. No, our society bends over backwards to accommodate these and not offend them. The most persecuted part of Australian society today is Christians!   So where is this battle taking place? Let’s get a bird’s eye view of the battlefield we face, and recognise where the key strategic areas we must defend and fight for.           1.      MORALITY   Morality is clearly the primary battlefront. The moral corruption and degradation in our society has certainly been ramped up, and this is clearly a front line, where the enemy has taken real ground over the last few years. Paul describes it like this…   Romans 1:28-32 (ESV Strong's) And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness (etc.). …foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.   That’s what we are seeing… even those not practicing these behaviours approve of it! The rise of militant gay and lesbian action is unprecedented in history. Transgenderism is heavily promoted in schools and colleges, and abortion has become legal up until birth in this state. It’s not advance Australia fair but advance Australia wherever vocal minorities want.   And the crazy thing is that our society is tying themselves in knots over this! The logic simply makes no sense! After 2 or 3 centuries of being told that science is king, that it is the ultimate authority, after elevating the views of science in areas like climate change and evolution, none of which can actually be proven, we are now told that emotions and feelings trump science.   So despite scientifically having an X and a Y chromosome, if you feel like you want to be a woman, well forget science and facts and stuff, just change to what you feel!  So we have situations like Hannah Mouncey, a 6 ‘4” muscle bound transgender whom society will let change into a woman, but whom the AFL won’t let play women’s football because he/she is destroying others.   Make no mistake… the lines are drawn, the battle is on and to the eyes of these lobby groups Christians are the enemy. Muslim leaders whose countries preach death to homosexuals are welcomed by politicians, but footballers who post an opinion on Instagram are sacked and viciously attacked. Other footballers are not fired for domestic abuse, gang raping girls or drunken rampages, but one is fired for having an opinion! It’s an utter disgrace!   2.      MINDS   The second battlefield is in the minds of Australians. And the enemy is not targeting the old, the devil is targeting the minds of the young, using school, social media and peer pressure. In the minds of Australians, especially young Australians, the Church represents old fashioned, antiquated, prejudicial and offensive morality, preventing people from exercising the right to express their true selves.   I cannot remember a time in history where people are so easily offended. For all of our intelligence and scientific minds, we are currently so fragile and easily offended. A sign of maturity is the ability to not be easily offended, and to respond in a measured way, but look at the explosions, accusations and rants on social media. Not only do people’s opinions change every 5 minutes, but they will defend said opinions to the death, even if it doesn’t affect them! How strange the modern Australian mind is, but remember our fight is not against these people we differ with, it is against the spirit of the age behind it.   2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (ESV Strong's) For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,   We will look in a separate message at the battlefield of the mind, but with record levels of mental health problems, constantly changing opinions and infinite offences being taken, the minds of Australians represent a massive area in the battle between good and evil in our society.   3.      ME-ISM   This could be the most selfish, self absorbed generation in history. This is the age of the selfie, and never before have so many photos been taken of so many people doing so little!   2 Timothy 3:1-4 (ESV Strong's) But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,   Why do we have family breakdowns? Why do we have abuse? Why do we have broken lives? Because at the heart of it, people are selfish. They want what they want over and above anyone else. And what’s more, they believe their opinion is superior to anyone else’s, so they fight and claw to destroy anyone whose opinion is different… look at Israel Folau.   4.      MISSION   The forces for evil in our society clearly have an agenda, a strategy that they are working to destroy the church. Australians were told that same sex marriage was the end in itself for that lobby group, but clearly it was only the opening salvo… trangenderism, abortion, euthanasia, and who knows what follows hot on its heels.   Proverbs 28:12 (ESV Strong's) When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked rise, people hide themselves.   The overall strategy and agenda for these lobby groups is moral anarchy,  not just in one area but across the board, where in the name of freedom everyone is allowed to do whatever they want and God’s rule, the laws upon which our society stands, is relegated to a bygone era.   Judges 21:25 (ESV Strong's) In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.   If you read the book of Judges you will see the result of this… moral and social destruction on a scale rarely seen. Edmund Burke, “All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”   5.      MEDIA   A great strategic battlefield where the enemy is triumphing right now is the media.  While social media has become a cesspool of human emotions, opinions and aggressive attacks on anyone who differs in any way on any subject, especially morality, main stream media is totally dominated by evil agenda and anti Christian sentiment.   Last year I was crowned Qld Father of the Year, and rushed out to a waiting media contingent. I was interviewed by all TV stations, radio and print, and I spoke about how being a father is loving your children unconditionally, just like God loves us. The early edition on channel 7 went straight to air with my comments in tack, but the later editions sliced all references to God out of the coverage. Channel 9 heard what I said, and decided on the fly that instead of interviewing me their reporter will speak and I will just be in the background. Clearly anti Christian bias, that is evidenced everywhere!   This should not surprise us…   2 Timothy 3:12-13 (ESV Strong's) Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.   Sure, the media and polls got it wrong on Election Day, but interestingly in the aftermath they are all scratching their heads wondering if it was economics or climate change where Labor policies came undone. I know, and you know, that the silent majority of people who love righteousness was the force behind their defeat, but in their minds they simply cannot see it.   The media is very powerful, but after last Saturday we can see it is not all powerful.. God is!   But they keep plugging away, and this is a battle of attrition… they are trying to wear us down. Don’t you wonder why according to statistics

God is partnering us with others, wives, husbands, brothers and sisters in Christ to serve side by side. And He is getting ready to commission those who have cried “Here am I Lord, send me” to go places where we have not gone before, to be among people that we may not have had exposure to before. To be strangers in a strange land. Yes, even in our own land. We may not be comfortable with their lingo, with their language, culture, or their politics. But He is going to send us into unusual mission fields, unconventional mission fields, where there are strongholds of witchcraft and sorceries of all kinds. Where deception and fraud are an accepted practice. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/SoulDivision67/support

D        Bm                 A           G              DVerse 1Bm                 A           G              DDwell on the Lord, remember his nameBm              A              G       DEmpty your truth, and fill it again   Bm                 A           G              DDwell on the Lord, remember his nameBm              A              G           Bm     G       Bm     GEmpty your truth, and fill it again   ChorusBm                         G                                   Bm     Who are you Lord, that I should know you?                       G                                    BmWho am I  Lord, that you bore my sins                         G                                    Bm               Who are you Lord, that I should know you?                      G               A                 D             Bm     A        G       D        Bm  A  G   DWho am I Lord, that you bore my sins    Verse 2Bm              A    G                DBirds of the air, stars in the sky,Bm                A         G                DDepths of the earth, chorus they cry      Bm              A    G                DBirds of the air, stars in the sky,Bm                A         GDepths of the earth, chorus they cry   DHallelu  TagBm              G                 DHallelu         Hallelujah    HalleluBm              G                 DHallelu         Hallelujah    Hallelu[Bm                      &

On today's episode, we talk about the real and the raw stuff. Tristin reveals some of her personal angsts and how GOD helped her through it so that bitterness would not take root! All the while, the very people and places in which hurt came in, or where frustration stirred and even attempted to seduce us to point the finger at others, how GOD wants to send us. What?! Yes! It takes that saying, "Here am I Lord, send me..." to a whole 'nuther level of trust in our amazing GOD! When we say, "Here am I Lord, send me", do we know what that truly means? We think of it more so as going overseas or abroad...but it's much closer to home than we could ever imagine!Oh...

Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana Synopsis of the Twenty-Eight Session (Prthu Story continued) Bhagavata Chaturth Skanda (Book Four) Chapter 20 and 21  —————————————————- In the 27 th session we heard the story of Prthu and Archi. We made an attempt to decode the underlying message. However, sometimes it is essential to read word by word what is being said in the ‘Granth - Scripture', as the narration can not cover each and every pearl of wisdom.  Pearls of Wisdom Have been divided into four parts; - Lord talks when he Manifests himself in the sacrificial hall of King Prthu - Indra and Prthu bond - Prthu talks when the Lord offered him a boon - King Prthu teachings to his subject and the prerequisites to understand his teaching The Lord Said; 1. The pious souls in this world, who are possessed of good understanding and are the best among men bear no ill will agains there fellow being, as they know that the body is not theirs ‘Self'.  2. The people who render service to the elders (meaning by wisdom and not age) have a blessing and do not get bewildered by ‘Maya'. 3. The awakened souls know that body to be a product of ignorance, desire and action and never get attached to it.  4. When there is non attachment to the body, the wise man does not have a feeling of ‘Mine-ness' with regard to the house,  5. progeny or wealth, produced by that body. 6. The mind of the man who daily worships Me with reverence (in all his duties) expecting nothing from me, is purified.  7. He whose mind is purified dissociates himself with the world of matter and attaining true wisdom, enjoys eternal peace which is the same as my equipoised state and is also knows as the Brahma (The Absolute) and attains blessedness. 8. Ruler - Protection of the people is essential for the ruler, there by he gets one-sixth of the merit earned by the people and if he fails he incurs sins. 9. Ruler - He has to follow the sacred duties approved by the Brahmanas and enjoined by traditions, be unattached to them and rule with righteousness.  10. I (Lord) am not easily accessible through sacrificial performance or austerities or even yoga (concentration of mind), dwelling as I do in the heart of the ‘Even-Minded'. Note: 1. Horse Sacrifice - Animal sacrifices were prevalent. When an animal was brought for sacrifice, it was promised that he would get a higher birth, which will enable them to cross the ocean of mundane existence. If not, the person who was sacrificing it, would offer himself as a sacrifice. Such was the strength, that the ‘Demi Gods' themselves came down to take the offering of the sacrifice. (When this connection and power was lost, sacrifices were stopped gradually) 2. Brahmanas - Nobody is a Brahmin by birth, the one who knows ‘Brahman-That divine bliss' is a Brahmin. (Gita pages sent) 3. Self - Is the one without a change, pure, self-effulgent, beyond the three Gunas, the substratum of the divine attribute, all pervading, unveiled, the witness of all, having no other soul and distinct from the body 4. Equipoised state, Even-Minded Stith Pragna - Enlighted souls who never give way to the morbid feelings of joy and grief, when the meet with affluent and adverse circumstances. They view the exalted, the middling and the vile alike and are balanced in joy and sorrow. Have conquered the world of dualities, the senses and he mind.  King Prthu and Indra Lord Vishnu himself brings Indra to Prthu and Indra is about to touch the feet of Prthu as an apology for his offence of disrupting the Yagna. Note: Prthu did not let Indra touch his feet instead embraced him. Indra (Indriyas) should never be suppressed. When one sublimates, there is no need to suppress.  In other words, sublimate means reach for the higher, the lower tendencies will drop on its own. Reach for the Lord, the Mind (maan, budhi, chitha, ahenkar.. whatever we intent to call it) and the Indriyas will start to...

The Church .... we are warriors, champions, heroes... it’s our time! Pray-Give-Go... Here am I Lord... send me! Isaiah 6:1-8

Hello, My name is Daniel Gibson, 5 years ago the Lord laid on my heart to attempt to unite and reach the world through internet video. I started my company Multiply Media to reach people for the Gospel through platforms like Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, etc. It has been a road of a lot of learning and trial and error. I am also a Youth Pastor in Missouri, and in the last year have become a Certified Trainer for Dare2Share ministries. During this time, the Lord has given the holy discontentment that my soul has been crying out for year about, form and shape through the Gospel Advancing Movement. So, the challenge has been to figure out how to apply this to my ministry online. Recently through a great deal of prayer, my wife and I have felt the Lord lay on our hearts a new path. I have grown up in Church, I have heard story after story of revival, and talk of our need for revival. But never have I experienced it within our culture. That is what I want to change through this new project. Not just for me but for everyone. My wife and I are preparing to take a year and travel across the US and documenting Churches that are experiencing revival. Specifically, those experiencing more than 20% new conversion growth. We want to tell their stories and let people see that the Gospel is alive and well here. That when we are willing to say, “here am I Lord, send me” He will come. We hope to set out on our journey in late October, shortly after the birth of our first child. This is an undertaking that I am so fearfully excited for. I want to highlight along the way, organizations like yours that are helping churches get to this place. I don’t want to push and one denomination or organization, rather show the diversity of Gods people and how when we seek to work together we succeed. I would love to join forces with Pulse and other great organizations to bring this to light. If you would be interested in talking with me more about this please call me at (417)766-5362. Thank you for taking the time to read this. God Bless, Dan Gibson

The Lord's ministry touches hearts and changes lives, as people encounter Jesus and begin to serve in new and unique ways.  Like them, we can echo the words of Samuel and the Psalmist as we say, "Here am I Lord!  I come to do your will." January 10, 2018 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com

As we continue again in our examination of the Holy Spirit I do want you to know I pray for your guidance by the Spirit. I am praying for you all that the Spirit will revile Himself to you as never before. Whether it be bringing you under His conviction, exposing you to the word of God which stirs your offensive side to walk rightly before God. But ultimately that the Spirit will be bearing witness with you in His guiding revelation of Gods will and plan for this stage of your life. We continue in our exploration of the Gifts of the Spirit the working of miracles, the discerning of Spirits, divers kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. Keep in mind that the Spirit appoints the gifting of all Spiritual gifts as He sees fit. So have you been practicing the production of Spiritual fruit- Have you been planting good seed for a bountiful harvest---As we learn to be faithful in all things what I do you think it looks like to others looking at us. Do you think that you would be seen as displaying the fruit of the Spirit- Do you think that you would display a life of direct submission to our Lord, or would you think you would still be seen as in direct opposition to the Lord- Have you been praying seeking, saying Lord I want to serve you in total obedience- Lord I desire that you pour out your Spirit upon me that I feel your holy presence upon me- Lord weather the Spirit reviles unto me conviction or comfort, peace or understanding, I Lord desire to bring glory to you with all my life.

The Bible teaches that we are to go into all the world making disciples and teaching them about Jesus. When God asked, “ who will go for me.” Jack McVeigh answered and said,” Here am I Lord, send me.” He was given the power of the Holy Spirit, and through the lives of the many people that he reached with the Gospel Brother Jack has truly gone into the whole world making disciples. In this podcast I honor my friend and mentor, a man who truly is " A Man After Gods Own Heart".

Isaiah, Paul, and John the Baptist all respond to the Lord's call for their lives.  Their example inspires us to listen to our hearts, to others and to the Lord so that we might proclaim, like the response in the psalm today, "Hear am I Lord, I come to do your will!" January 15, 2017 - Cathedral of Christ the King - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com

Episode and stories covered in episode: Episode 273: Verb to Noun recorded on January 25, 2016 Women putting herb balls in vagina to 'detox their wombs' have been warned of dangers Episode 277: Thank You Sky! recorded on February 11, 2016 ‘Here am I Lord, use me': Ted Cruz's dad says Holy Ghost authorized White House run Episode 285: Never Go Full Alex Jones recorded on March 28, 2016 Alex Jones Will Save Humanity From Satan Episode 291: Ye Olde Crooner recorded on May 1, 2016 Pat Boone: The Government Should Outlaw Blasphemy And Punish Saturday Night Live If It Blasphemes Again Episode 292: Ted Cruz Pulls Out recorded on May 9, 2016 Gordon Klingenschmitt: Gays Will ‘Demand To Have Sex In Your Guest Bedroom'  Episode 296: Victoria Gettman recorded on May 30, 2016 Televangelist Jim Bakker: Buy My Giant Buckets of Mexican Food Because “Things Are Coming” Episode 306: Juggle my Poké Balls recorded on July 18, 2016 Bryan Fischer: ‘It's Not Okay For Christians To Have Diverse Opinions' Episode 308: Say Super PAC! recorded on August 1, 2016 Michael Savage: Hillary Clinton ‘Looks Like Stalin's Housekeeper' Episode 316: José Can You Sí… recorded on September 19, 2016 KY Gov. Matt Bevin: Election Of Hillary Clinton May Call For Shedding Blood Of ‘Tyrants' And ‘Patriots'  Episode 320: What Would JT Do? recorded on October 10, 2016 Bryan Fischer: Diversity And Multiculturalism Are God's Curse Upon America Because We Have Become Utterly Evil Episode 322: Ishmael Brown recorded on October 24, 2016 Ted Cruz Tries To Justify Trump Endorsement To A Furious Glenn Beck Episode 334: Googly Eyes recorded on December 26, 2016  ‘Cum Rags for Congress': Satanists Protest Texas Abortion Law with Semen Socks  

Episodes and stories covered:  Episode 273:  Verb to Noun recorded on January 25, 2016 Women putting herb balls in vagina to ‘detox their wombs’ have been warned of dangers Episode 277:  Thank You Sky! recorded on February 11, 2016 ‘Here am I Lord, use me’: Ted Cruz’s dad says Holy Ghost authorized White House run... The post Episode 336: Toaster Shakins 2016 first appeared on Cognitive Dissonance the Podcast.

Episode and stories covered in episode: Episode 273: Verb to Noun recorded on January 25, 2016 Women putting herb balls in vagina to 'detox their wombs' have been warned of dangers Episode 277: Thank You Sky! recorded on February 11, 2016 ‘Here am I Lord, use me’: Ted Cruz’s dad says Holy Ghost authorized White House run Episode 285: Never Go Full Alex Jones recorded on March 28, 2016 Alex Jones Will Save Humanity From Satan Episode 291: Ye Olde Crooner recorded on May 1, 2016 Pat Boone: The Government Should Outlaw Blasphemy And Punish Saturday Night Live If It Blasphemes Again Episode 292: Ted Cruz Pulls Out recorded on May 9, 2016 Gordon Klingenschmitt: Gays Will ‘Demand To Have Sex In Your Guest Bedroom’  Episode 296: Victoria Gettman recorded on May 30, 2016 Televangelist Jim Bakker: Buy My Giant Buckets of Mexican Food Because “Things Are Coming” Episode 306: Juggle my Poké Balls recorded on July 18, 2016 Bryan Fischer: ‘It’s Not Okay For Christians To Have Diverse Opinions’ Episode 308: Say Super PAC! recorded on August 1, 2016 Michael Savage: Hillary Clinton ‘Looks Like Stalin’s Housekeeper’ Episode 316: José Can You Sí… recorded on September 19, 2016 KY Gov. Matt Bevin: Election Of Hillary Clinton May Call For Shedding Blood Of ‘Tyrants’ And ‘Patriots’  Episode 320: What Would JT Do? recorded on October 10, 2016 Bryan Fischer: Diversity And Multiculturalism Are God’s Curse Upon America Because We Have Become Utterly Evil Episode 322: Ishmael Brown recorded on October 24, 2016 Ted Cruz Tries To Justify Trump Endorsement To A Furious Glenn Beck Episode 334: Googly Eyes recorded on December 26, 2016  ‘Cum Rags for Congress’: Satanists Protest Texas Abortion Law with Semen Socks  

Join Pastor Gene as he shed deep spiritual insight on the spirit of Jezebel and the orphan spirit. This this impactful sermon will convict you to the question 'is it I Lord?' This is a must hear for everyone! Share, Share, Share!

