Ingredients For the Fear of God

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Good morning, everyone It is such a blessing. Thank you for that beautiful song really bless my heart
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Give a benediction go home That's been said In the beginning was the
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Word the Word was God and the Word was with God Wow, that is a dynamite
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That will melt your heart And I needed that I was actually going to reach out to Liz and I heard you practicing that Reformation song and that Warm my heart to thank you for that Not only that it's just it is so good to be here
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But nevertheless I was gonna reach out and say can you play could you please change the first hymn to Be down my vision this morning.
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I finished talking my notes because I had chicken scratch everywhere And I was going back over it on the front porch and I heard the kids singing and I was like Hi king of heaven.
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I was like, oh my lord you you're good You answer prayers.
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Sometimes we don't utter him, but you answer him He knows the thoughts and tensions of our hearts and he knows exactly what we need this hour this very hour this very day
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I don't take it lightly As an opportunity to step in and preach for my pastor that he may enjoy his family as John is here from Italy I don't take this lightly because in a day there's much heresies much things spoken from a pulpit
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Not only that But to trust me with the Word of God that I'm gonna
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Do is what the Lord told Peter to do if you love me feed my sheep
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So pray for me as I expound this duty of the God I don't this is not a light duty because I'm gonna give an account for this
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Do I glorify him and do I lift him up that you may see him high and lifted up today and be changed?
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so as you know that we I'm not sure. I guess this thing is going but uh previously
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I had a Started a sermon series or just a on the fear of God And I sense that as you all know that there's been many leaders within the church that have compromised
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That had fallen into immorality And I don't know about you, but it grieves my heart
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I was watching the film last night on the revival and I'm not gonna say their name, but he they spoke and it burdens my heart
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I wanted to turn it off But now that matter of fact I wanted to turn the searchlight on my own heart because The fear of God is not just the beginning.
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It's the beginning It's the middle and it's the end of your pilgrimage here on this side of heaven
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And by God's grace this morning, I want to Continue this title of the sermon is a title this a 3d view of the fear of God a 3d view of the fear of God so we live in three dimensions height with death
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But my God's help I want to see these three visions The three views stack one on top of another and then this is going to lead us to a proper
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Understanding of the fear of God, and this is what motivates it. It's the engine. It's the hidden behind it so Before we get started my
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Keynote text of this whole series of the fear of God has been from Matthew 10 28
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Matthew 10 28 you don't have to turn there, but I'll read it out to you. You can if you like It says and fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul
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But rather fear him who is able to destroy Both body and soul in hell, so Before we proceed upon text,
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I just want to pray and ask God's blessing upon us this hour, so let's pray
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Father God we thank you Lord. You are high and lifted up shining in the light of your glory
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Pour it out your power and love and made the church return it back unto you and sing.
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Holy Holy holy is the Lord God Almighty Lord I pray this hour
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Lord You will come Lord. We know that you're in our midst No matter we feel it or no matter.
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We sense it you're in our midst So what I pray this morning that you will give us a fresh view of the fear of God What a great paradox that also it frees us from one fear and gives us another fear
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Well, this is such a paradox So profound
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Help us all to remember Lord while we were yet still sinners Christ died for us
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Lord, this is amazing grace. How can it be? That thou should save a wretch like me
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So father God, I ask you Lord, please encourage us in this hour Give this one
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Lord option in Discharging your holy duty and give your people ears to hear
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Lord I ask this in the matchless name of Jesus Christ Amen Amen if you will often
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The center of higher education in the United States is often considered And it's the oldest university in the
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US meaning you probably know where I'm going Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge, Massachusetts the the inventor or you say the
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The head of the school was John Harvard. He was a Puritan clergyman John Harvard feared
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God John Harvard feared God One of his favorite verses was the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God proverbs nevertheless
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There was a philosophy building there on campus and I kind of have seen this building because I once worked at MIT This building is called
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Emerson Hall What well a named after a philosopher named Ralph Waldo Emerson, which was a transcendentalist?
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That Once was quoted write your own Bible So we know that where that leads and some people do that without even saying it
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Some people do that without even saying it But you might say where are you going with this?
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This building the philosopher building this philosophy building is it was uh, they're gonna dedicate this building
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It was in the early 1900s And it was common to put an inscription above the door of a building the
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Greek architecture It was common to put an inscription above a door to dedicate it so the four presidents
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Charles Eliot reached out to another philosopher who was an alum there and he said
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What can we put above this door he said he quoted a
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Philosopher called Protagoras Protagoras and he said let's put this quote from Protagoras up there and it says
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Man the measure of all things Man the measure of all things
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Let's put that above the door. It's engraved in letters as big as a human above the door and etched in stone the fourth president
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Um His name was William J Charles Eliot was the fourth president, but William James didn't hear back from the fourth president for a while And so he saw the scaffolding go up.
