The Five Fold Testimony of Jesus Christ: Part 2

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The Five Fold Testimony of Jesus Christ: Part 3

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Well, we come to this part of the service now that we, as we sing to the
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Lord, but we also come to hear from the Lord. No, this is not a church that has any special private revelation or visions.
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We are opposed to that. But there's one thing we do believe in.
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Genesis to Revelation. When you open up this book, God's speaking. And I love what
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Stephen Lawson says, if you want to hear God speak to you audibly, read
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God's word, the Bible, out loud to yourself. You'll hear God's voice.
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It may be your voice and your tone, but it'll be God's word, God's voice speaking to you.
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So that's how we hear from God, is from this Bible. And anything else outside of this
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Bible is spurious. We stay true to the word of God and we are to hold firmly to it by faith and believe it.
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Well, I'd like to continue to, as we do our study, go through our study in the book of John, the
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Gospel of John, in chapter 5, that's where we are.
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I'd like to speak to you and continue to speak to you about the fivefold witness of who
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Jesus is, who Jesus is. So in saying that, please open your
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Bible with me this morning to the Gospel of John, John's Gospel, chapter 5, as we continue our study on the fivefold witness of who
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Jesus is. Let me read to you, and starting off with in verse 31 to verse 47,
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I'm reading from the New King James translation, hear
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God's, hear God's word. Jesus says this, if I bear witness, verse 31, of myself, my witness is not true.
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There is another who bears witness of me, and I know that witness which he witnesses of me is true.
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You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to that truth, to the truth.
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Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.
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He was a burning and a shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.
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But I have greater witness than John's for the works which the father has given me to finish, the very works that I do bear witness of me that the father has sent me.
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And the father himself who sent me has testified of me. You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form, but you do not have his word abiding in you, because whom he sent, whom he sent, him you do not believe.
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You search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and these are they which testify of me, but you are not willing to come to me that you may have life.
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I do not receive honor from men, but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.
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I have come in my father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, him will you receive.
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How can you believe who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only
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God? Do not think that I shall accuse you to the father.
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There is one who accuses you, Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed
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Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.
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But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?
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May God bless richly his word from the hearing of our ears to our hearts this morning.
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As we hear his word, please bow with me now in prayer as we seek the
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Lord's face within this hour, and the blessed help of the Holy Spirit to help us, and the hearing of his word, but the receiving and understanding of it, to grasp it and ask for God's illumination.
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Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we praise you, we thank you, and our cry today is,
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Father, Lord, speak, for your servant hears. The Lord Jesus taught the disciples how to pray, hallowed be thy name.
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Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Lord, that is our prayer. The hallowing of your name, that your name is holy, holy, holy.
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Thy kingdom come means our kingdom must go. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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That means our will must submit to your will here on earth,
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Lord, because your will is perfectly done in heaven. Lord, we pray that these things be done by your blessed spirit.
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Lord, we come, and as we come before you, Lord, we thank you, we praise you, we worship you. We ask now,
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Lord, for your blessed Holy Spirit. Lord, I mean, we are in grave need of the spirit of the living
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God, the spirit of truth, the spirit of holiness to instruct us, to guide us, to teach us in thy blessed word.
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And Lord, we know that your Holy Spirit is not disconnected from your word.
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It's always in connection. The Holy Spirit's always in connection to your word. Nothing apart from it.
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Only you can give us the illumination, the light, and the heat. Help us, O Lord, to exalt the one that is worthy, and that is the
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Lord Jesus Christ. The only Lord, the righteous one, the Savior, the
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King Immortal, Invisible, God only wise, Father, your beloved Son.
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And Lord, and most, we would, in application, we would pray that Lord, change our hearts today.
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Lord, help us not to harden our hearts, as it's been said already, that Lord, today would be the day of salvation.
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Help us, Lord, to not resist your will, change us, transform us from faith to faith, from glory to glory, more into the likeness of the
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Lord Jesus Christ. And Lord, we would ask this in His mighty name, for your honor and glory, in Jesus' name
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I pray, amen and amen. John chapter 5, this wonderful gospel, is no doubt one of the most important chapters,
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I believe, that we see, and we have a very clear emphasis on who
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Jesus is. Who Jesus is. Here is the revealed
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Word of God before us. Here is the revelation of God, the most important, the most foundational truth that any human being will ever hear, come face to face with, and that is that great truth that Jesus Christ is
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God. That Jesus Christ is God. That Jesus Christ is Lord.
