He Gave His Word (John 14:1-14 Jeff Kliewer)

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Sermon Notes: notes.cornerstonesj.org He Gave His Word

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Good morning everyone. Good morning. How are you this morning?
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Thank you for coming to Cornerstone Church. We're going to start our service this morning with a song. We've got a lot going on this morning, exciting things.
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So if you could stand with me. Reaches of heaven, starry eyes, lights of the evening, dancing in silent skies, brilliance of morning, breaking day.
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O let them praise Him, praise
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His name. O praise
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His name, O praise His name, that all
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His wondrous works declare
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His praise. Mightiest mountains, peaceful place, snowfall and fire, thundering ocean waves, kings and their kingdoms, age to age.
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O let them praise Him, praise His name.
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O praise His name,
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O praise His name, that all
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His wondrous works declare
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His praise. O praise His name,
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O praise His name, that all
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His wondrous works declare His praise.
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Kinged, enthroned in majesty, all things made by His decree, hear creation's melody.
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Praise Him, praise Him, everything with life and breath, everywhere from east to west, every heart raised from the grave.
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Praise Him, praise Him, echoes through the refrain,
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Jesus left for sinners slain. Name above all other names, praise
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Him. O praise His name,
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O praise His name, that all
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His wondrous works declare His praise.
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O praise His name, O praise
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His name, that all His wondrous works declare
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His praise. You may be seated.
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Again, I welcome you to Cornerstone Church. We're glad that you're here this morning.
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We have a couple things going on this morning that are really exciting. Bob, will you make sure that Kathy knows to bring on the
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Stones Cry Out. So, Stones Cry Out, our children's music ministry worship team, they are going to come up and they're going to share two songs with us.
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Before they do that, I want to make sure that everyone knows about our Connect Cards. Our Connect Cards are just a simple way to get some information from you so we can thank you for being here.
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If you're new here, you've never been here before, you've been here a couple times, you haven't filled out one of these Connect Cards, it'd be great to get these into your hand.
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So if you slip up your hand real quick, I'll have someone come around and hand you one with a pen and you can fill that out and just let us know that you're here.
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And if we can be of any service to you, we would love to get to know you more.
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We'll just send you a thank you note thanking you for coming today. And if you have a prayer request, you can put that on that card, you can give it to one of the people that are on the platform, including myself, or put it in the offering box, the black box that's sitting on the wall in the back, you can slip that in there.
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And you'll be able to do that when you're finished filling that out or after the service.
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Here they come. Another thing I want to mention is our Church Center app.
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If you're not on the Church Center app, be sure to download that, look for Cornerstone Church, put your information in.
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That has every announcement that we go over in the service or in Pastor Jeff's email that comes out weekly, all of that is on that app, including sermon notes, videos from last sermons, all that good stuff is all there.
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So if you download that app, that's great. You're almost ready to go.
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This is the
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Stones Cry Out once again. They did an amazing job. Looks like Chrissy was the star of the show.
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She never did those moves before, but she did a really good job. We dropped a couple, but that's okay.
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But I also just wanted to take this time to say thank you, not only to Mrs. Appleton, Kathy Appleton, but also all the
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Sunday School teachers that teach these kids every single week. The Bible says that if you keep
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God's commands and teach others to do the same, you'll be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. And how much greater than to teach the greatest in the
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Kingdom of Heaven? But I also was blessed to go to two funerals this year, and I say that because it's better to go to a house of mourning than a house of feasting, and God really showed me how important it is to have a strong woman in your life, a strong woman of faith.
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It's so important for family, but also for church family, and Kathy is very much that for me and for a lot of people, so I just want to say thank you.
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There are those moments where it is so evident, the power and the love of God and just the working of the
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Holy Spirit in lives. I think of the families that are represented by these children and the reality that these children are so in love with God, and I firmly believe it's because as parents, you exhibit that, you train them, and you show them.
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Towards the end, Jesus is on a hillside with his disciples, and he says, you will receive power after that the
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Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses, and then he descended back up into the
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Father. We as his believers, as with those children, we have the
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Holy Spirit, and that Holy Spirit is a gift given to us to change us, but there's a couple of things
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I want to highlight out of the book of Proverbs. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you.
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Let me read that again. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you, but bind them around your neck and write them on the tablet of your heart.
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Our calling is to have this love that God has given to us, the message of truth, of salvation.
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Don't forsake them. Do not let them be something of the sidelight.
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Wear them around your neck, and to me that says, if I were to have a medallion around my neck, let's say that I were a great athlete and I had won a first place, and I had this medallion around my neck, and people saw it, they would say, that's a great athlete.
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We wear the truth of God around our neck for the world to see, and then it gives us the opportunity to talk, and it also says bind it, write it on the tablet of your heart, so that wherever you go, whatever you do, you have that truth of God going with you.
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The falsehoods of Satan cannot stop you because you've written that truth in the tablet of your heart.
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I have some announcements. First of all, next Sunday, or I'm sorry, no, tomorrow, we will have our fourth,
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Philip is leading us in a great series on evangelism, and tomorrow will be the fourth, the closing session.
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I know you're excited to hear where he's going to take us next, and how we can use that, reaching out into the lost world.
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So, Philip, thank you for doing this for us. Next week, many things are going to happen. Starting on Sunday, we are going to have our baptism service.