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He saw a canvas go up. He heard the chisels banging With great excitement. I can't wait to see this new dedication and even the
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Faculty there was excited to see this new engraving above the door of this grand building come to find out
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Charles Eliot feared the Lord and told the artisan to write this
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So the day with it all the canvas was ripped back the people were standing out white waiting to see and this is what it read
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They had a great surprise What is man that thou art mindful of him?
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What is man that thou art mindful of him? Doesn't that sound familiar? Psalm 8 for Psalm 8 for If you notice this they were not happy Because it confronts their pride and it says you're not at the center.
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God is majestic He's sovereign and he's over creation and man is very little that you would even consider him
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But you would even consider us so you say
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Why are you why are you starting off with that? I want to ask you this What is above your door this day? What is written above the door your heart today?
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That's the question in Exodus. There was a death angel that came to the doors
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And he was looking for one thing He didn't go in the house. He was looking for one thing.
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He says when I see The blood upon the doorpost of your house
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My question is secondly How would you react this very moment if you come face to face with a living
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God How would you react if you were to come face to face this morning with the living
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God? Well people think of God just as the man upstairs
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My daddy Just flippantly problem is that we don't see that in Scripture We don't see that in Scripture.
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You're not going to jump into his arms when you come into his presence And Scripture says differently and the chief end of God is to glorify
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God You must say you just messed up the whole short of catechism the first one No, no, no, think about it.
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The chief end of God is to glorify God That's looking from down and then we look back up and say the chief end of man is to glorify you
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By God's grace if you will take your Bibles and let's turn to Isaiah chapter 6 By God's grace.
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I want to the three visions that I would like for us to see is a high view of God a low view of man and a glorious view of Christ And through these three lenses, that's what motivates the fear of God That's the engine that's the hemi that all the other parts in your life or link up to and be pulled by this right here
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I'm just gonna jump off into this scripture. So Isaiah chapter 6 many of you know, this is probably one of them
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Most Well known verses of the holiness of God George I think Jordan's been reading through it motivated me a little to go here, you know fire lights fire so May this word of God bless you and hear from the
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Living God this morning. I'm gonna read from Isaiah chapter 6. This will be One through eight will be a high view of God high view of God coming from Isaiah 1 through 8.
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So here the Word of God In the year that King Uzziah died
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I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne High and lifted up and his train filled the temple
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Above it stood the seraphim each one had six wings with two. He covered his face with two
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He covered his feet with two He did fly and one cried unto another and said, holy holy holy
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Is the Lord of Hosts the whole earth is full of his glory And the post of the door removed at the voice of him that cried and the house was filled with smoke
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Then Woe is me I'm undone
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Because I'm a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips
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For my eyes have seen the King the Lord of Hosts Then flew one of the seraphims unto me having a live coal in his hand
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Which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar and he laid it upon my mouth and said lo
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This hath touched thy lips and thy iniquity is taken away and thy sin is purged
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Also, I heard the voice of the Lord saying Whom shall I sin and who will go for us?
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Then I said here I am Send me we dive into the context a little bit of this background of this
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This is sometimes called the commissioning of Isaiah But there have been five chapters already go by There's been if you look back.
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There's six woes in chapter five of Judah God's people And he said what is going on in this context
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King Uzziah King Uzziah, he lives 700. I mean,
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I'm sorry He was only rain for 52 years within the tribe of Judah the southern tribe
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It was considered the golden age of the church
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Many of it was considered somewhat of a good King. We'll get into that later in second Chronicles Um Many people start.
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Well, this is the problem Chapter one tells us is he was the son of Amos, but this is the point.
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I want to get to this morning Isaiah 6 records a testimony of a sinful man that had a violent encounter with God And live to tell about it for us for Admonition he had a violent encounter with God and live to tell about A .W.
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Tozer was writing his book when he said the keys of the deeper life That's from the book the keys of a deeper life.
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I took I'm quoting a W Tozer here as long as God is considered to be very much like the rest of us except a little higher and a little greater.
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There won't be any great amount of holy fear in the church The greatest single need of the moment is that light -hearted superficial religionist be struck down With a vision of God on high and lift it up With his train filling the temple
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Beloved your view of God is everything my view of God your view of God is everything
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Only when God is seen in his right perspective Through the lens of Holy Scripture everything else in life will then be brought into its rightful order
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Outside of that is utter chaos May the
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Spirit of God be our teacher as we continue through these scriptures to illuminate and this outline came from HB Charles And he mentioned three
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Essential elements of the sovereignty of God. I thought were profound is a descriptive
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A description of God's sovereignty here in verse one, but I would like to share with you
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So in the year King Uzziah died Isaiah says
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I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne high lifted up in his train filled the temple
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You know earthly Kings come and go Presidents come and go they're not the answer first of all
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God is sovereign Jeremiah 29 and Jeremiah 9 23 and 24 thus saith the
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Lord let not the wise man glory in his wisdom Neither let the mighty man glory in his might let not the rich man glory in his riches
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But let him that glory within this that he understands and knows me That I am the
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Lord which exercises loving kindness judgment and righteousness in the earth for in these things
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I delight saith the Lord He says he saw the
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Lord, but doesn't scripture say how can any man no man has seen God How can a man see
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God, but it says as I said, I saw God I saw God There's a little bit of hint of this.
