March 6, 2022 - Sunday Service Live Stream

Ascension Presbyterian Church Longwood

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O come, let us worship, and bow down. Let us kneel before the

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Lord, our maker. For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.

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Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness when your fathers tested me.

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They tried me, though they saw my work. Surely we have seen the great works of our

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God. Let us not harden our hearts. Come now, let us worship him.

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Please pray with me. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we recognize that you are our maker.

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We pray the words of Psalm 95. You are our God. We are the people of your pasture and the sheep of your hand.

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We come to you today in the glorious name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the

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Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We rejoice that he is our advocate with the

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Father, that he is the only mediator between God and man, and that he always lives to make intercession for us.

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Through the glorious merits of Christ, we come boldly to your throne of grace.

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In his name, we earnestly seek you, oh Lord. Our souls thirst for you.

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Our flesh yearns for you. We ask that you would bow your heavens and come down.

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Inhabit the praises of your people. Remember your promise, oh spirit, to be present in the midst of your worshiping people when two or more have gathered in your name.

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Condescend to us. Grant us the joy of your fellowship. Speak to us through your word, and be blessed by our praise and adoration.

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We ask all these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Please kneel as we confess our sins together.

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Let us join together with one voice in the corporate confession of sin. Almighty and most merciful

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Father, for refusal to recession of creating our indifference to the treasures of heaven, our neglect of your wise and gracious law, help us to change our way of life so that we may desire what is good.

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Love what you love, through Jesus Christ our

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Lord. Amen. Please stand. We are writing these things so that your joy may be complete.

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This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.

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If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

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But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin.

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Amen. Great news. Please take up the hymnal. With great fervency and this newly acquired singing ability you have, let us sing number 55, to God be the glory.

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♪ Praise the

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Lord, praise the

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Lord, praise the Lord ♪ To the inner flap of the fold,

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Psalm 109. The tune is very familiar, so Alyssa is only going to play the intro, so we'll get started quickly.

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109. Chapter three.

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They say if a man divorces his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man's, may he return to her again?

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Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers, yet return to me, says the

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Lord. Lift up your eyes to see the desolate heights and see where you have not lain with men.

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By the road you have sat for them, like an air -van in the wilderness, and you have polluted the land with your harlotries and wickedness.

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Therefore the sowers have been withheld, and there has been no latter rain.

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You have had a harlot's forehead. You refuse to be ashamed. Will you not from this time cry to me?

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My father, you are the guide of my youth. Will he remain angry forever?

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Will he keep it to the end? Behold, you have spoken and done evil things as you were able.

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The Lord said also to me in the days of Josiah the king, have you seen the backsliding of Israel has done?

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She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot.

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And I said, after she had done all these things, return to me, but she did not return, and her treacherous sister

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Judah saw it. Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding

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Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce.

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Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also.

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So it came to pass through her casual harlotry that she defiled the land and committed adultery with the stones and trees.

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And yet for all this, her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to me with her whole heart but in pretense says the

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Lord. Then the Lord said to me, backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous

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Judah. Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say, return, backsliding

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Israel, says the Lord. I will not cause my anger to fall on you.

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For I am merciful, says the Lord. I will not remain angry forever. Only acknowledge your iniquity that you have transgressed against the

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Lord, your God, and have scattered your charms to alien deities and the evergreen tree.

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And you have not obeyed my voice, says the Lord. Return, backsliding children, says the

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Lord, for I am merry to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.

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And I will give you shepherds according to my heart who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

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Then it shall come to pass when you are multiplied and increased in the land in the days, says the

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Lord, that they will say no more the ark of the covenant of the

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Lord. It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore.

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At that time, Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it.

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In the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the devices of their hearts.

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In those days, the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers.

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But I said, how can I put among the children and give you a pleasant land, a beautiful heritage of the host of nations?

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And I said, you shall call me my father and not turn away from me. Surely as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously with me,

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O house of Israel, says the Lord. A voice was heard on the desolate heights, weeping in supplications for the children of Israel, for they have perverted their way, they have forgotten the

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Lord their God. Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings.

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Indeed, we come to you, for you are the Lord your God. Truly in vain is salvation hoped for the hills from the multitude of mountains.

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Truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel, for their shame has devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth.

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Their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters will lie down in our shame, and our reproach covers us, for we have sinned against the

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Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the

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Lord our God. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let us now confess our faith in the singing of the

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Apostles' Creed. ♪ It's the only begotten

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Son, our Lord, ♪ ♪ Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, ♪ ♪

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Born of the Virgin Mary, conscious, quiet, ♪ ♪

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He descended into hell. ♪ ♪ The third day he rose again from the dead, ♪ ♪

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And is seated at the right hand of God. ♪ ♪

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From there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.

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♪ ♪ The eternal saints, the forgiveness of sins, ♪ ♪

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And the life everlasting, he hath believed.

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♪ ♪ For sin could not at all, I must say, lead to thy cross.

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♪ ♪ I cling unto thee for dress, helpless look to thee for grace.