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Following second service, it will be right there out on our property. A great opportunity because there are those individuals who are ready to proclaim their faith in the waters of baptism for the world to see.
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Let's be there to encourage them, and as they encourage us. We're also going to break bread together in a fellowship dinner.
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I understand there's going to be some hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, but please consider this a pot faith.
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Michael told me it's called a pot faith, not pot luck, pot faith. Bring a dish that you can have and you can share with others, and we can have an amazing time of fellowship out there.
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I announced this last week, I'm going to do it again, and you're going to repeat after me. Our congregational meeting next week is going to be on Wednesday.
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What day is the congregational meeting next week? Thank you. If you show up Monday, you can come and pray, but the meeting will be on Wednesday at 7 o 'clock.
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Please join us. We have some information to share, we have membership to vote on, so join us on Wednesday.
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And then on Saturday is our cleanup day. It got rained out in May, so we're planning it again for Saturday.
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Gentlemen, tomorrow morning, set your clocks early for our time of fellowship, our 6 o 'clock fellowship breakfast.
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The next VBS planning meeting is not going to be today, can't be next week because of the baptism, so the next
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VBS planning meeting will be in a couple of weeks on the 18th, following second service.
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Please join us tonight for our evening of prayer at 6 o 'clock, and I'd also like to encourage you to consider the ushers are needing additional numbers.
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If you are interested in ministering here as an usher, Bob Nichols, any one of the other deacons, you can see them, but please contact us, and it's a great ministry.
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It was an amazing day yesterday as we celebrated the life of Loretta.
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We know that she is in glory. This afternoon at 1 o 'clock in the
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Mount Laurel Home for Funerals, the life of David Michael will be celebrated in a memorial service, and all are invited.
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Again, that's 1 o 'clock, the Mount Laurel Home for Funerals. Let's turn to prayer. Lord, we thank you, and we thank the
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Father that we can be called your child. Lord, we confess our sin, that we in and of ourselves are not worthy, but we know,
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Lord, and we praise you for sending your Son, who shed blood, cleanses us from our sins, that we can be called your
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Father. And as Proverbs 3 encourages us to bind your steadfast love and faithfulness around our necks for all to see, that is our desire, that our testimony would be so obvious, and that your word would be so deep in our heart that we could carry it in all aspects of life.
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Lord, we do live with a hope that does not fail. We live with that hope that Loretta and David are experiencing even right now.
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One day, Lord, we know we will be with you in glory, and we praise you. Be with those,
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O Lord, who grieve not without hope, but they are grieving. Be with those who are in need, and be with Pastor Jeff as he brings your word to us and open the eyes of our hearts that we may hear in Jesus' name.
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Amen. We have a special guest who wants to share a song with us this morning.
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Lillian? I just want to speak the name of Jesus And when my heart's broken
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To carry the heavy load that bears me
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I still choose the light
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Because your name is power Your name is grace
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Let's give another round. It was wonderful to hear. God bless her. What a wonderful, wonderful plan.
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It's wonderful. Earlier service, I was reciting Psalm 100.
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If you have a chance, look that up. Make a joyful noise to the Lord. And it's a wonderful gift for someone to sing in his honor and his glory.
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Wonderful worship. Which brings us to this. Every month we do this.
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Why take communion? You ever think about that? Like, why are we taking communion?
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Communion is not an obligation, but a celebration. And communion celebrates the gospel. Jesus was broken for us so that we can be fixed by him.
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Celebrating communion marks the story of Jesus, how he gave himself completely to give us a better life, a new start, a fresh relationship with God.
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And the Lord's Supper can be traced back to the Gospels all across Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
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And his prophecy was fulfilled in Malachi 1, 10 -11.
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It says, Oh, that there were one among you who would shut the door that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain.
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I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts. I will not accept an offering from your hand.
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For from the rising of the sun to its setting, my name will be great among the nation, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, a pure offering.
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For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. And some biblical scholars believe that these verses in Malachi point to the establishment of practicing communion.
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The Book of Malachi is believed to have been written after Babylonians allowed the Jews to return back to the homeland around 450
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B .C. But the question still remains, why take communion? And as I said earlier,
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I've gotten older. I've seen the way people sometimes approach communion.
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It's kind of like a box being checked off. It's something we do, kind of gathering. But I have a few observations of my own about communion.
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One is it's a reminder of death and then life. Yesterday, we celebrated the life of Loretta Petty.
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Today, we celebrate David Michaels. Both are with the Lord. Both are in glory, living in true joy.
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Now, if we have died with Christ, we believe that we also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again.
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Death no longer has dominion over him, Romans 6, 8 to 9. Another thing is, we are not alone.
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We do this with our brothers and sisters, communion of the saints. Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing, 1
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Thessalonians 5, 11. Another part of it is the self -examination of who we are.
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A measured examination of your life. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread and drinks the cup of the
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Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty, considering the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then so eat the bread and drink the cup.
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For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.
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But still there's other things, right? Divine requests God asks us to. For in one spirit we are all baptized into one body.
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Jews, Greeks, slaves are free. And all we are made to drink of one spirit, 1 Corinthians 12, 13.
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And for us, here, it's a tiny piece of heaven. Here on earth, we see a tiny glimpse of the glory given to us.