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No one can say that Jesus Christ is Lord unless it be by the Holy Spirit. Beloved, if we don't believe that, we are hellbound.
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Now one can believe that intellectually and go to hell, because the Bible says even the demons believe, and even tremble.
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And they're hellbent, they're hellbound. But the belief I'm talking about is just not an intellectual belief, it's a heart belief.
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Man believes with faith, believes unto righteousness with his heart.
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One must believe in faith, and in faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ. Who Jesus is.
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Who Jesus is. He is God in the flesh. He is God Himself, the second person of the
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Trinity incarnate. John 1 .1, in the beginning was the Word, the Logos, and the
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Word was with God, and the Word was God. So you must believe that, and more than that, you must believe not only in who
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He is, but you must believe in what He did for you. What He did, His works.
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And what the Gospel in its fullness says about who Jesus is and what
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He did. The person and works of Jesus Christ, folks, is absolutely foundational to everything this whole
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Bible says. If we disbelieve that, and harden our hearts against that, and fall into unbelief, folks, we will be on a grease slide to hell.
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But because of belief, which is an instrument of God, it is a gift of God, by faith you're saved, by grace through faith you're saved, that faith is the gift of God.
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It's the instrument in which we lay hold of God. Now beloved, this
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Gospel is the great foundational truth that's given to us in John.
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John's Gospel, it is the Gospel in which he speaks about Jesus Christ.
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The Gospel is the good news, it's the glad tidings of great joy. It's the great news, the greatest news that this world will ever hear, and it's the greatest news that we will ever hear.
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Well, that's the great theme that John gives us of who Jesus is and His works.
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His person and His works. That is the great theme that is given throughout this entire
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Gospel. And as the Lord Jesus Christ says many, many times to us,
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He that has ears to hear, let Him hear. You know what that means? Let Him listen.
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Let Him listen. What you hear today will determine your eternal destiny, because you must believe.
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We would truly believe this, or we would disbelieve it. In my exhortation, and the command of God is to believe,
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Scripture says we're commanded, all men everywhere is commanded to repent. And Jesus says, if you don't repent, you will likewise perish.
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That's serious, isn't it? That's the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and you see this message of repentance, believing the
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Gospel. Repentance, believing the Gospel, constantly repeated, time and time and time again.
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It's not for us to just hear and say, oh yes, you know, it's something I'm hearing with my outer ear, but we must hear it with our inner ear and listen and obey it.
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These things are written, John says, that you might believe that Jesus is the
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Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life in His name.
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That is the message. Scripture says, whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.
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And if you don't believe, as Jesus says, you will die in your sins.
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He says, and where I go, you will never come. Folks, that's the words of the
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Lord Jesus Christ, and we need to heed them. So it is of utmost seriousness, importance that you and I believe in who
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Jesus Christ is and what He has done for you, His person, His works.
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That's the theme. That's the theme that we see all the way through the
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Gospel of John. I like what Stephen Lawson said about this.
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He said, you could be right about everything else, but if you're not right about who
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Jesus is and what He did for you, you will be wrong about everything and end up in hell.
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It's of crucial, critical importance. It is of the most utmost importance that we understand who
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Jesus Christ is and what He did for us. Ben was talking about that in Sunday School Days.
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He was leading the Sunday School, and we're talking about false teachers and how they come about and how these false teachers lead other people away, how they will lead the church believers away and make disciples of themselves.
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As Jesus said, they will come in amongst us as wolves, ravenous wolves, in sheep's clothing, disguising themselves.
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So we must have discernment. So the message of the church is salvation.
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And that salvation is a salvation that saves us from the wrath of God.
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It's as the scroll says, it's as if God saves us from God. And it's by faith alone in the
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Lord Jesus Christ. That is the Gospel. And it begins with who Jesus Christ is.
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And this is where we are. In chapter 5. It's all about the
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Lord Jesus Christ. That's the theme. That's the flow of John's Gospel. And think of this.