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It says in the year that King Uzziah died I saw also I saw the
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Lord notice this book in your Bibles L lowercase o -r -n -d
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See that look down in verse 3 and you see L capital o -r -d
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This is significant that gives us a little bit about who we saw right here. This is a Christophany This is a
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Christophany L Lowercase o -r -d means the sovereign one the sovereign ruler the sovereign authority
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This is a pre -incarnate picture of Christ before his Incarnation before his resurrection.
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He saw him sitting on his throne. That's Adonai Adonai, that's what that means
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L -o -r -d capital is Yahweh. That's who Moses saw in the burning bush
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So those are key distinctions out there. We need to see in that So it says he saw the
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Lord who did he see he saw the sovereign ruler of the world Christ Jesus Adonai John 4 25 says
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God is a spirit and that they worship him must worship him in spirit and truth So no man has seen
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God at any time if we love one another God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected in us
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The key point is Isaiah did not see God's essential nature, but he saw God's sovereign authority
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So if you look at this it says in the year
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King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon his throne God is sovereign.
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He's in control. He can't impeach him and he's not going to resign That should bring us great comfort because he does all things well, he does all things well
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And did you know God's greatest desire is that you may be with him? His desire and John John 17 the high priestly prayer said that you may be one with me and I were the father
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That's God's greatest desires that we may be with him. He desires us to be with him
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So notice this he is eternal if you will turn with me to 2nd
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Chronicles 20 to 2nd Chronicles 26. It's a couple
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Chapters back. This is gonna bring some insight into this
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King Uzziah I'm gonna just briefly read over starting in verse 1 and 2nd
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Chronicles Chapter 26 then all the people of Judah took
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Uzziah Who was 16 years old and made him king in the in the room of his father
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Amaziah and he built Elah and restored it to Judah and after that The king slept with his father's means he died 16 years old
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Uzziah when he began to reign and he reigned 50 and two years in Jerusalem His mother's name was also
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Jekallah of Jerusalem if you will skip with me now
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To verse 10 says also he built towers in the desert and dig many wells and he had much cattle both in the low country in the plains husband also the vine dressers in the mountains and In Carmel for he loved husbandry moreover
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Had a host of fighting men and went out to war by bands according to the number of their account by the hand of jail the scribe and Messiah the ruler under the hand of Hananiah one of the
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Kings captains in verse 16 if you will look there
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Here's the but this is when it goes back. I kind of skipped over a lot, but God was raising him up It was a prosperous time
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But notice this and this is where we need to really tune in our ears right here
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But as a contrast word, but when he was strong his heart was lifted up to his destruction for he transgressed against the
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Lord his God and went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense and As a riot the priests went in after him
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And with him four score priests of the Lord that were Valent men, and they were still desire the king and said unto him it
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Appertained if not unto thee use I to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the priest the sons of Aaron That are consecrated to burn incense and go out the sanctuary for thou has trespassed neither shall it be for that honor from the
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Lord Notice in verse 20 and as a riot the chief priests and all the priests looked upon him and behold he was leprous in his forehead and They thrust him out there
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Because the Lord had smitten him He was
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I ultimately end up dying outside of Israel. Do you see how when
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God raises up a man? And we heed the praises of man. I think that's that hymn says riches.
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I heed not nor man's empty praise He started to read his own news clippings, and I think oftentimes.
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That's the problem God starts to bless us and starts to give us opportunities to Minister gifts, but then we abuse the gift not unto his glory and to serve his people
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It becomes me me ism instead of we ism And this is the problem and he said he went into The the temple where only a priest could burn these incense and makes offers he was totally out of line
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He went into a whole nother role He believed he could just do as he pleased And notice this says
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God struck his forehead with leprosy you know, that's uh
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That's a fearful thing to fall in the hands of the Living God and God will not be mocked
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If you will flip back with me to Isaiah chapter 6 So notice this it kind of reminds me of today
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We live somewhat of an a golden age The land is prospering
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We have plenty We have many Bibles We have many stores
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We have sermonettes We have many ways to get the Word of God to the ear
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We have many we have we we are well fed Well fed it says in the year
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King Isaiah died I saw the Lord sitting upon the throne So there was actually they thought it was going to be turmoil.
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So actually that there was so actually
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The outward man was prospering but the inward they were rotten chapter 5 in your study will show that Materialism they thought almost like Laodicea that wealth was gain
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They thought wealth was gain That was the problem. They were looking with a carnal eye
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Has already been read obedience is better than sacrifice So they were thought so outwardly
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They almost crying almost like Laodicea you can hear the cry we have no need of nothing. We're good self satisfied
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Just everything we have but God raises up a man says
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I Saw The Lord sitting upon his throne
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High lift it up. There's this There's men on their thrones and then there's another higher throne way above their throne and that distance is great
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High lift it up. He's transcendent first he's eternal Because God is everlasting everlasting.
