Why Did Jesus Come To Earth? - [Hebrews 2]

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Well, I'm glad we could worship this morning on the Lord's Day here at Bethlehem Bible Church I was thinking about some
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Christmas traditions that I've found and I never knew about these until this week when you
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Decorate your house many people for Christmas use red gold and green and I didn't know there was a symbol behind that there were symbols behind that red of course is the blood of Christ gold a
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Gift for a king green is a symbol of everlasting life so there you have it
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I Found out that Christmas trees became very popular Because Queen Victoria's husband
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Prince Albert brought one over from Germany in 1841 there was a picture taken with them in Windsor Castle and everybody thought that was a great idea.
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Let's use Christmas trees Christmas wreaths were introduced because wreaths symbolized honor and Victory and they thought you know what what else would symbolize such great honor and victory than the incarnation of Jesus Here's one that I didn't know about Christmas stockings.
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Some of you will go home with some Christmas stockings today, or maybe you've already Opened up the presents in them st.
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Nicholas According to legend wanted to help some poor people and these poor people had three daughters who needed a dowry
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And he didn't want to embarrass them by trying to give them coins So he threw them down the chimney they landed in the stockings there you have it
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I Can tell you're impressed? Like get to the Bible Indulge me with one last one because it deals with food mincemeat pies
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I Thought those were just for grandparents, but now I am a grandparent Brought to Britain in the 13th century from the
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Middle East by Crusaders First made an oval shape to represent
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Jesus's manger They had meats in them But later they just left out the meats the
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Victorians did and they just had spices cinnamon clove and nutmeg to represent the three wise men
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Christmas traditions Anthony you're welcome So today
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I'd like you to take your Bibles and turn to Hebrews chapter 2 and we're not going to look at tradition Or lore our myths or fables or how people come up with some interesting ideas
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Or something that might slowly remember Resemble the Bible, but we're gonna look at actually what Jesus came to do in that wonderful book the book of Hebrews Here's what
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I love about Christmas messages. They're about what Jesus did of course you can respond with rest with belief with praise with thanksgiving
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But Christmas is not about what we do. It's not about what we accomplish It's about what
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God has done And it's a good thing to be reminded of because we are built in such a way where we think how do
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I please God? It's something I do. It's something. I I don't do something I have to avoid something.
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I I must buckle down and get done, but remember the Lord God is pleased by the work of his son and without faith in him.
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It's what impossible to please him So what I love about Christmas messages. It's about the Lord Jesus and of course
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I want you to respond with trust and rest and praise and thanksgiving
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But we're gonna learn and be reminded today what Jesus Christ has done as the
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Creed say this God who came down from heaven and Became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the
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Virgin Mary and was made human He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried in the third day.
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He rose again The Christmas message this morning is what did Jesus do?
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Did he stay in a manger? Did he stay in Bethlehem? Did he stay in Nazareth? What did
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Jesus do? What did he? Accomplish and we're gonna look at six wonderful things that Jesus came to do and he did them
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That's the outline today six wonderful things that Jesus came to do and he did them so that you might be thankful That you might be forgiven that you might rest in him and know for certain that you're saved
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By the blood of the Lamb Jesus didn't just attempt these he did them. He just didn't try and fail
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He didn't just do some of them or half of them The father sent him to do these six things in Hebrews 2 and he did them
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Perfectly and exactly he did these six things. Let me give you the outline first and then we'll break it down He came to number one destroy number two deliver number three sees number four identify
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Number five propitiate and number six to help Jesus came to do these very things and you can rest in your
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Savior I mean if he just did one of those things, I'd be pretty impressed If he did two, I think that's pretty marvelous.
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He did three Fantastic for pretty incredible five spectacular, but all six that should make us respond.
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Oh come Let us adore him Christ Jesus the Lord It's been
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I think I started Let me rephrase that in 2015. We started the book of Hebrews and we should probably finish next week.
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Okay But I'm always drawn back to Hebrews because it's so Christ centered.