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We haven't even arrived or gotten to the cross or the resurrection yet. We're at the part that's foundational.
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The foundational part that you have and we have to start with and that it is believing that who
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Jesus is and that He is God in flesh. John 1 .14,
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And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
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Father, full of grace and truth. Now the passage before us in chapter 5 takes on critical importance because starting in verse 17, running all the way through to the end of the chapter, the theme we see is the deity of Jesus Christ.
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His claims that He is making to be God necessary to be believed.
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If one is to escape hell and eternal damnation and have eternal life, he must believe in this.
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So the great emphasis that John the Apostle is placing here in this chapter is the deity of Jesus Christ.
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The deity of Jesus Christ. You think of it, all the false teachers, the cults, they have the deity of Jesus Christ wrong, folks.
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That's why they're cults. That's why they're damned. Because they think
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Jesus is just a prophet or a good man and they don't believe that He's God. But folks,
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Christianity says and believes that Christ is God. He is
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God. He is Lord. So the great emphasis is on the deity of Jesus.
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So what you have in this chapter then is the testimony of His deity brought together and given by Jesus Himself.
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His own personal testimony of who He is. He's God in flesh.
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Now, up to this point,
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Jesus has angered the local religious leaders by violating their traditions on purpose, claiming to be equal with God and His claims are true.
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We see this in John 5 verse 18, then Jesus provides several examples of His equality with God the
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Father in verses 19 to 30. And He says He's equal with God in His nature.
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He's equal to God in His work. He's equal with God in His power.
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He's equal with God in truth. He's equal with God and consequently
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He will equal with God in His honor and worship. Now any person to say such things, they would think that He'd be insane and beside Himself.
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And they said that about Him. They thought He was literally insane. Why? Because the claims that He's making is massive.
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These are massive claims on His part. Now anyone just doesn't go around saying
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He's God. He better provide vital evidence. And this is exactly what
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Jesus does. Now His Word is enough for us.
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And we will be seeing He brings about, so to speak in the courtroom case, witnesses.
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He made this claim of who He is. These massive claims from verse 17 to verse 30 and at the same time
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Jesus notes that human beings have a natural bent like all of us into human race because of our depraved nature.
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We have a natural bent and reasonable urge for evidence.
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Give me a chapter and verse. I'll give you a good chapter and verse. Romans chapter 1 verse 18 to 20 says this,
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For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress.
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That means to hold down the truth in unrighteousness. Because what may be known of God is manifest in them.
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For God has shown it to them. Then verse 20 says this,
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For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen.
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Being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power in Godhead, His divine nature,
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His deity basically. So that they are without excuse, bottom line, without excuse.
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There's plenty of evidence that God gives of who He is. And even more evidence here of who
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Jesus is. Now, this is why the Jewish law required two or three witnesses to establish any critical fact.
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We already looked at that. Numbers 3530, Deuteronomy 17 .6, In the mouths of two or three witnesses, every fact or every word may be established.
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So in the interest of reaching these lost souls, Jesus is willing to provide that evidence.
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And He does. And in verse 31, Jesus says, If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.
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Now what's He saying? He's basically saying, in other words, my witness would not be valid as a testimony.
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He's simply stating a general fact that the witness of a single person was not considered sufficient evidence in a court of law.
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And again, God's divine decree was that at least two or three witnesses were required before a valid judgment was to be made and be formed.
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So Christ in keeping of God's perfect law perfectly, in which
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Jesus held to the highest utmost standard, and only He could do this, no one else ever did, as the
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Son of Man. So Jesus keeps the law of God in perfection, and now here
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He gives in our text not only two or three witnesses, but He gives four witnesses to establish the truth.
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And I would say fifth upon also what He says about Himself as well.
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Those witnesses is to His deity of being equal with God.
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That's the whole reason why Jesus is saying what He's about to say. So that gives us a background.
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Verse 32, look at verse 32. There is another, He says, who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which
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He witnesses of Me is true. Now we already looked at this. If you heard the message not last
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Lord's Day, but the previous Lord's Day, that I spoke to you that there are different applications, interpretations to this.