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He already knew what was gonna happen. He raised up Isaiah He's high and lifted up Transcendent notice this and his train
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Fill the temple Psalm 46 10 says be still and know that I'm God Can tell you what that really means give up Give up Be quiet.
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Stop striving. This is what
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Isaiah's Coming to learn this man is seeing a
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Christoph and he's seeing the Lord Jesus himself Seated upon the throne whom you and I are soon gonna see it could be this very day could be this next hour
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Are you prepared to meet God face to face notice this in verse 2
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God is holy Verse 1 he's sovereign verse 2. He's holy Above it stood seraphims each one
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Had six wings to they cover their face to the cover the feet and to they flew
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There's two things I want you to observe in this notice their posture and their praise
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Their posture and their praise the late R .C. Sproul Excuse me said any attempt to understand
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God Apart from his holiness as idolatry. Isn't that great?
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That is so true because many people Worship a God that's not the God of the
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Bible It's idolatry But the question is
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Who are these seraphims? They call the burning ones. Can I tell you they are in our terms the Secret Service?
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They do a better job than President Trump They guard his holiness. They're the burning ones
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Notice their posture notice this it said and above it stood the seraphim. Hold on.
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Are the seraphim above God? No, no, they said above it Let's see it the throne not above him
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That's beautiful will the details matter with God Above it stood the seraphim notice here this whole area right here.
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The first four verses are about the throne. This is key So what do we mean by holy?
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What do we mean by holy? It's found all throughout Scripture, but sometimes it's elusive
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We think about it as it in descriptive terms and really is definitive and that's key
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The birth form is called hallow Holiness is not descriptive of its essence.
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It is God's essence Holiness is what second is what sets
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God apart from his creation and from you and I We're unholy
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Therefore holiness is like a fire. It gives off heat to warm, but it also consumes everything combustible
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Hebrews 12 29 says God is a consuming fire That's outside of Christ He will consume you he is your enemy and that is your worst nightmare
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To wake up and know that God is your enemy But in Christ, he will be your refiners fire
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To be made more and more to his image you become his workmanship for his glory So where does holiness come from?
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It's a gift from God It's a gift from God wherever God is that there will holiness be he has a holy people
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He has a holy bride and wherever God is there will holiness be There will holiness be
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So let's continue on walking through this scripture and let's look at verse number four
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Notice this it says in the posture the door moved at the voice of him
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That cried in the house of full of smoke Another sign of God's glorious presence
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He's glorious. He is so glorious Says the door shook
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The door shakes more than some people in the inanimate object Beloved I'm thinking that's pointing to the door of your own heart.
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It should shake in God's presence Our hearts should tremble in his presence
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Luther we know this is all sometimes in the red in the reform camp as the
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Reformation on Martin Luther Ron taught that you had to be sanctified in order to be justified misery upon misery
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Come to find out by God's grace that leads to such a slavish fear a slavish fear
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It puts you in bondage When you feel like you have to pull yourself up by your bootstraps in order to please
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God That's what separates Christianity from everything. It's not me going to God.
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Oh God came to me God came to you God came to us God came to save his church
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That's what separates Christianity from everything It's not us working our way up to God Is God coming to us and that's what
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C .s. Lewis said this is what I believe what separates everything from all other forms of religion
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That God desires to dwell in the midst of his people Below that if we were to end right here in this first four verses it would be your worst nightmare
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It would be your worst nightmare verses one through four if it would end here It'd be a terrible sign just of God's just pure utter holiness, but if you look in verse five
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The first four are all about judgment the next the next
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Four verses are all about grace And notice this this is key now
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What is key about this the first four deal with the throne the next four deal with an altar? If you get the throne by itself
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You don't want it You need to have an altar there Christ I believe
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When I see through Scripture that that altar that came That tongue that came off that altar
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Was the cross where to get God's wrath fall.
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He is the Passover During the time of the
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Passover feast that was the first butcher house in the temple It said over 250 lambs are slaughtered 250
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Thousand two hundred fifty thousand lambs are slaughtered on the Passover feast occasion and John the
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Baptist Says can you imagine the setting? When John the Baptist comes in Passover's is coming up They get the lambs prepared and he says
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Oh That's what he said
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He would have shot them because they might have would have heard Remembered a little bit of Abraham Not a member a little bit of Isaiah And he's saying the sacrifice behold not a lamb
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Amongst you be definitive Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world
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Beloved sin entered in the world through the eye gate and it destroyed the whole human race
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God is in the business of restoration And he says behold the
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Lamb of God looking proceed take a hold of My faith is the look of faith that were restored and then was counted unto us righteousness
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And now we're called friends of God because of our elder brother Jesus Christ at no time was a victim zero
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He was a victim he conquered said no one takes my life. I had the power to lay it down.