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♪ ♪

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Watch me stand behind myself in thee.

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♪ Please prepare for the prayers of the people. Let us now pray together in unison.

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Oh God, from whom come all holy desires, all good counsel, and all just works.

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Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to obey your commandments, and also that we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may live in peace and quietness through the merits of Jesus Christ, our

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Savior, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, God forever.

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For the church of Jesus Christ, that it may be filled with truth and love, and be found without fault at the day of your coming, we pray to you, oh

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Lord. Thank you, our prayer. For all ministers, missionaries, and the mission of the church, that a faithful witness, the gospel may be preached, we pray to you, oh

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Lord. Thank you, our prayers. For those in positions of public trust, they may serve justice and promote the dignity and freedom of every person, we pray to you, oh

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Lord. Thank you, our prayers. Gracious God and Father, we lift up to you those who are in public trust.

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We pray for our president, vice president, the Congress, the Supreme Court, all of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches, various governors,

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Lord, and state legislatures, and all those who have been committed to their charge. We pray,

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Father, that you would remind them that they serve as servants of you, that they are to have respect for your law, and to seek that you, oh

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Lord, would be most especially for the conversion of those who are not your children.

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We pray that they would become trophies of your grace. We ask all these things. For the poor, the persecuted, the sick, and all who suffer, for refugees, prisoners, and all who are in danger, that they may be relieved and protected, we pray to you, oh

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Lord. Lord, hear our prayers. Places throughout the world are facing hardship.

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You stand fast. Pray for those who are suffering illness, which they are suffering, to draw them closer to you.

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This apart and show forth your glory in all that we do. We pray to you, oh

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Lord. Lord. I mentioned today that you would,

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Christ would be presented to us by the

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Spirit. You would apply your work to us, that you would sanctify us today. I pray that when we come to your table,

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Lord, we're reminded of all the work that Christ did for us, and the open arms of which we are received into, and into your kingdom,

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Lord. We pray that as we go about after service today, that men, we love our families and serve our families through our leadership.

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Women, that they love their husbands and children, obey their parents by your

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Spirit, by your grace, and be, and point others to Christ outside of this building today, throughout our week at our jobs, to our peers, to the church.

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Globally, that you would be with the pastors and the preachers today who are declaring your word.

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Be with your church who are under hardship, hard times, persecution, times of war.

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We pray, God, that you would gather your people unto you today to lift up glorious songs of praise and thanksgiving.

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In your son's name we pray, amen. Amen. We are beginning our

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March Psalm of the Month, which is Psalm 11. We had a good practice session a couple of weeks ago, and the tune is very simple and accessible to us.

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I'm gonna ask Alyssa if she would play through it one time, and then we will begin singing earnestly.

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Psalm 11. ♪ Oh, sing this holy ♪ ♪

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Blessing of grace ♪ ♪

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Blessing of grace ♪

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Please remain standing for the reading of the word from 2

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Corinthians chapter 11. 2

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Corinthians 11. This is

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God's holy and infallible word. Oh, that you would bear with me in a little folly, and indeed you do bear with me.

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For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy, for I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

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But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived

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Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

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For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you may well put up with it.

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May the Lord be pleased in our study of his word. And oh

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God, may you transform our hearts as we are reminded and renewed, a renewal of our understanding about our betrothal to Christ.

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We pray that you would expand our understanding and penetrate the depths of our beings that we might savor this joyous privilege that we have.

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We ask these things in Jesus' name. Please be seated.

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The title of the message today is Betrothed to Christ. And for those of you who are in need of some kind of structure to write down notes and to organize your thinking,

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I have an outline for you. The first, and all of these,

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I hope, every week you can see from the text of scripture, they are completely unoriginal.

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They're derived from the text that we're studying. Number one is

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Paul's godly jealousy. Paul's godly jealousy.

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Number two, very simply, the title of the message, Betrothed to Christ, is there in your bulletin.

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That will be point two. And that will be the bulk of our time will be given to point two,

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Betrothed to Christ. Number three, beware of another gospel.

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Number three, beware of another gospel, another Jesus, another spirit.

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Beware of another gospel. Quickly, one more time, these three. Paul's godly jealousy, number one.

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Betrothed to Christ is number two. And number three, beware of another gospel.

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The fourth point, as is typical, will be application. Well, let's consider it.

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Consider our text today. You are betrothed to Christ.

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There is only one husband for you. In faith today, renew your vows to him.

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Keep your promise. Look expectantly toward that day of consummation.

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Do not forget that you were bought with a price. And the bride price for the church is

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Christ's own precious blood. You are betrothed to Christ.

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Let's consider the first point. Paul is continuing a very lengthy defense of his apostolic authority, and I am utterly ecstatic about the text today.

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It is such an exciting thing that is coming through in the message to us.

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And Paul says in verse one that you would bear with me in a little folly. There is a little sarcasm in his voice.

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They think he is a fool. So he says, well, bear with me as a fool in my foolishness.