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Who is it that He's speaking of? Who is Jesus speaking of here? Who is the another or the other witness?
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Well, some feel, some commentators feel it's the Spirit of God. Some feel that it testifies of John the
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Baptist. But in context, if you look closely, I believe the answer to that would be
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God the Father. And there's a reason for that, and you see it's in context of everything that Jesus is saying in the text.
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So we must look at, if you're going to see a text without taking it out of context, you must see properly what the context is saying.
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And let Scripture interpret Scripture, and you see this, it's in the line, it's the flow of everything that Jesus constantly says.
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The Father, the Father works, I'm working, that's verse 17. My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.
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My Father loves the Son, the Father loves the Son. The Father raises the dead, as the
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Father raises the dead, He gives life to them. The Father judges, no one has committed all judgment to the
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Son. You see verse 23, the Son, just as they honor the Father, all should honor the
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Son, just as they honor the Father. And he who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent
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Him. You notice constantly Jesus is speaking about the Father, the Son, the Father, the Son, because Him, He as the
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Son and the Father are one. So what Jesus is saying,
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I am deity, I am one with the Father. The Father is deity, He says, I'm deity.
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So He is basically saying, and God the Father, the answer to that,
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God the Father, the one that they would acknowledge is true. They acknowledge God. They honor
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God. But they did not acknowledge Jesus. They did not acknowledge the Messiah. They did not acknowledge the
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Son of God, because Jesus said, I am the Son of Man, I am the Son of God, I am come. And they didn't believe it.
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So what is He doing? He's calling, and He calls the testimony of another here.
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The Father has given testimony three ways. Here's the three ways the Father has given testimony.
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First of all, through John the Baptist. We saw that. Second, through the miracles of Jesus, this is where we are today.
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And then third, and later, God willing, we'll be seeing that through the
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Old Testament. Through the Old Testament, through the writings of Moses and the prophets.
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John MacArthur notes right here in his commentary. This is a vital portion of Scripture, and it is an inescapable and devastating judgment on the
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Jews, because they had already affirmed that John the Baptist was a prophet from God.
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That Jesus did miracles that not only God could do, and that the
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Old Testament was written by God. He goes on to say, so that they had already affirmed that God spoke through John.
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God worked through Jesus. And God wrote the Old Testament through the writers and the prophets.
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They are now literally skewered on the horns of a terrible dilemma, because they have affirmed the divine source of John the
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Baptist, the miracles of Jesus, the Old Testament, but they refused to believe the message.
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They refused to believe what they confessed to be sources of divine revelation and divine truth.
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That is such a significant quote in context of everything that Jesus is saying here in this text.
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Look at verse 33. Jesus says, you have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.
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Verse 34, yet I do not receive testimony from men, but I say these things that you may be saved.
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Let me comment here. Why was the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to the Jewish leaders here at such a great length about himself?
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Was he simply just trying to show them that he was right and they were wrong? Well, that would be true.
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But really on the contrary here, he was bringing before them these wonderful truths in order that they might realize who he was and receive him and believe him to be the only
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Lord and Savior, the Messiah. He spoke to those who hated him and who would soon be seeking in every possible way to take his life and crucify him, and that's exactly what happened.
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But what about the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ? Even though they did that, he never had one iota, one smidgen of hatred within his heart towards them.
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Even those that lashed out at him and said, crucify him, crucify him, he still poured out his life and loved them.
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He can only love them because that is his nature. He's meek and mild.
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He is humble in heart. Jesus continues.
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He speaks of John the Baptist here. He was a burning and a shining lamp. And you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.
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Speaking of John the Baptist, a verified witness was
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John the Baptist. Some heard his message, saw the fruit, but the majority rejected the message of John the
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Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus Christ, the one that said, behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world.
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The one that he spoke that he who comes after me is greater than me and I'm not even worthy to stoop down and unlatch his sandals.
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John the Apostle, the writer details the next two witnesses in John 5 .36
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and this will be our focal point today. Verse 36, but I have a greater witness than John's for the works which the
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Father has given me to finish. The very works that I do bear witness to me that the
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Father has sent me. Here we see that beyond John the
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Baptist's works which the Father has given to Jesus will testify by who Jesus is and that he came from the
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Father. The Father sent him. The Father, and he said that, he says the
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Father sends me. I go back to the Father. The greatest missionary of all,
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Jesus Christ. He proceeds from the Father. He comes from the
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Father. Goes back to the Father. So now, if you look closely,
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John outlines in verse 37 and 38 three particular indictments.
