Whose Image?

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Let's go to the Lord in prayer.
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Father God, I come before you right now, and I ask for your help.
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Father God, I cannot speak to your people, proclaim your truth without your spirit.
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Father, I stand here, a sinful man's trying to speak much of your son, and Father, I will fail.
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So Father, come right now in your power and in your spirit.
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Let the words that I speak be the words of truth.
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Father, for I am a man of error, and Father, if you do not control my speech, Father, bring back to remembrance that which you have put in my heart, that which I have studied.
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Father, I will speak in error, so protect me, protect your people for your son's sake, for your name's sake, and for the sake of your word.
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Father, I pray today that as the word is preached, that sinners would be transformed.
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Father, I pray if there's any person in this room that does not know you, that today would be the day of salvation.
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Father, no man will be saved if your spirit does not move.
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Father, for we all were dead in our trespasses and sins until your son came and quickened us.
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So Father, I pray that today would be the day of salvation for the sinner that does not know you.
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In Jesus' name, amen.
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Open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 22.
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Just gonna let you know right up front, this passage has shaped most of Western culture when it comes to the church and the government.
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I'm not here to preach this passage to put the hammer down on the Internal Revenue Service, nor am I doing this because we just went through tax season.
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But when I read this text, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.
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Matthew chapter 22, verses 15 through 22.
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Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle him with his talk.
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And they sent to him some disciples with the Herodians saying, teacher, we know that you are true and you teach the way of God in truth, nor do you care about anyone for you do not regard the persons as men.
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So tell us therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? But Jesus perceived the wickedness and said, why do you test me, you hypocrites? Show me the money, show me the tax money.
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So they brought him a denarius and he said to them, whose image and inscription is this? And they said to him, Caesar's.
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And he said to them, you render under Caesar those things that are Caesar's, then you render to God those things that are God's.
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And when they had heard these words, they were marveled or astonished and left him and went their way.
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Today's text is taking place in the setting of the Temple Mount area.
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It would actually be taking place on the Tuesday before Jesus was gonna be crucified.
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And this would be actually called, and if you did a timeline of it, it would be a time in which would be the day of questioning.
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He is questioned about everything on this day.
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Some of them were legitimate questions, one being from his disciples, they were coming back into the city.
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There was a fig tree that he had cursed just the day before.
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Well, they were coming back in the next day and they see it and go, how did this happen? That was a legitimate question.
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How did that happen? Jesus said through much prayer.
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That's what he said.
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You'll be able to do greater things because of this.
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But then on that same day, you had this question here.
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Tell us, do you pay taxes or not? Do you pay the taxes to Caesar or not? You also had this question.
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Now, all these other questions were coming from the religious leaders.
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None of these by legitimate people wanting understanding.
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All these other questions.
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Remember, Jesus had cleansed the temple and they came to him on Tuesday.
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And they said to him, by whose authority are you doing this? Who told you you could do this? That was another question that was asked.
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Then he was asked about the resurrection.
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If a man has seven wives and they all die when they get to heaven, whose wife is she? Some nonsensical questions about the resurrection.
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Trying once again to entrap Jesus in his speech.
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And then he's given this question.
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It would be the last one of that day.
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Teacher, which is the greatest commandment? And he gives them an answer.
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He shuts the mouth of the fool.
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And on that day, they never ask him any more questions.
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Jesus knew the proverb.
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You answer a fool according to his folly and he'll walk away wise into his own eyes.
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Or answer a fool not according to his folly.
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Jesus is a very, very particular man with his speech.
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Why? Because he is the son of God.
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He's not gonna use flippant speech.
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He's gonna speak directly to the heart.
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So today's passage, we have two people here.
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One is the Pharisees.
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Well, the Pharisees were the right-wing, ultra-conservative people.
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Okay, you had three major parties that were in the Jewish culture.
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One was the Pharisees, one was the Sadducees, and the others were the Herodians.
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You don't hear a lot about the Herodians because most of the Sanhedrin was made up of basically half and half of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the Pharisees, ultra-wing conservative, basically we would say Republicans and Democrats.
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I mean, that's the easiest way I know how to say it because that was the main corp in the Sanhedrin.