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I'm jealous for you with godly jealousy. When we hear the word jealousy, we rightly think of a deadly vice of selfishness and pride.

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But that's not the jealousy that's referred to here in our text. The godly jealousy of Paul teaches us that Paul here reflects

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God's own righteous character. Paul is jealous for the hearts of the

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Corinthians, not for his own honor, but for the honor of God, that their hearts would be devoted to God.

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God is jealous for us. He will not tolerate the sharing of your human heart with another.

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How great was the text that Zach read this morning to remind us of that? Israel and Judah playing the harlot.

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He will not tolerate the sharing of your heart with another.

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He will not tolerate your entertainment of another so -called God or an interest above himself.

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We have to ask the question, is there some impure motive in God? May it never be so. Why? It is best for us that we entirely devote our lives to him and his glory.

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This is the highest good of man. So God's jealousy is a righteous and holy jealousy.

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He will not tolerate an idolatrous betrayal from his people.

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Our God is jealous for his own honor. He will not see his glory given to another,

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Isaiah 42, Isaiah 48, nor will he allow rivals, any rival to dispute his soul and absolute sovereignty.

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I'd like you to turn with me today to the book of Deuteronomy in chapter four. All of you who are able, please turn there.

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I've decided that I will no longer shorten any sermon on the basis of time. I hope to become better and more efficient, but I'm not going to shorten what

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I say, okay? So if I'm going to quote passages, I'd like you to join me there in quoting them.

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Deuteronomy chapter four. Skip down, 20 is here.

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Let's begin in verse 15. Take careful heed to yourselves.

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This is Moses commanding obedience. For you saw no form when the

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Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water beneath the earth.

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And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven. And when you see the sun, the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the

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Lord your God has given to all peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.

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Pausing the reading, do not be deceived. You are a great crafter of idols.

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You don't bow down to little wooden statues, but oh, you construct idols and you bow down and worship them in your heart and we need to flee this, put this to death, mortify it every chance we recognize it in ourselves.

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We need to pray that the Holy Spirit would unearth in us any trace of idolatry, any love or affection that is improperly given to any person or thing in place of our

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God. Verse 20, the story of God's love is always redemptive, always rescuing his people.

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Verse 20, but the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt to be his people and inheritance as you are this day.

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The language of Jeremiah three, so providential is the language of marriage and divorce.

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The message today is one of betrothal. God has brought you out of Egypt, he says, in Deuteronomy.

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Verse 21, furthermore, the Lord was angry with me for your sakes. I swore that I would not cross over the

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Jordan and that I would not enter the good land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

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There've been several figures in the scripture that could be said to be friends of God. Moses is one of those.

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And Moses' mission was to take the people of God and bring them out to God that they might be divinely wed to him.

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And there were failures and he himself says, I cannot cross over into the land, but I must die, verse 22,

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I must not cross over and possess the good land. Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the

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Lord your God, which he made with you and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the

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Lord your God has forbidden you. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous

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God. Continue over to chapter five really quick, I'm gonna read a very short section there.

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The 10 commandments reviewed, the second giving of the law, idolatry so prominent in all of the ethics of the

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Bible. It's the first half of the law of God is revealed in the 10 commandments. I am the

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Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

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You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that's in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or is in the water under the earth.

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You shall not bow down to them nor serve them for I the Lord your

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God am a jealous God. He will not share his glory.

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The ramifications translate even covenantally to the generations that follow, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments.

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And lastly, chapter six, really quickly, turn over to chapter six. There's a warning against disobedience among the people.

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God is going to deliver them into the promised land, but they must be on guard.

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They must be aware like the Corinthians of a false gospel, Deuteronomy 6 .10.

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So it shall be when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities, which you did not build, houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn out wells, which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees, which you did not plant, when you have eaten and are full, beware, lest you forget the

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Lord. You'd say, I would never forget the Lord. You have forgotten the Lord this week.

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You forgot the Lord this morning on your way to church possibly. Be on guard.

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There's grave danger. You have been betrothed to one husband who is

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Christ, live circumspectly. You could be in danger of breaking that covenant.

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It's terrifying to think of, lest you forget.

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Verse 13, you shall fear the Lord your God and serve him, shall take oaths in his name.

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You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you.

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For the Lord your God is a jealous God among you.

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Lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth.

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Be reminded, our God is a consuming fire. Paul was jealous for the glory of God.

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Paul wanted the Corinthians to love God uncompromisingly, not looking to the right or to the left, holy, completely and singularly devoted to Christ.

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That takes us to our second point. You might wanna keep your hand there. We're going to end up back in Genesis and I'm actually going to preach the bulk of the message today from Genesis 24.

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Let's go back now to 2 Corinthians 11. I want to pick up the statement found in the last half of verse two.

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Paul is jealous for the Corinthians. He's reflecting the character of God. He has a godly jealousy.

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The Corinthians are entertaining doctrines, which we learn later in the text, are of a different Jesus brought in by a different spirit, a different gospel.

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And Paul says, no, you cannot go that way. You must remain devoted to your betrothed husband.