Duck Dynasty Patriarch Urges Iowans to Vote Ted Cruz to “Rid the Earth” of Gay Marriage Supporters Ted Cruz Prayer Team: Satan Is Warring Against Us ‘Here am I Lord, use me’: Ted Cruz’s dad says Holy Ghost authorized White House run Harlem pastor: Gays can’t foreclose on my church until they birth babies ‘through... The post Episode 277: Thank You Sky! first appeared on Cognitive Dissonance the Podcast.

sermon transcript Introduction Now, for years, I've been watching sporting events, and for years, I've been told by successful athletes what the secret of their success was and that it was, believe in yourself. If you just believe in yourself, you can achieve anything. Now, I wanna add, as I listen to, let's say, Allen Iverson telling me, “Believe in yourself and be lightning quick.” Or if it's David Robinson, he never said it, but “Believe in yourself, and be 7 feet tall,” I get it. Now, I don't think it really works, that if I believe in myself, I can be an Olympic athlete and win a gold medal. Actually, I'm suspect of the whole philosophy. I wanna challenge it right now in your hearing because it's so much a part of the American myth. It's so much a part of what we think is true. It's so much a part of our educational system now that young people are being told this again and again, and they're just reciting back the things that they've been trained to say, “Believe in yourself.” Ben Franklin said it in 1736, “God helps those who help themselves.” It's the gospel of self-reliance and it’s part of the American myth. The self-made man that faces the elements, loneliness, disease, hostile people, enemies, to carve out an existence from the wilderness with his own bare hands, with his axe. Daniel Boone carving a road through the Cumberland Gap to settle in the wilderness of Kentucky. Abraham Lincoln in that same area in Kentucky, rising up from a log cabin to be the president of the United States. Booker T. Washington writing his memoirs, calling it Up From Slavery. Immigrants coming in from Ellis Island, passing by the Statue of Liberty, where it says, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free.” And they go into the city, in New York or Chicago or some other place in the inner reaches of the US, and they make a living for themselves and they build a legacy out of their own labor and their own efforts. And so we're told that God helps those that help themselves. God helps those that save themselves. A poll was done by Barna concerning that phrase, God helps those who help themselves. If they ever come from Barna and ask you that question and ask, “Is it in the Bible?” Please be part of the 19 percent that said no. Seventy-five percent of the teens that were asked that question were told it is the central message of the Bible. Friends, it is not the central message of the Bible. The central message of the Bible is stated in many different times and places, many different ways. But how about this? “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst.” Old Testament version would be, “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.” Or as Jesus put it in John 14:1, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” Overcoming self-confidence is part of that fight each one of us has with the sin nature, we got it from Adam, as part of our fall in Adam. Amazingly, human beings can be in open rebellion against God, their minds saturated with enmity against God, unable to obey his laws and they can still say, “I'm basically a good person.” Though we are frail and weak, harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd, we can still feel mighty and capable and powerful because of some little tricks we can do in space and time. Our culture sells us this line again and again: you can do anything you wanna do, be anything you wanna be, if you just believe in yourself. This is the message of self-esteem, of self-confidence, of self-assurance, of self-salvation. It's part of the American myth, and it is a myth because the Bible is diametrically opposed to all of this. The message of the Bible is that we need a savior. We cannot save ourselves. We need a savior, and his name is Jesus Christ. And it's my privilege every week to get up here and tell you that. And here as we come to this text in Matthew 26:31-35, we have sadly put on full display the overweening confidence of the apostles, particularly Peter. Peter is a main example. The self-confidence of these men is completely misplaced as later events will bear out. They were absolutely certain of their loyalty to Christ, they were certain of their commitment to him. They felt that nothing could come their way that could shake that loyalty, that would shake that commitment. They were certain of it; they were certain that they were willing to die for him. All 11 of them felt the same way. And that same night - within hours of these statements, these assertions - that same night, they all abandoned Jesus and ran for their lives. Just as Jesus said they would do. Isn't it marvelous that we have a savior that knows us completely, knows exactly what we're going to do and loves us anyway? Isn't that marvelous? I get to preach a savior that knows us so completely and loves us anyway. Jesus said, “Apart from me, you can do nothing.” I don't think we really believe that as we should. It's the centerpiece of my sanctification to grow, to believe that more and more vigorously. Apart from Christ, I can do nothing. We think of ourselves more highly than we should. And so today we get to look in a mirror, if we do it rightly, you'll look in these verses as in a mirror, and you'll see yourself. You're not gonna blame Peter, you're not gonna blame the 11, you're gonna see yourself. And you get a chance as you look in this text to look at the road ahead for you. But what is facing you from here until the day you die or the day the Lord returns? The Bible tells us it's an arduous, difficult journey, a race you're going to run. It's going to be opposed every step of the way by the world, the flesh, and the devil. And my question to you is, just like we heard in the song, “How do you know?” That's how they began. I was thinking of those words, How do you know you're going to make it? How do you know you're gonna finish your race? And if your answer has anything basically to do with yourself, you're wrong, you're off. And I wanna heal you of that today. I want you to say “The way I know I'm gonna finish this race is that Christ, the very one who began that work in me, is gonna carry it on to completion. If left to myself, I will fail. Satan is too strong for me. He is able to orchestrate circumstances around me and I will come crashing to the ground, just like these 11 did.” Look in the mirror, look at these verses as in a mirror and find yourself, and then look up from it to Christ and say, “Oh God, save me, save me from myself, wean me off of self-reliance from this text.” Christ Predicts the Sinful Flight of the Apostles (vs. 31) Context: The Night of Jesus’ Arrest Let's look at it carefully, verse by verse. Look at verse 31, there Christ predicts the sinful flight of the apostles. “Then Jesus told them, ‘This very night, you will all fall away on account of me. For it is written: “I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.”’” This very night. What night is it? Well, we're jumping right in the middle here in this sermon, to the context that we've been following along in Matthew's gospel. Matthew 26-28, the crucifixion account and the resurrection account, that's where we're at in Matthew's gospel. And that was the night of Jesus' arrest. By then, Jesus had been anointed by Mary in Bethany. Judas had already arranged to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. And then we saw Jesus prepare the final Passover through the disciples that were sent on ahead, they prepared that upper room. And he predicted Judas's betrayal, we saw that last time, and he celebrated the last supper with them, instituting body and blood as the permanent reminder of his death for them. “This is my body, this is my blood. The blood of the New Covenant, do this in remembrance of me.” We talked about all of these things last time, and then they sang a hymn and they went out in verse 30. Now, in between all of that, we have to insert John's gospel and all of the incredible rich instruction that Jesus gives them there in John 14-16, and then the prayer that he does for them in John 17. So that happened before, I think, verse 30 in our Chapter. So he does all of these things, he tells them of the promised Holy Spirit, the counselor who's going to come. And he tells them of the persecution and suffering they're going to go through for his name's sake, that in this world that they would have trouble. And that they would be hated by all people on account of him, and that they would be put out of the synagogues, and that they would be beaten and even be put to death. And those who were doing these things would think they were serving God by doing them. And he warned them about all of these things, and then he prayed for them beautifully, that none would be lost. Except the one doomed to destruction, he leaves him out of that prayer. But that none of them would be lost, and he prays for those who will receive the gospel through their word, that all of them, all of us, will be one. Just as the Father and the Son is one that we would all be one. All of these things happening, and the teachings and instructions he was giving there in the upper room, but they weren't ready for all of that. They couldn't hear it all. Jesus acknowledged that in John's gospel. In John 16:12, he says, “I have much to say to you, more than you can now bear.” You're not able to absorb all of this and take it all in. At some point they would be ready for all of these themes, the themes of persecution and suffering, and the coming Holy Spirit and all of those things, but first they had to learn a lesson, a very bitter lesson. He'd warn them about it. He's warning them right here in this text. It's a bitter lesson about themselves, but the words wouldn't be enough, they had to live it out. They had to go through it. And only, especially after Peter, only after Peter went through it, did he see who he really was, did he understand how self-reliant he had been and how much he needed a savior. And so all of that happened, they sing a hymn, and then they go out, go out from Jerusalem. They're going out to the Mount of Olives. They're going to Gethsemane, the very place where Judas knew where they would go, the place where Jesus would pray, and the place also where he would be arrested. And they would make their way out of the crowded city of Jerusalem, where there would be hundreds of thousands of pilgrims that were there to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Passover. And they would cross the Kidron Valley, they would go across the Brook Kidron, where all of the blood from the sacrifices, the thousands and thousands of lambs that had been slaughtered that night was being carried down also perhaps by some of the rain water. And it was being carried down there, and so it's like a river of blood they must have literally physically crossed as they crossed the Kidron Brook to go up to Gethsemane. I don't know if they noticed by the light of the full moon, but I'm certain that Jesus must have understood the significance of those lambs that were slaughtered and how they pointed to what was about to happen to him. Jesus Drops a Bombshell And so they were going to Gethsemane. And I don't know if it was while he was on the way or right before they left, or how it happens, but following a chronological order, they sang the hymn and went out and perhaps as they were walking along, or maybe once they got to Gethsemane, but he drops a bombshell on them, and Jesus is just rocking their world. One bomb shell after another. And they're just not ready for all of this. They're not ready to hear it. He just said a moment ago that Judas was going to betray him, and they were all troubled by that, and very sad and began to say, one after the other, “Surely not I Lord,” all that. Now he's very clear about who he means. Maybe they didn't know for sure it was Judas, but now he's very clear when he says these words, “This very night, you will all fall away on account of me,” with no doubt about it. And look at the time frames, it's very specific. This very night, it's going to happen, within hours. Now, what does it mean they will all fall away? The Greek word is “scandalidzo,” from which we get “scandal” or “scandalized.” Generally, translated in the sense of a stumbling stone, you'll stumble tonight. The literalistic translation has to do with a trapper, a snare with a kind of a bait stick that the prey goes after to get lured in and then trapped. And so that's going to happen to all of you. You're gonna get lured in and you're gonna get trapped. And what was the bait? The bait would be their love for their own lives, their love for themselves, that was the bait. And Satan was going to put a trap around them and he would cause them to flee because they loved their lives in this world. The Root of the Scandal: Jesus’ Suffering and Death The root of this scandal was Jesus' suffering and death, something that they just couldn't seem to get their minds around, something they just couldn't seem to accept that Jesus had to die. Peter in particular, just struggled with this. He just couldn't come to grips with it. It began in Matthew's gospel and back in chapter 16 where, in Caesarea Philippi, he has this time with his disciples. And it says, “From that time on, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hand of the elders, chief priest and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed, and on the third day, be raised to life.” He was very clear about this. “Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ‘Never, Lord!’ he said, ‘This shall never happen to you!’ Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You're a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.’” Well, the apostles all expected, as we've been told time and again - certainly after the triumphal entry, as Jesus entered Jerusalem in triumph - they really expected that he would sit on a glorious throne and rule over the whole world, and that they would get to sit at his right and his left on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel, and it was going to be a time of glory and of honor, and prestige, and comfort and luxury, and all. That's what they really thought was going to happen. And so Jesus is scandalizing them with his arrest and his suffering and death, they couldn't understand it. They couldn't understand the need for the suffering servant, the need for the shed blood of Jesus, they didn't understand the atonement. And so as he was being arrested, they would be scandalized by their shock, and they would revert to their former way of thinking, “Save yourself, you need to save yourself,” and they would run. They would not trust him, they would be left bewildered, they would be back where they started, pondering a way to re-enter their own lives. They left the fishing industry, they left their boats and their nets, and maybe they'd go back to that. It'd be a lot easier for the fishermen than for Matthew, the tax collector. I don't think he's getting that thing again, that was a good setup. And there was definitely some Jew that took his place as a tax collector, and so it'd be really hard for Matthew, but they probably were thinking these kinds of things. And Jesus said, “This very night, you’ll all fall away because of me, you'll be scandalized because of me. I'm going to offend you. Because of what I am saying, because of what I am doing, because of me, you will be offended.” It's the very same thing that he said in reference to John the Baptist. Remember when John was in prison and he wasn't quite sure he was following the trajectory of Jesus' ministry. It didn't make a lot of sense to him, and he was being broken down in prison, it was hard for him. And so he sent messengers, Matthew 11, he sent messengers to Jesus to ask, “Are you the one who was to come or should we expect someone else?” I mean, do you realize what John's asking there? Someone else means his life, John's life, has been wasted because he pointed to him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He pointed to him, he was the precursor, and now he's arrested and he's gonna die. So he was not the voice of the one calling in the wilderness, he was just reeling through unbelief at that moment. Jesus then performs a bunch of miracles in front of the messengers, and he said, “Go back and report to John what you see and hear, the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the good news is preached to the poor.” And then he said this, “Blessed are all those who do not fall away on account of me. Don't let anything that I'm doing offend you. Trust me in everything I'm doing. Not just some of what I'm doing, trust everything I'm doing. Don't fall away on account of me.” They Would ALL Fall Away! But he says to the 11, “This very night, you will all fall away on account of me.” Isn't it amazing how little loyalty and courage they had after watching and being involved in the only perfect ministry there has ever been? That Jesus could not engender more loyalty and more courage than that is just astonishing. Note: Jesus’ Knowledge of the Future... Based on Scripture Note again, Jesus' specific and detailed knowledge of the future, as we discussed last time in reference to Judas. Jesus has meticulous, complete, accurate foreknowledge of everything that will happen. John makes it plain concerning this very night when he's arrested in John 18:4, it says, “Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and said, ‘Who is it you're looking for?’” So John makes it very plain, what he wants us to think. Do you not understand Jesus' omniscience? He knew everything that was going to happen to him before it happened. Well it wasn't just that he knew everything that was going to happen to him, he knew everything that was gonna happen to them. And so he says in John 13:19, “I'm telling you this now, before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe that I am.” That’s all it says in the Greek, “you will believe I am.” “You'll believe that I am God, so that when all of the bad things that are about to happen tonight happen, you will believe that I am God.” Says it again, John 14:29, “I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe.” So Jesus is predicting their falling away. So he knows the future, he knows it perfectly. He also knows the past, and by that I mean specifically, he knows prophetic scripture. He knows the Old Testament better than any man that's ever lived, and so he finds an obscure prophecy in Zechariah, that predicts that those things would happen, this very thing would happen. The same book that predicted the 30 pieces of silver, the same book that predicted what would happen to the 30 pieces of silver, we'll get into all that in Matthew 27. But in Zechariah 11 it was all predicted. The 30 pieces, the throwing to the potter in the house of the Lord, all of that predicted, he then goes ahead two chapters to find this phenomenon, in Zechariah 13:7, we have this prophecy, “‘Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!’ declares the Lord almighty, ‘Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.’” At Zechariah 13:7, this prophecy shows that even their falling away, even their running away to save their lives had been predicted by the prophets. Now, I would say that without Jesus' link here, without his explanation, we wouldn't have found it. We wouldn't have linked it to this event, we wouldn't have found Jesus and his arrest and them running away here, but as William Cowper put it in one of his beautiful hymns, “God is his own interpreter, and he will make it plain.” So if he tells us it was predicted in Zechariah 13:7, it was, and so it was made plain. And in the original context, in Zechariah 13, Zechariah is talking about false prophets who are going to turn away from their false prophecy and forsake it, and renounce those false prophecies, but suddenly in Zechariah 13:7, the prophet speaks into this word about the true shepherd of Israel, and he says, “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” And it's amazing, the prophecy calls for God's sword to awake against “my shepherd,” “my associate,” or “the one who is close to me.” It's very strong in the original language. It really points to the deity of Christ. The shepherd of God's sheep is one who's very close to Almighty God. Made me think of Philippians 2:6, “Jesus who being in very nature, God did not think it robbery,” KJV gives us, “did not think it robbery to be equal with God.” It wasn't 'cause he was equal with God and is. He says in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one,” and so strike the shepherd, the associate, the one who's close to me, and the sheep are gonna be scattered. But it's also clearly a prediction of the atoning work of Jesus on the cross. Jesus would be struck by the wrath of God. And so I meditated on this and I thought, it's amazing. Jesus is our good shepherd. When you take the shepherd away, the sheep have no protection. We are at the mercy of the wolves and they have no mercy, and that's why the sheep are scattered, we're in danger. So that's the effect. That's why it happened. That's why they ran away, because their shepherd was gone - How much do we need Jesus! But then conversely, isn't it marvelous that it's as Jesus is being struck, that he provides the shelter for us, so that we are protected! It's in the striking we get our protection. So I wanna say the final story is strike the shepherd and the sheep will be gathered. Amen. Hallelujah. So they're scattered for a while, but then the Lord is gonna gather them by the Holy Spirit and bring them back. So it's kind of depressing this text, but it has a happy ending. They're going to run, they're gonna get scattered, and Jesus is going to bring them all back. We'll talk about that at the end. Peter Displays His Sinful Self-Reliance (vs. 33) Perhaps the Worst Statement Ever Made in Scripture by Any True Follower of Jesus I haven't forgotten verse 32, but let's go on to verse 33. I'll do verse 32 at the end. But look at verse 33, Peter displays a sinful self-reliance. He replies, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” I don't know if this is true, but I'm gonna go ahead and say it, anyway. This may be the worst statement ever made in scripture by a true follower of Christ. If there are others, fine, find them and we'll talk about it. But it's up there. It's in the top five. This is horrible. It's horrible at many levels. Let's do the worst part of it at all. First of all, Peter's statement is arrogant, over against Jesus himself. In effect, is he not saying, “Jesus, you're wrong. You're wrong.” Now, Peter's bold to do this, I've noted it several times in the pulpit here, and I'll just say it briefly, four times Peter says “Never” to the Lord. Four times. I've already quoted one in Matthew 16 about his death. “Never Lord!” he said, “this shall never happen to you.” What I love about each of these four times, God gets the final word, every time. Jesus gets the final word. So Peter is just wrong. He rebukes him in Matthew 16. Here in our text, he says it twice. He says it here, and then he says it again, “Even if I have to die with you, I never will disown you.” So he says it twice. He says it at the foot washing, remember that one? “Lord, are you gonna wash my feet?” Jesus says, “You don't understand, later you will,” and he proceeds. He said, “Never, Lord. You will never wash my feet.” I love the fact that a minute later, he's washing Peter's feet. Isn't that wonderful? Thank God that Jesus wins every argument he has with us. But even after the resurrection, even after the giving of the Holy Spirit, he's still doing it, still fighting that fleshly tendency to challenge God and to disagree with God. That's when, in Acts 10, the Lord is getting him ready to go preach the gospel to a Gentile, to Cornelius, remember that, and he shows him a sheet full of animals that up to that time had been unclean for him as a Jew, but now God has made clean, because Jesus has declared all foods clean. He says, “Arise Peter, kill and eat.” And he said, “Never, Lord, I've never eaten anything impure or unclean.” And then the voice comes from heaven a second time, “Peter, do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This is his tendency. In effect, what is Peter saying to Jesus? “Jesus, you know a lot of things. You're really good at those miracles, I don't know how you do it, it's amazing, and you're right about so many things, but you're wrong about me. You're wrong about me.” The root issue here is definitely pride. “You don't know me very well.” And yet, isn't this true? Psalm 139, “O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise ... before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely, O Lord.” He has searched us and he knows us. Secondly, Peter's statement is arrogant compared to his friends, the other apostles. Do you see it? But what is he saying here compared to them? “I am the greatest of all the apostles. I am the first, the chief, the most courageous, the most loyal, and even if all fall away on account of you, I know I never will.” Very arrogant, and it's the kind of jockeying that you see these guys doing all the time, arguing among themselves as to which of them is the greatest. If you were one of the 11 and you heard Peter say that, wouldn't that cause a rise out of you? Say, “Now wait a minute, Peter. Wait a minute. I think I might actually be the last to cave in.” And so there was that kind of bickering, that kind of arguing that goes on, that jockeying for position. But friends, what about this, what about Philippians 2:3, “Do nothing out of selfishness or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others better than yourselves.” Do you see that kind of humility in this statement here by Peter? I don't. Is he considering others better than himself? The Root Issue: Pride and Self-Reliance So the root issue here is the whole theme of the sermon, I believe, and that's pride and self-reliance. Pride and self-reliance. He underestimates the incredible trial that he's about to face, he doesn't understand how strong the prince of this world who is coming is. He said, “The prince of this world is coming, and he has nothing on me.” Jesus said that. But he's coming. And he is going to sift them all like wheat, Luke tells us. He's going to test them. So he greatly underestimates the trial that's coming, but even worse, he greatly overestimates his ability to meet any trial that comes. It's like, “I got this one. I can handle this night, and I am not running, and I am not going to forsake you.” He's relying on himself. “I will be up to the task.” We'll talk more about self-reliance at the end of the message. Christ Predicts Peter’s Three-Fold Denial (vs. 34) The Specific Prophecy In verse 34, Christ predicts Peter's threefold denial. He says, “I tell you the truth, this very night before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” This is a very specific prophecy, it goes even beyond this very night. It's before the rooster crows. The Jews divided the evening into four parts; by this time two of those parts are done. Evening was from six to nine. Midnight from nine until 12. The cock crow could happen anywhere from 12 until three. And morning from three to six. By the time they arrived in Gethsemane, I think it's well after midnight. It's been a full night, the Passover lamb can't be slaughtered until Twilight. And so, they've had all of these things, the eating, all of the teaching, everything they had, so I think it's late, really late, or early, depending on how you looked at it, the next day. And so Jesus is predicting that they're going to fall away within a couple of hours. Within a couple of hours. That Peter is gonna deny him three times, within a couple of hours. And yet, do you not see the grace of God in all of this? It is by this prediction, the specificity of it, that God is going to draw Peter back from the dark extremities of unbelief and of turning away, and he's gonna draw him back away, back into the light of a healthy walk with Christ. You remember what happens? He denies him, denies him, denies him, and he even calls down curses on himself, and then the rooster crows and then he remembers. He remembers the words that the Lord had spoken, and he goes away from that very tempting and tough situation, and he goes alone, and he weeps bitterly, and that's the road back. That's the road back. Do you realize what Jesus said Peter would do? “You will disown me. You'll disown me. You'll deny that you even know me.” Talk about taking an axe in your hands and chopping down the tree you're sitting on, if you could even do that. Imagine that. Do you realize the significance of that knowing that happens between the soul and Christ? Do you realize that that is the essence of eternal life? In John 17:3, “Now this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” What is Peter saying? “I don't know Jesus.” According to John 17:3, he's saying, “I don't have eternal life, I'm dead.” Conversely, do you realize how significant it will be on Judgment Day for Jesus to know you? “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evil doers.’” Says it several times. In Luke 13, “You will stand outside, knocking on the door and saying, ‘Sir sir, open the door.’ But he will answer, ‘I don't know you or where you come from.’” That's in a parable. “I don't know you.” Luke 12:9, “He who disowns me before men will himself be disowned before the angels of God.” 2 Timothy 2:12, “If we disown him, he will also disown us.” Thanks be to God he didn't disown Peter, amen. He disowned him three times. He said, “I don't even know him. Never heard of him. I'm not his disciple.” The Specificity Displays Christ’s Omniscience, and Underscores His Grace and Love And he's very specific about the rooster crowing and about the number of times, three times, and that specificity, again, displays Christ's omniscience, and the prediction underscores Christ's grace and love, because he's going to go as a good shepherd and he's gonna bring this sinner back in. He's gonna restore him, he's going to redeem him, he's going to renew him, he's going to give him a ministry that he doesn't deserve, and he's going to bolster him up and strengthen him in his two weak areas, his self-reliance and his fear of death. And he's gonna cure both of those, so that he will be a mighty minister of the gospel for Jesus Christ. He's gonna cure both of them. And so in John 21, when he restores him and he says, “Do you love me?” He says, “I love you,” three times. He restores him, and then he says, “I tell you the truth, in the past, when you were younger, you dressed yourself and you went wherever you wanted to go, but in the future, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will dress you and take you where you do not wanna go.” And then John tells us that this is the way Peter would glorify God by death. And so he would lose his self-reliance and he would lose his fear of death, but he had some very bitter learning to go through first. Peter and the Other Apostles Deepen Their Sinful Self-Reliance (vs. 35) Amazing Arrogance! And then in verse 35, Peter and the other apostles, deep in their sinful self-reliance, they go even deeper here. I would have stopped after the first statement, wouldn't you? Maybe, I don't know. See, I think I was just arrogant there. I probably would have said it five more times, so I don't know. But it's so stunning, it's not enough, this one encounter, he's gonna go even deeper. “I see you're getting real specific with the prophecy here Lord, but you're still wrong. Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same. This is amazing, arrogance. “Lord, you are so wrong about me.” Now, here we see the total reliance on self, that's gonna translate into the sin of prayerlessness in a moment in Gethsemane. They're not gonna pray. You know why? Because they don't need to pray, because they've got this one, they're fine, they're underestimating what's coming their way, and they're not ready for it. If they were not so self-reliant, they would pray. The mark of your self-reliance and mine is prayerlessness. That's how you know. How do I know that I'm self-reliant, it is prayerlessness. Whatever you don't pray about, that's what you're relying on yourself to do. I'm convinced of that. So I see big pockets of self-reliance in my life. The Mention of Death Goes to the Heart of the Matter Isn't it interesting that Peter also goes to the issue of death, and he says, “Even if I have to die.” I think that's the very thing he was afraid of. That's what made him deny Jesus. He was afraid of torture and death. He was afraid of torture and death. So when the servant girl challenges him at the entrance of the high priest's house, he's gonna shrink back and say, “No, no, I don't know him,” and then it's gonna get worse and worse, and Jesus had called on his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel will find it. What good would it be for a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” The heroes in the book of Revelation, we're told about them, in Revelation 12:11, “They overcame Satan by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, that they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” But Peter does love his life so much as to shrink from death, so do the other of the 11, and it's completely understandable. I'm not slamming on Peter here. It is the most natural thing in the world to preserve yourself, to seek survival. It is completely natural. All animals do it, all people too. You try to survive, try to live for another day. Get out of it, get your foot out of the net and get out of there, so you don't die. It's the most natural thing in the world. It is supernatural to face death joyfully because you believe in an invisible heaven that's going to come. That's supernatural, that comes only by faith, and that's a supernatural work of God's grace. And that's what makes Peter's self-reliance so bad. Only God can make us supernaturally confident in the face of our own death. It is only by faith that we can face the visible reality of our death with the invisible reality of the heaven that will follow it. Self-reliance looks ahead to the trial and looks inward to the resource and says, “I can do it.” But faith looks ahead to the trial and looks upward to God and says, “Only by your help and your strength can I do this.” Through prayer, you say, “God, grant me strength. I can't face this trial alone. You've gotta help me.” Christ Predicts the Cure (vs. 32; Luke 22:31-32) Jesus, Even as He Made His Initial Prediction, Pointed Ahead to His Resurrection Victory! Well, let's go back to verse 32. Jesus predicts the cure. Amen. Jesus predicts the cure. The final word will be grace, the final word will be triumph and victory, not defeat for these 11. Then Jesus told them in verse 31, “This very night, you will all fall away on account of me. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’” Verse 32, “But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” Furthermore... They Would See Him Again... They Would Not Be Abandoned I'm going to die, but I'm going to rise again. And then I'm going to see you again. This isn't gonna be our last night, it's a bad night, but this isn't our last time together, you will meet me in Galilee and we will be together and you'll see me in my resurrection glory, and we'll go on from there. And I'm not gonna fire you, I could, but I'm not gonna fire you and find some people who will be more loyal and more courageous and more faith-filled, I don't know where I'd find them, 'cause we're all the same. No, I'm gonna work with you and I'm going to restore you, I'm not gonna abandon you, I'm going to renew you, and even better, I'm gonna give you the power of the Holy Spirit, and by the power of the Spirit, you're gonna overcome your self-reliance and you're gonna overcome your fear of death. And you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. And when they arrest you, don't worry about what to say, because at that time it will be given you what to say, because it's not gonna be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. The Power of the Holy Spirit And you will lose your fear - and so he did, in Acts chapter 4, there's Peter arrested for the healing of a lame man, and he and John are brought in, and then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit, said this, “Rulers and elders of the people,” those were his arrestors, his inquisitors, his executioners, he's not afraid of them at all. “Rulers and elders of the people, if we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel, it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” He's lost his self-reliance, and he's lost his fear of death. And why? Because the Holy Spirit was poured out on him. And so it would be for all of them. All of them would be martyred. Church history tells us one story after another, you can look it up, what tradition says. Some hideous deaths awaited them, but they were not afraid, they continued to testify to the resurrection of Christ. All except John, who went in exile in Patmos. They lost their fear of death, and they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. And so, this story has a happy ending. Praise God. Applications Forsake Your Self-Reliance and Come to Christ! What applications can we take from it? First of all, the most significant form of self-reliance you have, has to do with judgment day, your own death, judgment day and heaven and hell. May I plead with you on the basis of the gospel to stop trusting in yourself and flee to Christ? May I plead with you to look to Christ alone? Do not begin to say, “I'm not a sinner.” You know you are. The law of God stands against you. All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is not one of us righteous, not one of us can stand on our own righteousness before the judgment seat of a holy God who sees everything we've ever done, and survive. And so we must have a savior. So turn away from self-reliance and trust in Christ. He is the Son of God, his blood was shed on the cross for sinners like you and me. And as we've already said, God raised him from the dead on the third day, and that atonement has been accepted. See in This Account Your Own Weakness If you've already come to Christ, you're a Christian, face the weight of the question I asked you earlier. How do you know you're going to finish this race? Is it because it's going to be easy? It's not. The world, the flesh and the devil will oppose you every step of the way, and you know it. How then do you know you're going to finish? There is still a part of you that says, “Because I …” There's still a part of you. You may not say it at the time of confessional, you know where I say, “How do you know?” “Jesus saved me.” You know the right answers, but we don't live them like we should. All of us struggle with self-reliance. How do I know that? Because one of the greatest apostles, greatest men that ever lived was the Apostle Paul, and he struggled with it, badly. And as a matter of fact, the only thing that would get him to turn away was to be in trial so severe that he thought he was going to die. That's the only thing that can wean us off our self-reliance. 2 Corinthians 1:8-9, “We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the trials we faced in Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed in our hearts, we felt the sentence of death. But this happened so that we might no longer rely on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead.” There's so much in there. What that teaches me is that even the apostle, a mature man of God, was still somewhat self-reliant. And only the pressure of extreme trial caused him to rely fully on God who raises the dead. So what are those things you think you can handle and don't need to pray about? What would you include in that? Parts of your job, your work life, financial life, academic life, relationships, marriage, parenting, single life, sexual purity? You got that one? Are you able to handle that one on your own? How about anxiety? You can handle anxiety. “I got anxiety licked, I'm good at anxiety.” Well, you're good at anxiety, you're not good at beating it, but we can be anxious. Alright, what is it? Circle with a red pen those areas of your life that you don't think you need to pray about. It's like, “Oh, I know the right answer. That's nothing, I know I need to... “ Alright, what do you actually pray about and what do you not pray about? And I would contend those things you actually don't pray about, there's a good indication you're probably relying on yourself. Forsake that. Learn to pray about everything. Learn to ask God for help in everything. Encourage one another in your fellowship with another, look to God, trust in God, let's trust in him for all things. The High Priestly Ministry of Christ... Praying for Our Faith: Luke 22 Finally, I want to point you up into the heavenly realms, and I wanna tell you something that's going on right now to help you, and it's mentioned in the parallel account. Go in your Bibles, hope I get the quote right this time, Luke 22:31-32. I wanna finish by pointing to this one. It's the same story, but it was told with a little more detail in Luke's gospel. Jesus predicting Peter's falling away. Luke 22:31-32. There Jesus says this to Peter, “Simon, Simon, Satan has demanded to sift you as wheat.” The you there is plural. So he's gonna sift all of you. “But I have prayed for you, Simon,” the you there is singular, “I've prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” This is an incredibly vital glimpse into the heavenly realms to the priestly prayer ministry of Jesus for you. He is at the right hand of God, Hebrews 7:25, and is interceding for you right now. And it tells us who he's talking to, we know, he's talking to the Father. He's talking to the Father, but it tells us the topic of the conversation. “I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith” - Simon's faith is the topic of that conversation. “Father, I'm praying right now for Simon's faith.” What is the end of that prayer? What is the end result? “That it won't fail. That it won't fail.” Let me ask you a question, without Jesus' priestly ministry for you, do you think your faith would fail? Can your faith survive the siege warfare of the devil as he hurls the world at you, and as your flesh unlocks the gate of the walled fortress to let the enemy in, can you survive all of that without Jesus' intercessory prayer for you? I tell you, you can't. So therefore, he's praying for you continually, that your faith won't fail. And guess what? It won't. It won't. Why? Because the God who gave it to you will sustain it every moment of your lives until the day you die. And the Son who died, who shed his blood to buy you that faith, is praying that you'll keep having it until the day you die, and then you will. You will. So what I would urge you to do is, first, just know that's going on all the time. He is interceding for you, that your faith won't fail. Don't trust in yourself, rely on him and join him in his intercessory prayer ministry for yourself. Say, “Oh Lord, please, sustain my faith, don't let my faith fail, let me keep believing in you, let me... “ And then extend it outward and join in a kind of a priestly ministry for each other. Let's pray for each other. Pray for so and so that his faith won't fail. Her faith won't fail. They're going through a medical trial, I'm praying that their faith won't fail. They're going through medical trials, I'm praying, Oh God, that their faith won't fail. That's the focal point of your prayer. And away with self-reliance. Amen? Away with self-salvation. Away with all of that. And look to the savior, the one who saves us. Let's close in prayer. Father, we thank you for the lesson that we've had. It's been painful, it's a painful lesson, to look in the mirror and find in Peter and the 11, such self-reliance, to find in them attitudes that we deplore in ourselves, but they're there, of self-reliance. Forgive us for our self-reliance. Forgive us for our prayerlessness. Forgive us for thinking we can do this or do that or do the other on our own. Apart from you, Lord, we can do nothing. Strengthen in us a sense of total dependence on Christ, and to realize that only through that high priestly praying ministry will our faith not fail. And God is sovereign, the one who gave us the faith to begin with will sustain it until the day we die and don't need it anymore, because faith will be sight. We thank you for these things and pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