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But the Pharisees hated Rome.
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They hated everything about Rome.
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They didn't like anything about it.
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They were pro-Israel, pro-Jews, all about Judaism.
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So they were completely against Rome, but they were against anybody that would be a successor or a ruler or a governor for Rome.
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But then you have the Herodians, and the Herodians were people just like that.
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Who would they have followed? Herod.
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So they were.
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They were more of a political party versus the Sadducees and the Pharisees were more of a religious party.
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Well, they were gonna follow Herod.
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Why did the Herodians follow Herod? Because they had been Greco-Romanized.
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We would say they had become more, we would say a Hellenized Jew.
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They had taken over, let go their Jewish roots and had taken on Greek culture.
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And in the eyes of the Jews, that was somewhat a look of apostasy because they were getting away from their Jewish roots and they were taking on that of the Greco-Roman.
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Well, the Herodians were very liberal.
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They didn't believe much of anything.
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They were just whatever Rome wants to do and whatever King Herod wants to do, that's what we wanna be a part of.
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Well, these two groups or three, you could say, were divided on every matter, whether it be social issues, economic issues, religious issues, they wouldn't come together on anything.
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I mean, literally nothing.
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But today we will see that these men come together in a unified purpose and it's to kill Christ.
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That's their purpose.
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Their desire is to put him to death.
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It says in verse 15 that the Pharisees went and they plotted how they might entangle him with his talk.
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The Pharisees had made a scheme and they needed assistance.
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They needed someone to help them.
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So who did they get? They got the Herodians.
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It says that they will, again, to try to trap him in his speech.
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In Luke 22, it says, in 20, verse 20.
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Remember, these are somatic gospels can give you sometimes a better understanding of what takes place if you read them together.
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And it said so, in this case, it says they watched him and they sent spies to pretend to be righteous, that they might seize him with his words, that they might deliver him to the authorities of the governor.
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So what did they do? The Pharisees sent people that look like legitimate inquiries of what was going on and all they were were schemers.
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That's all they were.
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And notice that the Pharisees set it up with the Herodians and they set it up with the Herodians so that this confrontation would take place with the Herodians for a specific reason.
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We'll get to that in a minute, not just to seize him, to deliver him to Pilate, but that the Pharisees could try to trap him with his words and catch him in some type of political or Jewish law breaking.
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So what they did is they put the Herodians there to carry the clout when they turned him over to the authorities.
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You would have the Pharisees barking about their religious things, but then you would have the Herodians with the power and the clout to actually have Jesus put to death because the Jews had no ability to put Jesus to death.
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So let's look at the conversation in verse 16 of chapter 22 of Matthew.
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It says, and they sent to him disciples with the Herodians saying, teacher, we know that you are true and you teach the way of God and truth, nor do you care about anyone for you for you disregard any person.
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So that's verses 15 and 16.
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So the conversation starts as this.
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They addressed Jesus as teacher, teacher we know.
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Look, they're trying to use some type of flattering.
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They're coming to him, understand the Pharisees didn't see him as a legitimate teacher, did they? No, they did not.
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Everything Jesus ever did with a Pharisee around ended up in absolute turmoil.
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Matter of fact, when I come to these passages and you say, and the Pharisees came to Jesus or the Sadducees came to him to say in my mind, and I know y'all are more sanctified than I am, but I hear ding, ding, ding, let's get ready to rumble.
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That's just what I hear in my mind.
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I know y'all are more sanctified than that.
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So you know it's fixing to be a fight about something.
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So they come to him and they say, teacher, we know that you're true.
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Now they are agreeing with the doctrine that Jesus had been teaching.
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Look, Jesus wasn't teaching contrary to the Mosaic covenant.
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Everything that Jesus taught was faithful and it was true.
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They just disagreed with it.
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Why? Because he was constantly correcting the Pharisees of their wrong interpretation of the law.
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Just like when they would say, we've not committed adultery.
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He said, hang on a second now, you did it in your heart.
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They didn't like that because they walked around in their attire, their flowing robes and big funny hats and they looked to be something that they were not.