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But our citizenship is in heaven. And from that, we await the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly bodies to be like the glorious body by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself,
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Philippians 3, 20 -21. And hopefully with all this is that we're knowing that God is holy.
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A reminder of who God is. And who we are. And we are not God. There is none holy like the
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Lord. For there is none besides you. There is no rock like our God, 1 Samuel 2, 2.
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But still we rejoice. We celebrate here. We're rejoicing as above.
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We rejoice here at the sacrifice that Jesus did for us. Rejoice in the Lord always.
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Again, I say rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand,
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Philippians 4, 4, 5. And then there's those in Christ. You understand the significance.
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Only those in Christ truly understand what we're doing. For in him the wholefulness of the deity dwells bodily.
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You have been filled in him who is the head of the rule and authority, Colossians 2, 9 -10.
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And the wonderful thing is our family surrounds us. The saints you see all around you, all around us.
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You will see forever. You're all family. Brothers and sisters in Christ. For the love of Christ controls us.
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Because we have concluded this. That one has died for all. Therefore all have died.
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And he died for all. That those who live might no longer live for themselves.
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For him who for their sake died and was raised, 2
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Corinthians 5, 14 -15. And finally, this is our public declaration to the world.
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It's our public testimony. A public expression of eternal joy of his gift.
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Whoever believes in the son of man has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe in God has made him a liar.
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Because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his son.
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1 John 5 -10. So there's many things that happen when we take communion.
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And thank the Lord that we are able to celebrate what he did for us on the cross. Let's pray.
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Father, we thank you, Lord. The immeasurable love and mercy that you've done.
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By sending your son to come down and take our sin.
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He wounded himself. Died on the cross. Was raised on the third day. And for that, we are forever eternally grateful,
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Lord. Thank you, Lord, for this church. For this body. For our brothers and sisters here.
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Let's partake in celebrating what you've done for us. In your name, Jesus Christ, amen. How blessed have we been today?
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To be able to partake of the Lord's table. We're welcomed there, not by any merit of our own, but by the blood of the
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Lamb. It's his work for us. And then to enjoy the song and the children. Just the glory of what happens here.
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This is a gift, and we should be thankful. Let's pray. Father, thank you for this church family.
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Thank you for the love that we have, one for another. Thank you for the gift of taking the
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Lord's table. That we would remember you. And that we would be nourished that way, spiritually.
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And thank you for the children. We pray blessing on them. Pray that they would grow in wisdom. And Lord, now as we open the word, we thank you for your promises.
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Exceeding great and precious promises have been given unto us. And we pray that we would take those and hold on to the promises.
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I pray for help now, Lord, that you would strengthen me to bring your word. And we pray for those who hear that we would be hearers and also doers of the word.
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In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Turn in your Bibles with me to Mark chapter 16, verses 17 and 18.
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We'll spend just a moment at this passage before spending the majority of our time in John 14 today.
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Mark chapter 16, verses 17 and 18, read this way. And these signs will accompany those who believe.
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In my name, they will cast out demons. They will speak in new tongues.
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They will pick up serpents with their hands. And if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them.
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They will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.
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Based on the passage that we just read, I ask you, do you have a promise from God of infinite immunity to snake bites?
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From this passage, are you forever immune from the poison of the snake?
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Much mischief has been done as a consequence of poor listening. Let's listen carefully to this passage.
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It is a descriptive passage, not a prescriptive one, meaning there is no command prescribing for you to pick up snakes.
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Neither is there a prescription to drink poison. However, it does describe the church as a whole with particular emphasis, although not exclusively focusing upon the apostles.
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It does say that these signs would accompany those who believe.
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Not just the apostles, but those who believe the testimony of the apostles that we would see in the name of Jesus the casting out of demons, speaking in tongues, picking up serpents with the hand, drinking of poison,
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I think unknowingly as someone sought to poison or harm a Christian, and it will not hurt them.
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They will lay hands on the sick and they will recover. This is descriptive of what
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God has done in the history of the church, particularly in the apostles.
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We know the story of Paul when he went to the island of Malta. And after an incredible adventure where the ship was wrecked, and it was miraculous even that he and his friends escaped the shipwreck, they came to the island, and what happens?
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But a serpent, a snake, comes out of the firewood and fixes itself to the hand of Paul the apostle.
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And Paul simply holds that snake over the fire, shakes it off into the fire, and suffers no ill effects from the snake bite.
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Incredible story. But what was so amazing about this story is not just the miracle that the poisonous snake, which the islanders fully knew was poisonous.
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They were watching him for him to keel over any second, and he just went on about his way.
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What was truly miraculous, though, was that island, led by the governor, turned from pagan idolatry to trust in the living
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God. Salvation of an island, of all of these islanders at Malta putting their faith in Christ.
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It was an incredible miracle, and I'm not speaking of the snake incident.
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George Hensley was born in the late 1800s, living in the
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Appalachian Mountains. Once at a coal mine, he saw a man handling a snake and not being bit.
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And he began to question his own salvation because he wondered if he could handle a snake and not be killed by it.
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So that day, he took up a snake for the first time and survived the ordeal, learning to handle snakes.
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He went back and began to tell his church that to prove their faith and to show that they were genuinely saved, they needed to handle snakes.