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I have the power to raise it He's our captain He is our beloved
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He is the one that is the sweetest of all smells He is the lover of your soul
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That's in verse 5 this is where grace enters then said
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I Well, I am Because I'm a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of unclean people from my eyes have seen the
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King the Lord of hosts What was a prophet's main role to many you can probably stir that know that already a prophet was to say thus saith the
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Lord And he'd give that introduction and then often after that he'd say Blessed or whoa he gave a blessing or curse, and he only said thus saith the
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Lord the prophets main Usage was his lips
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But you say this is not just any man. He says I'm unclean this was a man of God already This is a man of God already, but it this is a sinful man yet But had a violent encounter to live and God took a coal and purged his lips
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To prepare him for his commissioning the question is do we can we have that same view as God of God?
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No, we can't have we won't have no we won't have Isaiah's view, but we need his resulting view
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That's what we need Whoa is me what happens as they saw his sin for what it really was for the first time in his life
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This is everything The one that doesn't see his sin doesn't see the preciousness of the
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Savior I'm gonna say that again
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One that has not seen his sin Sees no need for the physician
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The healthy don't need the doctor. It's those that say I'm sick. I'm sick From my head to my toe
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As everyone says every part of me is sick for time
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I Want to jump into now the low views of man the low view of man
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I'm just gonna give you a quick survey But I'm gonna give you
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God's description From God's perspective of what sin is and show you the insanity of sin
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Listen to this from God's perspective in a survey of descriptions of what he says sin is from his eyes
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This is key because oftentimes. We don't see it rightly Let this
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Hear this the scum of seething pot in which it is a desolate carcass resides
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Ezekiel 24 12 blood and pollution of a newborn Ezekiel 16 for a dead rotten body
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Romans 7 24 the lust of the devil John 8 4 4 putrefying sores
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As just mentioned Isaiah 1 5 through 6 canker gangrene 2nd
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Timothy 2 17 done of a filthy creature Philippians 3 18
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Vomit of a dog that swallows it and keeps on going back for more That's from Proverbs and 2nd
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Peter if it on from Peter 2 22 That's God's view of sin Sin this fact sin makes you stupid
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I Don't know you said this sin is the bearer of God's justice The rape of his mercy the jeer of his patience the slight of his power and the contempt of his love
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God have mercy on us so you say well if I took this
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Bible and I just Went to Revelation 21 22 and Genesis 1 22 and look almost something like this
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See this right here sin fills our history almost looks like wings doesn't it
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Those that wait upon the Lord shall mine up on wings eagles Sin fills our history
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Genesis 1 and 2 Revelation 21 and 22 Sin fills our history if you will
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I Want to go to a place and where we can see the insanity of sin in the
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New Testament If you will turn to Revelation 3 Starting in verse let's start in verse
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Let's read in this context verse 14 Revelation chapter 3, you know, this is to the churches seven churches
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Revelation chapter 3. This is the low view of man The insanity of sin and the angel of the church
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Of the Laodiceans right these things say the amen the faithful and the true witness the beginning of the creation of God I know that works
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Thou are neither cold nor hot. I Wish you were cold or hot
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So then because thou are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot I will speed you out of my mouth
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Because I say it I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing and no No, and in down those that thou are wretched miserable poor and blind and naked
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I Counseled me to buy of me gold tried in the fire that thou mayest be rich and white arraignment that thou may be clothed and that the shame of that nakedness
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Do not appear and I'm not that eyes what I saw that thou might see it as many as I love
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I rebuke and chastens Be zealous therefore and repent So this is a low view of sin
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Love you of sin so Here's what
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I want In this I just want to give you a brief overview Laodicea was a very rich industrial area.
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It was like the merchant capital of the world at that time They had banks. They were very wealthy that church consisted of very upper -class people upper -class people middle -upper class people
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It was also known to a well -known medical school that had an eye salve that was for diseases of the eye ophthalmology
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So wealthy city wealthy people I'm sure they were eight drinking and being married notice this.
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I'm sure that they thought in the back of their mind look at me We're the who's who Gain is godliness
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Look at us. We got it. We got it all figured out. We are being blessed the pews are full.
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We get new buildings We repainted the building we put in a new slip -and -slide.
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Oh We've grown Leafs and bounds. Oh Look at us. We have no need of nothing.
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This is the insanity of sin. How dare that ever come upon our lips? God is sovereign and we are utterly dependent for him for everything
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They thought they were being greatly blessed. I'm gonna tell you something They it wasn't they needed a great awakening, but they were greatly deluded.
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They were under a great delusion This church I call is the great delusion of the church Rock to sleep by comfort and ease by prosperity
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And I've forgotten God What he's saying is stop stop trading with the world.
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The world has nothing to offer you as a Christian zero Zero has nothing all for you.