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And he said, then we can see that you do not care about anyone.
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Now this isn't saying that Jesus didn't have compassion for anybody.
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What it's saying is that Jesus didn't hold men in high regard.
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He didn't care if he was the high priest.
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He didn't care if it was a Sadducee.
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He didn't care if it was a Herodian.
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He didn't care if it was a man of political power.
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Jesus didn't treat anybody differently based on their position.
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Jesus treated them all the same.
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Why? Because we're all on the same playing field, dead in our trespasses and sins.
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The same message Jesus preached on the Sermon on the Mount to those people that were there that were poor, the same ones that he had to feed the 5,000 because they were hungry, is the same message he preaches to the religious leaders.
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Nothing had changed.
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But Jesus was not going to be biased.
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He was not impartial.
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He was not prejudiced.
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He was very along the line of everybody and making sure that they knew that everybody was on the same playing field and everybody was damned because of their actions and attitudes towards the Lord.
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And it says that we know you speak in truth.
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There is no doubt that what Jesus said was true.
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Why? Because he is the way, the truth, and the life.
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Look, Jesus is the only way to get to the Father.
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That was his claim.
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He is the only one that speaks truth.
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All truth comes out of Christ.
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And he is the light.
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What do you mean? What does it mean? He is the light.
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He is the light of the world.
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And the light came into the world, which was dark, and the darkness comprehended him not.
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They knew that Jesus Christ was who he said he was, but they were about to lose their power and their authority.
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The statements were made indeed were true because everything that Jesus said had never contradicted one another.
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But the way that they have come to Jesus was with deceptive flattery.
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They attest to him with an incorrect deed.
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They speak to him in such a way to try to manipulate him, just like if someone comes to you, and they, hey, pal, hey, buddy, and they don't like you.
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What are they doing? They're buttering you up for something, some selfish gain.
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They might want something that you have, might need a deed or services from you.
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Well, what do you think they're doing? They're wanting to butter Jesus up so they can get the answer that they want.
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And that's why they got two different people there.
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Only one or two answers in their eyes that Jesus can give, and that's why they're there.
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Proverbs 10, six says, a mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
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Is that not what these men are doing? They're looking for a way to trap Jesus in his speech to kill him.
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Proverbs 29, five says, a man who flatters his neighbor will spread a net for his feet.
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Just to let you know, if you use flattery for speech, you're in sin.
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It's not what I said, that's what the Proverbs says.
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Flattery is a sin.
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Flattery is a form of manipulation to twist someone to make them pliable to do what you would have them to do.
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Verse 17, tell us therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay the tax to Caesar or not? All right, here's the trap.
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They've now got Jesus where they want him.
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Is it lawful to pay taxes? Well, what was the tax? That's what we have to know.
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What was it? Was it a sales tax? Was it a tax that the temple required? Understand there was a temple tax.
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Is that what was required here? No, it's not.
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It's actually the poll tax.
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And it was required by Rome once a year to show submission to Rome and to the Caesar.
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But understand in the year 6 AD, there was a revolt over this very thing that happened by name of Judas of Galilee.
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He started a revolt.
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And if you wanna flip over to your Bible, you can write it down.
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It talks about this very thing in Acts 537.
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I would say the vast majority of us when we were in Acts, probably just went right over our head.
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Because it talks about them raising up an arms to fight against Rome over the paying of taxes.
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It's Acts 537 and his name was Judas of Galilee.
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And it says that all those men were killed because they tried to make a revolt to not pay taxes.
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And understand this, he had a son and a grandson.
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His grandson was a Manahem.
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And you can read those in the Jewish Wars by Josephus.
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In 66 AD, it would be this very thing that would begin the revolt, which would start the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
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Overpaying taxes.
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Overpaying taxes.
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That's what it was, overpaying taxes.
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Taxation by Rome on the Jews was looked by the Jews as being a usurpment of God's authority.
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They didn't have the right to do God's people that way.
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That's how they saw that.
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They saw that they didn't have the right to tax them.
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So they asked Jesus, come on, Jesus, here it is.
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We gotta know.
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What do we do? Pay the tax or not? Well, here's the answer.