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It's so let's exalt who Jesus is It's a sermon if you were to read it it takes about 45 minutes to read and it's about Jesus and his high priest
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Lee work it's about Jesus and his supremacy. It's about Jesus is greater than angels.
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He's greater than the prophets He's greater than Aaron. He's greater than Moses you think of anyone
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Jesus is better than That person and in this sermon in chapter 1 the writer says
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Jesus is divine That's chapter 1 and in chapter 2 He talks about the humanity of Jesus because to be a
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Savior you have to be divine and you have to be human and so we come into chapter 2 and Parachute in to see these six great things that the
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Lord has done and I think after this morning You'll think I'm glad to have such a Savior. I'm glad that he would save me
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I'm glad that I can trust in this great captain of my salvation
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To set us up a little bit in context let me read verses 8 and following because our passage really is in 14 through 18, but of course context are very important Hebrews 2 verse 8
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Again stressing not his deity like he did in chapter 1 but stressing chapter 2 his humanity
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Putting everything in subjection under his feet verse 8 now in putting everything in subjection to him
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He left nothing outside his control at present. We do not yet see everything in subjection to him
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But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels namely
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Jesus crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of Death so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone
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For it was fitting verse 10 that he For whom and by whom all things exist in bringing many sons to glory
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Should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source
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That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers saying I will tell of your name to my brothers
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In the midst of the congregation. I will sing your praise and again I will put my trust in him and again behold
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I and the children God has given me Now before we look at these great six things that Jesus did these six accomplishments
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If you will go back to verse 10, and I want you to see that word fitting. Do you notice it for it was?
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Fitting the writer. I almost said Paul. Maybe it is Paul, but the writer the
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Spirit of God of course He wants us to realize that the salvation Jesus was sent to do was planned
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It was appropriate. It was proper That's the idea of the word fitting when you think of the plan of salvation there is a actual plan and I don't want you to ever think that the
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Incarnation was Chance That it was luck that it was fortuitous that it was
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What other words can I think of? Serendipitous that it was just well Kind of got lucky.
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I know it wasn't really you know it was kind of inadvertent, but but it was a good payoff The word they're fitting
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Means it was a plan of God for the father to send the son King James translates fitting this way for it became him
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The Holman Christian standard Bible translates it this way it was entirely appropriate
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Why was it appropriate because the father before Genesis 1? Sends the son or they talk about how the son is going to be sent there was a purpose
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This is an affirmation of the sovereignty of God God is sovereign even over the birth of that little baby
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Jesus Before time within the
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Council of the Trinity there was an agreement. There was a pact to send the son Martin Luther said no man can be thoroughly humbled until he knows that his salvation is utterly beyond his own powers devices
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Endeavors will and works and depends entirely on the choice will and work of another
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Namely God alone, and so we come to the book of Hebrews And we realize what
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Jesus came to do it was planned out because left to ourselves We could never save ourselves.
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Well. We're good at sinning. We're not good at saving We're good at doing unrighteous things not honoring
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God. That's why Jesus came I've often said to my unbelieving friends if we could get to heaven by being good
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Why send Jesus Why have Jesus be crucified on our behalf no it took a
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Savior it took a Redeemer It took a rescuer, and it was planned by God It was fitting in the right time at the right moment with all the right circumstances
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Jesus arrives on the scene the Eternal Son now assumes humanity to rescue and Deliver it was fitting
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What was planned for him to do number one? So that you can rest and believe and praise the first wonderful thing
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Jesus came to do and did it was number one destroy Verse 14 since therefore the children share in flesh and blood he himself likewise partook of the same things
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That through death he might destroy The one who has the power of death that is the devil
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I Mean if I say to you Satan. Do you think true real?