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George Hensley would take this show on the road as a snake handler and move all about the country until in 1955, in Calhoun County, Florida, he was handling a snake, was bitten, and quickly died.
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A sad story, but one that has been repeated at least 100 times since the advent of Pentecostalism entering the
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Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee and West Virginia. At least 100 people have died from this handling of snakes.
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They'll take copperheads or cottonmouths or rattlesnakes and hold them in the church, passing them around.
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In 2014, Pastor Jamie Kutz died after refusing treatment, believing that God would heal him from one of these snake bites.
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Just in 2018, there's video now of his son, Cody Kutz, taking on the legacy of his father.
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And it's a horrifying scene to see that the snake strikes him and he's bleeding profusely. And it's only because people in the church brought him to a hospital and got him the necessary medical treatment that he even survived.
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In 2020, a documentary was filmed in which someone traveling through West Virginia went to see
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Pastor Harvey Payne, who is a snake handler. The church is called
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With Signs Following, and they mean to demonstrate the power of God to protect against the snakes.
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But as this documentary filmmaker entered the building, he noticed something interesting on the door.
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It was at the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020, and the sign read, please follow
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CDC guidelines. Please social distance six feet apart.
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Wear masks while inside the church. No handshaking or hugging. Frequent hand washing.
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And then it said, thank you for cooperating with our efforts in keeping the church safe.
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Meanwhile, they handle snakes on the inside. Now, I don't recount this story to warn you about the snake handling churches of West Virginia.
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I don't suspect anybody here is susceptible to falling into that trap.
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There's about a hundred of these churches in the Appalachian Mountains. But I do raise the story because many people misuse scripture by making prescriptive what is meant to be descriptive.
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And there is a certain amount of hubris, pride that goes before the fall.
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I think there is a large overestimation of the miraculous that the
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Pentecostal would think God is going to do in our lives. Our expectations should be focused on the word of God as it's meant in context.
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R .C. Sproul said, you don't have to give up your intellect to trust the Bible. You have to give up your pride.
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And I think that the snake handlers, as I've listened to some of them preach, they're actually not unintelligent, but they are prideful.
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I see a profound level of false teaching coming from the
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Pentecostal movement. There are many who, in their pride, believe that the works that they will do, supernatural miracles, will be greater than the works that Jesus did.
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There is a command given in the book of Matthew to heal the sick and raise the dead and cleanse the leper.
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This is recorded in Matthew 10, verse 8. And the teaching within the Pentecostal church, and this is not just a few word -faith heretics at the far outskirt, but very many within the movement.
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They will say that that verse in Matthew 10, verse 8, does not say, pray for the sick.
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It says, heal the sick. Which means if you're merely asking God to do it and not healing them, you're lacking faith.
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You're asking God to do what he told you to do. They will then go to Matthew 28, verse 20, and say that we are to teach everything that Jesus has commanded.
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And in that, they would argue, that this includes the command that you must heal the sick.
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And if you don't, that means that you are not walking in the fullness of faith. However, in the book of Matthew, chapter 14, we also know that Peter said to Jesus, command me to walk on water.
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And Jesus said, come, commanding him to walk on water. In that particular incident,
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Peter walked on water. Now, does this mean that you as a Christian need to walk on water?
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After all, it was commanded in the book of Matthew. If Matthew 28, verse 20 is meant to communicate that every command written in the book is therefore directly applicable to us, then
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I think everybody in this church should be walking on water. And to be consistent, according to Matthew, chapter 16, we should all be handling snakes.
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If we are to take the descriptive elements of scripture and make them prescriptive.
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How we handle the scripture is very important to God. Turn with me now to the book of John, chapter 14.
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We will address in verses 12 to 14, one of the most misunderstood passages in the
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New Testament. And one that has led many to chase after signs while neglecting something of the sign giver.
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Chasing the miraculous, but missing the words of the one who performs miracles.
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Interestingly, Peter, in the books that he wrote, and John in his epistles, and also in his gospel in the book of Revelation.
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And Paul who wrote 13 New Testament books. Nowhere command you to heal the sick.
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They do command you to love one another. There are many commands in the epistles.
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But when Paul speaks of the illness of Timothy, in 1
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Timothy chapter 5, verse 23. He says, take a little wine for your stomach.
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Because of your frequent ailments. He does not declare that it is
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God's will always to heal. You find that nowhere in the instructions to the church.
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Jesus has given us his word, but I want you to understand. When Jesus gives his word, it is sure and absolutely will happen.
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It is steadfast. It is an anchor that is behind the veil. Where Jesus has gone is our forerunner, and everything that he has promised us is yes and amen.
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So for us to be able to understand what has been promised to us, is the key to the walk of faith.
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If we try to press Jesus to do what he has not promised, he is not obligated to do as we ask.
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Jesus gave us his word, and he promised to go to heaven and to prepare a place for us.
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That where he is, we would also be. And he promised to come back and retrieve us and bring us to himself.
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This is a sure promise from God. Church, everything that Jesus promised is yes and amen.
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We must be careful to discern what that is. Now, the word of man is not reliable.
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God even says, let God be true and every man a liar. Judas Iscariot was the archetype of a liar, of a betrayer.
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In the gospel of John, chapter 6, verse 66 and following, everybody departed from Jesus, except for the 12 apostles.