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One, if Jesus says, yes, it's lawful, from the Jews' perspective, the answer would incite the Jews to incite, it would incite the establishing him as Rome as being a leader or an ally with him.
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Yeah, pay the tax.
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Then he would be un-Jewish from their perspective.
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And it would give the Pharisees something to go on.
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If he says, no, it's not lawful, then what happens? He becomes a revolutionary.
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Here's one thing you're gonna do with Rome.
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You're gonna pay your taxes.
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You're gonna pay them.
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You're gonna pay them somehow, some way.
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And if he was to say no, it would mean that it would a revolution would begin.
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The Herodians would go back and say, he's gonna start a revolution.
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If he says to the Pharisees, yes, you do pay it, he's un-Jewish.
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So they now look as if they've got Jesus where they want.
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Rome was pliable on worship.
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You can go back and look in Roman history.
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Matter of fact, when they would conquer their lands, they actually adopted a lot of Greek mythology, okay? With the areas that they would go in and conquer, they would let people worship the way that they wanted.
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They would let people somewhat govern themselves as long as it wasn't against the governing principles by which Rome had.
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But there was one thing that they weren't gonna let you not do, and that was you were gonna pay your taxes.
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You had to pay that poll tax.
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That's how they made their money.
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That's how they kept the peace of Rome.
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How many of y'all have heard the word Pax Romana? It's the peace of Rome.
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You know why Rome had a lot of peace? Because they had a lot of money coming in to pay their soldiers.
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If there was a revolt, they took their iron heel and they squashed it.
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There was no rising up that would last for years on end up until 66 AD.
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But normally, an uprising would happen.
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They would send Roman soldiers in, and there was no hauling people off to jail, just to let you know.
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They didn't incarcerate people back then.
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They killed them, okay? So it appears that they got Jesus in a pinch.
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Yes, it's lawful.
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You turn the people against him.
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If he turns the people against him, he was the same people that just a few days before hailed him as the King of Israel.
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He says, no, it's not lawful.
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It would be seen as a crime against Rome.
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He would be labeled a revolutionary and an insurrectionist, and they could have him crucified.
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It's almost, once again, in my unsanctified imagination.
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You can hear him in the background laughing.
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Listen to what Jesus does in verse 18.
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If Jesus perceived the wickedness and said to them, why do you test me, you hypocrite? Jesus being God, he knows the hearts of all men.
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He exposes their sincere attitude and actions towards him because they want a sincere answer of whether they're supposed to pay their taxes.
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Jesus could see their hypocrisy through their flattery speech.
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He could see their flattery because you've got two people who can't agree on day and night, black and white, that are together to come against him.
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Jesus was not going to let them get away with it.
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He said, you didn't come to ask me about taxes.
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You didn't come to ask me, was it right to pay the poll tax? You came to trick me in my speech.
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You came to cause a conflict while he was actually preaching the gospel.
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If you put the others together to put the full picture of what was going on, Jesus was teaching and preaching the gospel on the Temple Mount when these religious scrubs come up and interrupt him over paying taxes.
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But here's what he says in verse 19.
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He says, show me the tax money.
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And they brought him a denarius.
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I think that's funny.
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The very people that were complaining about paying taxes, they're on the Temple Mount and somebody has unclean money on the Temple Mount.
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Understand the denarius was a Roman money.
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And when you come onto the Temple Mount to use money, whether it was buying and selling sacrifices or whatever, you had to take your money and exchange it for the good godly money.
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And the good godly money was the only ones that was set up by Caiaphas on the Temple Mount at an exchange rate.
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So he asked these men who were Herodians, Pharisees and Sadducees, well, give me one of those Roman coins you got.
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They put one out of their pocket.
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And he says this, all day, you could see that they would take this denarius and have to, it would be a day's wage.
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That's what some of yours say denarius and some of them just say a penny.
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Did somebody say a penny in your text? So it's actually a denarius.
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It was a one day's pay.
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You work all day, sun up, sun down.
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That's what you got was a denarius.
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Well, Rome required this.
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You work out of one week out of all the year, you would work six days and out of that six days, you would take that one coin and that would be your tax.