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Three particular indictments. And we will look at these indictments today and it will allow us to understand the depth of Jesus Christ and his works.
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I'm just going to briefly go through these and I believe they're very important for us to see. The indictments are against the religious unbelief leaders.
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The religious leaders, their unbelief. That's what the indictments are against. Those who were the religious leaders and who studied the scriptures, by the way.
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They studied the law, but yet they were blind, leaders of the blind.
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And they could not see who Jesus really was. Who he is.
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They studied the law and the prophets and they still did not see who he was. And yet, did not believe.
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Even though Jesus did even great signs and wonders among them. Now, the first indictment is this.
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Verse 37. Verse 37 gives us the first indictment.
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It is direct and it's pointed. And he gives it to the religious leaders that's full of unbelief.
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That heard this. Verse 37. And the Father himself who sent me has testified of me.
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And here's the first indictment. You have neither heard his voice.
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You have neither heard his voice. They would have recalled
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Exodus 33 11, by the way. Where Moses recorded that God had spoken to him face to face.
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They would have known that. By the record of Exodus 33 11.
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Jesus is basically telling them and they understood that Jesus was calling. And they heard, but were not truly listening.
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They heard with the outer ear, but they did not understand and listen with the inner ear.
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They heard, but were not listening. May that not be true of us.
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May we just not hear these words today with the outer ear, but truly receive it and hear it and listen to God's voice with our inner ear.
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And only the Holy Spirit, beloved, can truly help each and every one of us on this. That's why
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Jesus said this. When he would call and he would say something important. And he would say, he that has ears to hear, let him hear.
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You know what he's saying? He said, if you've got ears, and God gives us two ears and incredible outer ears, but we should have two inner ears to hear
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God's voice, to listen. I really believe this is one thing to hear someone, but it's another thing to intently listen.
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And listening means to understand, to perceive what he's saying.
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And this is what Jesus is saying. Jesus says, listen, listen. You neither heard his voice at any time.
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That's the first indictment. The meaning is that no matter how much they say they have studied the scriptures or read the scriptures, they haven't truly listened to what the message was saying.
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And they didn't obey. That's what verifies it. They did not obey. They disobeyed.
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You notice that in scriptures when there was a hardness of heart, they disobeyed. But when we believe, we obey.
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Don't you love the wonderful hymn, trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
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Turn with me to John chapter 10. Let's look at this a little bit. Wish I had a lot of time to go here, but we'll give you quite a few verses here from John chapter 10.
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This whole chapter is actually dealing with Jesus as the true good shepherd, right?
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He's the good true shepherd. I want you to notice how many times he speaks about his sheep hear his voice.
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His sheep hear his voice. Verse 2, but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
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Let me back up. Let me go to verse 1. Most assuredly, because Jesus is saying something very important here. Verily, verily.
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Truly, truly, I say to you, most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same as a thief and a robber, but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
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To him, the doorkeeper opens, the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
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He goes on to say, and when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them. That's the
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Lord Jesus Christ. And the sheep follow him. Why?
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For they know his voice. They know the voice of the shepherd. That's the way a sheep is.
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The sheep will hear the voice of the shepherd and the sheep will come.
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Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him.
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For they do not know the voice of strangers. God's people knows the voice of God.
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They know the voice of the shepherd. Aren't you glad of that?
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Out of all the voices out in this world, there's one voice that God's people hear.
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And that's the voice of the good shepherd. Jesus used this illustration, verse 6, but they did not understand the things which he spoke to them.
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And Jesus said to them again, most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
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All who ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not, what?
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Hear them. Notice the emphasis he puts on hearing. Hearing.
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Verse 9, I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved.
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No question about it. If you go the way that Jesus says, and he is the way, the truth, and the life.
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Amen? No one comes to the father but by him, he said. If you go the way, enters by me, he will be saved.
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Not might be saved, he will be saved. He will go in and out and find pasture.