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myth You begin to think you know what Satan's kind of this caricature pitchfork red
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Halloween costume Kind of you know tooth fairy kind of I almost said
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Santa, but I can't say that Santa I remember one time
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I Talked to one of our neighbors and the kid our kids were little they were growing up and the neighbors were like You know we know you're in the
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Bible and all that and you're the Jesus people But could you please tell your son to stop telling our family that Santa doesn't exist?
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Okay Luke Satan certainly isn't cartoonish.
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He's not something that's made up Satan's real Satan's an enemy.
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He's your enemy and Left without Jesus You think about the prince of the power of the air you think about Satan roaring like a lion
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You think about Satan? Tempting you think about Satan controlling the dominions of of all the other hordes of the fallen angels we're gonna need someone who's gonna destroy him because holy water
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Latin phrases Aren't going to do it now of course
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Satan isn't in charge of hell of course Satan isn't all -powerful Of course Satan isn't omnipresent of course
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Satan Is is only going to do what God allows? But he is an enemy and when
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Jesus comes what do you think he's going to do for his people that have an enemy? Well you think that he'd come and rescue them by destroying
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Satan's works, and that's exactly what Jesus came to do The accuser the
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Bible calls it Satan the tempter the deceiver the God of this age Jesus comes
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To destroy I thought we I think we have to be very thankful for that now the word destroy
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Does not mean you can see it again right there in the text that he might destroy. It doesn't mean annihilate
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If I was God, that's probably how I would have planned it all Jesus can just obliterate Satan He doesn't do anything ever again, but he's not annihilated
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He's still walking prowling first Peter chapter 5. He's alive, and you say okay
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Well, it says here in the text. He might destroy the one that has the power of death that is the devil well certainly
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God is control of life and death, but it's a it's a Delegated thing now that Satan has you could maybe argue that way, but I want you to see something more important I think what the writer is trying to tell you is simply this
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Here's the power that Satan has about death Mike Avendroth the pastor just sinned
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He deserves death That's what Satan would say and now do
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I need to cower under that do I need to be immobilized under that? Satan demands your death because you sin and now we have a savior who has destroyed that power and We can no longer be afraid of the penalty that must be paid because Jesus came to remove the grounds of the devil's accusations
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If God is for us who can be against us he did not spare his own son But gave him up for us all how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
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Listen who shall bring a charge against God's elect who would like to bring a charge against you? Satan it is
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God who justifies who is to condemn can Satan condemn you he can say look at that Christian He or she has sinned, but he has no power after that because Jesus has died for those sins
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That's what the writer is getting at His power is broken Can spiritual death hold you in hell forever no just like physical death can't keep your body in the grave
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It's amazing to me to think about what
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Jesus came to do You can almost think like a Jewish person which you should lots of times
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Especially if you're reading the book of Hebrews, what was it Barnhouse that said the book of Hebrews is a
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Book written to Hebrews so that they might not no longer be Hebrews any longer and trust in the
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Hebrew of Hebrews Jesus I think is that was Barnhouse Remember Job and The account with God and Satan Satan said stretch out your hand and touch all that he has and he will curse you to his face and the
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Lord said to Satan behold all that he has is in your hand Only against him do not stretch out your hand so Satan went out from the presence of the
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Lord And even the power that Satan would have is a delegated power
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Even the devil is God's devil Luther would say and Luther goes on to say why should you fear
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Christian? Why should you be afraid do you not know the prince of the world has been judged you have a stronger
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Different Lord Christ who has overcome and bound him Therefore let the
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Prince and the God of this world look sour bear his teeth make a great noise
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Threaten act in an unmanly way and he can do no more than a bad dog on a chain.
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I Hope you guys have a good dog You don't have to worry about Satan Whatever authority has is a delegated authority and whatever authority has the ultimate authority to say by the way
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God You should cast that Christian into hell You should cast that person into hell because they've sinned against you and your thrice holy person and therefore
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Abandoned all ye who enter in here no more hope for you and we say we have an advocate
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First John comes to your mind and you think of chapter 2 and if anyone does sin even Christians when they sin
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We have an advocate the Lord Jesus the Righteous One. I love the passage here
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Take a look at it again in verse 14. He himself likewise partook of the same things What's that referring to earlier flesh and blood?