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That'd be it.
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Now, understand that it wasn't the amount that was the problem, it was the principle.
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They were unclean people.
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They didn't need to be taxed by the godless people.
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So understand that it was not the amount and that when he hands them, he says, hand me the coin.
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And here's what it is.
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Jesus held up that coin and here's what he says in verse 20.
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Whose image and inscription is on it? So Jesus says, hand me the coin.
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He holds it up.
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There it is.
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He says, whose image is on this coin? Who is it and whose inscription? Well, in this particular time would have been Tiberius Caesar Augustus.
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That's who it would have been.
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But on that coin, it would have had a bust.
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You know what a bust is? It would have been from about here up on one side, sort of like our quarter.
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You have the George Washington on one side and Abraham Lincoln on a penny on the other.
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Okay, it would say on one side, it would say Tiberius Caesar Augustus, the divine, claiming to be God.
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You flip it over on the other side, it would be high priest, Pontus, high priest.
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That's blasphemy to them.
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There's only one high priest, the one sitting inside the temple that goes into the Holy of Holies.
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And there's only one person that can claim to be God and it was Yahweh.
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So understand also, this would be the beginning of emperor worship at this time, claiming to be God on a coin.
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No doubt, it would have been very offensive and it was blasphemy.
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But Jesus now answers that question that was asked him in verse 17.
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Is it lawful to pay the poll tax or not? Yes or no? It's an up or down question, Jesus.
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Which one is it? No one standing there was expecting this.
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You render therefore to Caesar those things that are Caesar and you render to God those things that are God's.
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Those things that are Caesar's, you give it to Caesar.
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Yeah, it looks bloody ludicrous.
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It's got a ridiculous statement on it, but whose face is on it? Who printed it? Whose mint stamped it? Caesar's.
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If that's what he requires, then you give it to him.
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That's what Jesus said.
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Understand that that was not something that hadn't been already taught in the Old Testament.
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You can write these down and go back and look at it when you get home.
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You take Jeremiah 27, chapter 27, when he stands before Zedekiah and Jehoiakim, he says, Nebuchadnezzar's coming.
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And when he comes, you put your yoke around his neck and you submit to him.
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Don't fight against him.
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Do whatever he says and you'll be prosperous.
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Remember, Nebuchadnezzar was coming to bring in the Babylonian captivity.
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Also tells the people in Jeremiah 29, when they come, you submit to them.
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Put yourself under their authority.
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Pray for the peace of the land.
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Whatever they ask you to do, do.
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You marry, you have sons and daughters, you plant, you farm, you do all of those things.
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Jesus wasn't saying anything that the prophets had not already said.
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Also says the same thing in 2 Kings 25, 24.
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And it's not any different when you get to the writings of Paul.
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Listen to some of the writings of Paul.
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We'll go to Peter first, hang on.
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First Peter chapter two, verses 13 through 18.
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Therefore, submit yourselves to the ordinances of men, for it's the Lord's sake, whether to the king who is supreme or to a governor, as to those who are sent by him and for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.
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For this is the will of God.
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By doing good, you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.
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As free, yet not using your liberty as a cloak or a vice, but as a bondservant of God.
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Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God and honor the king.
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Servants, be submissive to your masters with fear, not only with good and gentle, but those who are harsh.
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That was the words of Peter.
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Now, Romans 13 is what Paul says about it.
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Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God.
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And the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
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Therefore, whoever resists the authority, resists the ordinance of God.
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And who, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
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That is exactly what Jeremiah told them.
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If you do not submit, there's gonna be death and judgment because of your disobedience to submit to the governing authorities.
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This is Paul.
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For he is God's minister to do you good.
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But if you do evil, you better be afraid because they bear the sword, they don't bear that sword in vain.
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For he is God's minister to avenge and execute wrath for those who are disobedient.
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Therefore, you must be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but for your conscience sake towards God.
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Therefore, render therefore to all their due, taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to who customs are due, fear to whom fear is due, and honor to honor is due.
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Owe no one anything but to love one another, for therefore you will fulfill the law of love.
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That was the teaching.
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So what Jesus was saying was not anything inconsistent that had already been said.