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God is saying with you stop. Stop doing business with the world Do business with me?
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Do business with me? Let's do business Buy and sell with me.
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He is no fool who gives but he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose
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That's a quote But I want to know notice notice this notice what came out of their mouths.
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They say I'm rich. I'm increased with goods I have no need of nothing You are deluded so bad if that comes across your mind at any time in your pilgrimage
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God forbid that happen Take heed take heed take heed
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I'm rich and I'm increased with goods and I have no need of nothing the definition of insanity of sin right there
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But then Jesus the report card comes out because he's the discerner of hearts he gave a really this is a bad report card
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You know when you come home to go. Oh, I might have to forge a signature back in there. I don't regenerate days
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I don't even let mom see this. This is gonna be bad. I'm got to get a whooping Many of you may have me you probably wasn't as wicked as I was but You got a lot of red things staple to my shirt
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Had holes all in my shirts Clothes all falling apart. I get these things off.
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I get home But God knows he knows he says I know thy works.
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I Know thy work report card comes out
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Beloved before this report card comes out. I read this to you. The question is as pastor one time shared with me
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What will God say about redeeming grace Church? You're part of the church, what does he say about you?
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What does he say about our church? What is our report card? Here's what
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God's report card read of them. You don't know that means you're deluded
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You're deceived You think you know, but you don't know There are wretched
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Miserable poor blind and naked that's a totally opposite of what they thought big church big budget big building
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Big house nice car. They had it going on but had it going wrong.
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They were on the brink of an apostasy Apostasy Having rejected
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Christ all together notice what
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God says to them, but God Jesus loves them Jesus loves them.
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It says it right here as many as I love Jesus loves them This I know for the
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Bible says so he loves this church and made him sick That makes me tremble and think
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God do I make you sick? That's what he says
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Start doing spiritual transactions with me this very day What does he say?
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Notice what three recommendations? He says my goal By what arraignment by south he's speaking to them in their context.
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He could Jesus God Jesus always comes to right where we're at to meet us right where we're at.
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So we would understand Notice what he says by gold My god, what is that?
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Faith is purified in the fire that you may come forth as what gold is faith through trials by Come to him because it's by faith.
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We please God it's by faith So he says by gold
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That it may be tested and true. What does it mean? that your faith
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That you will not be ashamed of Christ God said if you're ashamed of me,
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I will be ashamed of you before my father That's what it means by faith that you're not ashamed of Christ.
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He says by what arraignment In Laodicea, they had sheep that that were around I had black skin black black it was very like a
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It's very popular. It was like a It was really costly. So they had black really soft
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Clothing sheep's wool, but he says and oftentimes that's a picture in Scripture black is often for depravity
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Sin what he's saying is change that in for white linen Change that in with for the robes of Christ his righteousness
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And that that that that that is purity and holiness That's a representation of pureness and holiness.
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Lastly What I'm getting to is that I've been talking about Having a 3d view of God first.
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We talked about a high view of God through Isaiah Second we talked about the low view of God. And so I want you to see through this notice where he says by I salve
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I salve I Salve what is this the illumination that we may see things rightly through God's Word?
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That's what I saw is Then the little boy that cried out open the eyes of my heart
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Lord I want to see you high and lifted up shining in the light of your glory
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Pouring out your power and love He's saying open the eyes of my heart like blind Bartimaeus Jesus our son of David have mercy on me and that's our only plea before God is mercy
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That's the only plea that we have mercy mercy mercy because outside of mercy all
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God's attributes are bitter so Now When we have that life of you of God, we have the life of you of insanity of our sin
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This is what drives us To Calvary now, let's look at the glorious view of Christ.
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This is the last and final view if you will
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Look at Ephesians chapter 1 with me Ephesians chapter 1 and This is the glorious view many of the
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Puritans called it the beatific view Sin has caused great devastation in this world
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And it's touched everything it's brought this harmony it's brought this unity to the nations and to the world even to the animals
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But God is perfect wisdom anointed his son Jesus Christ to restore all things in every human effort of self -improvement and Self -satisfaction no matter what religious disguise this under It's all subject to the law of diminishing returns
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No matter what it is what it's saying is those fake leaves gonna rot They're gonna rot they don't hold up and they will not hold up They're very combustible the longer
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Such superficial games are played the deeper your depression the deeper anxiety and the feelings of guilt was set in The only person that can can achieve a true sense of self -worth and meaning and significance is having a lot right relationship
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With the Living God through Jesus Christ the only way to have significance in your life
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Is turning to Christ the Creator who was with the one who is the one that made you from the beginning
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Outside of Christ a person has no meaning in life, and he's like the chaffed just tossed to and fro unstable in all his ways
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Today I just want to focus on the blessing agent Jesus Christ John McArthur He gives a great outline of this saying there's six aspects of the divine blessing here as he launches into this
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I'll just say it. He just says these six aspects of divine blessing through the as he says blessed the blesser
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He says the blessed one God the blesser also God the blessed ones believers
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Blessings all spiritual things Blessed location heavenly places and blessed an agent
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Jesus Christ this morning. I only want to just focus on the agent the blessing agent
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Jesus Christ He who is joined to the
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Lord becomes one with him first Corinthians tells us in 617
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Therefore His riches are all riches his resources all resources his righteousness all righteousness his power our power
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His position opposition and his privilege our privileges You know
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I'm just gonna read this starting in verse 3
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Blessed be God and father of the Lord Jesus Christ Who had blessed us blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ According as he had chosen us in him before the foundation of the world
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That we should be a holy and without blame before him in love having predestined us unto the adoption of Children by Jesus Christ to himself
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According to the good pleasure of his will to the praise of the glory of his grace where wherein
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He had made us accepted in the beloved in whom we have redemption through his blood The forgiveness of sins listen to this.