sermon transcript Introduction What an awesome scripture this is. Back in 1950, Winston Churchill wrote a history of World War II called The Hinge of Fate. He was one of the major players as the Prime Minister of England. Doesn't that just draw you in? Don't you want to read a book like that, especially by Churchill? I'm not a believer in fate, another word for that would be luck. I don't believe in a universe that's out of control, that no one has any idea where it's going, and that there's no great pilot to it. I believe in a history that has a meaning, it has an alpha, and it has an omega, and every letter in between has a purpose. We're at the hinge of history as we come to Matthew 26:17-30. What do I mean by that? For centuries before this night that we're studying, God had drawn His people, His chosen people, the Jews, into a pattern of life that was under the heading of the Old Covenant. The Laws of Moses and the Old Covenant, and all of their celebrations and their religious festivals were commanded by the Old Covenant. And I say to you, that as Jesus gathered there that night with His disciples to celebrate one more time the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, that was the last time in history that God was pleased to accept that Passover lamb, that physical lamb and its bloodshed. No more, for the rest of history, would God accept animal blood. You've been with me on the journey through the Book of Hebrews, you know what I'm talking about, I'll go back into some of those scriptures again to remind you. But that was it, that night, when that lamb was killed, and its blood was shed, and Jesus drew together to celebrate in the old pattern and with the Old Covenant stipulations one last time. He stood at the hinge of history. He spoke words that just bring chills to me as I contemplate it. He points to a New Covenant in his blood, his blood poured out for the forgiveness of sins, and in that I stand and proclaim the Word of God to you today, in the forgiveness of the New Covenant and the shed blood of Jesus. The Hinge of History: Jesus the Sacrificial Lamb We're at the hinge of history as we look at the transition from the Old Covenant to the New. For centuries, the Jews used the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the twin festivals, to look back at the Exodus of the Jews from bondage, from slavery in Egypt, under Moses. They look back at that great exodus, and they remember the mighty things that God had done. But I believe that that Exodus itself, in space and time, that actual event in history, and the religious observances that followed in the Law of Moses, the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, were all just types and symbols of a far greater exodus, a far greater salvation and deliverance that Jesus would work eventually. They were looking back, but those by faith perhaps understood they were looking ahead to a Savior yet to come. For us, we look back at both events. We look back at the first Exodus and all that was celebrated at that time, how God led the Jews out of bondage, out of slavery through Moses, passing through the Red Sea. How before in the tenth plague, the angel of death passed over all of the houses where that unblemished lamb, its blood had been shed and hyssop branches were dipped into the bowl and the blood was painted and applied on the door posts and the lintels of the Jewish homes. The Angel of Death saw that blood and passed over. The clear implication is that any first born in that house, if there had been no blood, would have died and died justly under the wrath of God. Instead, the Jewish first born were delivered, but yet there was not a home among the Egyptians that there was not wailing. From Pharaoh who sat on the throne down to the lowest handmaid, everyone lost someone. There was grief and there was wailing that night. The Jews then passed through the Red Sea, and they were delivered. We can look back on those events, but we look back to a far greater exodus, a far greater deliverance, and that is the one worked by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the one who is greater than Moses. Moses was a servant in all God's house, but Jesus is a son over God's house, He is our Savior, He is our deliverer. We look back at that, and we do it every time we celebrate the Lord's supper, and so we stand at the hinge of history. We're going to go through this passage and not make a lot of comments. We're just going to try to understand the text and what it says. Then for the second half of the sermon, I'm going to draw out lessons and applications from these rich verses. Let's begin in verses 17-19, looking at the preparations for the Passover. The text says, "On the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, 'Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?'" He replied, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, 'The teacher says, my appointed time is near, I'm going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.'" So, the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. Now we come to the Feast of Unleavened Bread again, and the celebration of Passover. How did they relate to one another? Really, they were two festivals in one, both pointing back, as I said, to the same time in redemptive history. The Feast of Unleavened Bread involved the eating of bread made without yeast. It represented bread eaten in haste, not the kind of bread you eat for pleasure or comfort. Yeast makes pastries rise, makes fluffy bread rise. Unleavened bread isn't for pleasure, just for nourishment, and it was eaten in haste because they had a journey to travel. They were leaving where they'd been living for centuries, and they were moving on to a promised land. It’s a bread symbolic of our status in this world as aliens and strangers, this bread eaten in haste. Not bread eaten for pleasure or for taste, but rather bread eaten to sustain us on our journey as we make our pilgrimage to heaven. This feast would last eight days. On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread was the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. The lamb would be slaughtered, according to the law of Moses, a lamb without blemish or defect. At that time, Jerusalem would have been filled with people. Josephus gives us an indication that perhaps there were as many as two million people, pilgrims that had come from all over the Roman world to celebrate these twin festivals of Unleavened Bread and the Passover. The feast that they were celebrating had elaborate rituals which involved many elements, all of which needed preparation. After sunset on the first day of the feast, the household would gather together in a home to eat the Passover lamb, which by then would have been sacrificed and roasted with bitter herbs. The head of the household would begin the meal with a prayer of thanksgiving for the feast and for the wine, praying over the first of four cups of wine. A preliminary course of greens and bitter herbs was generally followed by a young boy in the house who would ask the questions of that night, laid out in the book of Deuteronomy, questions about the meaning of all of this. "What is the meaning of all this?" Then the head of the household would explain the symbolism and recount the history of the exodus. Then the people would sing the first part of the Hallel, perhaps Psalm 113, and then the second cup of wine would introduce the main course, the Passover lamb, followed by third cup, the cup of blessing, accompanied by another prayer of thanksgiving, and then all the participants would sing the rest of the Hallel, probably Psalm 114, and probably drank the fourth cup of wine at that point. Thus, you can see the preparations for all of this would have been extensive. There would have been a lot of details that they would have to look after to be sure everything was ready. Therefore, Jesus gives directions for the disciples to make preparations. He explained to them very plainly in Luke 22, how much he desired to have this meal with them. That moves me, and it melts me. Luke 22:15-16, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I tell you that I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God." He wanted to sit at table with them, they were his friends, and He yearned to have that time together with them. In John 17:24 it pointed to a far greater desire that Jesus has, of which that is just merely the symbol, and how He prays in John 17, "Father, I yearn, I desire that those whom you have given me be with me where I am, and see my glory, the glory because you love me from the foundation of the Earth.” That's the deeper desire. Jesus yearns to be with us forever. He yearns to not just sit at the table with us once on one particular evening, but forever and to have fellowship. The disciples initiate the question, "Where should we go to make preparations?" But Jesus, He's already way ahead of them, you will never get ahead of God and your service to God. He's already ahead of you, we're going to talk more about that at the end of the sermon, but He's way ahead of the disciples on preparations for the Passover. He is the God who goes ahead of us, as He says in John 14, "Do not let your hearts be troubled, Trust in God, trust also in me. In my father's house are many rooms. If it were not so I would have told you, for I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me so that you also may be where I am." He is the God who goes ahead and prepares things, so Jesus replied in verse 18, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him the teacher says, 'My appointed time is near, I'm going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.'" A particular man has been selected as the host for the Last Supper. What an awesome responsibility that is, what an incredible role to play in redemptive history. A certain man, that's all we're told here in Matthew. We're also told Jesus' poignant statement, "My appointed time is near.” there's a time that was set out, it was appointed, it was part of God's eternal timetable, and that time has come. Eternity steps into time with Jesus, and that moment has come. Four times in John's Gospel He says, "My time has not yet come." Four different times, He says, "My time has not yet come." Well, now the time has come, He says here in the text, "My appointed time is near," and so the hour has come. Luke gives us more details about this. Now, you may be fretting, you may be practically minded, you say, "A certain man? There's two million people in the city. How are we going to know where to go? Many, many pilgrims are renting rooms and preparing and getting ready." He's got it covered. Be anxious for nothing. The Lord knows exactly what he's doing. You get more details in Luke 22, 7-13, “Then came the day of unleavened bread in which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed." That first day of the feast, Jesus sent Peter and John saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover." "Where do you want us to prepare for it?" They asked. He replied, "As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you, follow him to the house that he enters and say to the owner of the house, 'The teacher asks, where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there." They left and found things just as Jesus had told them, so they prepared the Passover. Now this, friends, is just weird. I want to try to make it come alive to you. Suppose someone told you, "Drive to Raleigh, and as you're driving around the inner Beltline, as you come to exit 10B, you'll take that ramp. As you go down, you'll see a blue pick-up truck driving by, follow it." That would scare me actually, if I saw that happening, wouldn't it? "Just drive and follow him, he'll lead you right where you need to go." Is history really that choreographed? Is it really that orchestrated, friends? It's more choreographed and more orchestrated than that. This is the God who holds atoms together by the power of His sovereign will. He has tremendous attention to detail. He is meticulous. He knew that there would be several million people and they needed to know where to go, "Follow the guy with the jar of water." More on that later. The Passover lamb was sacrificed at that point. It is the perfect picture of Christ now reaching its fulfillment, by the shed blood of the Passover lamb. The firstborn of Israel was delivered from death by the angel of the Lord, and for centuries the Jews had commemorated that deliverance by slaughtering one lamb after another. One lamb after another, a river of blood. The annual repetition of those sacrifices taught a very poignant lesson. Hebrews makes it very plain what that lesson is. In Hebrews 10:1-4, "The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming, not the realities themselves." For this reason, it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For then the worshiper would have felt cleansed for his sins and would no longer have felt guilty for sin. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins, so the endless repetition taught this final lesson of the animal sacrificial system. Remember, all sin deserves a death penalty. The death penalty can be paid by a substitute, but the substitute never has been and never will be an animal. It's all symbolic. It points toward those beautiful words John the Baptist said, when he pointed to Jesus as he began his public ministry to Israel, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." Hebrews 10:14 says, "By one sacrifice, Christ has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." We see the obedience of the disciples, but far greater the obedience of Christ. The disciples did everything that the Lord told them to do, praise God for that. But more importantly, Jesus did everything the Father told him to do. It is by his obedience I find my salvation, His perfect submission to the law of Moses, how He was born of a woman, born in the fullness of time, born under the law, to redeem those under the law. You see? He stepped into time under the law of Moses, and He stayed in that right to the end of His life. He perfectly obeyed the laws of God, and that perfect righteousness to God's holy law is now my righteousness, and yours too, if you believe in Christ. It is in that obedience I stand now, and none other. Jesus is obedient. It says in Philippians 2, "Even to death on a cross", that's how obedient He was, right to the end. Do you not see the courage in Jesus in even going to Jerusalem, the courage in going to be the Passover Lamb? He knew full well what it meant, "Until it finds its fulfillment in my Father's Kingdom." He knew that none of his sheep would make it into his father's kingdom if He didn't shed his blood for them. Now, in verses 20-25 we come to the prediction of the betrayer. When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve, and while they were eating, He said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me." They were very sad and began to say to Him, one after the other, "Surely, not I Lord." Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him, but woe to the man who betrays the Son of Man. It would be better for him if he had not been born." Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi." Jesus answered, "Yes, it is you." The Passover Feast is going on, this intimate fellowship Jesus is having with those he loved the most, this last time he's having with them that He said He yearned for. Jewish law said that Passover could not begin until the lamb was sacrificed, and that at twilight. So now it's evening and they're reclining at table, a scene of peace, a scene of fellowship, a scene of togetherness before the storm of anguish and wrath and blood and death is going to come the next day. They are together having this time, and Jesus unfolds his mind and his heart now to His disciples, and He pours it out and lets them know what He's feeling. Jesus has deep sorrow over this betrayal, it's not recorded here in Matthew, but it's very real. It is recorded for us in John 13:21, "After He said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and said, 'I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.'" This betrayal bothers Jesus, He is filled with grief over betrayal by Judas. Jesus was called “a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering,” and here He was deeply distressed, troubled in spirit over the betrayal by Judas. Verse 23, I think, focuses on the intimacy of the fellowship, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me." The issue here in Matthew, I think, is not so much of identifying who it is as it is with the sop, that piece of bread that's handed in John's Gospel to Judas. When he took it, Satan entered into him. But here I don't think it's a matter of identification at that point, I think He's saying, “The one I shared this kind of intimacy with, the one I shared this kind of friendship with is going to turn me over to my death. He's going to sell me, so that I would die. Someone here sitting at this meal with me is going to betray me.” The sharing of a meal shows intimacy, a kind of friendship together. Psalm 41:9 predicted this pain of Jesus, "Even my close friend whom I trusted, he who shared my bread has lifted up his heel against me." Betrayal can only be done by a close friend. Betrayal can't be done in the absence of an existing relationship, but please understand, there is no surprise here now. Don't misunderstand. Jesus isn't surprised by this betrayal. He's known all along it was going to happen. He knew it before the foundation of the world. He certainly knew it much earlier in the Gospel accounts. In John chapter 6, He talks about eating my flesh and drinking my blood and saying that many of Jesus' followers went away and no longer followed him. Jesus turns to the twelve and said, "What about you? You don't want to go away, too, do you?" Peter says, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." Jesus answers with the doctrine of election, "Have I not chosen you, the twelve? And one of you is a devil." This a very important statement. It is not one of you will become a devil later, one of you is a devil now. Judas never believed in Jesus. He never loved him. It wasn't a transformation that came over him. Jesus knew who he was. As a matter of fact, in all the Gospel accounts, whenever Judas is introduced, he is immediately tagged the one who would betray him, and that, I think just is a symbol of how it was never a surprise to Jesus from the very beginning. Judas has astonishing wickedness here, and the disciples all respond with humility and deep concern. They're very sad and begin to say to him, one after the other, "Surely not I, Lord?" Deeply moved, deeply troubled about it, Judas doesn't join at that moment, but he waits a moment later and asks about himself. Then Judas, the one who would betray him, "Surely not I, Rabbi," he says. Jesus answered, "Yes, it is you." None of the other eleven had marked him out as the betrayer. After Judas did take that sop, that piece of bread, and Satan entered into him, Jesus then gives them a sovereign command. "What you are about to do, do quickly." So, Judas goes out. At that moment, the other eleven thought he was going to buy more supplies for the feast. The depth of the hypocrisy, how much the actor can act, how much they can look good on the outside, but inside full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In verse 24, we come to the mystery of all mysteries, really in Scripture, the mystery of divine sovereignty and human responsibility, especially as it comes down to the reprobate, the one who will, in the end, be lost, the one who, in the end, will be condemned. Verse 24, "The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to the man who betrays the Son of Man, it would be better for him if he had not been born." We'll get into that more fully later. In verses 26-30, we have The Last Supper, the blood of the covenant, focused on while they were eating. “Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to his disciples saying, ‘Take and eat, this is my body,’ then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you; I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's Kingdom.’” In verse 30, “When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” Here we have at last the Old Covenant in its final act, its final moment. Why do I say that? Because I say that the moment Jesus said it is finished, and when the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, the Old Covenant was done forever. It has been supplanted by a better covenant, a superior covenant by which we stand in God's sight. They are fulfilling the ritual, the Passover Lamb has been slaughtered, the symbolism looks back, but now Jesus supplants it. He takes it over. He takes the bread, He gives thanks, He breaks it and gives it to them with these amazing words, "Take and eat, this is my body." Now, the feast, the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, was instituted for symbolic and spiritual reasons, Jesus takes those symbolic and spiritual reasons over and points to a new covenant, a new reality, the lessons of our Exodus now. The lessons of our salvation are going to be fulfilled in his physical body, very physical here. You could touch it, you could break it, you could hear it broken, you can maybe smell a little more once it was broken, you could chew it, you could swallow, it's very physical here. Then he does the same thing with the cup. He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." With these words, Jesus inaugurates the symbolism of the New Covenant, which we have celebrated ever since in the Lord's supper. This New Covenant is about to be fulfilled in his blood, the blood of the covenant here, symbolic language they would have understood from the sacrificial system, which across this hinge of history is now