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Jesus says a similar thing in just a couple of days when he stands before Pilate.
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When he stands before Pilate, he says this in John chapter 19, verses six through 10.
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Therefore the chief priest and the scribes take him before Pilate and they say, crucify him, crucify him.
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You take him and you crucify him.
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For I, this is Pilate says to them, I found no fault in the man.
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The Jews answered and said, we have a law according to our law.
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He ought to die.
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He has made himself out to be the son of God.
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Therefore, when Pilate heard these things, he went again to the Praetorium and he says to Jesus, where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer.
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Then Pilate said to him, are you not speaking to me? Do you not know that I have the power to crucify you or to release you and let you go? Jesus at that point could have said, do you not know who I am? I am the son of the living God.
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I am God in human flesh.
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I can call thousands of legions of angels to slay the city.
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I can run the blood up to the bridles of the horses in a matter of seconds.
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That's not what Jesus said.
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Jesus actually redirects his thought and says, the only authority you have is what my father in heaven has given to you.
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And basically, you want to crucify me? Nobody's going to pull my hands apart.
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I will willingly bear my cross.
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Jesus didn't discredit his authority.
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He actually affirmed it because it was that which was given to him by God.
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The God of heaven is sovereign over all types of governments.
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And when I say all, I mean every one of them.
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Ours, which is very beneficial to American people.
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Well, what about those that are over there chopping people's heads off? Is God in control of those? You better believe he is.
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What about the crackpot over there gassing his people in Syria? Is God part of that? Yep, God's controlling all that.
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What about the nutcase in North Korea that's killing his own family members? Is God part of that? Yeah, God's in control of all of that.
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God's given those men the authority for whatever purposes we do not know.
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So what do we render to Caesar? I'll tell you what we render to Caesar.
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Read lawful, respectful behavior and pay our taxes.
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If we fail to do that, what did he say? There's consequences, whatever those are.
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You don't obey the law, there's consequences, no matter who you are.
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There are exceptions in which we should disobey the law.
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There are.
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Paying our taxes is not one of them.
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Raising a revolt's not one of them.
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And I know that we come from a nation that was birthed out of a revolt, and I'm thankful for it.
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But you understand, we were required by God to submit to the governing authorities.
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Civil disobedience can at times cost you your life.
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Daniel chapter three, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
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Nebuchadnezzar, madder than a hornet, so mad they say his face changed.
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He made a furnace of fire because those men would not bow down and worship the golden image that he had made up.
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And what did they say? Told him, we know God, we love God, we're not gonna bow down to your image, and if you wanna put us in a fiery furnace, go right ahead.
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Our God is able to save us.
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But if he doesn't, we will not bow.
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Now, we have a happy ending to that.
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Those men did not get smoked.
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The people next to the furnace got smoked.
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And we also have a happy ending with Daniel, when he's thrown into the lion's den.
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But what about those men and women today that are huddled up in a place being civil disobedience to the gathering together of God's people, knowing that the women and children could be raped and murdered, sold into slavery, and beheaded? There is a time to disobey, and it's when that, those actions of the government come in conflict with the direct, revealed will of God.
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Then we can disobey, but we will suffer the consequence.
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But that's not the meaning of this text.
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Civil disobedience is not the meaning of this text.
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The meaning of this text today is to render to God the things that are God.
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The Pharisees and the Herodians, they wanted to talk about taxes and all of these other nonsensical things that don't amount to anything on the day of judgment.
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The denarius had an image of Caesar on it, therefore, give it to him.
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It's his.
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Let him do what he wants to with it.
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But you and me are image bearers of God.
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Look, for five days, in the beginning, let there be light, and then God began to create all kinds of things, birds, and beetles, and fish, and whatever else you can imagine.
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But on that sixth day, he made a crowning creation, and it was you and I.
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And who in the Garden of Eden did he put his image in? He put his image and imprinted it on Adam and on Eve.
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Therefore, you and I are image bearers of God to a certain degree.
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But because of the fall, our image has been wrecked.
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We have been wrecked.
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John Hearst isn't here today, but John Hearst is a vehicular homicide detective.