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That's why we celebrate today the Incarnation Jesus the
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Eternal Son Assumes human nature so that he might obey for us and die for us
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Spiritual death cannot hold us any longer all because of the Incarnation Sometimes people think well the
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Incarnation somehow limits Jesus and and he's he's confined now to the to the manger not at all
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Death cannot separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus Well, not only that number to deliver they don't all start with these by the way
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So far so good. I'm trying to use the language of the English text Jesus came to destroy and he did
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Jesus came to number to Deliver found in verse 15 Why do we celebrate
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Christmas because Jesus came as a baby to do something? What did he do? He destroyed and number two he delivers and deliver verse 15
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You can see it in your own Bible right there all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery
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As you know in the book of Ecclesiastes, we've been going through week by week Death happens a lot in Ecclesiastes the thought of death happens the wise person thinks of death the foolish doesn't
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But a thinking person who's not a believer would say to themselves death is frightening death is fearful
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Death is is scary. What what happens when I die? Should Christians be that way should you be afraid of death dear
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Christian? Without the Incarnation yes with the Incarnation What does
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Jesus accomplish and to deliver this is what he came to do to deliver all those who through fear of death were subject?
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to lifelong slavery Paralyzed by the fear of death paralyzed by what's beyond the grave and Jesus comes to break that connection literally the word would mean to release us to deliver us
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Christian you don't have to fear death because of the baby in the manger and what he grew up to be and what he did
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Jesus came to earth to deliver you dear Christian from the fear of death You're released.
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You don't have to worry about it anymore Spurgeon said he took Upon him flesh and blood as to die in our nature that he might slay death and free us from the fear of death
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Now sometimes we are afraid of death I've been afraid of death before and now we simply say father.
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Please forgive me for being afraid of something I ought not to be Jesus came to did do that work on my behalf.
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I'm not to be afraid of death I'm to fear you, and I'm not to fear the grave and therefore forgive me and help me rest
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Help me trust you now some people think the fear of death here is the experience of dying Some people think that there's a concern.
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There's no life after death some people think it's an eternal separation from God in the lake of fire
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Well, let's just add them all up if all three of those are true Christians ought not to be afraid of death
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If I just read these words to you would they not comfort you knowing that Jesus is your shepherd
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The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me besides still waters
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He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his namesake Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
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I will Fear it completely I Will fear no evil he's talking about this very thing for you are what with me kind of sounds like a manual to me
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Donald Gray Barnhouse, I mentioned him earlier. He was a pastor of 10th Presbyterian in Philadelphia And his wife died of cancer, and he had three children under 12
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You probably know the story and the account goes this way the day of the funeral Barnhouse and his family were driving to the service
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When a large truck passed them casting a noticeable shadow Turning to the oldest daughter who was sadly staring out the window
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Pastor Barnhouse said tell me sweetheart. Would you rather be run over by that truck or its shadow by the shadow?
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I guess it can't hurt you and then Barnhouse said Your mother has not been overridden by death, but by the shadow of death there's nothing to fear because of the incarnation
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Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and all his accusing power and to deliver us from the fear of death
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Dear Christian. I have some good news for you We're of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body at at home that had at home with the
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Lord So whether we at home are away we make it our please our aim to please him
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For me to live as Christ and to die is what? loss Of course not if you're trusting in something besides Jesus it will be the worst loss ever
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But if you're trusting in the Lord Jesus, it's gain No wonder Paul said
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I'm hard -pressed between the two He wasn't afraid of what what Job called the king of terrors that is death
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If you're here, and you're an unbeliever. It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God You should be afraid, but trust in the
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Lord Jesus. We ought not to be afraid Paul even taunts death sometimes
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I watch football games and Basketball games not on Sundays, but on other days when
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I'm watching in Nebraska.