rendered obsolete, obsolete forever. They would have understood the symbolism, but now he's identified a new blood, and therefore, a new covenant. That's the logic that the author of Hebrews gives us. Because of this, we must have a new covenant, because the old covenant could not have sustained these truths, so He identifies it very powerful here in Matthew, “my blood of the covenant.” It's focused on him, “this is my blood of the covenant.” The Centerpiece of the New Covenant: The Forgiveness of Sins The centerpiece of the New Covenant, and this is the great good news of the Gospel, is the forgiveness of sins, that our sins may be forgiven, that we may stand before God forgiven, holy, and blameless in his sight. It is for that that the blood was shed. "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out," He says, “for many, for the forgiveness of sins." It's not focused anymore on just the Jews. The barrier, the dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile has been removed forever, and there is now one new man, and that one new man is a Christian or a believer in Jesus, not Jew or Gentile any longer now, but follower of Christ, from both the Jews and the Gentiles. Jesus' blood is shed not just for the Jews, but for many, for people from every tribe and language and people and nation all over the world. He shed his blood for all of the Elect, and God knew who they were, knew them by name, each of them from the tribes of the world. This is the significance of the body and blood of Jesus. This is precisely why the son of God became man. This is why He took on a body that we celebrate at Christmas time. This is the purpose, the end result of the incarnation, his body and his blood, given for us for the forgiveness of sins. Then He speaks of a future fulfillment in verse 29, "I tell you; I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom." Oh, the sweet word here is that word “anew.” There's a new reality coming, a new heaven, a new earth, a New Jerusalem, a New Covenant, we ourselves made new. If anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation. Jesus is going to feast with us, He's actually going to sit down and eat with us. Isn't that mysterious? He's going to have a body, a resurrection body after his death, after his blood is shed, He's going to have a body, and so will we. We will sit at the table, and we will feast with him forever in his father's kingdom. Many will come from the East and the West and will take their places at that feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. We don't have these words in Matthew, but we have it in Luke, how this was established as a timeless memorial until He should come back. Luke 22:19, "He took bread and gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." It was a clear command given. The apostle Paul picks up on it in 1 Corinthians 11, so we have the ordinance of the Last Supper, and we do it consistently in healthy church life as a memorial to him, a Spirit-saturated reality-filled memorial. We don't believe in transubstantiation, we don't believe the actual body and blood of Jesus are there, but the physicality of it reminds us of his actual death on the cross, needfulness for our forgiveness, and that someday we will live with him forever in heaven. Application of the Establishment of the New Covenant That's the text. Now, let's look at some applications. Can there be any better application from this text or any text than this: Come to Christ, repent and believe, for the forgiveness of your sins. It was for this that He came, it was for this that He died, that sinners like you and me should find forgiveness. I'm not speaking in the abstract now; I'm speaking very practically. Why are you here right now? How did you get here? Did someone invite you? Did you just walk in? Are you a member? Do you know for certain that your sins are forgiven? Do you know that you are a sinner? Do you know that the law stands against you, that you will not be able to survive judgment day? The same meticulous God I spoke about a moment ago, in brief and I'll speak more in a moment, He sees everything you've ever done, every careless word you've ever spoken. Are you ready to face the one who has eyes of blazing fire? Are you ready to face him? Do you know that your sins are forgiven? If you don't, then I would urge you, while there's time, flee to Christ, trust in him. You just have to believe in him, you don't have to do anything, you don't even have to make a physical pilgrimage anymore, you just have to believe. Trust in him for the forgiveness of your sins and understand the lesson of the physicality of this, of Christ's physical body. Colossians 1:22 says, "But now God has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in a sight without blemish and free from accusation." By Christ's physical body. You are reconciled to God and made friends with him. Understand then the lesson of the blood. The wages of sin is death. Our sin deserved death penalty. Hebrews 9:22, "Without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness." Hebrews 10:4, it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Romans 3:25, "God presented him as a propitiation, a sacrifice of atonement, turning away his wrath through faith in his blood." Ephesians 1:7, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins." Blood, blood, blood, and blood. Four blood verses. It is by the blood of Jesus that we are forgiven. Trust in that, and in that alone. This is the Gospel, this is Jesus, the Son of God nailed to the cross for sinners like you. This is the essence of the statement, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Flee to Christ. Secondly, worship Christ as He is revealed here in this text. Worship him. I believe that God crafted the whole Gospel for one central overriding reason, and that is the praise of his glory. That we should be for the praise of his glory. What does that mean? It means study his attributes as He reveals them and give him honor and praise for them. I want you to see that the Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. How is the Son the radiance of God's glory? Do you not see the love of God shining forth in Jesus here? Do you not see the courage of Jesus, do you not see his compassion for us and his mercy? Do you not see the justice of God and that the cross cannot be averted, He can't avoid it? Do you not see the sovereign wisdom of God in the old covenant, the new covenant and redemptive history, and the hinge, the hinge of history here and the turning of it, and the fact that the blood of bulls and goats had to roll the play, but not the role of actual forgiveness, and now it's been fulfilled in Jesus and how now we can understand all this? Worship him, worship him like they do in heaven. Worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom, and strength, and glory and honor and praise. They stand around the throne, it says in Revelation 5, four living creatures and twenty-four elders. They have a harp and golden bowls full of incense and they are singing a new song, “You're worthy to take the scroll and open its seals because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” Worship him. Thirdly, stand in awe of God's preparations and do your part. What do I mean by that? This text shows the extensive preparations made for the Passover. Passover itself was extensive preparations made for Jesus' death. God is a preparing God. As I was thinking about this application, I was thinking about those little work projects that children do, like at Lowe's or Home Depot or whatever, where they lay out everything needed, the little hammer and the little pegs and the little... And you get to make a... I don't know bird feeder or something like that, you know what I'm saying, it's all there. You got a little dollop, Elmer's glue, a little packet of glue and everything. It's all laid out for you to do your work. I'm not minimizing, I'm not, not at all. It says in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to walk in them.” He's going ahead of you getting your work projects ready. He's already there, the room is all set up, you have a job to do, do it and by you doing whatever good works God has ordained for you to do, the kingdom advances. People are saved. Other Christians are strengthened in their faith. You use your spiritual gifts. Do you have a ministry? Are you using your spiritual gifts? This church needs every member to have a ministry. This church needs you to use your spiritual gifts, do your part, but as you do your part know that Christ has already gone ahead of you. He's prepared you for the works and the work is for you. Fourthly, stand in awe of God's exhaustive foreknowledge. Recent theologians, like Clark Pinnock and Greg Byrd have questioned God's exhaustive foreknowledge. What do I mean by that? Does God really know everything that's going to happen down to the detail ahead of time? Answer, yes, he does. Absolutely, he does. They question this, I think, because of their overwhelming commitment to their perspective on human free will. They say that if a human being is truly to have free will, God cannot know ahead of time what that person will do. He can guess, he knows your habits, but he's just a guesser still in the end. According to them then nothing is foreordained, or else people cannot have free will and cannot be held responsible for their decisions. The extreme version of this view is called Open Theism. They're leading proponents of it. Pinnock says God just simply limits himself and thus cannot know the future. If he didn't limit himself, he could, but he chooses to limit himself and not know the future. Greg Boyd says that God knows aspects of the future that can be known, including some apparently free will decisions. His is more nuanced, more complex, but he's still saying God ultimately cannot know those many decisions. There are many parts of the future he does not know. That's what “open” means. It's open, it hasn't been written yet. We'll get to that in a moment. Life is free flowing but good things will come. Really, really good things. I think of this view as the ultimate, you know how if life hands you lemons, you make lemonade, God is the ultimate of that. Life is constantly handing God lemons and he's just excellent at making lemonade. That's their view. And God is able to take all of the bad lemons we hand him and he's able to navigate through and get good things done. Is that the God of the Bible? It's beyond me to wrangle in detail with these two men and all that. The Bible does teach the exhaustive foreknowledge of God over human free will decisions. How in the world did Jesus know there would be a specific guy carrying a jug of water at that particular moment? There are millions of people in the city, but Jesus made identification so that the two disciples going to make preparations would know who to follow. He's not just showing off, but He's helping them. But suppose the guy decides to carry a basket of figs or instead a jar of wine, or suppose he trips and falls, and it breaks or something like that, then the identification is gone, they won't know who to... If this was a woman picking up and carrying it, they won't follow her because he said a man with a jar of water. The open theist would say that's the kind of thing God can't know, but Jesus apparently knew it, and He knew it certain enough to give directions based on it. This becomes even more telling in the case of Judas' betrayal, as a vital spiritual decision that must be free on Judas' part. “Jesus didn't really know whether Judas would betray him,” but clearly Jesus did know ahead of time that Judas would betray him and said that it had been written in Scripture in the Book of God's sovereign plan, Psalm 139:16, "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Jesus said plainly, while they're eating, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me," not some of you might betray me, or three of you will betray me, or any of that. He knew very well, not only that it would happen, but who would do it. In verse 24, "Then the Son of Man will go just as it is written about him." What does that mean, “written”? I think there are two books here, two books, there's God's book in heaven, and that's exhaustive down to the atomic level, and then there's Scripture's book of prophecy, which just gives us hints about the heavenly book. Psalm 139 says, "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." What book is that? The heavenly book. There's a book of eternal life in which the disciples are told, "Do not rejoice that the demons are subject to you and your name. But I'll tell you rejoice in this, that your names are written in heaven." That heavenly book is God's exhaustive detailed plan. So, in the small things such as the carrying of a water jar and in large things, the betrayal of the Son of God for 30 pieces of silver, everything is exhaustively known ahead of time. Jesus tells it to them ahead of time, so that [John 14], "When it does happen, you will believe and not be disturbed, but you know I predicted it plainly." Fifth, we come to the hardest piece of meat that I've ever preached from this pulpit and probably ever will preach. Scripture divides roughly into milk and meat. Milk is easy, simple concepts to understand doctrinally, and meat are those things that are harder. I don't doubt for a moment that not all of you will be able to follow me where I'm about to go, maybe you'll be able to follow later. But I'm willing to ask some questions here about Judas that bring us to uncomfortable places, and I think it is to the glory of God to go there. My fifth emphasis has to do with the mystery of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Let's talk about Judas, and let's do the best we can to understand the mystery of the relationship between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. At the root of the debate between those who focus primarily on human free will, commonly called Arminians, and those who generally emphasize God's sovereignty in human salvation, commonly called Calvinists, is the problem of evil. How do we understand the problem of evil? If God is so good and all powerful, why then is there evil in the universe? The classic Arminian answer to this question runs like this, “God created the world good and only desires good things. Secondly, because God allows people free will and God never interferes with free will, to some degree, God's hands are bound by our free will decisions. Evil happens in God's universe, but it's not his fault because people are just using their free will and God will not interfere with those decisions.” Why not? Because if God ordains something and brings it to pass by his sovereign power, they argue that man is not responsible, that's how they argue. There is no way they say that a human decision can be ordained by God, and then for God to hold a human responsible for that decision. If God decrees that man do something and a man does that thing that God decreed, then the man is off the hook, so they argue. Not so much “the devil made me do it”, but really, you're saying God made me do it, so how can you hold me responsible for that? Since that would make God in their view the direct author of evil, this cannot be. God cannot hold people responsible for decisions that He has decreed. Therefore, God didn't decree them ahead of time. That's how the argument works. Now, look at verse 24. What do you do with verse 24? Talk about a monkey wrench thrown right into the gears of all of that. Jesus said, in verse 23, "The one who dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me, the Son of Man will go just as it is written about him, but woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man. It would be better for him if he had not been born." So, both are taught here, the Son of Man will go, as it is written about him. So, it's written, and it is done. It's not just God predicting, it's God decreeing, you see. It's not just predicting; the writing is God's. The Son of Man will go according to the plan, the sovereign will of God, but woe to the man by whom He goes. How do you put those two together in this scheme I just laid out? They don't fit. “It would be better for him if he had not been born.” Let me ask one question. If it would have been better for Judas not to have been born, then why was he born? Think about it. You may say I'd rather not think about it, but I'm asking you to think about it. In Psalm 139 and verse 13, it says, "For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother's womb." Did God knit Judas together in his mother's womb? Would we want to go so weird theologically, it's amazing the lengths people will go to avoid this, that say, "Oh, God knits the good people together, but he doesn't knit the bad people together." There's no scriptural evidence of that at all. God knits people together. He's the knitter. He knit you together, He created you, He created your inmost being. Let's go back then to Judas. What was God thinking when he was knitting Judas together? Open theists will say he was hoping for the best. “I sure hope you don't do what I think you're probably going to do. It doesn't make any sense to me.” While He was giving Judas a brain and hands and fingernails and a liver and a circulatory system and all that, while He was doing that, was He not mindful of Matthew 26:24, which hadn't even been spoken or written yet, but He knew was coming? “Woe to this one that I'm knitting together, woe to this one that I'm knitting together.” It's hard to figure this out, but we don't find refuge in false doctrines, that's not where we find the refuge. God knew exactly what Judas would do, and He knit him together. Romans 9:22-23 says that God knits together in the wombs of their mothers, not just the one person, Judas, but all the people that end up in hell, He knits them together in their mother's wombs, knowing full well what's going to happen with them. He knows exactly what's going to happen. Paul goes even beyond where I've gone up to this point. It says, "What if God choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of wrath prepared for destruction? What if He did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory, even us, whom He also called, not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles?” So, God gives them for the benefit of the objects of his mercy. That's the logic here. The answer is, God knit him together in his mother's womb, not because it would be better for Judas—it wasn't better for Judas— but it was better for God and his glory, and it was better for us, the Elect, that He did it. I know it's hard, but this is what the scripture teaches. God did it to teach us what we deserved, we, the Elect, we who have been chosen contrary to what we deserve. We, who are sinners, every bit as much as Judas and Hitler and all the others. You say, "Well, I wouldn't do something like that." Are you so sure you wouldn't do those things? We know the evil in our hearts. We didn't deserve to be chosen, we didn't deserve to be saved, it's by grace alone that we're going to get in heaven. His will is thoroughly perfected on that doctrine and to God alone will be the glory for our salvation, “from Alpha to Omega, to God alone be the glory.” We're not settling for bad theology here. We're going to say that when it comes to Judas and Herod and Pontius Pilate and Annas and Caiaphas, and all of them, not just Judas, as Peter said, "Jesus was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge." God's set purpose and foreknowledge, and “You, with the help of wicked men, put him to death.” They're wicked and they'll be judged for their wickedness. Judas was wicked and he was judged for his wickedness, but it was ordained by God, that's as far as I can go. I don't know how to put it any closer, anything beyond that. He is not the author of evil, because God doesn't tempt anyone to do sin ever, but each one is tempted when by his own desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Sixthly, we should hate the hypocrisy of betrayal. Do you see the sadness and the weeping in Jesus concerning Judas, not in Matthew, but in Luke or in John? He's troubled in spirit by this. This perhaps is the greatest mystery of all of this issue. Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, He weeps over these vessels of wrath. It's difficult for me to understand that He's the one that ordained it, and yet He weeps over the decisions they've made, and we should hate it and weep it, too, and not betray as Judas did. Finally, embrace the Lord's Supper in spirit and truth, though I’ve not the time now to preach a whole sermon on the Lord's Supper. As a congregation, let's come into the Lord's Supper expectantly. Let's embrace that when we obey his command, “Do this in remembrance of me,” that we will be richly fully blessed, not by transubstantiation and thinking we're actually eating the body and drinking the blood of Jesus, but by recognizing that in space and time, 2000 years ago, his body was broken and his blood shed for us, so that we might have forgiveness. Then as you actually hold that bread and drink that cup, you understand that your physical body will someday, if we're not the last generation to die, the Lord will raise you up physically and someday you will drink and eat anew with Jesus and the father's kingdom. Close with me in prayer. Father, we thank you for the richness of your word, for the power of it. Lord, I pray that these meditations on your sovereignty and our responsibility would heighten our sense of humility at how much you work contrary to our nature to save us and would give us a tremendous boldness in witnessing and evangelism to know that you have power to take this Gospel to the elect and they will hear. God take these words and press them now into our hearts, we pray in Jesus' name.