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The most prominent betrothal in the Bible is between Joseph and Mary.

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It's probably the one that's most familiar to us. We hear about what this is in this section.

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I'm gonna read seven verses from Matthew. You can turn there with you, Matthew chapter one. It's very helpful for you to see this with your own eyes,

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Matthew chapter one. This isn't just for Christmas season,

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Matthew 1, 18. We know that at this time, the prophecy had come to Mary and she has conceived

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Jesus in the work of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 1, verse 18.

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And I should point out to you, the language of our text is one of betrothal and it's one of marriage.

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Our reading in Jeremiah was that. And he cites the situation with Adam and Eve in our text.

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This is all very much connected to what we're studying in 2 Corinthians 11, Matthew 1, 18.

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Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. After his mother

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Mary was betrothed to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the

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Holy Spirit. That encapsulates the idea of what betrothal is.

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Covenantally, legally, when that betrothal is initiated, Mary and Joseph are considered to be legally married.

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They have not yet consummated the marriage. That's why the scandal exists in the community.

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Jesus is conceived prior to the marriage.

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This period of time could last from anywhere from six to 18 months in some instances. So it was no mystery that Mary's belly is growing.

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She's betrothed to Joseph and yet she has a child there.

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Notice what it says about Joseph. Joseph would have had legal grounds for divorce, verse 19.

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Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.

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There's a few lessons in there, sermons in there. The justice of Joseph, the righteousness of Joseph, there's an egregious sin brought to him by his betrothed wife.

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He thinks she's had some kind of affair with another man. He doesn't wanna make a public spectacle of her.

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He does not want to shame her. He wants to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, the angel of the

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Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you

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Mary, your wife. For that which is conceived in her is of the

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Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a son and you shall call his name

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Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

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Hallelujah. Amen, the incarnation of Christ. Now, I was really pleased and excited about what happened in my preparation because I feel that there is a biblical account by which

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I can refer to you a story, a historic reality that can help us understand how we are betrothed to Christ.

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And it doesn't have anything to do with the narrative of Jesus's birth. Maybe the best illustration of the principle is from, and it's found in Genesis chapter 24.

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I'd like you to turn there. I'm going to preach the majority of the text, the rest of the message from Genesis 24.

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It's a lengthy chapter, but I believe in you. And when

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I say there is gold here, it is limitless and it's wonder and scope.

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Well, what is this about? Well, I want to point out to you one thing. You don't have to turn here.

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This is my favorite chapter in the Bible, Genesis 15. I'm going to read to you a portion of it. Just stay where you are in Genesis 24.

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This is God's covenant dealings with Abraham, Genesis 15.

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After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram and a vision saying, do not be afraid,

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Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.

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Please read the New King James, the King James, the Geneva Bible on 15 .1.

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It's much better translation. Verse two, but Abraham said,

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Lord God, what will you give me? Seeing I go childless and the heir of my house is

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Eliezer of Damascus. The situation is this.

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Eliezer is the highest ranking servant in Abraham's house.

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Abraham has no children to bequeath his estate to. This man has the keys to all of Abraham's possessions.

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He's not related to him. And Eliezer is going to inherit the fortune and the wealth and the herds and all the money and lands of Abraham.

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But God intervenes. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him saying, this one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.

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And he brought him outside and said, look toward heaven and count the stars if you are able to number them.

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And he said to them, so shall your descendants be. And of course, that classic text, which pops up so much in the

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New Testament, Romans, James, and he believed in the

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Lord and he accounted it to him for righteousness. Think about Eliezer.

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Now let's go back to Genesis 24. You're already there. I'm gonna come to 24 with you.

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Bear with me. I'm going to read. I'm going to preach. I'm gonna make observations. This is going to be very helpful,

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I think, to us to understand what's happening here. The promises of God have been realized.

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They have now a son. His name is Isaac, the child of promise.

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And Abraham is now eager for Isaac to perpetuate this patriarchal line. He needs a bride.

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This is very important in our illustration to understand what's happening in Corinth. Christ needs a bride.

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Paul was sent to be the one to bring the news, the message of Christ's need of a bride and to call those people in Corinth to be the bride of Christ.

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That's why the language is found, this Petrova language in 2 Corinthians 11.

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He's old, well advanced in age, and the Lord blessed Abraham in all things.

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Abraham, with an eye to the future, said to the oldest servant of his house,

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I'll point out to you my absolute confident belief, Eleazar, Genesis 15, okay?

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Now, what's so important about this is I want you to see the character of Eleazar. He knows if there's no

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Isaac, that he would be the guy who would get all the wealth. I want you to see how he acts as the servant of Abraham.

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And I wanna draw an analogy and comparison between Eleazar and Paul as the servant of God who would go to Corinth.

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He says in this very strange thing, I wanna make my boys do this to me when I die to really make them uncomfortable.

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Please put your hand under my thigh and I will make you swear by the Lord, the

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God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the

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Canaanites among whom I dwell. But you shall go to my country and to my family and take a wife for my son

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Isaac. And the servant, who I believe is Eleazar, says perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land.