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And Jesus said, do you want to leave too? Peter spoke up for the group and said, to whom else would we go?
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You have the words of life. And we have come to know and to believe that you are the
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Holy One of God. There in that context, Judas Iscariot was nodding his head.
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He was joining in the we. We have come to know that you are the
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Holy One of God. But in Judas' heart, he did not believe that Jesus was the
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Holy One of God. And Jesus knew that. At the end of John 6, he says, one of you is a devil.
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He knew that Judas was a liar all along. And in John, chapter 13, we see that betrayal come to fruition.
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Judas will betray Christ. He's a liar. He is unfaithful.
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What he said and what he pledged in the we of John 6, he denies later.
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He is unfaithful. And even Peter at the end of John 13, verses 37 and 38, says,
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Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you. Peter said he would lay down his life.
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And Jesus answered, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.
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So the end of John 13 is about the unfaithfulness of man. And therefore, as we come in to John 14, we see the faithfulness of Jesus.
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Highlighted in contrast, it says in John 14, we begin reading, 1 to 3, let not your hearts be troubled.
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Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my
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Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would
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I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you,
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I will come again and will take you to myself. That where I am, you may be also.
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Notice here in the first three verses that he gave us his word of promise.
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He has promised to go and prepare a place for us that where he is, we would be also.
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What else does he promise in this verse? Second half of verse 2, if it were not so, would
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I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? He's emphasizing that he's told them this before.
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I've told you, and I will be sure to do as I said.
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And then in verse 3, if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself.
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That where I am, there you may be also. This, church, is a promise.
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This is a word of promise. It is sure and steadfast, and Jesus is emphasizing here, if it weren't the case,
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I would not have said it. You can trust this word of promise. Well, how does he prepare a place for us?
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Many times as I've thought about what this looks like, I've pictured him ascending to the right hand of the father, and then taking up hammer and nail and building a nice room for each of us on the father's mansion.
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Is that how you picture it? There may be some truth to that, a physical place in the eternal kingdom that he's preparing for us.
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But the most important work that Jesus accomplished to prepare a place for us in glory is the work of the cross.
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It was the hammer in the soldier's hands and the nails driven through his wrists and through his ankles, securing him to the cross that secured our destiny in heaven.
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This was the work of preparation to make us fit, that we would become living stones, holy and pure, fit to belong to the temple of God.
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The work of preparation was primarily, and first and foremost, the cross on which he died.
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He had to go and die for us to make us fit for the kingdom of God. If it were not for his death on the cross, none of us would be clothed in righteousness.
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None of us would be ready and able to go into the mansion in the sky.
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It required his death at Calvary. This he did for us to prepare a place for us, and we can be sure our inheritance is waiting there.
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This is a word of promise. Now, as we move on, notice next Thomas, given the moniker
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Doubting Thomas, but not deserved. Here in the passage, it's actually
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Philip who should be called Doubting Philip. Jesus will mildly rebuke
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Thomas here, but save a stronger rebuke for Philip.
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So, verses four to seven, we look at Thomas. And you know the way to where I am going.
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Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?
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Before we answer that question, look at the issue.
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The issue is that Thomas doesn't know. He doesn't understand. Jesus said, you know the way, and he's thinking in his mind, where are you going?
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No, I'm not tracking with you. Are you going to Rome? Are you going to Galilee? Are you going to...
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I don't know where you're going. How can I know the way? He's lacking understanding.
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Notice in the verse from four to seven, how many times the word know is repeated.
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This emphasizes the word of knowledge. The word of knowledge. Church, we are responsible to know the truth.
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And we are responsible to accept what is true. Thomas here did not know.
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He needed a word of knowledge, and Jesus brings that, saying, I am the way and the truth and the life.
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And now he directly answers the question. He gives Thomas the knowledge that he was lacking.
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Where was Jesus going? Answer, to the father. The point of this passage from John 1,
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John 14, verse one through verse 14, is the revelation of the father and the way to be with him.
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The revelation of how to get to the father. Notice in verses one to three, there's a place prepared in heaven.
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It is with the father. Believe in the father. Believe also in the son. It is the father's house.
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How do you know the father? How do you get to the father? That's the point of John 14, one to 14.
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The answer is through faith in Jesus. I am the way and the truth and the life.
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And no one comes to the father except through me. If you haven't yet memorized this verse, now is the time to do it.
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Everyone should memorize John 14, six. Reveals the way to the father.
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The way to have eternal life. But notice in verse eight through 11, Philip has been irresponsible as a listener.
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And so what we have next after the word of promise and then a word of knowledge, here you have a word of rebuke.
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A word of rebuke. He's rebuked because he's not listening carefully.
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He's not following the flow of the text, as it were. Church, we're responsible to understand the meaning of scripture as it's given.
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But here, Philip will be rebuked with three questions, and they're piercing.
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Let's read them. He said to him, Philip said to the Lord, Lord, show us the father, and it is enough for us.
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Seem innocent enough of a question? Show us the father? We want to get to the father?
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But Jesus had just said in verse seven, from now on you do know him and have seen him.
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He had just told Thomas the revelation of the father is in seeing the son.
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Hebrews 1, 3, the son is the exact imprint of the father, the exact representation of his nature, upholding all things by the word of his power.