Andy Davis preaches a verse by verse expository sermon on Isaiah 27:1-13. The main subject of the sermon is how God defends and carefully watches of his people though they are sinful. - Sermon transcript- I. The Wicked Serpent Slain All over the world in every continent there are myths and legends and stories about dragons. That was a shock, wasn't it? Dragons! It's true. In China, for example, the dragon was long the symbol of the emperor of China and of the nation itself, the fierce, winged, reptile fire-breathing dragon. A three-headed dragon is on the coat of arms of the city of Moscow in Russia, and also on the national flag of Wales. And in many cultures, there are stories about the conquest of dragons by heroes that go forth to warfare against them. All of us were encouraged... What verb do you wanna put in here? Afflicted with Beowulf when you were in high school, and read that story of the conquest of that dragon. Others have voluntarily chosen to read The Hobbit, which is Bilbo Baggins struggle against Smaug, the fire-breathing dragon. Probably the most famous abiding story is that of Saint George, who was historically, as far as we know, a third century believer in Christ, a Roman soldier, who was martyred in the end by the Roman Emperor, for his faith in Christ. But many legends around him concerning his conquest of a fire-breathing dragon. There are a lot of different versions of the story of Saint George and the dragon. He comes to a pagan town in which there is a terrifying dragon nearby that's guarding the fresh water supply. And constantly they're needing to distract this dragon with some kind of sacrifices, frequently young women from the community, so that the dragon is moved off and they can go and get the water they need to survive. And they're finally down to the princess, the daughter of the King, and Saint George comes into this situation and decides to go forth and fight the dragon. And there are a lot of stories about how the battle goes and his lance is shattered into a thousand pieces, and inevitably in these conquests of dragon stories, there's some weak spot, like under the wing of the dragon that the conquerer is able to find, and either shoot an arrow into or shove a sword into and kill the dragon. Well, those are all myths and legends, and they go back even before the time that Isaiah wrote his prophecy. If you were to have a King James version of Isaiah 27:1, you would see at the end of the verse the word “dragon”. And so we come immediately to the story of a battle. In this case, however, the hero is the Lord. The Lord is going to fight Leviathan, and if you look at verse 1, it says, "In that day, the Lord will punish with his sword, his fierce, great and powerful sword, Leviathan, the gliding serpent, Leviathan, the coiling serpent, he will slay," the NIV gives us, "the monster of the sea." King James will give us "the dragon of the sea." This is speaking of the coming day of the Lord, and this phrase is repeated again and again in this chapter, in that day, or in that day, in those days, in a day in the future these following things will happen. So we come again to the concept of the day of the Lord, and here we have an epic battle, a hero struggle between the Lord and this monster, this Leviathan. Now who is Leviathan? How are we to understand this Leviathan? In my opinion, the simple answer is that these are the enemies, or this is the enemy of the people of God. And I speak in this language because, as I read history, as I read the scriptures, the ultimate enemy of the people of God is Satan. And he mobilizes human beings, his servants, sons of the devil, who go forth and battle against or war against the people of God, to kill them or make their lives miserable in some way. And so we have really a complex two-fold answer to the question, who is Leviathan? Leviathan is both a pagan empire that hates the people of God, the Jews in the Old Testament, and Satan who empowers them and directs them in hatred against God's people. And so Leviathan is described in three ways here. Leviathan, the gliding serpent; Leviathan, the coiling serpent, the monster or the dragon of the sea. So the images of a mighty sea serpent, a powerful sea serpent in the sea, the ocean is pictured here as something dangerous and unknown. You can only see the surface, you don't know what's going on down below and what kind of devastating beast there might be, some creature that might swim up from below and devour you. I remember well the summer of 1976 when Jaws came out. And I was forbidden by my parents from watching the movie, but I knew the story, and I'd seen enough clips, I guess on TV or whatever, and I was well aware of the effect that this movie was having on beachgoers. Well, we didn't go to the beach, we actually went to Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire, and I was convinced the great white shark was going to be devouring me. And it didn't matter what biology lessons my parents were going to give me about fresh water and salt water and all that. I was convinced as I was swimming and couldn't see down below that at any moment I was going to get devoured, it was going to swim up from down below. But these fears have been around for an awfully long time. Think about Christopher Columbus as he sailed west in three ships with sailors who all of them to a man were terrified of monsters of the sea. Frequently there would be charts that would show the edge of the world and beyond, it would say, "Here be dragons." And so there was a terror, a fear of the unknown. In the Book of Daniel, the sea represents the roiling, churning nations, the mass of the gentile nations with great unknown and it cannot be controlled and it's unpredictable. And Daniel 7 pictures four beasts, one after the other, coming up out of the ocean, out of the sea to oppress the people of God, the Jews. Revelation 7 picks up on this exact same image. And it pictures a dragon standing by the sea and calling forth out of the sea, a beast. And this beast from the sea will be, in some sense, a terrifying world leader who will organize his people or the peoples of the world against the people of God, many call this the anti-Christ. So there is biblical warrant here for seeing Leviathan as a symbol for both the wicked empires themselves, the Assyrian Empire, the Babylonian Empire, the Medo-Persian empire, the Greeks, the Romans, and the dragon behind them, Satan, who calls them forth up out of the sea to do his bidding. And the verse says that God, the Lord will punish Leviathan and slay the monster or the dragon of the deep. So God is going to fight and he will win. Some say this is an ancient Babylonian myth that Isaiah is using here. The myth of Marduk and Tiamat, I'm not gonna go into details about that. It's not, is my answer, simply. That talks about how, in the Enûma Eliš, that's how, in the Babylonian mythology, that's how the world got created, but this is a battle yet to come. It's a battle yet in the future, in that day. So the first true fulfillment is God's conquest in amazing ways of the pagan, the gentile armies that are gonna come against his people. He's going to dismember them. He's going to sever them, limb from limb, head from tail. But then in the end, he's going to sever the whole thing. He's going to destroy Satan, and all of Satan's people in the end. And so here's a connection to chapter 26, if you were to look at the end of 26, there it describes the end of the world and the earth disclosing the blood shed on it, and all of the suffering of God's people and how God will establish righteousness in the end. And so this is a conquest that the Lord does, both in time in redemptive history, and at the end of the world. If you look back in Israel's history, before Isaiah, the Red Sea crossing, the same kind of language is used concerning the Red Sea crossing in Psalm 74:13-14, there, Pharaoh's army is defeated by the splitting apart of the Red Sea. And God splits apart the Red Sea and makes a path through the sea for his people to escape. And the psalmist in Psalm 74 says, "It was you who split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters." You see, just by splitting apart the sea, God was severing Leviathan. He was severing or dismembering this monster of the sea. Verse 14 in Psalm 74, "It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave him his food to the creatures of the desert." Now, in the end, the dragon language is established in Revelation chapter 12. And you don't have to turn there, but you can look another time. In Revelation 12, depicts a warfare going on in the heavens between Michael, the archangel, and Satan. And Satan's not strong enough, and he is thrown down to the earth that, it says in Revelation 12, "Now and the great dragon was hurled down, that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan." So there you've got dragon, serpent, devil, Satan, in case you had any doubt who we were talking about. This dragon was thrown down, the one who leads the whole world astray. But later in Revelation 12, he opens his mouth, the dragon does, and spews forth a river that's supposed to kind of inundate and overtake the people of God. And the earth opens up its mouth and swallows this river. And so again, I think this supports the approach I'm taking, that Leviathan is both the dragon who is Satan, and the river of armies that come forth to slaughter the people of God. And in the end, God's gonna win, Amen? That's what the sermon said. If you don't understand the Book of Revelation, simply, it's this: God wins. So I like that. All the enemies that are against the people of God, God wins in the end. But the ultimate victory against this dragon is in Revelation 20:10, "The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." That is the end of Leviathan, right there. So that's who Leviathan is. What then is the sword of the Lord? This is the sword of the Lord that's going to dismember Leviathan, that's gonna cut it apart, limb from limb. Three adjectives used to describe it here, his sword is fierce, great and powerful sword in the NIV. Hard, some translations give it, it's a hard sword. In other words, it battles but no detriment to the sword, no notches in it. It doesn't break, it doesn't get dull ever. It's hard, it's strong, it's mighty, it has power, and it never changes. Well, we know from many other passages what the sword of the Lord is, don't you know? It says that we are to take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Or in Hebrews 4:12, "The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword," etcetera. And so the sword of the Lord is his mighty word. By simply speaking the word, he dismembers Leviathan. Isn't that awesome? And how awesome is that picture that God, all he has to do is simply give the word and Leviathan will be dismembered. And so there is an already in a not yet aspect to this, Isaiah 27:1. In some sense, we'll talk more about this toward the end of the sermon, Leviathan has been dismembered. He has been slain and in some sense, he is being slain right now, and in some sense, he will be slain yet to come. So he didn't, God didn't just want one little quick victory over Leviathan, he wants a long drawn out dismemberment. He kind of wants to torture Leviathan and kind of sever him in many different ways. And that's what we have here. Well, the result of this, in verses 2 through 6, is a vineyard that fills the whole world with fruit. II. The Vineyard Fills the World with Fruit Basically, let me give you just an outline right now of the whole chapter, so you can understand what's going on. We have the battle between the Lord and Leviathan in verse 1, and God wins and dismembers Leviathan. You have in verses 2 through 6, a fruitful vineyard, Jacob, that fills the whole world with fruit. You have in verses 7 through 11, Jacob's punishment or the chastening of the people of God for their sins, but not as far as God could have done. He chastens them to purify them so that they get rid of the idols in their lives and crush the Asherah poles and incense altars and make them like chalk stones. He crushes their idols so that they can be pure. They get judged but not like the nations, the pagan nations, that get judged worse. And so God's people are disciplined and purged of their sins. And then in the end, versus 12 and 13, there's a trumpet call that goes out around the world, recalling the elect of God together, assembling to worship Him eternally.So that's the whole chapter. Isn't that a marvelous story? So, I think you know, in the end I'm gonna get to preach the Gospel from this chapter. You have a sense of that? Do you have an instinct? We're gonna, in the end, talk about Jesus from this chapter. How could it not be? But now we're in verses 2 through 6, and we have this, as a result of the slaying of Leviathan, you have this marvelous fruitful vineyard. Look at verses 2 through 6. "In that day," again that phrase repeated, “In that day­­­­– ‘Sing about a fruitful vineyard: I, the Lord, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it. I am not angry. If only there were briars and thorns confronting me! I would march against them in battle. I would set them all on fire, or else let them come to me for refuge; let them make peace with me, yes, let them make peace with me.’ In days to come, Jacob will take root, and Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.” So here we have a song about a fruitful vineyard. And it happens in that day, again in the day of the Lord, when God moves out and acts powerfully, in history, when God gets going and does stuff, the results here is a fruitful vineyard. The day of the Lord brings not just judgment, but fruitfulness. The day of the Lord looks ahead to the end of the world. And here we have, for the second time in Isaiah, a song about a vineyard, but a very different one this time. You could take and flip back if you want to Isaiah 5, or you can just listen, but some of you will wanna look back at Isaiah 5, and here we have, in Isaiah 5, the first song about a vineyard. But the problem with that vineyard is it wasn't fruitful. Nothing good came from that vineyard. It produced only bad grapes. So if you look at that song in Isaiah 5:1-7, there Isaiah sings this song, he said, "I will sing for the one I love," that's the Lord. "I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watch tower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. ‘Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I look for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? Now, I will tell you what I'm going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I'll break down its wall and it will be trampled. I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briars and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.’" Interpretation in verse 7, "The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; he looked for righteousness, but heard cries of distress." Now, that was the first song about the vineyard, and it's a bad song. It's a tragic song, it's a tragedy. The problem there with Judah and Jerusalem is that God was looking for fruitfulness and got nothing but bad grapes. And so then God says, in Isaiah 5, he's going to judge his vineyard by taking away its wall of protection, and it's gonna get trampled. If you don't know what that's talking about, then you haven't read a lot of Isaiah. You know exactly what's gonna happen. He's going to literally break down the wall of Jerusalem and the invaders are gonna come in and trample it. He's gonna take away its wall or its hedge of protection, and the invading armies are going to trample it. And he's gonna command the clouds not to rain on it. And this is the avenues of grace, the richness of God's grace, the rain is God's provision for his people. Let's say through the ministry of the word how the prophets come to speak God's word, but he says there's gonna be a famine of the word of the Lord, they're not gonna hear it. I'm gonna shut down the prophets. There won't be any and there won't be any words from the Lord about it. And in the end, you get briars and thorns and again that goes back to Genesis 3, that's curse language, that the land will be cursed with thorns. Well, that's Isaiah 5, go back to Isaiah 27. I like a happier song, don't you, than a sad one? I mean there's a place in God's providence for sad songs and happy songs. This one's a happy song about the vineyard. So we return to the same thing but this time it's a very different outcome. Here in verse 3, I'm in Isaiah 27 now, "The Lord waters it continually" do you see that? It's continually provided for, constant outpouring of power and grace for fruitfulness. Every moment this vineyard gets everything it needs to be maximally fruitful, and in verse 3, "I the LORD watch over it continually and will not allow anyone to trample it or harm it." Isn't that fantastic? So everything's different here in Isaiah 27 than in Isaiah 5. And he says he's going to guard it and watch over it day and night, nothing can harm it. He who watches over you will not slumber. He who guards you will neither slumber nor sleep, Psalm 121. And he says, his wrath is gone. Look at verse 4, NIV very meek there, “I am not angry.” I like ESV better, “I have no wrath, my wrath is gone.” In the past, God was enraged at Israel's sinfulness. He had an active wrath against them, he unleashed his judgments and wiped out all but the remnant, now his wrath is completely gone. He's not angry anymore. And so later in Isaiah's prophecy, he will say this to his prophet, he speaks to his prophet in Isaiah 40, and he gives him direct orders, "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin is atoned for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.” The provision for their sins is ample and sufficient. And, in verse 4, God apparently searches for enemies but doesn't find any. You get the sense of some like black belt karate expert, who's got like all these weapons and he's just looking for someone to fight. Now that's a bad attitude. But here God is saying, "I wish there were someone I could fight to show my zeal for my people, there are no enemies left. I wish that there were briars and thorns confronting me. I wish there were was some evidence of curse around me because then I would take it on and destroy it too." God is so zealous to protect his people at this point. He's almost taunting wickedness and enemies to come and take him on and say, "We'll let's see what will happen there." The Lord is a mighty warrior. And he's saying, "Oh you wanna take me on then fight me. And then you'll see my zeal for my people." And he will just burn up any briars and thorns that would be confronting him. Or he actually says at that point, "I have a better idea, suppose the briars and thorns just come and make peace with me instead," he actually says it twice, "Yes let them make peace with me." It's a terrifying thing for the Lord to be your enemy, but what a delightful thing for him to be your Savior. “It's a terrifying thing for the Lord to be your enemy, but what a delightful thing for him to be your Savior.” At one time, we were enemies in our minds, as demonstrated by our evil behavior. At one time, we were God's enemies. For if when we were God's enemies we were reconciled to him through the death of his son how much more, having been reconciled shall we be saved by his life? So God says, "Why don't you come and grab hold of me for refuge." The image is this Old Testament image like in I Kings, when Solomon takes the throne, remember how Adonijah almost got the throne but didn't quite make it, and God chose Solomon instead, and Adonijah at this point, I wouldn't sell him life insurance. It's a bad, bad place to be. But God granted him some measure of grace. He had run into the tabernacle and taken hold of the horns of the altar, I Kings 1:50. And then in I Kings 2, Joab did the same thing. He went in and took hold of the altar, it's a sense of running for refuge. And that's the picture we have here in Isaiah, 27. “Instead of running away from me, why don't you turn and run to me, and throw yourself on my mercy, and I will show you mercy. Everyone who calls in the name of the Lord will be saved. So let them make peace with me that's a better idea, let them find refuge in me.” For it happened to Saul of Tarsus, breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples, the Lord threatened him with instant destruction, this brilliant light shining around him, but he's calling him instead to salvation. He deserved to die. He knew it, he deserved to die because he was a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man. But God showed mercy to him. And so God is ready to show mercy to his enemies. So he says, "Let them make peace with me." And the result of this verse 6 is universal fruitfulness for the people of God. "In days to come, Jacob will take root and Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.” Once Leviathan is slaughtered and the Lord is directly protecting his vineyard day and night and watering it continually, it's going to fill the whole world with fruitfulness. It's gonna be stunningly fruitful. And notice the language it's Jacob here. That's all of God's people not just the northern kingdom, or the southern kingdom, the split apart people of God. No this is Jacob. These are the people of God, and Israel. And they're going to take root, and they're going to have a fantastic root system, and they're going to draw nourishing sap from that root system. And they're going to bud and flourish, that means they're going to be very, very healthy, the people of God. And as a result, they're going to fill all the world with fruit. Friends, this can be nothing less than the fulfillment of the promise made to Abram in Genesis chapter 12 when he said in verse 3, "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed because of you." Like Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, "Salvation is from the Jews." And so, God would choose a remnant of his people, and He would make them fruitful worldwide, and there would be a worldwide harvest of fruitfulness for Jacob and Israel. And at last, the Lord will have what he intended from the beginning, his people will be fruitful for all eternity. III. The People Punished by Measure, But Only to Purify Now, in verses 7-11 we have the people punished. So we in effect we have to go back a bit and then we see what produces this. Again let's keep in mind when Isaiah lived and when he made this prophecy. The Assyrians hadn't come yet, the Babylonian certainly hadn't come yet. These two exiles are still in the future. And when the people go through it, they're going to be confused, they're going to be tempted to be confused, "Has God forsaken us? Are we still the people of God?" And so he is very clear and honest about this. The people of God are about to go through a very hard time. And that's what verses 7-11 are describing. And yet it's only by measure, the hard time is going to be carefully measured out to produce God's end, and God's end is to purify them of their idols. So look at verses 7-11, "Has the Lord struck her," that's Israel, I think, or Jerusalem, "Has the Lord struck her as he struck down those who struck her? Has she been killed as those were killed who killed her? By warfare and exile you contend with her­­– with his fierce blast he drives her out, as on the day the east wind blows. By this then will Jacob's guilt be atoned for, and this will be the full fruitage of the removal of his sin: When he makes all the altar stones to be like chalk stones crushed to pieces, no Asherah poles or incense altars will be left standing. The fortified city stands desolate, an abandoned settlement forsaken like the desert; there the calves graze; there they lie down; and they strip its branches bare. When its twigs are dry, and they're broken off and women come and make fires with them. For this is a people without understanding, and so their maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor." So this is going back and explaining what's going to happen before, before the fruitfulness of Jacob in order to clear out the idolatry and the wickedness. So this is a difficult section. But Israel's about to be seriously stricken by God, smashed hard for their sins. Israel is going to be struck hard, it's going to be like on the day an east wind blows like a dry desert wind, or a Sirocco, that causes everything to wither in its path. Verses 10 and 11 describe just exile conditions when you, if you were to go to Jerusalem, you know, 10 years later or something like that and there's just nothing there it's just desolate. Like in the book of Lamentations when the prophet Jeremiah looks over the city when the exile has happened and he says in Lamentations 1:1, "How desolate lies the city once so full of people." They are all gone. So we have this pastoral scene like calves that are grazing and just wild animals roaming and roving and a few women coming and finding some dead branches that they can break off or gather from the ground to use for firewood. It's a picture of death and judgment really and a very tragic picture. But also the middle of this section there's a sense in which yes it's going to be bad, it's gonna be really bad. But it's not as bad as it could be. And so in verse 7, he asks the question, "Has the Lord struck her”, Israel, “as he struck down those who struck her?" The Assyrians and the Babylonians let's say. Did she get the same thing that they got? The implication is no, they get worse actually, that's the implication of the question, they get actually worse treatment from God. “Has she been killed, as those who were killed who killed her?” Again, no. So, there's going to be a hard time, and she's going to be struck, she's going to be in some sense killed, but not in the same way. It's not going to be as bad, well, what's the difference? Well, when the Assyrians invaded the northern kingdom, they destroyed many cities, killed lots and lots of people, and exiled the rest. When the Babylonians invaded the southern kingdom, the kingdom of Judah and the city of Jerusalem, they did the same thing: they crushed lots of towns and villages, they killed lots and lots of people and exiled the rest. But God has measured out Israel's punishment. NIV in verse 8, it's a very difficult verse but it says, "By warfare and exile you contend with her." The ESV is a little bit better, "Measure by measure by exile you contend with them." So God has measured out the discipline. He doesn't crush her as badly as she could have been crushed. You get this picture in Ezekiel's ministry, Ezekiel was ministering around the time of Jeremiah, and around the time the Babylonians came in. And Ezekiel was told to take a sharp sword and hone it like a razor and cut off the hairs off his head. So, shave his head remember? And then he's told to do different things with the hairs, he's told to divide them into thirds, and take a third of, take scales and measure out the hairs, and divide them up and take a third of your hairs and strike those hairs with the sword, and take a third and put them in into this his little replica of the city and burn it with fire, and kill them in the city, and then take the third pile and scatter it to the winds and chase them down with the sword. But take a few of your hairs and hide them in the cloak of your garment. Now, who are those few hairs? What are those hairs? Those are people, friends, those are seeds for the future. The Assyrians didn't get that, they didn't get that. The Babylonians they didn't get that. Have you met any Assyrians recently? Do you have any Assyrian friends? Is there a mission to the Assyrian that's going on right now? Is there a new tribes mission to the Babylonians? Friends, they're extinct. They were pursued to death, so also the Philistines, chased to death, but not so the Jews. And God said he would do this. He told this to Isaiah, remember in Isaiah 6, he calls him, "Here am I Lord, send me." All right, time for the mission. "What do you want me to say?" "All right, go tell the people be ever hearing but never understanding, be ever seeing but never perceiving, make the people's heart callous, make their ears dull and close their eyes, otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts, and turn and I might heal them.", "Well, that's a really bad message Lord, how long do I have to preach that?", "Well here's the answer, until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, until the Lord has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken, and though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste, but as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land. Guys, that's the remnant, those are the few hairs stuck in the folds of the garment. That's the seed for the future. And so no, she wasn't killed as those who were killed who killed her, and she wasn't struck as those who were struck... Who struck her. They get extinction, Israel doesn't, why, because God has a plan for Israel. There is a vibrant, sap-filled root system in the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and in the promises made to them that means that they're going to come back and flourish. And so yes she'll be judged and punishment will be bitter, exile will happen, it will be like the a dry Sirocco wind, and it's going to wither everything. But the end result will be that they will turn away from their idolatry and hate it as much as he does. That's why he's doing it. So, you remember back in Isaiah 22 when God called on his people to weep and to wail, to tear out their hair and put on sackcloth remember that? And instead they partied, instead they had a big feast. Well after the exile there are actually two stories of hair pulling. It's something to look into. Okay, it's like stories of hair pulling, yes there's two stories of hair pulling, in Ezra and Nehemiah. Ezra pulled his own hair, when he found out that the people had started to intermarry again. He's like, "Ugh, what are you doing? Don't you understand what's happened? And now God's opened a little door for a remnant to come back and get established and look what you're doing, all over again." That's Ezra. Nehemiah pulled their hair. That's Nehemiah, okay, "I'm not pulling my hair I'm pulling yours." Look it up. That's the zeal and the passion inside them for them to hate their Asherah poles and their incense altars and crush them like chalk stones. IV. The Elect Gathered by Trumpet Call One by One That's not the end of the story, verses 12 and 13, the elect will be gathered by a trumpet call one by one. Look at verses 12 and 13, "And in that day the Lord will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, Israelites will be gathered up one by one. And in that day a great trumpet will sound, and those who were are perishing in Assyria, and those who were are exiled in Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem." So in that day, in the coming days, The Lord will thresh, threshing is separating the wheat from the chaff. He's going to separate out the wheat of his people. He's going to call the wheat to himself. John the Baptist said he's going to gather up the wheat into his barn and he's going to burn the chaff with unquenchable fire. He's going to thresh from the Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt that was the promised land. Those were the extents of the promised land. They would know exactly what that territory meant. But the call would go beyond even to distant lands where the people had been scattered and there would be this trumpet call and the people would reassemble. And then in the history of Egypt, or the history of Israel, the trumpet was a call to the people to assemble together for some purpose. Maybe the coronation of a king. Or maybe the people assembled at Mount Sinai to receive the law of Moses, assemble with the trumpet call, or maybe they would be assembled for battle to fight against their enemies, it was a trumpet call. As a matter of fact it was built into the law of Moses, the year of jubilee there'll be a trumpet call going out, and all the people would assemble together for worship and in the year of jubilee all debts would be canceled and all slaves set free, and everyone would return to their ancestral land, and it happened every 50 years so that meant probably you got one in your lifetime. Maybe if you got one when you were two and one when you were 102 you get two, but that's the exception. You might get it when you're 25, you might get it when you're 13. Okay? Who knows when it would happen? And that call would be a call of assembly and deliverance from all sin. And so this trumpet call goes out to assemble the people of God to come together at his holy mountain and worship and to praise him. Now Isaiah has already talked about this assembling at the holy mountain, and it's more than just the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It says in Isaiah chapter 2, "In the last days the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains, it will be raised above the hills, and all the nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his way so that we may walk in his path.’” And so this trumpet call is going out to the ends of the earth to get the remnants to assemble and worship, end of chapter. V. The Gospel of Jesus According to Isaiah 27 Now it's time to preach Jesus. Okay, so who is the Lord that dismembers Leviathan? His name is Jesus. How does he dismember him? By dying on the cross and rising from the dead. It says in Hebrews chapter 2, "Because the children”, the elect, “have flesh and blood, he too”, Jesus, “shared in their humanity, so that by his death, he might destroy him who holds the power of death– that is the devil– and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” I like the word destroy. For our purposes in Isaiah 27:1 how about dismember, amen? So that by his death he might dismember Satan, limb from limb. And how does he do it also? By his advancing Kingdom. As missionaries and evangelists go out and they take the good news of the gospel, and they proclaim that good news, Satan's kingdom shrinks every time it happens, and Satan is frustrated and he can't stop the elect from coming to faith in Christ. And ultimately by his second coming when he comes back in Revelation 19 and there's a sword, a fierce great and powerful sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and with it he will slay the wicked. I don't think Jesus is literally going to have a sword coming out of his mouth. I think he's going to speak the word and the Antichrist will be gone. He's going to speak the word and the armies that oppose him will be destroyed. He just simply speaks the word. 2 Thessalonians 2, "The man of sin is the one whom the Lord will destroy by the splendor of his coming and by the word of his power, the breath of his mouth.” And so, the Lord Jesus will establish his people as a fruitful vineyard, a fruitful vineyard. We are, as I've mentioned before, gentiles grafted into a tree with a root system under us that's nourishing us with Jewish kind of spiritual blood, and we're deriving life from the promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and we are flourishing, and Jesus is the vine and we are the branches and we are to bear much fruit for apart from him we can do nothing. It's in Christ that we are the fruitful vineyard. “It's in Christ that we are the fruitful vineyard.” And it's in Christ or because of Christ alone that God says in verse 4, "I have no wrath. I'm not angry at you. There's no condemnation for you, my wrath is appeased. The blood of Jesus has been shed, my wrath is propitiated," in Romans chapter 3, "He is the propitiation for our sins, the one who turns away the wrath of God." God's not angry at you anymore because of your sins. And in Christ alone can his enemies run and flee and take hold of him for refuge. Can I just urge you to do that today, if you consider yourself right now, an outsider, the Bible says that you are under the wrath of God if you're an outsider. Flee the wrath of God. Come and take hold of Jesus. You're asking how do I do that? Just ask him to be your Savior. Just say, "Lord I'm a sinner, I'm on the outside, I'm afraid of your wrath, I don't want to go to hell. I don't want to stand before you and give an account for my wickedness and my lust and my laziness, will you please save me? Would you please save me from my sins." And he will. He says, "Let them make peace with me, yes let them make peace with me, that's a better idea.” Why don't you come to Jesus and let him make peace with you, let him reconcile you. And in Christ alone the remnant of Jews is saved, that remnant that it discusses here, that remnant of Jacob and Israel find their salvation and their fruitfulness in Christ alone. And God still measures out our disciplines. He doesn't crush us like our sins deserve. He'll hurt you. He'll spank you, he'll train you. But measure by measure. And he does it according to the Book of Hebrews, he disciplines us so that we may share in his holiness and may bear fruit for him. And so God measures up disciplines when you're under the discipline of the Lord realize he's dealing wisely with you, and causing you to hate your sins and crush your own altar stones, whatever they are like chalk and get rid of them out of your life. What about that trumpet call? Could it be we're called on to blow that trumpet? That we are called on to go out this week and talk to people about Jesus, that were called to say, "Hey, why don't you come to Christ, why don't you believe in him? Come from outside where the judgment of God is and come in and come to faith, and let God bless you. Let him forgive you of all your sins. We are the trumpet blasts. We're the ones that got out to the ends of the earth and say, "Come to faith, come to Christ." Close with me in prayer. Father, we thank you for what we've learned in your word, we thank you for Isaiah 27. It's a chapter that perhaps we're not very familiar with but I thank you for being our hero, for going out to take on the dragon and fight for us 'cause we couldn't fight for ourselves, and to deliver us and rescue us, Oh Lord. We were weak and powerless and we could not save ourselves but you went forth as a mighty warrior Jesus, and you fight and you fought for us and you died on the cross and you rose again. Oh God I pray for any lost person right now that they would hear this gospel message and be saved and help us O Lord to know how much you love us, and how much you're watering us constantly and causing us to be fruitful, help us to be fruitful for your glory, and we pray in Jesus name, amen.