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Yes, there's some benefits According to the riches of his grace Wherein he hath abounded towards us in all wisdom and prudence having
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Made known unto us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he had purpose in himself
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That in the dispensation of the fullness of time He might gather together and all things in Christ both which are in heaven which are on earth and in him in whom also
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We will obtain an inheritance Being predestined according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will
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That we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ That we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ in Greek Verses 3 through 14 is one sentence
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One sentence it's just bursting forth with blessings in Christ Beloved I want you to just think about this for a second
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Lord You slept beneath the stars that you created You were tempted in the desert that you design
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You faithfully obeyed the law that you authored King left his throne to come to earth
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He washed the feet of the one that would even kiss you and betray you and Fed the multitudes with truth and bread as we just got rented in Defeating of 5 ,000.
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He was healing healing healing healing healing compassion compassion compassion Oh Lord you shared the feasts with harlots and sinners with rebels
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You love those who sought your own death
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Lord you're glorious Lord you're glorious You're king and shepherd forever
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Without a word he faced his acquisitions and joyfully bore a bitter cross that was for you
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And I the innocent received our conduct The innocent received our conduct the innocent one received our condemnation he paid the rebels cost and Beneath the earth you fashion you were buried
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The world of life was silenced by the grave But the doors of death could not contain your glory
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Our God rolled away the stone Lord You're glorious You're glorious Your shepherd your king forever glorious you are high and lifted up Shining in the light of your glory still pouring out your power and love
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Holy here with us let every heart declare your glorious He's glorious He's glorious And where he is holiness will be and believe me be encouraged where he begins a good work
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He's gonna finish it. He's not gonna waste one ounce of his glory We could go on and on about the glory of Christ, and I cannot exhaust this we will spend eternity doing this
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So as I try to land this plane Once you see God high and lifted up You number one remember this high view of God low view of sin
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Low view of man high view of God low view of man the insanity of sin the holiness of God Put those two together and let that drive you to the cross
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And it's right here Where the para cleat the para cleat I the physician deals with his patients, and that's the hospital
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This is sometimes a merger room That's the hospital. That's the true healing.
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That's where healing be right there. That's the true That's where he does his surgeries my wife works.
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That's where he does surgery right there at the cross That's where he does surgery.
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That's his surgery room And that's where we need to point people Flee to the cross today is the day of salvation
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So it's when we see the holiness of God the insanity of our sin
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Those two is what drives us to the cross to kiss and worship the
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Son of God to see his preciousness That the righteous one died for maggots and worms that wouldn't betray him
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Yeah, I said it a maggot and worms Don't think anything more This is when you come to see
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Christ in his beauty at the cross at the cross cross at the cross
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Where I first saw the light and the burdens of my heart Rolled away.
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It was there by faith. I receive And now I'm happy all the days of my life
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This is where all the attributes of God is on display holiness is not an attribute of God it is who he is
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And that's why I cannot be defined because you find that being can't define a holy being God is holy
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Holy holy And that's the problem today is that there's a low view of God and that's why people are falling
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Because they don't fear God When you have this 3d vision a 3d view this is is what motivates already said is the engine
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Which is called the fear of God The fear of God is the ABCs in this and everything in your life
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This is what links up when you have a high view of God Love you a man and a glorious view of Christ Then those three looking through those three is the fear of God, and that's the engine that will link and bring you all the way home and Those are gifts from God Because as he is he is his gifts, and that's when you start practicing a daily the presence of God I Want to practice the presence of God?
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So I want to get busy I've got work to do. I want to start practicing the presence of God and everything that I do
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I want to kill every part of sin. I want to wage war as brother said Ben said holy violence
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I want to wage war against sin because it's destroying and robbing me. It's it would have said a rape of God's mercy.
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It's How I don't want to say that word me anyway, it's seducing it's raping you it's raping us.
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It's a hard task master And it's what we we think we
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It's seduction Christ doesn't do that He heals our backslidings.