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Or John, in the prologue, in chapter one, verse 18, says no one has ever seen
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God, speaking of the father. But the only God who is at the father's side, speaking of the son, who is also
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God, has made him known. The point that John is making here is that the father is revealed in the son.
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And the way to see God is to believe in the son. And Thomas wasn't getting that.
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He didn't have the revelation of the father through the son. And so Jesus mildly rebukes him in verse seven.
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If you had known me, you would have known my father also. You see that? Implying, Thomas, you're not quite seeing it yet.
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You don't know what you're seeing in the flesh. Thomas wasn't getting it.
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But now Philip, rather than listening carefully and following the flow, he gets out over his skis a little bit.
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And he asks a question that will itself receive three questions in response.
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And they are a rebuke. Lord, show us the father. It is enough for us. In other words, it's not quite enough what we've heard from you here.
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Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long? Doubting Philip.
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And still you do not know me. Philip, whoever has seen me has seen the father.
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There it is. That's what he was missing. The revelation of the father. Whoever has seen me has seen the father.
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Now that doesn't collapse the identity of father and son into one person.
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Because there's still a distinction. Even in the sentence itself. The father and the son are distinct persons.
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But the revelation of the father is by seeing the son. Meaning that he shares all the attributes of God.
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The essence of God. The nature of God. When you look at Jesus, you're looking at God. That's the point.
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You shouldn't look for something more. You're seeing God in the flesh right before your eyes.
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Whoever has seen me has seen the father. That's the point. How can you say, show us the father?
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It's a rebuke. Do you not believe that I am in the father? And the father is in me.
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The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own authority. But the father who dwells in me does his works.
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Believe me. That I am in the father and the father is in me. Or else, believe on account of the works themselves.
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So you have the words and the works of Christ. One of the greatest books that I've read was by Dwight Pentecost.
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Called the words and works of Jesus. And it just traces all that he said and all that he did.
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The works here refers to his miracles. Walking on water.
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Raising the dead. Cleansing the leper. Opening blind eyes and deaf ears. And multiplying bread to feed 5 ,000.
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The raising of Lazarus who had been dead for four days. The works of Christ reveal that he is
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God. That's the point. Do you see it in the text? Okay, now we can understand verses 12 to 14.
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Because without that context. And the repetition of father 15 times in these 14 verses.
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You may become a little man -centered. You may think that this passage is more about you than about him.
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Truly, truly, I say to you. Whoever believes in me. That's the issue.
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Faith in the son of God. Will also do the works that I do.
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Now that's interesting. Miracles in the church. Snakes shook into the fire.
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Peter walked on water for a time. To reveal the deity of Christ.
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And how many times have we prayed as I've been led communion. Who had been racked through with cancer.
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And is now here cancer -free. How many times have we seen answers to prayer? Miracles in the church.
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And all through the church age. And particularly evident in the apostles. Who would, like Peter and John in Acts chapter 3.
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Raise the cripple. Who had been begging at the gate beautiful. Yes, you will see this.
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As a church, as the body of Christ. Believers doing these works.
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But look at the next sentence. That has tripped some people up. And greater works than these will he do.
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Because I am going to the father. And the teaching that is rampant in our day.
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Is that this speaks of the quality and kind of miracle. That we should expect to be doing.
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In other words, if you are a faithful Christian. You shouldn't just be cleaning your pool. With a strainer.
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You should walk across to the other side. Without sinking. You should walk on water.
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I mean if Jesus did this and you should do greater. You should do a lot of walking on water. If we are talking about greater than.
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Right? If you've lost a loved one. What were you doing at their funeral morning?
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You should have been calling them out of their casket. Or Bethel church.
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As they prayed for a week over this dear girl Olive. Who died. Calling her and commanding her to rise.
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Because the command of Matthew 10 .8 is to heal the sick. The guilt trips laid on Christians.
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To do what only God can do. No the truth is. We are to pray in his name.
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Look what it says. And we'll get to that greater in just a second. Whatever you ask. In my name.
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In my name is crucial. Because it speaks to this larger paradigm. Of the revelation of the son.
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Of who he is. The identity of the son. As the only begotten of the father. If you're praying in his name.
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It's as to reveal who he is to the world. There's no other name given under heaven.
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By which men might be saved. It is about the name of Jesus. And to say to pray in his name.
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Also refers to submission to his authority. The name carries authority.
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It speaks to the will of Jesus. So if you're asking for anything that you just happen to will.
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Like a Lamborghini. He may not answer that prayer.
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Ironically. I remember growing up. And I don't know why I'll share this. But it's just really a fun story. My cousin
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Craig loved Lamborghinis. And he's always prayed for one.
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And believe it or not. Last week he won this thing called 8080. And was given a brand new blue Lamborghini.
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You can watch it on Facebook. It's really fun. Craig Boyle. I love that it happened.
01:22:25
But the point is. Church. Is not for you to pray for a Lamborghini. If God wants to answer that prayer.
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And for whatever reason. Glorify himself. In my cousin driving a Lamborghini. He can do that.
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He's free to do whatever he wants. But it is not a command. And here when we. That we can make of God.
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The father may be glorified in the son. If you ask me anything in my name. I will do it.
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That is not. A blanket promise. That no matter what your heart desires. Or whatever you pray.