The Most Important Question For me, one of the most powerful moments in redemptive history and in the Bible, one of the most powerful moments in the New Testament, was that moment when the Philippian jailer fell down trembling in front of Paul and Silas and asked this question, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" It's a powerful question and it's asked in a variety of different ways in the Scriptures. We see it again and again, the rich young ruler asking Jesus, "What good work must I do to inherit eternal life." Nicodemus, I'm sure, had it in his mind as he was coming to talk to Jesus, and Jesus went immediately to the statement, "Unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." Perhaps it was in the mind of the Samaritan woman at the well, although she maybe had lost hope that she could even be welcomed into eternal life, but it wasn't long before a couple of comments from Jesus and a couple of thoughts and the strength of desire flared up inside her and she started talking about her Samaritan theology, and they got into that discussion very quickly. In John 6, when they come back after Jesus fed the 5,000 and they're there again, and Jesus is standing in front of them and they want another meal, I think. But at a deeper level, they ask, "What must we do to work the works of God?" We yearn to be in a right relationship with God as Augustine put it, "The heart of man is restless until it finds its rest in you. Why? Because you have made us for yourself oh Lord, that's why." And so, we're yearning and there is that deep question, and it comes on us by grace as we sing an Amazing Grace. "It was grace that taught my heart to fear and grace those fears relieved." Well, it's by grace that we ask the question of the Philippian jailer, "What must I do to be saved?" The answer has always been the same. Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. This is the work of God, to believe in the one he has sent. This is the answer of Scripture. But what happens after you feel you've done that? Trusted in Jesus, lived many years since that time, those years have been of a mixed nature. In some ways serving God, in some ways serving the flesh. Sometimes obedient, sometimes not. I. Two Christians Described And as we come to Hebrew 6, and we start to understand that the author to Hebrews believes that any average, any local assembly of Christians, is a mixture and that there could very well be some people that are receiving lavishly the blessings of the Holy Spirit and the ministry of the Word of God, but they're not Christians; not genuinely Christians. This happens all over the world every Sunday. A mixed assembly gathers and we're aware that there are people who outwardly look like believers, they talk the talk. They seem to walk the walk, but they really aren't believers. And so when we look at the uneven, the mixed nature of our own lives then we start to ask a similar but different question. How can I know that I'm saved? How can I test the validity of what happened? Have I been justified by faith? Has the Holy Spirit entered my life or am I one of those impostors? Those Gospel hypocrites; How can I know? And so we come to Hebrew 6:9-12 and we come to this phrase, "Things that accompany salvation." We want to know what they are. What are those things, those marks, whereby we can know that we have been saved, that we see the work of grace in our lives? And it's very poignant as we look. We've already seen in Hebrew 6, a category of people who have "once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age," but who have subsequently fallen away. These people had had their minds illuminated by the ministry of the Word of God. They seemed to have a positive reaction to that. They had, in some way, a taste of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, through His spiritual gifts and miracles, supernatural evidences, in that apostolic era of the presence of God. But at some point they'd fallen away from Christ, even into aggressive blasphemy; blaspheming His name, trampling the Son of God underfoot. They had received the soaking rain of blessing through the ongoing ministry of the Word and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. But they were not bringing forth good fruit, but only spiritually, thorns and thistles. And so last time we discussed the absolute necessity that every true believer in Christ bring forth the harvest of good fruit, we talked about that. Truly regenerate people, bring forth good fruit, for the Glory of God. And so there are two different kinds of Christians, so to speak, those that are genuinely disciples of Jesus Christ through faith and those that are impostors. And so the topic is one of the gravest seriousness for every churchgoer. See if you are genuinely in Christ, examine your own heart, examine your life. 2 Corinthians 13:5 says "Examine yourselves to see whether you're in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you, unless of course, you fail the test." So, that's what's in front of us and has been in front of us now for a number of weeks. III. Words of Pastoral Assurance But as we come to Hebrews 6:9-12, we come at last to, I think, a bit of a turn in the epistle in which this author to Hebrews is desiring, yearning to minister pastoral assurance to these dear people. What a contrast from some of the dark words that we've already heard. We've been talking about this deep darkness, this pit of apostasy, from which it seems there's no escape. It's impossible to renew them again to repentance. We've used the direst terms, that they have fallen away, they're crucifying the Son of God all over again, subjecting him to public disgrace, talking about land that produces thorns and thistles, saying that land is worthless, in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. These phrases should send a shiver down the spine of every true believer. We know well, very well, the seeds of our own spiritual destruction are within our own sin nature. We carry our own bitterest enemies with us at every moment, the internal drives and lust that we have that wage war against our soul. And we wonder, "Could it be that I might end up one of those apostates?" We know that we are quite capable of denying Jesus, as Peter did, given the circumstances. At the last supper, Jesus when he was sitting there with all of His apostles, His 12 apostles, He said, He became very troubled in spirit and He said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me." And every one of them, not just Judas, I don't know what was going on in his heart, but all of the other 11 were deeply troubled, and asked, "Is it I Lord?" Could it be me. Could I be the one? I can see why it might be me. So, true disciples have a sense of their own frailty, and words of warning like this are very sobering. How delightful then when this shepherd of souls, this pastor, the author of the Book of Hebrews, has the spiritual sensitivity now to turn and to encourage and build the true disciples up so that they will not be overwhelmed with sorrow and despair, but rather in every way encouraged. And you see this turn in this phrase, "But beloved" in one of the translations or, "Dear friends" and the word 'but' implies we're going in a different direction now. These sharp words of rebuke in Hebrews 5:11-14 when he says. "You're sluggish in your listening," and all that. That's done now. And he wants them to be built up. He's not seeking to be unkind to them. He's not trying to hurt them, but to help them. And so, the hard words that we've seen from Hebrews 5:11 up until 6:8 have been out of love, and we see that this pastoral love seeks the highest good for the people of God and is willing to inflict pain from time to time through warnings and rebukes or corrections. But when the time comes, a godly pastor knows to turn and comfort and bring consolation as well. This is a lesson, not only to pastors, but to parents as well. There's just a wise blending of the serious warnings that come with being a parent to also the encouragement and the lavish displays of love. And so we see God doing that through the author to Hebrews. And so, What does he do to encourage these true believers? Well, he expresses his good will toward them and he declares his judgment concerning their spiritual state, and then he gives the ground on which that judgment is based; why it is he's convinced of better things in their case, things that accompany salvation. And I think the author's purpose here is to make the best use of the warnings. He's not saying, "I think you may be apostates." He's not saying that. He's basically speaking indirectly about land and people who do these things and those who are like that. But then he addresses them again, "Now you, in your case, I have better things to say." So he's laid out the warning more indirectly, in the third person and now he's addressing them again directly. So not so much, "I think you may be apostates, but I actually do not think you are, but you need to know what apostasy looks like and what warning should be attached to it." So, the true Christians, I think, learn to take the warnings of Scripture seriously, in a healthy way. They don't damage you. They do you good and you drink it in, like the medicine it's meant to be and it gives you strength. It gives you the right fear of the Lord that is not only the beginning of wisdom but carries right straight through and enables you to walk wisely. And so as you see here, these warnings, then you neither make light of them, blow them off, nor are you crushed by them. But you take them in seriously. And so, they stimulate us as true Christians to greater perseverance and zeal in personal holiness and lives of active service to the Lord. So the author says in verse 9, "Even though we speak like this, beloved, we are persuaded of better things in your case; things that accompany salvation." He uses the word, persuaded or convinced or I feel certain of it, etcetera. This is not an infallible statement, infallible certainty, something like that, but a strong confidence of their case based on good grounds. The grounds of this confidence is clear from the rest of the passage. And we hear this kind of thing a number of times in Scripture in Romans 15 and verse 14. Paul says, "I myself am convinced my brothers that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to counsel one another." So, he's persuaded about them in the church at Rome. And then Paul, in the same way is persuaded about Timothy, He says, "I've been reminded of your sincere faith which first lived in your grandmother Lois, and in your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded now lives in you also." The same kind of language. And so what are the grounds for the author's pastoral confidence of good things concerning these Hebrew Christians? Well, the rest of the things in the passage. These Hebrew Christians it seems have been willing to put their faith on the line to help God's people. I'll speak more about that later but this gives him strong evidence that God was at work in their lives. They're not the rocky ground hearers who initially received the Word with joy and quickly, quickly grow up in some shallow sort of way, but when trouble or persecution comes because of the word and now they quickly fall away. They're not like that. They've already been tested and tried. They've already gone through some hard times and they've stood firm. So they should be encouraged. And I think for me, as a pastor, it shows the need that every pastor has to genuinely know his flock. Proverbs 27:23 says, "Be sure you know the condition of your flocks. Give careful attention to your herds." Without such knowledge this kind of language would be mere flattery. If I went to somebody I hardly knew at all and said, "I'm convinced of better things in your case." On what grounds would that confidence come? I couldn't really say that, but if I watch someone's life over a period of time, get to know how they talk, how they live, what's on their heart, the way they live, the sacrifices that they make, and then they're going through some struggles and troubles, and I can say to them, "I'm convinced of better things than that in your case." How sweet is that and how encouraging? Without such knowledge then I think a pastor, or even a Christian friend, would be like a physician that tries to give a prescription without any knowledge of the case. Do you think that would ever happen? You could phone in and a doctor will phone in a prescription for you, just give your social security number and what pharmacy. "I need a steroid, a specific steroid." "What pharmacy would you like me to send that to you?" Do you think that would ever happen? "I think I need an antibiotic." "Really, that's fine. How much are you going to need?" "I have no idea. What would you recommend?" "I have no idea. Let's guess at such and such." It's impossible. A good physician's going to know the condition of the patient so he can give the right prescription, and in this case he wants to encourage them. III. Things That Accompany Salvation So what then are these things that accompany salvation that he sees in the lives of these Hebrew Christians? And what can we take from this sermon? Transferable concept to say, "All right, when the next time I'm doubting my own salvation, what should I look for to know whether I'm in Christ or not? It says in 2 Corinthians 13, I'm supposed to see if I'm in the faith. I'm supposed to examine myself. I can't be just looking at Jesus and His finished work at the cross. There has to be a connection to me in my life. Some things have to be happening with me. I have to believe." So what are the things that accompany salvation? Well, we know that they are not among the list recorded in Verse 4 and 5. It's not enough to be once enlightened, taste in the heavenly gift, sharing in the Holy Spirit, tasting the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age, I consider it to be an inadequate list, not enough to have that. There have to be other things besides. So how can I know whether I'm regenerate? How can I know whether I am born again? Maybe it's not just a matter for you, but you may be called on to give that kind of counsel to someone else that's troubled. And as I have read Scripture, as I look across Scripture, there are a number that just start to float to the surface. For example, a deep and abiding sorrow over sin. Sin grieves you, not merely the penalty of sins or the consequences of sin, but you are deeply grieved over sin itself. You see it to be evil, and you want it out, not just of your own life, but of the universe entirely. It's just an evil thing, and you grow to hate it. The flip side is, you love righteousness and you yearn for it. You hunger and thirst for it in your own life and you want to see it in your church. You want to see it in your pastor. You definitely want to see it in your spouse, the sooner the better. You want to see it everywhere you can, righteousness, you're hungry and thirsty for it, and you would love to live in a place called the home of righteousness. You'd love to live in a place where righteousness is clearly obviously there. The Marks of Salvation Along with these come, I think, humility and self-denial. You know yourself to be a sinner. You're humble about that. You're broken about it. You know the truth about yourself, therefore you accept rebukes and corrections more easily than you would have if Jesus weren't at work in your life. And you deny yourself and take up your cross, Jesus said, there's a sense in which you know that your self, your own fleshly desires and lusts after pleasure and comfort and praise, are leading in the wrong direction, and you're willing to have a life of suffering for Jesus. Also the peace of God comforts your conscience. God speaks words of peace to you through the Holy Spirit. Through faith in Christ you know that God's at peace with you and you're able to bring comfort and consolation to your own heart through the promises of God. The peace of God is at work in your heart. And you see a consistent pattern of spirit-led obedience to the commands of God. The commands of God are the matrix and structure of your life patterns. You're seeking by the spirit to obey what God has commanded you. There are also evidences of perseverance in the means of grace. You're persevering generally in the Christian life. You continue to come to church year after year. You continue to come to the Lord supper. You continue day after day to take in the Word of God, read the Bible, pray, confess your sins, these means of grace, and you persevere in them, not just for a little while, but over your life. You have a genuine love for the brothers and sisters in Christ. You have an affection for them. And we're going to go and talk more about that based on Hebrews 6. But there's an affection that you have for the brothers and sisters in Christ. You want them to thrive. You are looking forward to spending eternity with them, especially once they are glorified, and anything that would hinder that fellowship is gone. But you know the real truth is that you're more the problem than they are. But you're just looking forward to being with the people of God. And there is inside your heart a joyful expectation that someday you will be conformed to Jesus Christ. You have a hope of this, a sense of certainty, that someday God's eternal electing purpose will come true in your life. You will be conformed to Jesus. And you're confident about that and not by your own works. And along with all of these, you have a willingness to suffer earthly difficulties to follow Christ. The life of the Christian is not easy. And you've learned that already and you haven't given up. And finally, you're running with endurance the race marked out for you, specifically in battling sins. You're laying aside every hindrance, you're running this race. And though it may wear you out, you have within you a renewing sense of energy that just keeps coming day by day. You are immensely frustrating Satan. He thought he had you down, and behold, you live. And you just keep popping back up and fighting him again the next day. So those are 10 marks. You could come up with others besides, but these are evidences, these are things that accompany salvation. The Book of 1 John: An Entire Book Devoted to Assurance I think the whole book of First John is given to kind of answer this question. It's a book of assurance. This is how we know etcetera. This is the way we can assure ourselves in His presence, this is how we can have confidence when He comes. That's what the book is for, so I will commend that whole book to you. But John boils it down to three basic things. There's a doctrinal test. You can know that you're Christian if you believe the right things about Jesus, that He is God in the flesh. He has come in the flesh. And there is the horizontal love test that as you love the brothers and sisters in Christ, you're showing love for God. Even sacrificial love gives evidence of love for God. And then there is that obedience test, the moral test. You're living a life of purity. You're walking in the light as He is in the light, and you love and obey God's commands. Alright, so those are different things. Now, we all know, I could give you this list again or you could look at it, and you could say, sometimes... You look at each one of those and say, sometimes, sometimes I feel that way. That is the Roman 7 struggle we're all in. But these things are together sufficient to mark out the Christians, and the Holy Spirit uses them to testify in your hearts that you're a child of God. What does the author give us here? Look at verses 10-12. "God is not unjust,.." he says. Talk more about that in a moment, but "God is not unjust. He will not forget your work, and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people, and continue to help them. We want each of you to show the same diligence to the very end in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised." Well, these verses, I think, give a clear sense of the evidence of the conversion of these Hebrew Christians. There is a display of their faith in verse 10. He talks about the love you have shown or displayed. They have put their faith in and love for God on display by their lifestyle, and there's been a clear pattern of evidence of their saving faith in Christ as a result. The Faith, Hope, and Love Trio We have also kind of woven in, in these verses 10-12, the glorious trio that we see in multiple other times of faith, hope and love. You see those again and again in the epistles, and we see it here. Faith, hope, and love. For example, 1 Corinthians 13:13, "And now these three remain: Faith, hope and love but the greatest of these is love." Colossians 1:4 and 5, "We have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love you have for all the saints, the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven." Faith, hope and love. 1 Thessalonians 1:3, "We continue to remember before our God and Father, your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love and your endurance inspired by hope." Faith, hope, and love resulting in a certain kind of life. Well, we have them here as well. Look at verse 12. "We want you to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised." Back up, in verse 11. We have hope, "We want each of you to show the same diligence to the very end in order to make your hope sure." And then again, love in verse 10. "God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown him," et cetera. So these three character traits, faith, hope, and love, result in a kind of life, a life of persevering, holiness and service to God and His people. Now, let's zero in on service to God's people because that really is the primary evidence the author gives here that they're born again. The author, specifically, singles out the love that they have shown to God by ministering horizontally to God's people. In verse 10, he mentions their love and labor on behalf of God's people. This is an incredibly huge issue to Jesus. He cares intensely what you do with His people while you're on earth. It matters a lot to him. We already saw that when we were preaching through Matthew in Matthew 25. Remember the Judgement Day, in which Jesus assembles everyone and he separates them, one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And the thing that distinguishes, at least there in that passage, the sheep from the goats, is how you treated God's people, how you treated Jesus. He says to them, "'I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Then the righteous will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick and in prison and go to help you? And then the King will answer, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you do for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you've done it to me.'" Very positive there, and He takes it incredibly kindly to put it weakly, actually, very kindly if you treat His people well. Conversely, He does not take it well if you beat up His people on earth. And so Saul of Tarsus, there in Acts 9, breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples, is how it's written, he's ready to beat them up some more. He deserved to die, and so did we all. He deserved to die, but instead Jesus showed him immense grace, knocked him to the ground, brilliant lights, resurrection glory. "'Saul, Saul,' he says, 'Why are you persecuting me?' 'Who are you, Lord,' said Saul. 'I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting.'" I don't think he thought he was persecuting Jesus. I think he thought he was persecuting some Jewish, as far as he was concerned, Jewish heretics. But no, Jesus said, You're beating me up. You're persecuting me. And he doesn't take it kindly. Thankfully, he converted him. Amen? And then what happened, the rest of Paul's life, the rest of his life is he lavished blessings on Jesus's people. And so this is the evidence that these Hebrew professors of faith in Christ are genuine Christians, how they have treated each other, what they have done for each other. Hebrews 10:32-34, go ahead and turn there. Just maybe one or two pages over. It's going to be months before we get there from this pulpit, but you can just flip there easily in your Bible. Just skip all those other things that we'll get to in due time at this stately pace. But in Hebrews 10:32-34, it says, "Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering, sometimes you were publicly exposed to insults and persecution. At other times," listen, "you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property because you knew that you had better and lasting possessions." So what is the author talking about there? You can go back to Hebrews 6, but what he's talking about, a great contest of faith, tremendous earthly sufferings, the sufferings of various sorts, insults, persecutions, or standing side-by-side with people who are themselves going through hard times, giving them encouragement, standing with them so they're not alone, visiting them in prison if you actually didn't happen to be arrested at that point. Bringing them blankets, bringing them food, bringing them simply a word of encouragement. We're praying for you. You're not alone. We care about you. A lifeline of hope and encouragement. So this is evidence. And so if I can just pause and say, friends, let's just do that for each other, shall we? Let's just love on each other more than we ever have before. It's a direct route to heaven. Jesus sees what you're doing. Every sermon I preach, I'm thinking I am loving Jesus by loving His people. Every word of encouragement, whether in counseling or just in the hall informally, anything, I'm thinking, Jesus, I want to help you by helping your people. I want to love you by loving your people. I want to minister to your members who are here on earth. That's what I want to do. And it greatly increases the harvest of righteousness when you think like that, because Jesus will not forget anything that you've done in ministering to his people. The Most Certain Mark: Perseverance to the Very End And so the mark of this is not just doing it, but persevering right to the end in that kind of life. That's what He's giving here. "God is not unjust," He says. "He will not forget your work, and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people, and continue to help them. We want each of you to show the same diligence to the very end in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised." So this is of all things, I think, the most certain proof of salvation. Perseverance to the end in this kind of a life. He who stands firm to the end will be saved. You persevere right to the end. So, the author is urging them to keep on trusting, to keep on suffering, keep on believing, keep on standing firm in the time of testing. Look at verse 10, As you continue to help God's people, verse 11, "we want each of you," not just some of you, but "each of you to show this same diligence to the very end in order to make your hope sure." Verse 12, "We do not want you to become lazy," he says. Verse 12, again, "but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised." So the words here speak of a hard-working way to get to heaven, friends, Not that your works are going to justify you. That's impossible. But the life, the Christian life, is not an easy comfortable life. It's a hard life. It requires diligence, and it fights against laziness. The slothful sluggard ways that we already talked about in Hebrews 5:11 where there were lazy listeners. Christian life is hard, and Satan is always trying to get active fruitful Christians to rest on their laurels. He's trying to hand you your laurels every day. "You've done enough, haven't you? I mean, you done enough? You've been really, really, really good recently. Why don't you take a break? Why don't you take a day off?" I mean, just think, when you're being tempted really to take an extended break and all that, if it's more likely to be the Holy Spirit or Satan wanting you to take a break from those good works you've been doing to build the Kingdom? But he's just constantly trying to hand you your laurels and say, "Rest. You've done enough. Coast." But the Book of Hebrews doesn't do that. Instead, we're supposed to imitate heroes of the faith, Who by faith and patience inherit what has been promised. These heroes are listed for us beautifully in Hebrews 11. Talks about the lifestyle of suffering and persecution that they endured. So do pages of church history. Friends, that's why I love church history. I love to find out those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. I'm teaching now a class on John Calvin. He had horrendous physical problems, ailments beyond calculation. Physically in pain every day. At one point as he was working on one of the editions of the institutes, he thought that he was about to die and pushed hard to get it done before his death. Turned out that God extended his life by a number of years, but he thought he was going to die. His answer is work harder, work faster. I don't have much time. And that's the way he thought right to the end. As a matter of fact, his last sermon he was spitting up blood. They had to carry him down from the pulpit, Carried him to his death bed. Or David Brainerd, who had the same thing, tuberculosis, and serving God faithfully and dying very hard. Spitting up blood as well, coughing, and being faithful to Jesus right to the end. Right to the end. Or George Whitefield probably the best right to the end story you'll ever hear. This is a man who poured himself out, day after day, preaching the Gospel, the Evangelist of the Great Awakening. Thousands upon thousands of people hearing and believing the message of truth. Comes to Newburyport, Massachusetts, near my hometown, and he preached, and it was all he could give just to stand there on the platform and preach. Took him a while just to get the strength to open his mouth, then he preached for almost two hours. They carried him in a cart to a house that was taking him in just to rest. As he's going up the stairs, there's a crowd gathering in streets, want to hear him preach again, one more time. And he did, holding a candle there as it burned lower and lower. He preached and then the candle burned down. He preached, and there's almost like a symbol right there of the end of his life. When the candle was gone, he closed, goes upstairs and dies. He was faithful right to the end. Lottie Moon who in effect starved herself because the people she was trying to reach we're starving and she was in solidarity with them in ministering to them. Adoniram Judson lost two wives, buried children for the church in Burma. Again, died very hard. He said this, "How few there are who suffer such torment, who die so hard." This is Adoniram Judson. A very, very hard death he had out at sea. And yet he kept his faith strong right to the end. Said he believed the pain and suffering were getting him ready and fitting him for heaven. I've seen similar things in this church. A woman who cared for her husband was dying with Parkinson. She cared for him for 10 years. Sweet spirit, this lady cared for her husband right to the end and then she died as well. Another godly couple who you know well travelled that same road even recently. And with great faith and great tenderness, husband's finished his race. She finished her race of caring for him and now is finishing up her own race of faith in Jesus. We just see that right acted out in front of us. Another godly couple, man who is 80 years old, ministering as energetically as ever, putting me to shame on any given average week. Alright, we have examples of this right in front of us in this church of those who by faith and patience inherit what has been promised. And we have to go right to the very end. "Okay, well, when's that going to be?" you may say. "When is the end? I just need to pace myself, okay?" You ever had that thought? "I need to know. Is it going to be decades? Then I'm going to cut it back a bit. I'm going to pace myself here." Well, we know this, in Psalm 139, "All the days ordained for us are written in God's book before one of them came to be," so that number is set. He just isn't telling you. It reminds me of my days my freshman year in high school, and I was running indoor track. And we had one of those masochistic track coaches. It's the guy who takes out his frustrations on his athletes. And so he had that stop watch and clipboard, and I was a distance runner. And we had to run. It was winter track, it was unbelievably cold up there in Massachusetts. We had to run around the big field of our high school where was the soccer field, the football field and the baseball field. It was about a half a mile around. And we knew we were going to run at least five of those under the clock, and then after that it got really interesting, dicey. He was deciding how many more you would run by how you were doing. And so you'd cross the finish line of that half mile thing. You think you've given everything you have, and you look with hope and fear to the coach and he says, "Get to the line." I'm like, "Ugh." So you get to the line, but you can't pace yourself because if you do, you're going to run another one. So you got to run it hard. And so you cross and you think you've given everything and you look at him again. "So and so, you can go. So and so... You, back to the line." And he starts to weed them out. And I'm thinking, "Ugh." It was tough. It was tough, and that's the way it is when we don't know when the finish line is. And this text is telling us to run hard 'til God decides it's time to take you home. We want each of you to show the same diligence to the very end. Not to get lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience. IV. The Justice of God: Encouragement for the True Christian And what kind of encouragement do we have as we go? Well, He gives us amazingly, the justice of God. Look at it, verse 10. "God is not unjust. He will not forget the love you have shown Him as you help his people." This is incredible what amazing changes the cross of Jesus Christ worked for us. And more than anything in God Himself as He deals with us, ordinarily, dear friends, the justice of God would stand as our most foreboding enemy, both over our souls and our life works. Our souls, unjust and therefore condemned. Our life works, none of them done by faith, worthless and therefore burned up and disappeared. But now that the cross of Christ is come, and now that the promise of God has been fulfilled in Jesus, the justice of God is your greatest ally of all. First for your personal salvation. "If you confess your sin," he says, "he is faithful and just to forgive you your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness." God's justice is his absolute commitment to do what is right according to His character and His standards, and He would be unjust to not forgive you as a Christian confessing your sins. And so also in this text, it says He would be unjust to forget all the labors you've done. That boggles my mind. It would be unjust for God to forget it. It would be unjust, the implication here is, for God not to reward us? Yes, because He has promised to do it. And so, God is not unjust. He will not forget any act of kindness you've ever shown to His people. Even a cup of cold water, you will never lose your reward. If you stand with those who suffer and you suffer too, Jesus said, "Rejoice and be glad because great is your award in heaven." God is not unjust he's not going to renege on that. God's promise to reward sacrificial giving, when you give alms to the poor and needy, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so you're giving may be in secret and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you." He's not unjust. He's going to reward everything done by faith in Jesus, everything. When you go into your room and close the door and pray to your Father who's unseen, He's not unjust. He'll remember every word of your prayers, and He will reward you. So what application can we take from this? Well, learn the things that accompany salvation, test yourself to see if you're in the faith. If you are not in the faith, if you just know you're here, and you know you're not a Christian, you actually may even not even make a claim to be a Christian. Can I warn you most tenderly, you don't know how much longer you have to live on earth either. And may I plead with you to repent and trust in Christ. God sent Jesus into the world to die in our place on the cross, and He poured out His wrath and judgment on Jesus and not on those who have faith in Him. He took their place. So just trust in Jesus. I'm pleading with you while there's time. And if you, as Christians, you hear this week after week, go say those kinds of things to some co-worker, please, this week. Take that message and go warn them and plead with them that they would come to Christ and faithfully serve God by serving his people. Just do as many cups of cold water as you can this week. Jesus will reward every one of them do them all by faith and don't get lazy in the Christian life. Don't rest on your laurels. Work harder than ever at growing in grace. In the knowledge of Christ.