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We had the worst chance Not not CH n SC e but but Chance like chanting and we would just sing dumb things like we've got spirit.
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Yes, we do. We've got spirit How about you? Just dumb then
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I moved to Los Angeles, and I would go to UCLA games And they would have Like really impressive long chants with all kinds of great diction and grammar and other words
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I didn't understand, but it sounded pleasant to me And they were really into these chants you know in fight songs and taunting the opponents
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And you know you can think about baseball games a batter a batter a batter swing right? Taunting because of what the
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Lord Jesus has done Paul taunts death with songs Listen to first Corinthians 15 death is swallowed up in victory.
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Oh death. Where's your sting? Oh death? Where's your victory bring it on?
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I dare you a batter batter swing Sometimes people say to me.
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Why do you talk like that way kind of addressing children? Because they're sitting here in the congregation number one
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I'm trying to get your attention number two. We don't have to be afraid my mom was dying and she was dying from her own
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Fluids in her lung because she was dying of lung cancer. I remember reading the end of Pilgrims progress to her about how
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Christians struggle with the fear of death But he was safe. Do you remember the story? Christian going across the river death to the celestial city he began to sink crying out to his good friend
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Hopeful he said I sink in deep waters the billows go over my head all his waves go over me
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Then said hopeful be of good cheer my brother. I feel the bottom and it's good I'm my friend said
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Christian the sorrows of death have compassed about me. I shall not see the land that flows with milk and honey And without a great darkness and horror fell upon Christian So he could not see before him and here in a great measure
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He also lost his senses so he could not neither remember no orderly talk of any of those sweet refreshments
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He had been met with earlier But all with the words that he spoke still tend to discover the horror of mine the heart fears
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He should die in that river and never obtain entrance into the celestial gate Hopeful said brother.
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I see the gate. I see the gate. They went under the water. They died He says
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I see the gate the men standing by to receive us The two men went into the gate and low as they entered they were transfigured
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They had raiment put on that shone like gold. They also were met with them harps and grounds
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They were given to them harps to praise crowns and token of honor enter ye into the joy of your
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Lord number three sees destroyed deliver sees
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Kind of a parenthesis here, but a wonderful one for it is surely verse 16 not angels that he
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Seizes literally, but he seizes the offspring of Abraham What does the word sees mean it means to take hold of by the hand it means to grab
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It means to to take even by the scruff of the neck and in a kind way Could that be a kind way how does that work?
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I'm thinking like a mother dog or something rescuing a dog. Why do I think about dogs all day now? Don't get me a dog for Christmas better.
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Not go home for a dog. I'm drowning and I need help
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I'm in quicksand and I can't get out I'm gonna have to have somebody that comes over and Grabs me and holds me by the hand and if you were a
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Hebrew reading the book of Hebrew You'd say that's exactly what God did to Israel when he was when she was in Egypt.
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That's the language of Jeremiah That's the language of Isaiah Seizing Israel out of the bondage of Egypt and now how much more we're in sin.
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We can't get out It's kind of like you know for those of you that deal with trees or cut down trees and and all of a sudden got a
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Bunch of pitch on your hand or you're cutting down a Christmas tree and you've got pitcher in your hand And then you you do this and and then you do that and it's just like everywhere.
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It's tar. It's pitch You can't get yourself out of it Somebody's gonna have to come and help me.
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Somebody's gonna have to come and save me This is the same language where Jesus took the hand of the blind man and led him into the village and healed him seized to help this is language that You you go to Auschwitz and You liberate the people in the concentration camp and they're so frail
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You grab them by the hand and pick them up. That's the exact language here of liberation help
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Jesus is walking on the water Lord if it's you command me to come out on the water come
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Peter got out of the boat walked in the water came to Jesus But when Peter saw the wind he was afraid and he began to sink.
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He cried out Lord save me Jesus immediately reached out his Hand and same word in Hebrews seized him took him
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Saying oh you of little faith Why do you doubt and when they got into the boat the wind ceased and those in the boat worshipped him saying truly?