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Must I take your son back to the land from which you came? And Abraham said to him, beware that you do not take my son back there.

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The Lord God of heaven who took me from my father's house and from the land of my family and who spoke to me and swore to me saying, to your descendants,

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I give this land. He will send his angel before you and you shall take a wife for my son from there.

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And if the woman is not willing to follow you then you will be released from this oath.

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Only do not take my son back there. So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham, his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

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Then the servant took 10 of his master's camels and departed. Children, listen to the faithfulness of this servant and his trust that he has with Abraham for all his master's goods were in his hand.

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There is no bitter resentment from Eleazar to remain a servant of Abraham.

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He continues to faithfully discharge his duties. And what's a shame is he is a man of extraordinary faith.

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He's from Damascus, which indicates he comes from a pagan background just like Abraham, but now he's a man of great faith.

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He said, praying to the Lord, he rose, went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.

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He made his camels kneel down outside the city by the well, went to the water at evening time.

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It's got a little flavor of the woman at the well in John 4, the time when women go out to draw water.

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Then he said, oh Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day and show kindness to my master

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Abraham. Do you notice again, Eleazar's consuming passion is the honor of Abraham.

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That's all he cares about. He wants his prayer to be answered that Abraham might get what he desires.

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Show kindness to my master. Behold, here I stand by the well of water and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.

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Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, please let down your pitcher that I may drink.

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And she says, drink, and I will also give you your camels a drink. Let her be the one you have appointed for your servant

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Isaac. By this, I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.

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Children, have any idea what would happen in this story? It unfolds exactly as he prayed it would.

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Go to verse 15. And it happened before he had finished speaking that behold,

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Rebecca, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder.

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Rebecca is the great niece of Abraham. She fits the bill perfectly.

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Now, we would have troubles in our thinking about this interrelation of cousins.

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Throw all that nonsense out. This is righteous and holy and pure. This is God ordained.

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Isaac's gonna marry his first cousin once removed to the glory of God. Now, the young woman was very beautiful to behold.

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It should be pointed out that beauty was not part of the qualifications that Eleazar put out there for God.

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He was looking for a virtuous woman of character, a woman who would show hospitality to him and to his camels.

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There's stuff in here. There's a lot there, good stuff there. But it's bonus and it's blessed.

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The young woman was very beautiful to behold. Like all of our wives here are, all of our wives are beautiful.

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No man had known this woman. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher and came up.

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And the servant ran to meet her and said, please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.

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And she said, drink, Lord. And then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand and gave him a drink.

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When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, I will draw water for your camels also until they have finished drinking.

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Can you imagine the heart of Eleazar jumping in his chest when the promise that the fleece of sorts that he laid out there, that the spirit enabled all of this to happen?

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She's a virtuous woman. She's a godly woman. He doesn't go to town and ask for the people who are related to Abraham.

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He trusts the Lord entirely. And she happens to be that too. And she's beautiful.

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She quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to draw water and drew for all his camels.

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For those of you who are counting, this is probably over an hour's worth of work to give water to all the camels.

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And the man, the language is so beautiful, wondering at her, remains silent so as to know whether the

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Lord had made his journey prosperous or not. She's so beautiful.

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She's done exactly the same thing, but is she from Abraham's house? He remains silent and waits.

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So it was, verse 22, when the camels had finished drinking that the man took a golden nose ring, weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrist, weighing 10 shekels of gold, and said, whose daughter are you?

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Tell me, please. Is there room in your father's house for us to lodge?

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So she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah's son, whom she bore to Nahor.

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Nahor is Abraham's brother. Moreover, she said to him, we have both straw and feed enough and room to lodge.

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And the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. And he said, blessed be the

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Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his mercy and his truth toward my master.

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As for me being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren.

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So the young woman ran and told her mother's household these things.

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I want to pause here because I want to try to make the connection. It's something to think that one of those pagan cities of the world had a lot of members of God's family there.

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Eleazar is a man with credentials. He has the keys of Abraham's kingdom in his hands.

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He can do what he wishes with Abraham's wealth. He's commissioned, he's charged.

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He's the messenger of this message to take a bride for Abraham's son.

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Paul too was like Eleazar. Now I didn't mention this earlier.

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There's no way this is a significant thing. My biblical theology mind says there must be something there.

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Isn't it something that Saul of Tarsus would become

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Paul the apostle on the road to Damascus?

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The place where Eleazar was from. Could there be a connection? I don't know. I saw no commentaries reference

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Genesis 24 directly in connection with our text. But it was abundantly clear to me that this is telling the story of Christ and his bride.

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Genesis 24, Rebekah, Isaac, Abraham. This is about Christ and his church.

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So Rebekah runs and tells her mother's household about these things.

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The story has an interesting little twist here. You may forget that Rebekah has a brother and his name was

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Laban. Rebekah's son would spend 20 years with Laban acquiring a wife.

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Oh wait, two wives like Laban's daughters. They kept it close to home in the family.