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It will be done. In my name speaks to submission to his will.
01:23:02
And look at the context of verses 1 to 14. That will is revealed.
01:23:10
That Jesus is the way. The truth and the life. His will is the making known of the father.
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So the one who's going out to make known the father. By preaching the son can expect power. In their life and answers to prayer.
01:23:27
Oh how much I prayed for my sermon last week. Because I was nervous. Because it dealt in some controversial issues.
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So I was prayed up and asking for God's power. I didn't know what it would look like. But as I was talking about.
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Clarity with the gospel. First Corinthians 15. Three and four. And I was arguing.
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With a teacher. Who obfuscates that clarity. I made a statement that wasn't written in my notes.
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It just kind of came out of my head. I said. The blurring of clarity.
01:24:01
Is the compromising of truth. And as I said that. Church I want to tell you what was happening in my brain.
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What did I just say? I was thinking. Did that make sense? Do I need to correct that? It's not in my notes.
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I couldn't. And then I thought. No I think that's right. And then I went on with my sermon. It wasn't a planned statement.
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It just sort of came out. Well by the providence of God. There is a
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BTWN news. A friend of mine. Tim Hurd. Picked up on that line.
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And he put that sermon on his. His channel. And it got 16 ,000 views.
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Watching the sermon. And then our channel started to have a bunch of people watching it. And some other articles picked it up.
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And they're all quoting that line. The blurring of clarity. Is the compromising of truth.
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I didn't know what I was saying. When I said it. I mean it was in keeping with the point
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I was making. But the Lord gave me the words to say at the time. It was his work.
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And I'm just this broken vessel. That's trying to serve God. This is the kind of thing.
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That John 13. John 14. 12 to 14 is referring to. It is for the revelation of the father.
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Through the preaching of the son. That as we go about in his name. Doing these things.
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We can expect power in our ministry. We can expect answers to prayer. Yes we will see people healed.
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We can't demand it. And sometimes God will say no. There's no healing in the atonement.
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That we can make a command of God. And decree. You are healed.
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It's not what the passage is saying. You can ask. And you can pray.
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And you can call out humbly. Like a broken jar of clay. And see that the all -surpassing power comes from God.
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And not from us. Do you see what's happening in this passage? Our prayer will be powerful.
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It will be answered. In ways greater than we expect. So lastly. What are the greater works?
01:26:16
Look at verse 12. The Pentecostal movement has taught that the greater works. Are miracles that will even surpass.
01:26:25
The miracles of Jesus. The new apostolic reformation thinks we've entered into this era.
01:26:33
Where now we're going to begin to see things that even surpass. The quality of miracles that Jesus did.
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And in case you think that this is an obscure. Snake handling movement. In the mountains of West Virginia.
01:26:47
This is becoming. Large and dominant. In our culture.
01:26:54
And on Caleb. And in many different ways. The Pentecostal understanding of this verse.
01:27:01
Is very man -centered. And the greater things.
01:27:07
Are considered miracles that surpass. Those that Jesus performed. John Gill.
01:27:14
Is one of my favorite theologians. The expression.
01:27:21
As sure as John Gill is in his study. Such and such. Is happening.
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Meaning you could always find John Gill in his study. Right. I love his commentaries.
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His theology. He writes this. Greater works than these.
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Shall he do. Meaning. Not greater in nature.
01:27:45
And kind. But more in number. For the apostles.
01:27:51
In a long series of time. And course of years. Went about preaching the gospel.
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Not in Judea only. But in all the world. Listen. The conversion of a sinner.
01:28:04
Is a greater work. Than any of the miracles. Of raising the dead. Etc. John Gill says.
01:28:14
For this includes in it. All miracles. Here we may see a sinner.
01:28:20
Dead in trespasses and sins. Quickened. What's a greater miracle.
01:28:26
That Lazarus came out of the tomb. Or but that one who was dead. Spiritually.
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And would have spent eternity in hell. Is given life. And will live forever.
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Lazarus had to die again. It was the miracle of regeneration. That gave Lazarus eternal life.
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John Gill goes on. One born blind. May see.
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Were born blind. To the light of the gospel. Of the glory of Jesus Christ. Blind and unable to see.
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To have your eyes open. To be enlightened. With the message of Jesus Christ. Is a greater miracle.
01:29:09
Than the beggar at the gate. Upon whom Jesus made mud. And spit with a spittle.
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Put that in his eyes. Those eyes would once again. Go dark in his death.
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Many years later. But the opening of blind eyes. To see the glory of the sun.
01:29:27
Is a far greater miracle. John Gill says. One who was deaf. To the threatenings of the law.
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And to the charming voice of the gospel. Made to hear. The law is
01:29:39
God's tutor. To bring us to Christ. But many do not tremble at the law of God. Hold up the ten commandments.
01:29:46
And they laugh. But when the deaf ears are open spiritually.
01:29:52
The threatenings of the law. Weigh heavy on the heart. Of the sinner. And then the beautiful light of day.
01:30:00
The charming voice of the gospel. Comes to that trembling one. And they begin to hear.
01:30:05
And they believe. Faith comes by hearing. And hearing by the word of Christ.
01:30:13
It's a greater miracle. To preach the gospel. And they get saved. Than it is to open deaf ears.