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You're the Son of God And so just think about your own life if you would you're a Christian You weren't born a
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Christian One day God opened your eyes. Maybe your mom and dad preached to you. Maybe you heard a sermon
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Maybe you're listening to some some things on the radio or a podcast and one day you realize like pastor
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Steve Just said reading Isaiah chapter 9. I'm a sinner Jesus is the only
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Savior. I believe him through that whole event
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It's God taking you by the his hands as it were and seizing you you're not gonna go to hell
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You're not gonna pay for your own sins. Jesus instead will pay for your sins and he grabs you and rescues you
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That's the idea here while we are still weak
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Romans 5 at the right time Christ died for the ungodly And he didn't die for angels
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Angels sinned they fought fell a third of them. He didn't seize them. He didn't grab them He left them as they were and he could have in his justice did that for us, but he didn't and that's why everywhere
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You look at the Christmas story. It's I have good news for you. I have good news for you seizing gripping
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Not just Jewish people but Galatians 3 says if you're Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring heirs according to the promise number four identify
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Jesus came For many reasons the six here in chapter 2 of Hebrews to destroy deliver seize identify
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Verse 17 therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect
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This is language of representation This is language of incarnation because he has to identify with us so he has to be truly human
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He has to be perfectly human. How can it be a substitute for humans if he's divine only?
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So in every respect so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God Now sometimes we don't like priests
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There's scandals with people that have priests. We're not too sure about priests
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But dear Christian You need a priest. Would you like to have somebody to stand between you and God?
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To help you to be a defense lawyer to be an advocate To be a helper, so you wouldn't have to face him on your own
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You're walking to the judge in a regular court here in Boston and and you walk up and you have no defense lawyer
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You don't know the law. You don't know all the details. You don't know everything else and you just walk up Hopefully You'd say
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I need help. What do they say about the people that are gonna be their own defense lawyers? There's a little slogan about that.
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It's basically they're crazy. Don't do it I need someone to identify to be a priest you need a priest priesthood is good
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You look at the Old Testament everything was about a priest priest stand before you and God by prayer and also by Sacrifice and Jesus is the sacrifice.
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And of course, he is the ultimate prayer warrior and he identifies He had to be truly human to do that Philippians 2 echoes this truth
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Although he existed in the form of God he did not require to regard equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself taking the form of a bondservant and Being made in the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man
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He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross
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We need a priest. What kind of priest do you want? harsh and Unfaithful, that's the kind of priest we want right?
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Of course not. What's the text say? I mean just knowing a little bit about Jesus and who he is and how he treated people on earth blind
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Sexually immoral he's gonna be like Eli's sons. What kind of priest is he?
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He's merciful and faithful I'd like mercy
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When I do something wrong, I need a merciful high priest. I'd like to have a faithful priest when I'm unfaithful
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That's exactly what he is faithful and merciful Get ready to to discipline the children
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You disobeyed dad disobeyed God's rules. I'm gonna discipline you. I love you. I'm not mad at you
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This is justice and I'm dad. He's gonna have to discipline you This isn't this week by the way, that's when they were little
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Once in a while, I'd say and by the way when you don't get justice You get mercy. And so while you deserve to be disciplined and corrected right now.
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I Think I'd like to be like God the Father and give mercy to you So I'm gonna either give you mercy or I'm gonna give you justice.
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Which one would you like mercy mercy mercy dad? I'll take mercy and then like two weeks later.
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I'm not gonna give mercy, but they're begging for mercy still I want mercy mercy mercy Do you want a high priest like the
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Old Testament ones that were sinful they weren't always faithful They weren't always merciful. Of course not.
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So Jesus the Eternal Son Assumes human nature and he's perfectly merciful and perfectly faithful It's fascinating to me that when you read the
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Gospels The way Yahweh the way God has talked about in the Old Testament.