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Laban is a man we know later in Genesis. He is a man who is an idolater because someone stole some of his idols.

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So here we have Rebekah coming from an idolatrous family.

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Rebekah herself was probably an idolater at this time. But you see, the betrothal that is happening to Rebekah is not only the acquisition of a wife for Isaac, it's the conversion of Rebekah.

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And not only is it the conversion of Rebekah, Rebekah becomes the mother of the nation of Israel.

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There are big things afoot. So it came to pass, this is

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Laban, he's a man concerned with wealth. Obviously in his dealings with Jacob, we see that later. It comes to pass when he saw the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister's wrists.

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We heard the words of his sister Rebekah saying, thus the man spoke to me that he went to the man.

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There stood by the camels at the well. And he said, come in, oh, blessed of the

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Lord. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.

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Food was sent before him, it says in verse 33, but he did not eat. I will not eat until I have told you about my errand.

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He's compelled, like Paul was, to deliver the message. He says, speak on.

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He said, I am Abraham's servant. The Lord has blessed my master greatly and he has become great.

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And he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys.

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And Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master when she was old.

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And to him, he was given all that he has. Now my master made me swear saying, you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the

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Canaanites. And whose land that I dwell, but you shall go to my father's house, to my family and take a wife for my son.

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And he retells the story of her possible rejection. Verse 42, on this day,

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I came to the well and said, oh, Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you will now prosper the way in which

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I go, behold, I stand by the well of water and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water and I say to her, please give me a little water for your pitcher to drink.

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And she says, drink and I will also drink for your camels. Also let her be the woman whom the

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Lord has appointed for my master's son. Before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was

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Rebekah coming out with her pitcher on her shoulder. And she went out to the well and drew water.

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I said to her, please let me drink. He retells the story again, that he asked her, verse 47, whose daughter are you?

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And she said, the daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him. So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists.

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And I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham that had led me in the way of truth to take the daughter of my master's brother for his son.

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Now, if you'll do kindly and truly with my master, tell me, and if not, tell me that I may not turn, may turn to the right hand or to the left.

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And Laban and Bethuel answered and said, this thing comes from the Lord. We cannot speak to you either bad or good.

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Here is Rebekah before you, take her and go. And let her be your master's son's wife as the

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Lord has spoken. And Eleazar falls to the ground, worships, bowing his head to the earth.

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Then he brings out all the jewelry, the silver, the gold, the clothing, gave them to Rebekah.

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And here in this picture, I want you to think of the bride price of Christ's blood to purchase, to redeem his bride.

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And he, verse 54 says, and the men who were with him ate and drank and stayed all night.

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Then they arose in the morning and he said, send me away to my master. We're talking in Sunday school about great distances.

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This is probably 450 miles, 500 miles away from Abraham. Eleazar wants to get back on the road.

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He wants to bring the wife home. It's taken him a long time to get there. He's accomplished his mission. He wants to get back. But her brother and her mother say, let the young woman stay with us a few days, at least 10.

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After that, she may go. And he said to them, do not hinder me since the

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Lord has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master.

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So they said, we will call the young woman and ask her personally. And they called

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Rebekah and said to her, she's experienced this whole thing. She's witnessed it with her eyes.

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She's participated fully in it. Will you go with this man? And maybe our gospel appeals need to say something like, will you go with this man?

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Will you be betrothed to Christ? She said, I will go. So they sent away

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Rebekah, their sister and her nurse and Abraham's servant and his men.

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And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, our sister, may you become the mother of thousands of 10 ,000s and may your descendants possess the gates of those who hate them.

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And Rebekah and her maids arose. They rode on the camels and followed the man. So the servant took

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Rebekah and departed. Now Isaac came from the way of Beerlehi Roy, for he dwelt in the

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South and Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening. And he lifted his eyes and looked and there the camels were coming.

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I should point out to you that the son of God in the risen state doesn't come to Corinth preaching the gospel.

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He sends Paul, he sends a servant to do it. Just the same kind of imagery. Rebekah loves a man she's never seen.

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You and I love a man that we've never seen. The response of Isaac.

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We see Christ and Isaac looking upon his betrothed bride.

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Rebekah lifts her eyes and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from her camel.

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My sense is the Lord put it in her heart to love this man. And when she saw him, he was beautiful and handsome in her eyes.

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Who is this man walking in the field to meet us? The servant said, it is my master.

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So she took a veil and covered herself. The servant told

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Isaac all the things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his mother

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Sarah's tent and he took Rebekah and she became his wife. One of the greatest beautiful four letter phrases and he loved her.

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So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. Let me ask you a question.

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If you're an observer of all of these events that happened with Abraham's family and Isaac and Rebekah, what would you have said along the journey back if there had been another suitor to come along?

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How despicable would it have been for Rebekah to have entertained another suitor?

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All of these prophecies, all of these promises, these miraculous things happening. She is converted out of her paganism to be united to one of the patriarchs, to be one of the most important women in the history of the world.