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He comes to a collision of two cars that come together.
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Beautiful cars.
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He can walk up to those things and go, that was a Lexus, and that was a whatever, Honda.
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He can see that.
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But did it look the way it looked when it left, when it was made? No, it's completely wrecked, and twisted, and burned, and there's nothing but carnage and death.
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Well, that's what sin has done to the image of God in us.
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Is God, are we the image imprinted on each and every one of us? Yes, but it's tainted.
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It's corrupt.
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That does not mean that we're negated from, we have a free pass to get away from the chief end of man is to know, and honor, and enjoy God, and reflect His glory.
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That command is still here, but that's why Jesus came.
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He came to take that very image and whiteness that was wrecked in the Garden of Eden, and to make it new.
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That is the reason why He came.
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Man is unique.
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We're unique in the sense that we have a mind that we can know God.
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We have a heart to love God, and we have a will that we can obey God.
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That's what He gave Adam in the Garden of Eden.
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But now, because of the fall, that's all been wrecked.
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Look, your pets, everybody loves their pets, but look, your pet does not have a mind to know God.
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And all good dogs don't go to heaven, sorry.
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He did not give a heart to your animal, or your pet, to love God.
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He didn't give the animal a will to obey God.
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They're instinctive, they do what they do.
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They run around, they eat whatever's on the floor, and then they leave the remnant somewhere on the floor.
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Okay, that's what they do.
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But Adam's sin ruined us, and every descendant from Adam is more in likeness with the image of Adam than he is with the image of God.
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That's why when you read Genesis chapter five, beginning in verse three, it says, and then he began to have children in his likeness, not God's likeness.
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Cain was in a likeness of Adam's fallen, sinful condition.
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Seth, Abel, all of them, every one of them down to you and me.
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Through this image that has fallen and wrecked, God has made a way for us to render ourselves to Him.
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That is through salvation.
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Salvation is the restoration act by which God takes sinners and then begins not to reform them, but to make them new.
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That's what God does.
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He doesn't take sinners and clean them up.
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Look, there'll be a lot of people on the day of judgment that quit smoking reefer and shooting dope, drinking and all of that.
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Be sober as all get out, love their wives, love their kid, pay their taxes.
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And he'll say, depart from me, I never knew you.
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I'm all for living a good moral, I'm all for that.
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But morality doesn't save.
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Morality doesn't do anything, but let you trust in your morality and condemn you to hell.
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The new birth, you can receive a new mind, a new heart and a new will.
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Look, I don't know how many cemeteries you've been to, ask that person that you buried to get up.
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It has no ability.
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Neither do you have the ability to do the good that God requires.
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Therefore, God gives you the gift of regeneration, waking you up, gives you the gift of repentance and gives you the gift of faith so that you can obey him, follow him and submit to him.
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The book of Colossians says this, put on the new man for it is renewed in the knowledge according to the image of Christ.
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We're not Christ like, but we have that promise.
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That whom he foreknew, whom he called, he foreknew and whom he foreknew, he predestined.
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Whom he predestined, he justified and whom he justified, he will sanctify and praise be to God in heaven.
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Those whom he did that to, he will glorify us and on that day, we will be just like Christ.
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But I ain't today.
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But I ain't today.
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Justification is that one time forensic declaration where God declares you acquitted of your sins and gives you the gift of righteousness that can only be given through Christ.
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The sanctification is the working out of the Holy Spirit and the life of the believer conforming him more into the image of his son.
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And the glorification is either on that day when he splits that Eastern sky and he comes down with a flaming sword to judge the living and the dead or before they throw dirt on us or put us in an incinerator.
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We will be glorified and we will be just like Christ.
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You will not be God, but you will be perfect man.
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You will be glorified man with a new body with no baldened head, no bad eyes, no bad back.
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Do you not hear the call of repentance in this? Just honestly, do you not hear it? One, you didn't make yourself.
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How many people made themselves? Okay, make sure nobody was gonna be slick and raise their hand.
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You did not make yourself.
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God formed you in your mother's womb.
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You didn't create yourself.
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You're not a self-made man.
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You didn't create the job that you got.