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They talk about Jesus The Lord is compassionate and gracious slow to anger abounding in in long -suffering and mercy steadfast love
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That's how they talk about Jesus in the New Testament because Jesus is the Eternal God. That's why You could trust him
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He's always faithful to you faithful to the Father Number five two more to go
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Destroy deliver seize identify propitiate so far dear congregation. I haven't told you to do anything
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We want to oh, we want to respond to God's grace by loving God loving neighbor That's all true, and I get that right now.
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I only want you to think I'm thankful I'm trusting I'm resting if you're an unbeliever
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I want you to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, but the our incarnation is what God did for you Say there's a response.
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Yes to believe to rest to be thankful to praise. I Praise God that we don't have to be worried about Satan anymore
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We don't have to be worried about death anymore God came to help us God came to identify with us and now number five
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Propitiate and I use the word propitiate because it's right there in the text to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
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Do you see it? Propitiation it means what to assuage the wrath of God to exhaust the wrath of God To take on the wrath of God most people don't like the word propitiate because it means
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God is holy It means God has wrath. It means God's going to judge. He's not grandpa
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God It just overlooks every little thing My grandmother who raised me on certain days a week while mom was working.
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She had the yardstick from the hardware store It was yellow. I can still see to this day and she kept saying Mike if you keep doing that I'm gonna give you a spanking
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She said it every day she never did it So what's what do you do? If you're a kid with the crew cut living in Nebraska that doesn't know any kind of chants and fight songs
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Just pick up that thing. You break it over your knee and hand it to grandma And she still didn't spank me.
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I Think if I would have been a grandpa we would might have done something about that But since God is holy, he's holy holy holy he has to judge sin
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He has to judge your sin every one of your sins including mine that you'll ever commit has to be judged
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On Jesus or on you in hell forever Propitiation means God's wrath is a
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Swage it's absorbed. It's intercepted. It's poured all out and now you don't have to deal with it anymore
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People that say I will not believe in Jesus because I want to run my own life You are going to drink the wrath of God forever.
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Don't why there's there's a God who delivers and destroys and seizes Why would you do that?
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I plead with you don't do that Be like many of us who say do you know?
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It's easy for me to say I've got an illness these days people Talk about that all the time and syndromes and diseases and that's no longer taboo to talk about But what's still taboo is to say
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I'm a sinner And I've got to have a Jesus like this He makes propitiation
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You know most religions they try to get the God to not be angry at them. They try to get the
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God To be nice to them by their own propitiation and they give gifts to God Oranges they give gifts to God pomegranates.
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They give gifts to God's little babies and to Molech Killed and offered so they might have more babies.
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They give virgins to God and then and kill them They try to make God not mad at them. It's not raining.
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How can we get God to make it rain? We'll give him a gift that's propitiation, but here Jesus comes
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For what reason if we could make propitiation why send Jesus if we could get rid of Satan why send
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Jesus if we could get? Out of the quicksand of sin why send Jesus but since we couldn't do that, we are enslaved to sin now he comes in He makes propitiation
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He satisfies the wrath of God Remember the
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Old Testament idea of the box the Ark of the Covenant Most people know the Ark of the
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Covenant not from the Old Testament, but from Indiana Jones, but I'll take whatever I can get And in that box that special box they had
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Aaron's rod. They had some manna Some manner
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Following with me and they had the Ten Commandments and on the top. There was a gold seat.
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It was called the mercy seat It's here's the picture. Of course God sees everything But here's the picture to help us understand
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God sees the Ten Commandments in the box. You broke them. There's got to be punishment
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There's got to be propitiation God sees that all of us have broken the Ten Commandments There has to be blood spilt unto death and so God helping us understand
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Jesus the sacrifice Jesus the substitute Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world we take an animal
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Sacrifice it and pour blood on top of the mercy seat So it's like when God sees the broken
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Ten Commandments that we have broken. He doesn't see them anymore He sees paid in full.
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He sees it is finished. He sees there's already been one payment I'm not gonna exact payment on the people too.