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How much more so is it folly and insanity for the church and her members to entertain some harlot?

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We have Christ, we have Christ. Now we understand

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Paul's jealousy. Now let's go back to our text, 2

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Corinthians 11. Paul's the one who was commissioned to go to Corinth to preach the gospel there.

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He was the one who came with the riches of heaven to come to the

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Corinthian people and said, God has called you to be in his family, to be his betrothed wife.

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I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy for I have betrothed you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

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But the enemy, my friends, has always been at work attacking the institution of marriage.

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But I fear lest somehow as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

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Can you imagine when given the choice between Christ who has crushed the serpent's head and the flailing, ailing serpent on the ground?

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Who do you pick? You pick Christ. You don't go with the serpent who's dying and is crushed and is defeated and is full of evil.

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You go with Christ. But the Corinthians are entertaining going with the serpent because they're entertaining a false teacher, a false gospel, a false

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Jesus. You say, that never happened to me, it's happening to you. And it has happened.

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It will continue to happen. It seems to me that every gospel minister has provided such clarity for me last night.

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Every gospel minister has an obligation and duty to bring those under his charge to present them as chaste virgins to Christ.

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The zeal which the father defends the honor of his daughter to be given in marriage, that applies to the church.

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And every family, every husband, every father must present their little flock to God.

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Free from idolatry is chaste, pure virgins for Christ.

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They only have one lover, it's Christ. The gospel is simple.

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Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, paid the bride price to redeem the pagans, us, the

01:20:51

Corinthians, from their sin and their certain hell and judgment. And he's brought them like Rebecca into his family and he's using her to bring many descendants into the world, the mission of Christ, the great commission, the gospel going forth to the nations.

01:21:13

Reminded the last point, there are always those who preach another

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Jesus. Salvation is found in no other.

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There's only one mediator. There's only one son of man, son of God. Galatians 1 .8

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says, Paul says there, but even if we were an angel from heaven, we should preach any other gospel to you.

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And when we have preached to you, let him be accursed. The Corinthians, I think, finally get it.

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Eleazar has all of the authority of Abraham to come and to deliver the message.

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Paul is an apostle. He's a sent one. He has the authority. He has the credentials.

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They have to listen to him beware of another gospel, beware of another

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Jesus. And this strict confessional Westminster church, we had people go after another gospel.

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That's a different gospel that they went to, a different Jesus. I'm sorry, it is. That's all it could be said.

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Beware, it could happen to you. But if you remember who you are as the betrothed to Christ, you'll be secure.

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There's only one husband for you. In faith today, renew your vows to him.

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Keep your promise. Look expectantly to him in the consummation.

01:23:04

It was all talk. It was all promise. There were gifts given. There was a price paid, but Rebecca saw

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Isaac and Isaac united himself to Rebecca, just as he has united himself to us.

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A couple of closing words of application here. Eliezer floated the possibility of turning to the right or the left.

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I'm telling you today, do not turn to the right or to the left. Do not look upon another spiritual suitor.

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Fix your gaze exclusively upon Christ. Number two,

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I've already mentioned this. It is your responsibility to bring yourself and those under your charge to Christ.

01:24:03

Just like Eliezer brought Rebecca to Isaac, just like Paul brought the

01:24:09

Corinthians. Finally, let us rejoice today.

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Rebecca was out minding her own business, being a faithful daughter, and she was transformed and changed.

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Not only was she betrothed to Isaac, she became part of the family of God. You too have been betrothed to Christ.

01:24:36

Live accordingly, full of faith, joy, and thanksgiving.

01:24:43

Looking forward with a blessed hope. Can you imagine the anticipation of Rebecca?

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All of these amazing things happening to this little country girl out there. And then when she sees him, he's even better than she hoped for.

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It's true for us. Look forward with a blessed hope, pursue holiness through obedience, and put to death all of that sin in you that would draw you away from your husband.

01:25:18

Please pray with me. Lord, we thank you for the ways you made

01:25:32

Rebecca beautiful. You gave her godly character. You converted her from idolatry, and I thank you and I rejoice at how you make the church beautiful.

01:25:45

You wash her in the word. You take away all of her shame.

01:25:50

You clothe her in fine linen. Oh Lord, I thank you that we got to see a picture of betrothal last week when

01:26:00

Amberlynn was betrothed to Christ in baptism. What a glorious thing, oh Lord. Do not let her stray from the right or to the left, that she would have a singular allegiance.

01:26:15

Oh Lord, in our arrogance, we think we could never falter or commit some kind of idolatry, which would be displeasing in your sight.

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But history and scripture teaches us differently. Oh Lord, I pray that we would guard our hearts, that we would have a singular, total abiding allegiance to Christ alone.

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Oh Lord, I'm so thankful that you've taken your people to be your bride.

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I thank you that Paul could say to all Christians everywhere, I have betrothed you to one husband.

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Oh Lord, cause us today to renew our commitment, our vows to you, to keep our promises that we've made and to look expectantly and hope to that great day in the parousia of the consummation.