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Verse 10, there's this wonderful verse. The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy.
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I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd.
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The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. That's particular redemption.
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Did you see that? It's particular. He dies for his sheep. How can anyone say no against that?
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Verse 12, but a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.
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He's speaking about the hirelings, the false teachers that come and charade themselves as believers but they're not really believers.
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They all are phonies and fake. The hireling flees because he's a hireling and he does not care about the sheep.
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See, a shepherd cares for the sheep. He shepherds the flock of God.
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He protects the flock of God. He loves the flock of God. He provides for the flock of God.
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He loves them with an everlasting love. And even the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
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That's how much he loves them. And aren't you glad? Our Lord Jesus Christ loves his own to the very end just like that.
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I am the good shepherd, Jesus said. And I know my sheep. And I'm known by my own.
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As the Father knows me. Here, see, he's bringing the Father. The Father knows me. Even so I know the
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Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. And the other sheep I have, which are not of this fold.
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He's speaking of the Gentiles there. Them also I must bring. And they will hear my voice.
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And there will be one flock and one shepherd, not two. One faith, one baptism.
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Right? That's what Paul says. Jesus said, one flock, one shepherd.
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Therefore my Father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it again. That's speaking about his death and resurrection.
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No one takes it from me. But I lay it down on myself. I have power to lay it down.
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And I have power to take it again. This command I have received from my
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Father. In other words, who's in control here? He's in control. And he still is in control.
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Therefore, there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. Listen to this.
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And many of them said, he has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to him?
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Because of his claims. Do you see what he's saying? He's the good shepherd, the great shepherd, the chief shepherd.
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He is God. He is Lord. Others said, these are not the words of one who has a demon.
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Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? You know what they're saying?
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Look at his works. Look at his works.
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Well, there's so much more in that chapter. But if you look at it,
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Jesus constantly is speaking. Verse 32, let me say verse 32 in chapter 10.
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Jesus answered and said, Good works I have shown you from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me?
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So basically, the Jews took up the stones to stone him. They did everything. They were going to kill him.
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But it wasn't God's time yet. His timing was to go to a cross as the sacrificial, substitutional
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Lamb of God. Well, that's the first indictment, was the hearing of the
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Word of God. You have neither heard His voice. His voice.
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Indictment number two is, nor seen His form. Notice what it says in the latter part of verse, back to chapter 5, verse 37.
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Nor seen His form. This statement would have cut even deeper than the first indictment.
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In Genesis chapter 32, Moses said that there was one person who had seen the form of God.
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Can you recall who it was? His name was Jacob. Jacob.
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How do we know this? The story tells us that in chapter 32 of Genesis, that he wrestled with God the whole night through.
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Not knowing who it was. Scripture says the angel of the Lord. But if you look closely, that angel is a capital
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A. The Angel. It was God Himself. It was actually a pre -incarnate of Christ.
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It was before He was come in the flesh. But it was Christ. One of those appearances of Christ.
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Jacob asked, what is your name? But God said to him, why is it to you to ask my name?
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Why is it you ask my name? And Jacob basically concluded that he had seen
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God face to face. Yet, his life was preserved. Now he was wounded.
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It's a type of conversion, folks. God has to wound us. To humble us.
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Because Jacob, what does Jacob mean? Jacob means a liar. He's a deceiver. So when he was changed, he was changed after God wounded him.
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Why was Jacob wrestling with God? Because he desired the blessing.
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He said, bless me. You know what the blessing was? Touched the angel of the
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Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ, actually. Touched his socket and wounded him.
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Humbled him. And brought him low. And that's the way
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God works. He must bring us low to convert us. To change us.
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And then after that happens, he's no longer called Jacob. What's he called? Israel.
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You know what Israel means? Prince with God. He went from a liar, a deceiver, to a prince with God.
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That's what God does to you. In conversion. To all of us that are born of the spirit of the living
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God. We go from a liar and deceiver. From darkness to light. To a prince with God.
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But the blessing is the touching of his socket. See, they easily, these leaders in which
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Jesus is speaking to, they would accept Jacob's testimony as written by Moses. See, Jesus is just saying this because he knew that they would receive
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Moses. That they had seen the very, that Moses, that had seen the very form of God.