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He gives you joy unspeakable He gives you that peace that surpasses all understanding and all things in your life from this point
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Then will be a solemn duty of practicing the presence of God your whole life skip will be coram
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Dio before the face of God How can I do this before a holy
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God that loved me and lived and died for me How could
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I ever do this sin before a holy God? As I bring application to this
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I pray the spirit of God has already brought application But to the unbeliever, I want you to consider three things
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Won't you consider three things this morning? Consider your present state
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With your relationship with God and eternity. This is what
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Moses wished the Israelites would do in Deuteronomy 32 39 It is insanity to sin against the
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Holy God To chance eternity is the weight of folly It is the height of folly
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Beware of being deceived Work out your salvation with fear and trembling
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Consider what it means to live and die without Christ Without Christ you are his empty no matter if you believe it or not
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God is angry with the wicked be healthy.
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Don't need a doctor only the sick Beloved we're all sick. Is this true of you today?
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Last I want you to consider the love of Christ. Do you hear him saying today?
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Will you die? Will you die? Will you perish will you not have pity on your own soul?
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Oh Lord look upon Thank you that you remember our frame that we're made of dust you have compassion upon us
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Eternity is knocking at everyone's door this very moment. It is knocking Eternity is knocking
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Disappointed unto man wants to die then comes the judgment. So I charge you this morning
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Cast down the lies and deception When it says you object and say
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I've done too much I've been too far Those are lies
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You're qualified You're qualified. He says come unto me. Come unto me cast down all these excuses
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Cast them down their lives That the Psalms of Satan himself, let me ask you something this morning.
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Why do you love Christ? Does he need you? Have you deserved his love?
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Did you love him first? Can you be blessed without you?
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No, and no and no It's by sheer mercy and the great compassion of God that he is moved within himself
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To call you to himself It's the chief end of God to glorify
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God And that's his chief in is to save wretches like you and me to those that have found grace
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That had been saved by faith Which is a gift from God To those that are already on the
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Kings Highway that already enlisted in his army I would encourage you to fan the fan of faith
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Fan that fan, but it's really not faith It's the object of your faith must be fan if faith is going to increase the object must increase
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And I want you to always remember this
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Always remember this if you will
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I'm gonna let God's Word speak to you. Please turn to the last book of the Old Testament and Malachi Malachi 3 16 and this is what
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I want to encourage and exhort you to do as believers Malachi 3 16
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Then they that fear the Lord spoke Often with one another and the
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Lord hearken and heard it and a book of Remembrance was written before him for them that fear the
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Lord and that thought upon his name and They shall be mine saith the
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Lord of hosts in that day when I make up my jewels I will spare them as a man spared his own son that severed him
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Then shall you return and discern between the righteous and the wicked? Between him that serveth
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God and him that serveth him not Do you hear what that says? Speak often with those who fear the
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Lord Exhort one another iron sharpens iron
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So God writes down our thoughts and our speech so speak often with those that fear the
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Lord And in closing I'm going to leave you an illustration During the
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Spanish Inquisition Napoleon one of the last prisoners that they found in a jail cell they opened up the gate and They saw a chain
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Tied to the wall and it had an ankle bone. I Think his radius.
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Oh, what is it tibia fibula something like that ankle bone just had the last little
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It had a chain around it tied to the wall All of a sudden when they opened that gate a man said look look on the wall.
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Look on the wall. I see something You know what it was he had scratched
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From the jail on the wall on that on that cave in that prison across He wrote four words in Spanish height depth width and length
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Think that was Paul's prayer, wasn't it? In the apostle Paul said I pray
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That you would understand and comprehend the love of Christ that you may understand that 4d dimension that height the width depth and length
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Wasn't that his prayer? What he's saying is I believe what I'm saying If I understand the apostle
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Paul's ministry, he's pointing to the crops That you would understand that 4d height depth width length
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That's what he's saying. I Pray that you will remember that love as we already sung a
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Love of God how rich and pure how measureless beyond measure?
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May God bless you. Let's pray Father God, I thank you that while we were yet still sinners
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Christ died for us Lord, I pray Lord. You will help us to have a healthy fear of you
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We thank you Lord you have not dealt with us according to our sins and I pray dear
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Lord Father that we will remember That it's your greatest delight is to be with us
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That it's your love and kindness that leads men to repent Well, I think about what
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John the Baptist said and made this always be our cry may we preach this daily to ourselves
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Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world He didn't say sins, but he said sin as if he had took all the sins and bound them up The sin of all the world past present and future
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Therefore there is now no condemnation To those that are in Christ Jesus and we praise you
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Lord and you are glorious Oh God, you are glorious.
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You are beautiful. Oh God, we thank you for your mercy for your mercy endures forever
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And I pray that we'll be careful and everything that we do to give you the honor and praise and glory
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Due unto your name. We thank you for meeting with us and I pray Lord. You'll just continue to glorify us
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Glorify yourself that we may return that glory to you and enjoy you today and all the days of our lives
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We thank you and we ask this in Jesus name. Amen Well, thank you for enduring.