01:27:06

Oh Lord, we rejoice today that we come to a feast, to a table that not only pictures and represents your own blood, but we realize this was the price for the bride, the blood of Christ, his body broken, his blood shed, that he might take a glorious church with no spot or wrinkle.

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Oh Lord, help us to revel and rejoice in these things. We ask this in Jesus name. Let's continue our worship through the presentation of the offering.

01:28:04

Please stand and let's pray together. Oh Lord, we rejoice in this great work that you have done.

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I pray that we would plumb the depths of this betrothal that would be joy for our hearts.

01:28:25

We pray also that this offering will be used to advance your kingdom and to go out and acquire more of the bride of Christ to bring back to him.

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We ask all these things in Jesus name. With great joy in our hearts, considering the great things that God has done, let us sing the

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Gloria Patri. The Lord be with you.

01:29:37

Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the

01:29:42

Lord. It is good and right so to do. It is right and a good and joyful thing that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to you, oh

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Holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God. Because you sent your beloved son to redeem us from sin and death and to make us heirs in him of everlasting life.

01:30:08

That we shall come again in power in great triumph to judge the world. We may without shame or fear rejoice to behold his appearing.

01:30:18

Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven, we praise and magnify your most glorious name, evermore praising you and singing.

01:31:59

You seated, please pray with me.

01:32:11

Oh God, we recognize that you are the father of all mercies. The one who has done the pursuing of us.

01:32:22

The one who consoles us in our grief. We ask that you would grant your gracious presence and the effectual working of your spirit in us.

01:32:33

And that you might sanctify these elements of bread and wine. And bless your own ordinance that we may receive by faith the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

01:32:46

Crucified for us. And so to feed upon him that he may be one with us and we one with him.

01:32:54

That he may live in us and we in him. For him who has loved us and gave himself for us to take us to be his holy bride.

01:33:10

So now merciful father, we lift our eyes from these visible elements, even as we lift up our hearts to heaven itself and seek your blessing from there.

01:33:22

Where Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of God the father. In him, all the promises of God are fulfilled and all spiritual blessings are to be found.

01:33:35

In joy of heart and brotherly union and Christian love, we come to partake of your table, giving thanks for the great love which you have shown to us.

01:33:50

Our Lord Jesus, the night in which he was betrayed, took bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to his disciples saying, likewise he took the cup after supper saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood.

01:34:08

Drink from it all of you for as often as you eat this bread. Therefore we proclaim the faith.

01:34:18

Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

01:34:25

Let's approach the table now by praying together in unison. We do not presume to come to this your table,

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O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your manifold and great mercies.

01:34:43

We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table, but you are the same

01:34:50

Lord who always shows mercy. Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of your dear son,

01:34:59

Jesus Christ, and to drink of his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body and our souls washed through his most precious blood and that we may evermore dwell in him and he in us, amen.

01:35:18

Christ, our Passover was sacrificed for us. Therefore, let us keep the feasts.

01:35:26

The gifts of God for you, the people of God. Thanks be to the

01:35:31

Lord. ♪

01:36:01

All the time, God is here to serve us all ♪ ♪

01:36:16

Yea, God is warm and kindly peace to his people ♪ ♪

01:43:26

In the joy of Christ's name ♪ ♪

01:44:55

All the great despise my folly be ♪ ♪

01:45:42

I live lovingly in the joy of God's love ♪ ♪

01:46:21

Rescue me, Christ my Lord Jesus ♪ ♪ Cursed are shadows flee ♪ ♪

01:46:31

Brightness of my Father's glory ♪ ♪

01:46:37

Sunshine of his face ♪ ♪

01:46:43

Keep me ever trusting as my praying has seen me ♪

01:47:17

Had the privilege of gathering in the name of Christ and feasting at his table.

01:47:22

Let's now earnestly and sincerely make this commitment together. Almighty and ever living

01:47:29

God, we thank you for feeding us with the spiritual food of the most precious body and blood of your son, our savior,

01:47:40

Jesus Christ. And for assuring us in these holy mysteries that we are living members of the body of your great justice, other benefits, which you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our

01:48:18

Lord. To him, to you, to the Holy Spirit, in honor and glory.

01:48:28

Please stand and let us sing the doxology. ♪♪ There is a great sense of already and not yet.

01:49:18

Words from Revelation. There's something for us to look forward to. We possess all of this and yet there's more and more from John's Apocalypse, Revelation 19.

01:49:29

And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thundering saying,

01:49:40

Alleluia for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory.

01:49:51

For the marriage of the lamb has come and his wife has made herself ready.

01:49:58

And to her, it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

01:50:06

And he said to me, write, blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the lamb.

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So I take, I hope you'll receive the blessing, the last verse in the Holy Scripture.

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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. ♪

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Good riddance, O sir, these melancholy eyes ♪ ♪

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As each salvation's darkest child so long foretold ♪ ♪

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This is the Savior of the world, the

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Gentiles promised mine ♪ God's glory dwelling in the tomb of Israel.