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But Jesus is here now. And here he is. The Lord Jesus Christ. Emmanuel. God with us.
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And they rejected him. He came unto his own, his own. Received him not.
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But as many as received him, to them he gave the power to become the sons of God.
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Even to them that believe on his name. Glory to his name.
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So Jacob wrestled with the angel all night. He had a dislocated hip.
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That was the blessing to humble him. To receive the blessing to change him. And when he left, he says,
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I have met with God. Have you met with God? Are you changed today?
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However, they, the religious leader would have believed this if they really believed
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Moses' words. Because Moses spoke of Jesus. They would have known
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Jesus was God in the flesh. Well, that was the second indictment. The first indictment is, they neither heard his voice.
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The second was, nor seen his form. The third indictment is, is found in verse 38.
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And it's a powerful one. But you do not have his word abiding in you.
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Because whom he sent, him you do not believe. Whom he sent, you do not believe.
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The nature, the purpose of the inspired God breathed word is to discern the very actual thoughts and intents of our heart.
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And that's exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ was bringing to their, arresting their attention.
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Hebrews 4, 11, 12, and 13. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.
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Did you see that? That's how we fall.
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If we do not enter into that rest diligently. Because we fall according to the example of disobedience.
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And then it says this in verse 12. For the word of God is living and powerful.
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It's active. It's alive. And it's sharper than any two -edged sword.
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Piercing even the division of soul and spirit. And the joints and the myro.
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And is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. It pierces.
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It cuts. Luther said this. I read the word, but the word reads me. I go after the word, but the word chases me.
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And there is no creature hidden from his sight. But all things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.
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You know, people really think they're hiding from God. But they can't hide from God. And by the way, you can't run from God either.
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He sees everything and he's inescapable. Because all of us will give an account before the judgment one day.
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The word of God is living. It's powerful. It's sharper than any two -edged sword.
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Think of that. It's sharper.
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Think of that. A two -edged sword is very sharp. It cuts going in and it cuts coming out.
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It pierces. It divides. And a skilled swordsman knows exactly what to do with it.
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Jesus is that skilled swordsman. So here the religious leaders would have known this and immediately thought of the
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Old Testament people and the Torah. They would have known what he was saying that they did not have
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God's word abiding in themselves. And it did in the
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Scriptures. The word of God is the greatest possession of the person that is in the faith of the
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Lord Jesus Christ. That is our greatest possession, folks. Love it.
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Cherish it. For it's greater than all the gold and silver in this world.
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That's what Scripture says. For the religious unbelievers, the book of the law was only an intellectual pursuit.
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And don't we see this today? Just to get in head knowledge rather than loving God's word. Better, more than gold and silver.
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You couldn't convince David that. Because in Psalm 19, this is what
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David said about the word of God to him. Let me read you just a portion here.
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About the perfect revelation of the Lord. The law of the
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Lord in verse 7 is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making the wise simple.
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The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
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The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the
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Lord are true and righteous altogether. And listen to what he says. More to be desired are they than gold.
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Yea, than much fine gold. Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Does God's word mean that much to you?
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If it does, you will be saturated in it. You will be reading it. You will be pouring over it.
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But you will be pouring over it not just to get head knowledge, but because your heart longs to know
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God. To know God. Moreover, by them, the words of God, he is saying, your servant is warned.
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And in keeping them, there is great reward. There is great reward for obedience to God.
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Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins.
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And let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless and I shall be innocent of the great transgression.
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Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Oh Lord, my strength and my redeemer.
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It's almost as if he's ending that section with a praise and a thanksgiving and a prayer.
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He said, Lord, the words of my mouth, the meditation of my heart about your word, be acceptable in your sight.
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Oh Lord, my strength, my redeemer. Hallelujah. Well, God has spoken, hasn't he?
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He has spoken to us, as the scripture says, God, who in various times and various ways, spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, in these last days spoken to us by his
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Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things through whom he also made the worlds. Who being in the brightness of his glory did express image of his person and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become so much better than angels.