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That'd be double jeopardy First John says that's love you want to understand love
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It's by propitiation in this is love first John for not that we love God But he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins
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You don't have to pay for your own sins and neither do I dear Christian and when I say dear Christian, I'm saying only
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Christians Who are trusting? lastly number six help
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This is a different word than Sees probably translated the same in your English text, but here is the word help last but surely not least verse 18 for because he himself has suffered when tempted
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It's hard to suffer if you don't have a human body. It's hard to suffer without the Incarnation It's hard to be tempted without the
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Incarnation. He is able to help those who are being Tempted maybe he's in heaven and he's far away and he doesn't understand my troubles
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Maybe he's since he's passed through the heavens and he's seated at the right hand of God the father
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He doesn't know what I'm going through. It's easy to tell me to be holy It's easy to tell me not to be tempted and indulge and and give in to my temptations
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What would he know he's far away What would he know Temptations like we've never experienced by Satan never giving in This is not some kind of lab experiment of God.
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This is not a theoretical Experiment. This is not some kind of hypothetical. Well, you know what?
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I'm sympathetic but you you wouldn't know that no We know God is sympathetic and faithful and trustworthy because Jesus is truly human
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Tempted to cave in tempted to say why is this obedience unto God even worth it? I want glory.
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I don't want the cross The Lord knows all about it and he's able to help you Maybe one of the best prayers you could ever pray is this in the middle of it all
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You have a son or a daughter and they're going through some trial and they're two three five six ten fifteen twenty five thirty
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Help what's your first response as a parent? Well, if we're not thinking maybe the response is you earned it
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You planted the seed you reap what you sow. I wonder if that's
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God's response. I Think God's response is what you call out for help.
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God help me. This could be anything in life. I'm struggling to work help I'm struggling at home help.
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I'm struggling with these sins help. I'm struggling with pornography help. I'm struggling with my marriage help But you know what?
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How can he help everybody at the same time? You'd have to be pretty powerful to do that helping people in India helping people in Uganda helping people here
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What kind of power must he have to help everybody? What's the text that text say he is able powerfully able
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More than able to help those who are being tempted Dear Christian Christmas is about what
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Jesus did And we're to just stand there and say oh come let us adore him for he alone is worthy.
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We'll give him all the glory That's our response Where would we be if we didn't have Jesus who comes to destroy the accusations of the devil to deliver us to grab us to?
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Identify with us to assuage the wrath of God and to help us. I hope you're thankful for such a
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Savior and Because of that, you know, it's gonna happen on the day. You do die instead of being afraid
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I think the Belgic Confession helps us and just warms my heart The faithful in the elect on that day will be crowned with glory and honor.
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This is you Christian The Son of God will profess your name before God as Father and the
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Holy and elect angels and God will wipe away all your tears from your eyes and As a gracious reward the
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Lord will make you possess such a glory such as the human heart could never imagine So we you
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Christian look forward to that great day with longing in order to enjoy fully the promises of God in Christ Jesus What's Christmas about?
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Jesus came to rescue sinners like you and because of that guess who's going to heaven by grace and grace alone
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Every Christian here, aren't you glad? Let's pray father. Thank you for your word. Thank you for Hebrews.
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So rich so wonderful. I Do pray for the Christians that are here
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We still struggle. We still sin. We still do the wrong things have problems in life but God Who's rich in mercy?
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The great grace by which you've saved us help us May today Christmas Celebration be wonderful around The dinner table and the children you've given us the greatest gift.
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We thank you and what Jesus came to do. He finished the work This is my beloved
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Son in whom I'm well Please the Father said of the Son And we want to say the same thing that we are pleased with the work of God Pleased with the work of the
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Son pleased with the work of the Spirit of God Would you help us and for those that are here today? Maybe coming out of respect for family members or maybe not sure what they believe
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May today be the day of their salvation Let them understand the joy of salvation and the good news and glad tidings that Jesus Christ has came to save sinners