01:30:21
I have heard many healing stories. In my day. And there are many that say.
01:30:27
I prayed on the mission field. Two thousand miles away. There was no video to see it.
01:30:34
But the deaf villager. His ears popped open. You know what that might be true.
01:30:40
God might have done that. God can do that. He does miracles.
01:30:45
I have no problem with that. It's not falsifiable. So therefore to me.
01:30:51
It's kind of a meaningless claim. Unless I really know that person. And trust that person. You know
01:30:57
Francis Chan has been telling these stories. I don't care. I don't know him. But when
01:31:02
I with my brother Phil. Am sharing the gospel. And you see those ears pop open.
01:31:08
And the sinner repents. And believes. I say that's a miracle that I care about. And that's an eternal one.
01:31:15
It matters so much more. Than whatever story you are hearing. From the mission field. Not to say that God won't do those miracles.
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He still does. Lastly. One that had the spreading leprosy of sin.
01:31:33
All over him. Cleansed from it. By the blood of the lamb.
01:31:39
Amen. John Gill. To what you said about Christ. I'd rather see the blood of Jesus.
01:31:45
Cleanse a sinner. Than to see a leper. Made clean.
01:31:52
So the point of John 14 .12. The greater works.
01:31:58
Are those of extent. If you think about it. In the life of Jesus. When he ascended from that mountain.
01:32:03
Only 500 people were standing witnessing. His resurrection. Just a short time later.
01:32:10
Days later. Peter preaches the gospel. And 3000 believe. And then a few days later 5000.
01:32:17
And then this gospel goes to Samaria. Through Judea Samaria.
01:32:22
And then to the ends of the earth. You see what's greater about that? The effect. Of the miracle.
01:32:30
See it's the Holy Spirit that is now. Changing the hearts of people. To reveal the father.
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That's the point of the passage. The revealing of the father. Through the preaching of the son.
01:32:42
In the power of the spirit. That's what's greater. It's not miracles.
01:32:48
Of kind and quality. You don't need to run across the ocean. To become a missionary.
01:32:53
To prove you do greater things. Than Jesus did. You need to sail in a ship.
01:33:00
Humbly. And be willing to lay down your life. For the gospel if need be. God still does great works.
01:33:08
And greater works than these. As understood in the passage. Let's pray. Father God we thank you for your word to us this morning.
01:33:17
This very misunderstood passage. So often ripped out of it's context.
01:33:23
But Lord you say that we are to know. You rebuked
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Thomas for not knowing. And you repeated that word know.
01:33:35
Know. Know. Again and again. And so Lord God we pray that we would have.
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Knowledge. A word of knowledge. God give us the word of knowledge. That we would know.
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What you say. For your word is truth. It's the most important knowledge.
01:33:58
That there is. God we do pray that you would stretch out your hand.
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To do miracles and signs and wonders. As you sovereignly. Decide to do.
01:34:11
We pray that you would advance the gospel. In this area that we could have. Churches planted in Hainesport.
01:34:18
And here and there. And everywhere. As the gospel goes forth. Stretch out your hand.
01:34:28
To heal the sick. Curing people of cancer. And doing these things.
01:34:36
But most importantly Lord God. The greater work we pray for the revealing. Of the father through the son.
01:34:41
And by the spirit. Give every person in this room. A desire to share the good news.
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To preach the gospel. In season and out of season. Awaken in us a desire.
01:34:58
To preach the one. Who said I am the way. And the truth. And the life.
01:35:04
And no one comes to the father. Except through me. Fill us with your holy spirit.
01:35:11
And grant us expectation. Expectation of answer to prayer. And Lord hear our prayers. That when we turn our face.
01:35:19
To heaven. And pray in that mighty name of Jesus. We speak the name of Jesus.
01:35:26
That anxiety and depression. Would flee. That illnesses would be healed.
01:35:36
That we would see answers to prayer. Lord we remain humble before you.
01:35:42
You are our sovereign king. We trust you with your will. In your name we pray.
01:35:48
In Jesus name. Amen. Jesus said if I am weak.
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I should come to him. No one else can be my strength.
01:36:35
I should come to him. For the Lord is good and faithful.
01:36:43
He will keep us day and night. We can always run to Jesus.
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Jesus strong and kind. Jesus said that if I fear.
01:37:08
I should come to him. No one else can be my shield.
01:37:17
I should come to him. For the Lord is good and faithful.
01:37:25
He will keep us day and night. We can always run to Jesus.
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Jesus strong and kind. Jesus said if I am lost.
01:37:48
He will come to me. And he showed me on that cross.
01:37:56
He will come to me. For the Lord is good and faithful.
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He will keep us day and night. We can always run to Jesus.
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Jesus strong and kind. For the Lord is good and faithful.
01:38:19
He will keep us day and night. We will always run to Jesus.
01:38:29
Jesus strong and kind. Jesus strong and kind.
01:38:41
We have a cookout and a baptism service next Sunday right out here in the field. So this is a great one to bring family and friends to hear testimonies.
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And to hear the gospel. Also pray for the, I'm about to run over to the
01:38:56
Mount Laurel home for funerals to preach the gospel. So pray for family and friends of David Michael to believe as well.
01:39:04
And let us go with this commission. And he said to them, go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
01:39:14
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. But whoever does not believe will be condemned.