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As he has by an inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they, the
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Lord Jesus Christ. Let me give an application here very quickly. Has it, has not,
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I should say, the first four chapters of John's gospel, as we've already seen, up to chapter 5, done enough to verify that Jesus Christ is the very
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Son of the living God? Hasn't it? How much more does the author, the apostle
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John, have to do and say to prove that Jesus Christ is who he really says he is?
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And yet, God himself gives us layers upon layers of evidence.
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Genesis, Exodus, the Torah, the law, the prophets, the historical books, the wisdom books, the patriarchs, the prophets, 39 books of the
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Old Testament, and we have 27 books in the New Testament, layers upon layers of evidence that Jesus is who he says he is.
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That should make us want to shout for joy. Do you believe it? That's the question.
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Do you really believe what the word of God says who Jesus is? That he is all in all, that he is the righteous one, he is king of glory, he is king of kings, lord of lords, he's the bright morning star, he's the lily of the valley, he is all that.
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And does it mean everything to you? Does he mean everything to you? Folks, when it comes down to it, we must believe who he is and what this word says about him.
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And he has showed it more upon proof, layers upon layers, pages upon pages, so that everyone can stand before the throne of God on the day of judgment without excuse.
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These indictments are another layer that verifies that Jesus is the
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Christ, the very son of the living God. The resurrection has put the stamp of approval on it, beloved.
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And that tells us and that tells the world that there's going to be a judgment.
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And this is what the world does not want to hear. This is why they suppress the truth, folks.
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This is why they don't want to hear it. But you give it to them in grace and love anyway. Because we love their souls.
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Tell that world out there that Jesus Christ is the very son of God and that he is the
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Christ and there is no other way to get to heaven unless you go by him. And he's coming again.
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That's what we need to trumpet. He's coming back. These indictments are another layer again upon the proof of Jesus Christ is the son of the living
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God. Do you receive the testimony of the works that Jesus displayed?
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Do you receive it? What about you?
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Do you believe it with all your heart? And if you do believe it, it'd be more than just here, folks.
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It would be here. It would be life changing. It would change your life because it will give you...
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and you would desire to be obedient to the Lord, not to be disobedient.
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Disobedience would be basically proof that we're hardened in our hearts. Do you receive the testimony of the works of Jesus Christ?
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John 20, verse 30 and 31 is the key verse. You will hear this time and time again, beloved.
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And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book.
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And here's the key verse. Don't miss this. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the
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Christ, the son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
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That's how eternal life comes. And this is life eternal, Jesus said, praying in John 17, that they may know thee, the only true
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God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. Do you know him today?
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I'm talking about not here in the head. I'm talking about in the heart. Do you believe him? Do you love him?
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Do you obey him? Do you pray to him? Do you worship him? Do you praise him? Is he your all in all?
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Beloved, he must be. He must be. May it be so with us, in greater depths, how firm a foundation, you saints of the
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Lord, has laid for your faith in his excellent word. And I love what the hymn writer says here.
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What more can he say, beloved? What more can he say than to you he has said to you?
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Who for refuge to Jesus have fled. Have you fled to Jesus this morning?
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Do you believe him? Do you believe him? Who he is? This is what he desires from all of us.
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Amen? May it be so. May it be so. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this time together.
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We thank you for your word, Lord. Lord, we rejoice in your word. Lord, we would be lost without it.
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Lord, we thank you for the written word, the revelation that you have given to us, to know you.
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And Lord, we thank you for the living word. The Lord Jesus Christ, who came from heaven. How precious is this to us.
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Must be precious. More precious than all the gold and silver that people pursue that's vain.
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Oh God, thank you for this treasure, your precious word.
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Hallelujah. We praise you, we thank you, Lord. If anyone does not know you today, Lord, may your blessed spirit bring them into the kingdom of God and let them see,
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Lord, that it is through dying that we live. It's through giving to you that we receive everlasting life.
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But it's through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ that we live unto eternal life.
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And Lord, we thank you for this by faith alone, nothing added to it, nothing taken away from it, just a simple faith that comes to us by the blessed
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Holy Spirit. Lord, you said, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
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Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
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Blessed are all those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
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Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed, blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.
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We praise you, we thank you for our time together. Lord, may it be so with us.
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May we truly believe, just not with our head, but with our hearts, and love you, and obey you.