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I'll even say this.
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Why were you born here instead in the Sudan? Because God put you here.
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And that's the loving kindness of God.
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Young man, young boy, young girl, why do you have a parent that loves and cares for you and doesn't abuse you and molest you and sexually assault you? Because God cares for you and he has put you in a place to where you can be loved and have compassion and concern, but that's still not saving faith.
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When you do not take that loving kindness of God that he has put you in and you do not turn to him through repentance and faith, the Bible says you are storing up wrath for the day of wrath and when the righteous judgment of God will be revealed.
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Every time you take that breath and you don't bow your knee to King Jesus and you don't render to God what is God, you are taking that damn and you're just storing up that wrath.
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It's like taking that coin and putting it to the bank of wrath and it's storing up wrath and that principle is compounding interest daily.
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That's why it's important and very, I would plead with you, turn to Christ today.
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If you are here today and you do not know Christ, you have to turn to him.
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Quit serving yourself.
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You can't save yourself.
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It's easy to see we're all sinful.
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Nobody in here is perfect and God's demand is perfection.
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God's demand is you turn to him.
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Psalm 116 verses 12 through 14 and I'll shut my mouth.
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What shall I render to the Lord for all of this benefits that he has given me? Here's the answer.
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I will take up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.
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I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all of his people.
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You owe the Redeemer the lifting up of the empty hands of faith to receive salvation from him.
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God created you and he created you for one purpose, to glorify him and you will glorify him.
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You will bow your knee to King Jesus.
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Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
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You will do it today in this life to your salvation or you will do it on the day of judgment.
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You will bow to your condemnation when he baseball pitches you into the lake of fire.
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That's what it says.
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It says he will cast them into the lake of fire.
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Hey, I'm sorry.
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No, no, no.
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He's gonna do it with justice.
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Then you're to call upon his name.
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You're to express gratitude and thankfulness to his loving kindness that he has shown on you.
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Understand that God, he is a loving God, but his love does not supersede all of his other attributes.
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Does God love you? Yes, does God love the people in hell today? You better believe it.
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Do they experience the love of God today? No, they do not.
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And you will pay your vow to the Lord.
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Give your life to the Lord.
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Submit to his leadership.
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Submit in him and obedience through repentance and faith.
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I would pray to you today, give your life to God because whose impression is on you? Whose inscription and image has been given to you? Give to God what is God's.
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Let's pray.
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Father God, we thank you for your word.
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We thank you that Jesus was not some lint-wristed man walking around with a flowing robe, trying to avoid confrontation, cowering in the corner from the religious leaders.
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But Father, when they came, he spoke with boldness and with clarity.
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He even says that they walked away marveled, marveled, astonished, some of them even frightened.
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Father, I pray that today would be the day of salvation for those that are in this room.
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Father, I pray for our children in here that do not know you.
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And they are here, raised up with godly parents that love the Lord, love your word, love their family.
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God, I pray that they would not trust in the faith and the conversion of their own parents.
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Father, it cannot save them.
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I pray for the middle-aged man in here that does not know you.
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And Father, they are here today.
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For the middle-aged woman that does not know you, I pray that you would save her today.
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For the older man and older woman that are here today that do not know you.
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Father, the older they get, the harder the heart gets.
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The ears don't hear like they used to.
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The eyes don't see the things that they used to see.
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They become calloused, sitting in a church chair, sitting in a church pew is not salvation.
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Father God, I pray today that you would terrify them in your wrath.
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I pray you would make their heart tremble.
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Or Father, if you so choose, I pray that you would melt that hard heart with your loving kindness.
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Father, we love you.
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We thank you for the example that you gave us in this passage to submit to the leaders that are over us.
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Above us.
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And to give to those that is honored.
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Whatever is theirs, give it to them.
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But Father, we are to give ourselves to you daily.
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Father, give us the strength and the power of your spirit to take up that cross and die daily.
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Father God, I know I need help.
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Father, sometimes that cross is much to bear and it's not a job, it's not people.
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Father, it's my own sinful condition.
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Father God, I pray today that you would change hearts and transform lives through the power of your spirit.
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In Jesus' name, amen.