Well, we are continuing our study in the book of Romans. And there's no way to understand the present, as we ought to understand our times, then by looking back in the eternal word of God to how we should understand the earliest consciousness, experiences, and convictions of the church. And no better place for that than in Romans. It is a thrill to begin our study. We've anticipated this for a long time. The book of Romans stands right there in the center of the New Testament as that great book without which we would not know so much. Every single word of Scripture is inspired and every word is fully inspired. There's no extraneous material. No book is more important than other books in terms of the inspiration. But in terms of helping us to understand the rest of the story, the book of Romans is so essential because it gives us that synthesis we need.And you know, what a synthesis is, is when the arguments all come together and are laid out in a way that is comprehensive. We can understand that here. Paul is going to give us the big view of the gospel itself, but he's also going to deal with the actual way the gospel works. And that's what's so important. It's not just enough to say Jesus saves. Now you have say that, that's the very heart of the gospel. But Paul tells us not only that he saves, but Paul goes to great length in this book to tell us how he saves and thus how it is the church is to live as a redeemed people in the world. Last week, we started looking at some of the background issues because there's no way to understand what's going on in the book of Romans without understanding why Paul wrote the letter, who Paul was, and where this took place in the chronology of Paul's ministry.Now, as you will remember, when we looked at this last week, we talked about the fact that there are internal and external clues as to when Paul wrote this book. And we're looking at a period between 54 and 58 AD. So this is very early in the life and experience of the early church; you're talking about in the midpoint of the first century. But this is also something of the midpoint of the Apostle Paul's career as the Apostle to the Gentiles. What is behind him? Well, according to the very last chapter of the book of Romans, in Romans chapter 16, we find out that Paul tells us that what lies behind him is the ministry to the east, the ministry to the churches of Asia Minor. And so we have all these churches from Cortinh to Thessolanica, to Philippi. That's where Paul has been giving so much of his attention after his conversion.And we're gonna trace that in just a moment. After his conversion, he spent so much time there in these missionary journeys, in what we call Asia Minor, or what would today be called Turkey. Now that is completed, it's completed for two reasons. Let's think about that for a moment. Two reasons. The first reason is that there are churches planted right there. And so Paul can look back at his ministry in Asia Minor and know that he has left churches and they are not only churches that are hanging on by the skin of their teeth. They are churches that are beginning to thrive and they have leadership and they have a grasp of the gospel. And they're beginning to show the fruit of congregational life. Paul is sending people like Timothy, men he raised up to be the leaders of these churches. And as you follow through the Old Testament, read the letters, and read the book of Acts, you can see that we have in Asia Minor, what we now know is Turkey, are thriving churches. There is in Jerusalem a church, and in many ways that is the mother church, of course, of all the rest of the churches that will emerge in the first century. But the other reason Paul's ministry to the east is finished is because God is giving him an open door to ministry to the west. And that means Rome and points westward from there. And what is west from Rome in the Roman empire is the territory known as Gual, and Gaul is today, mostly what we would call France, but also a good deal of Southern Spain. And it is a tremendous territory in which Europeans are beginning to think of themselves as a part of the Roman empire. And by the end of Paul's ministry, the gospel had been preached in Gual.That is an amazing thing, that by the end of the first century, not by Paul, but by others, he would send and would be sent out from these churches, the gospel will reach what we now know as the British Isles. Just imagine that in one century, in the ancient world, the gospel would spread so quickly to the far east, we know the gospel will get as far as what we now call India. And then as far west and north, as not only Gual or modern day France, but also in England, what we would now call the British Isles. But we need to pick up on who Paul was. This is where we left off last week, because in order to understand the book of Romans we have to understand its author. Paul's personality, his testimony, and his chronology is so important. Here. We are reminded that he was born into a Jewish family.One of the most important aspects of his biography, this is exactly where we left off last week, is the fact that he was a Roman citizen. He was a Roman citizen by birth, which meant that someone in his family in a generation past had done some extraordinary service for the empire and the emperor had, or at least on the emperor's authority, Roman citizenship had been given to Paul's family. That was an incredible honor. And as we shall see, it plays out as an enormous privilege or right, for Paul. For instance, a Roman citizen could not be flogged. And a Roman citizen had a right of immediate appeal to Caesar. So if on penalty of death, as Paul was later to face a trial and penalty of death, he's able to appeal to Caesar. Now the Apostle Paul seizes every single moment for the gospel. For example, when he was chained to a member of the Praetorian guard, he says, this is great. This is the most interesting form of evangelism. It's an unexpected form of evangelism. This guy can't get away from me. He is chained to me. And not only that, but the man who's chained to me is a member of Caesar's household. I am able to evangelize Caesar's household by Caesar's accidental plan. And eventually he gets to confront Cesar himself, although that is not given to us at the end of the book of Acts, we know that it's coming. We do not have a record of exactly what happened there, but Paul was very proud of his Roman citizenship, as well as of his Jewish roots. And as you look at texts like Acts 16:39 and Acts 22:3, and the first chapter of Galatians, Paul will make a great deal out of his Roman citizenship. And he will use it to the fullest, as a way of getting to Rome to see Caesar.But Paul is also raised as a Jewish boy, a Jewish young man. And both in Tarshish, and later in Jerusalem, he will receive the very finest Jewish education. So what we have in Paul is this incredible intersection of the Roman and Jewish worlds. Now, in the providence of God, who better to minister as the great Apostle to the Gentiles than a man whose life situation and biography will represent the intersection of the Greek and the Jewish worlds. It has to be a man who understands the Jewish world or he can't possibly be the great missionary to the Gentiles and do that effectively, if he himself is not a Jew. Because he becomes the transitional figure on the basis of his Jewishness to say:  this is a gospel for Gentiles as well. But he also has to have some credibility. He has to have mobility. He has to have the status that the Roman citizenship would give him. It is clear in the providence of God that long before the Apostle Paul ever came to life, God had prepared him for this particular service. Put him in just the right place, born to just the right parents, having just the right education and just the right experiences. But of course, I am speaking somewhat anachronistically here because I am referring to this man as Paul. And the reality is of course that if we had known him as a boy, and if we had known him as a young man, we would not have called him Paul, but we would've called him Saul. Now he was of the tribe of Benjamin.  Saul, as we have indicated last week, was the most illustrious member of that tribe, the first king of Israel, a man whose reign was marked by both greatness and humiliation, but without doubt, the name Saul was the primary name of the entire tribe.When you name your boy Saul, and you're from the tribe of Benjamin, you expect great things from this young man. His parents obviously expected great things from Saul. Saul began his life and was educated, as we've said, in Tarshish and in Jerusalem. He studied with Gamaliel, according to the strictest interpretation of the ancestral law, as he himself referred. And then having reached adulthood, it is interesting that his young adulthood coincides with the events concerning Jesus the Christ in Jerusalem. Now it is clear that Saul was on the inside track for leadership in the church. You know, every once in a while, you can just look at someone and you are going to know this kid is meant for greatness. I mean, this kid is meant for some kind of leadership. I can remember one time, long ago, getting to know an elementary school principal. And he said, every once in a while you see a kid, and this guy had been in the public schools for 40 years, he said, “every once in a while you see a kid and you know, this guy is going to be the president or the godfather one, or, two, he's going to run something. He's either gonna run the mafia or he is going to be a four star general running the military, but one way or another, this kid's going to go somewhere.”And that must have been the way that Saul looked to those who observed him. It's clear that he was on the inside track, not only in terms of education, but also in terms of his leadership potential. But how does he employ that leadership? That's the big question. How do we come to know Saul in the first place? We know him before his conversion. And that is because he used his leadership, as this young Roman trained, Gamliel trained, Jewish leader, as a persecutor of the church.The first reference we have to the Apostle Paul, who was then known as Saul, is in the stoning of Stephen, where we are told that Saul had been ransacking the church. And it is at the stoning of Stephen in the book of Acts that Saul actually holds the cloaks of those who do the stoning. Now that is more than symbolic because in the holding of the cloak, that's a way where Saul doesn't have to do the dirty work, he just saw to it that it was done. Now that's an interesting model of leadership right there. He had agitated the crowd in order to stone Steven, but he himself did not throw the stones. Instead, he held the cloaks of those who did the same, but he was known as a persecutor of the church. That's very important. He talks about it himself. Look at Galatians chapter one.Paul reveals something about himself in virtually every one of his letters, but in Galatians, probably because he was so agitated at the Galatian church, he's very honest about these things. Look at verse 13 and following, “For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.” Now we can follow that through to great profit, but for the sake of time, we're going to end there and just say that in this very revelatory statement, Paul, referring to his previous life, as Saul, says, he was zealous above all his peers. He was zealous for the traditions of his countrymen. In other words, in Saul's persecution of the church, you had a combination of what he saw as Jewish patriotism and a zeal to protect the orthodoxy of his day.And that meant persecuting the church because the temple authorities, the Jewish authorities, had hardened their hearts against Jesus. They had rejected him as the Son of God and as savior. They had been complicit with the Jews in leading to his crucifixion. Saul was out to defend the temple and its authorities and to oppose this new movement known as Christianity. We have another indication of this in 1 Corinthians 15, another statement by Paul, this great chapter that of course refers to the resurrection. That's the central point. In first Corinthians 15, we come across Paul making the argument that the gospel comes with priority. The first priority of the gospel we have in verse three, “For I delivered to you as a first importance, what I also received that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures. And that he was buried. And he was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures.” Now this is, again, Paul's absolute irreducible minimum of the gospel. You can't get the gospel any shorter or smaller than this. You can't leave anything that Paul has just said out and still have the gospel; it is a first priority. This is what you have to nail down first of all. And of course, this is a direct reputation of everything Paul had stood for during his career as the persecutor of the church, but he's going to refer to that. He speaks to the appearances of Jesus in verse six. First we want to go back to verse five, “ he appeared to Cephas,” that's Peter, Cephas meaning rock, “and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James then to all the Apostles,” not look at verse 8 “And last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared to me also for, I am the least of the Apostles and not fit to be called an Apostle because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace toward me did not prove vain, but I labored even more than all of them yet. Not I, but the grace of God with me.” Interesting, isn't it? This is the Apostle Paul's Popeye verse, “I am what I am” in verse 10, where you have Paul giving his testimony here and saying, listen, I don't deserve to be an Apostle. I don't deserve any of this. By definition we do not deserve grace. And Paul says that if there's anyone who must be reminded that he doesn't deserve grace it is I. But he says, but I am what I am. By human qualification I shouldn't mean Apostle. Why should the persecutor of the church become the leader of the church? But this is God's church, and God does what he pleases in his church. And God pleased to turn the persecutor into the Apostle. And that's exactly what took place here.This persecution of the church had been largely localized first in Jerusalem. In Acts chapter eight, we are told that Paul was actually dragging men and women out of their homes and persecuting them there in Jerusalem. Bringing them for trial, harassing them, flogging them, imprisoning them, trying to put it into this movement. But Paul's zeal as a persecutor. And you might even think of him as a prosecutor, just think of him as legally serving something like the function of a district attorney in our legal system; he is out to find criminals and to bring them for trial. The reach of his persecution or prosecution eventually goes beyond Jerusalem. And that is what leads to his conversion. Paul was headed to Damascus. Now I should not pass by us very quickly. Damascus is in what is now known as Syria. It's far to the north, it's outside Jewish territory. It was actually outside Jewish law. You can understand the persecution according to Jewish law in Jerusalem, but this is going far outside Jerusalem, where there was a large Jewish community, nonetheless Damascus, and Saul's determination to put an end to this Christian movement, this thing known as “The Way” the followers of Jesus Christ, his zeal led him to go to the chief priest with an unusual request for a warrant to go all the way to Damascus in order to round up the Jews who were believers in Christ there, and bring them back to Jerusalem for prosecution. Now, unless you just let that go by you, that is an almost breathtaking act of audacity. Just imagine that this is going that far out of Jerusalem, going into a different country, into a different region, into Gentile territory, just in order to arrest Jews who were followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ.Paul is way out on a limb here, or Saul, way out on a limb here. The extremity, the arrogance of his persecution is now almost on some kind of manic or maniacal level. The chief priest gives him the warrant and he goes to Damascus. But in Acts chapter 9, and it's good that we should turn there, in Acts chapter 9, what happens is not at all what Saul has planned. It is now that we understand that Saul is going to be a different man. When he gets to Damascus, he will not be a percutor of the church. He will be a member of the church. In Acts chapter 9, we come across Saul's conversion. “Now Saul, still breathing, threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus so that he found any belonging to the way,” that's the way the Christians referred to there, “there both men and women. He might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' And he said, ‘Who are you Lord?' And he said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city. And it will be told to you what you must do.'The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice, but seeing no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. And leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus and he was three days without sight and neither ate nor drank. Now, there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision ‘Ananias.' And he said, ‘Here am I Lord?'” Now, that goes all the way back to Samuel. That's the traditional Jewish way that the Lord gets the man's attention, through a dream, “Here am I Lord,”  also in Isaiah chapter six. “And the Lord said to him, get up and go to the street called Straight and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarshish named Saul for he is praying.” Okay, let's just stop there for a minute. You may have been with us when we went through the book of Acts verse by verse, that was several years ago.In fact, we were in the book of Acts for several years, but nonetheless, when you look back to Acts chapter nine, here, you have a real sympathy for this man, Annaias. The Lord speaks to you, just imagine in a dream, you know of this fire breathing persecutor of the church, named Saul in Jerusalem, and you've heard no doubt that he's coming to Damascus to arrest Christians. And in the middle of the night, a vision from the Lord comes to you and says, “I want you to see this man named Saul from Tarsus.” That's no ordinary command. “He's praying, the Lord told Ananais, and he has seen in a vision, a man named Ananais coming in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight. And Ananais answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to your Saint to Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priest to bind all who call on your name.” So Ananais does know the church in Damascus had one way or another been alerted to exactly why Saul was coming and what his intention was. “But Ananais said, ‘Lord, I've heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priest to bind all who call in your name.' But the Lord said to him, ‘Go for, he is a chosen instrument of mine to bear my name before the Gentiles and Kings and the sons of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.'”  Well, we know the rest of that story. Ananais did what the Lord commanded him to do. And indeed Saul was given his sight. He is then later called Paul to represent the change in his life. Much like Simon is named Peter representing a transition and in some  places and in periods in history of the church, Christians were given new names just to represent this change of life.But it's interesting in this command to Ananais, the Lord tells this Jewish man named Ananias in Damascus, why he is to do this. And the commission here is very important, because he says in verse 15, “Go for he is a chosen instrument of mine to bear my name among the Gentiles and Kings and the sons of Israel.” It's interesting there, look at that commission. Let's take it apart for a minute. He is an instrument of mine to bear my name among whom? Among the Gentiles and Kings and the sons of Israel. So the Apostle Paul will have a ministry to his fellow Jews. That's the last  part of this commission. And that's very important because there will actually come a time when Saul, now Paul, is going to have to stare down Peter, the great leader of the church in Jerusalem, on the question of the Gentiles.So you're going to have Paul as an authority, as a believer, correcting another believer, establishing the purpose of the gospel there among the Jews as well. But it also says he is going to be an instrument for the gospel among the Gentiles. Paul will become the great Apostle to the Gentiles. He will call himself that. He will come to know that that is why God has called him, transformed him, saved him, redeemed him, and given him this particular commission. It's because there's no one else who is situated as he is now to do this. But the third part of this is interesting, is it not? Because we are told that Paul will have a ministry for the sake of the gospel to Kings. To Kings. Now that's quite a promise, but it literally comes to pass before  Agrippa. Before other Kings, Paul will have the opportunity to share the gospel. And that is also tracked through the book of acts. His conversion in chapter nine is not only a transition from being a persecutor of the church to being a leader of the church, it is his regeneration. It is a complete change of life. And in this passage you have this magnificent display of God's grace in the life of the Apostle Paul. Let's look at Galatians chapter 3 for just a moment. Paul gives us a commentary on this in Galatians chapter 3, look at verse 10 through 14: “For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse for, as it is written ‘cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law to perform them.' Now we know that no one is justified by the law before God is evident, for the righteous man shall live by faith. However, the law is not of faith. On the contrary, whoever practices them shall live by them. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law having become a curse for us. For it is written ‘cursed as everyone who hangs on a tree,' in order that in Christ Jesus, the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles so that we would receive the promise of the spirit through faith.” In this little passage, we just read, Paul ends up giving his warrant for going to the Gentiles, but he also does, making clear, and this is what we need to understand up front, that that's what the Jews should have understood from the beginning. That's Paul's point here in Galatians 3:  They should have understood that the gospel was for the Gentiles from the beginning, even in the Abrahamic covenant. God says through Abraham, I will bless all nations through you.It is a blessing to Israel first, yes, but it's not just for Israel. It is a blessing that is to go beyond. I wanted us to look at those few verses from Galatians 3, because the man who could write that is a man whose mind has been completely changed from the persecutor of the church to the ambassador of grace to the Gentiles. This is a man whose entire worldview got turned upside down. And now he writes with such forcefulness about the ministry of the gospel over against the ministry of the law. What was old has passed away. It has been fulfilled in Christ. Paul is now the Apostle to the Gentiles, and that will be his role and function in the church. He will lead this westward expansion. He will lead in the establishment of Gentile churches, and eventually he will get to Rome. But before he arrives there, he writes the saints, the church in Rome. And that's the letter we have. And so very quickly let's begin looking right at the text of the book of Romans. We now know to whom it was written. To a church, as we saw last week, that was at one time largely Jewish but is now largely Gentile because of the expulsion of the Jews from Rome.We know about when it was written: somewhere between AD 54 and 58. And we know who wrote it. The human instrument of this writing was the Apostle Paul. Now we can look at the text itself. “Paul, a bond servant of Christ Jesus called as an Apostle set apart for the gospel of God.” First word is Paul. You often hear the letters and the New Testament referred to as the epistles, the epistle of Paul to this, or the epistle of Paul to those. The Greek word for letter is simply epistle. But the whole category of epistles or letters was well known in the ancient world. Letters functioned in that world differently than in hours. Now, every once in a while, we communicate something magnificent or major by means of a letter, but let's face it, we don't get big news basically by letters. Not in the day of instant communications, not in the day of the telephone, much less now in the day of television and email, and satellite transmission and everything else. Rarely do we open a letter in order to find out some magnificent momentous news. But in the ancient world, the letter was the main means whereby communication was made. Now, this is something that people who lived just a hundred years ago could have well understood. As a matter of fact, one of the sad things in terms of a historical perspective is how little is going to be known by reading our letters, because we don't write that many. Or the letters we write are largely perfunctory or courtesy. There's not a great deal of material in them in terms of news. But you can't imagine, I don't think any of us can imagine, what it was like to live in a world in which you heard so little.A letter coming from someone like the Apostle Paul would mean everything. In the traditional style of letters in the first century, you began the letter with your own name. Now, frankly, I think that makes more sense than the way we write letters. You know, we put our name at the end. Well, that's great. But sometimes you have to look to the end to find out who's writing to you. Not so in the ancient world, you put your name first so that the people reading it would know for whom the letter had come. Let's look at how he identifies him. So he calls himself by his Christian name, Paul, but then he describes himself as a bondservant of Christ Jesus. Paul will, again and again, describe himself in two different ways. He does it right here in this very verse. On the one hand, as an Apostle. And on the other hand as a slave. Now, this is so important because we tend to think of authority as a matter of mere privilege, without understanding what Paul saw. And that is that authority in the church as being a form of servanthood. Now, it didn't mean that he was reluctant to exercise that authority. He will exercise it again and again. He will say, “I am an Apostle. I'm speaking on behalf of the authority of Christ himself. I'm going to define reality. I'm going to tell you what the truth is. This is the gospel, and that's not the gospel choose you today, which one you're gonna serve.” The Apostle Paul was not reticent to use his authority, but he understood it wasn't about himself. It's not about Paul. It is instead about Christ. Just as it was John the Baptist who pointed to Jesus said, “I must decrease that he must increase.”Paul will say in so many different ways in his letters, “I'm not the point here, I am insignificant. It is Christ who is supremely significant.”  And he will say things like “to live is Christ, to die is gain.”  Just to point out the fact that it is Christ himself who is everything. But just as much as Paul was quick to point out that he was a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, he would all also use this apostolic authority. So you have this going back and forth. Paul puts both of these aspects here in verse one. He is a slave, a dulas. He is so much a slave to Christ that everything he knows, everything he has, everything he knows about himself, everythings he hopes for in the life to come is all due to Christ. He is Christ's slave A bondservant is one who has willingly become a slave. That is one who has sold himself into slavery. Paul says, “I belong to Lord Jesus Christ.” Just like a servant would belong to his master. He identifies Christ by Christ Jesus. Now, sometimes we say Jesus Christ. Another important reminder to us that the names Christ and Jesus are just that they are names. But they are names that come as a title, especially Christ. Jesus, or what you would have as a Yeshua in the Hebrew or Aramaic dialect is a name common to the Old Testament. It's the same name that is translated as Joshua in the Old Testament. And it's a word that by itself, declares “savior.”  “Unto you shall be born this day in the city of David a savior, who is Christ the Lord. And his name shall be Jesus, which means savior.” His name was declaring his purpose, but it was a common name. And in the ancient near east, and especially in what we would call Israel, you would find others who would have the same name, the name Jesus or Yeshua, but they would not have the title Christ.The Christ is the Messiah, the Christos, the anointed one, the promised one, Israel's consolation. So to say Christ Jesus is to make very clear you're speaking of the incarnate man known as Jesus Christ, who is also the incarnate God, son of God, who is the Messiah, the anointed one. “A bond servant of Christ Jesus called as an Apostle.” Paul didn't volunteer as an Apostle. What we read from 1 Corinthians 15 reminds us that Paul said I was set apart, I was commissioned, I was called. Now, I'm the least of all. I'm not worthy to be an Apostle, but ladies and gentlemen, I am an Apostle. Not because I've declared myself to be one, but because Christ Jesus has made me one. The one whose slave or bond servant  I am, he has made me an Apostle. That is defined as being set apart for the gospel of God. What is Paul's apostolate all about? His Apostleship, his purpose is for the cause of the gospel. He is set apart for the gospel of God.In verse two, Paul gives us an extended commentary on that gospel. This is the gospel, which he…Now who's “he?” This is God the father, as we shall see, “he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures concerning his son who is born of a descendant of David, according to the flesh.” Let's just stop there for a moment. Here is no longer Saul, here's Paul. How do you see the difference? Saul, the persecutor of the church, made it his business to argue that Jesus was not the son of God, could not be the Messiah, the followers of Christ were illegitimate, they could not be called Jews. They were to be corrected or imprisoned and flogged. They were to be persecuted. Now he's making the case from the other side on the basis of his own apostolic authority, he describes this gospel saying it was promised beforehand through his prophets and the Holy Scriptures.Don't let that pass you by. Here is Paul saying we should have seen it. The Jews universally, all of us, should have recognized in Jesus Christ the absolute fulfillment of all of God's promises. He had told us beforehand what he was going to do. And he told beforehand, but listen to how he says in his prophets, in the holy Scriptures, he's referring to the Old Testament Scriptures. That's right there. He says, ladies and gentlemen, it's in black and white. We should have known it. These things in verse three “concerning his son.” So what you have in verse one is the title Christ. The anointed one. What you have in verse three is the declaration that this Christ Jesus is none other than the very Son of God. Now it's just like there in the gospel of Luke. The angels put it all together by saying a babe is born to you, a savior, who is Christ the Lord.They have all three put together, savior, Christ, Lord, put together in the angelic declaration to the shepherds. Here you have it put together in the apostolic declaration of the Apostle Paul Christ, Jesus, Son, all there in the first three verses. But there's more: “who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh.” That is according to how you would measure or trace his earthly lineage, by descent of David, that was foretold also in the Scriptures. Then look at verse four, who this is, “the son was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ, our Lord.” Just in case we missed it all put together in the first three verses, in the next verse, verse four, he puts it all together for us again: “who was declared the Son of God.” In other words, those who were alive at the time and who witnessed his resurrection, saw the Father's declaration, that this is his son.The declaration had come already at the baptism., “This is my son in whom I am well pleased.” But it was in the resurrection in particular that God universally said to the entire world, “This is my son.” And that is a theme that will come up again and again in the Apostle Paul's ministry, it is the resurrection that underlines for all time, universally for all peoples and all places, this is God's son. For Paul the resurrection is everything. That's why in 1 Corinthians 15, where we just read, he said, “I delivered under you that, which is a first importance, which I also received, that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures. And that he was raised from the dead, according to the Scriptures.” God raised him from the dead. Without the resurrection there is no fulfillment of the prophecy. Without the resurrection there is no power of God demonstrated in him. But with the resurrection, universally, throughout all time, categorically, unquestionably, he is declared to be the Son of God.And this was revealed to him. How? According to the spirit of holiness through Jesus Christ, our Lord. There you have Jesus, Christ, Lord–all put together. And we're only four verses into the book of Romans. It's like he's loading it on the upfront, right as we get into the book with the serious theology, with all the serious doctrinal content, that's going to follow. He's writing to a largely Gentile church. And he said, I'm a Jew. We should have seen it. We'll declare it now to you. I'm the Apostle to the Gentiles. He's already said that I am an Apostle. I'm coming to you. And this is the message I send to you, that God showed his salvation, declared his power in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. He is the very Son of God. He is the Messiah, the savior Christ Jesus, according to the spirit of holiness, we know him as Jesus Christ our Lord. Now in verse five, he's going to tell us that it is through him, through Christ, “we receive grace and Apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for his name's sake, among whom you also are called or the called of Jesus Christ to all who are the beloved of God in Rome called to be saints or called as saints, grace to you in peace from God, our father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” This is where we'll pick up next week. Just let me make one comment here. If you wrote a letter in the ancient near east, in this time in the Roman empire, in the first century, you began the letter with your own name, but as you wrote the letter, you will give some kind of greeting. And the traditional greeting and the Greek language was karin, which is graciousness.It's just like today we would say something like, “dear,”  is kind of the same thing. Dear Fred, dear Hazel, dear whatever, dear you guys. That's a gracious thing. You know, the word dear is just kind of a throwaway thing now we don't give it a whole lot of attention, but it really was intended to mean something. “You are dear to me.” And so you would write the letter that way. But in the ancient world, in the Roman world, you begin with something like “graciousness to you.” Well, remember that Paul is the Jew who is the Apostle to the Gentiles. He's going to show that the gospel is for Jews and for Greeks, it's going to come very quickly here in Romans chapter 1. And by Greeks, he means Gentiles. He's going to show that he is a Jew, who is the Apostle commissioned to the Gentiles.He doesn't use the greeting charin. Instead he uses the greeting charis. Grace. Not graciousness, but grace. A different thing altogether, grace and peace, peace, shalom. So when you come to the end of verse seven, he greets the church, both Jews and Greeks. He greets them, both Jews and Gentiles. He uses not only grace, but shalom, grace and peace. Shalom was the traditional Jewish way of greeting. Grace, a traditional, or at least a modification of the traditional Roman way of greeting. And here, Paul kind of sets it all up before the church, Jews and Gentiles together, grace and peace to you through our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh Lord. We pray that you would lead us into the study of your word in a way that will lead us to Christian maturity, to the expansion of your gospel.You can find Dr. Mohler's other Line by Line sermons here.Follow Dr. Mohler:X | Instagram | Facebook | YouTubeFor more information on The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, go to sbts.edu.For more information on Boyce College, just go to BoyceCollege.com.