God's Ladder

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Well, praise God. I'd like to speak to you this morning about God's ladder.
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It's known as Jacob's ladder. You know, they say a ladder is made for, or built to climb upward, to ascend, first to ascend, then to descend.
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And that's the order. What does God's Word say about it?
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What does God's Word say about it? Let's bow in prayer first as we bow before our
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Lord and seek His face and His blessing as we hear from His Word today. Our Father and our great
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God, what a wonderful, glorious privilege that we have today to be here, to see another day, to bless
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You, to be living here for such a time as this, in Your providence, and to have the great privilege to open
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Your Word, the revelation of Your Word, as great as Your character, as great as You or Yourself is
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Your Word, and to hear it. So Lord, when
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Your Word speaks, You speak, and we hear from Heaven.
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Lord, we praise You, we bless You, we thank You for Your Word this morning.
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How great is Your Word! How You've exalted Your Word, even above Your name.
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This is too much for us. Your truth, Lord, sanctifies us.
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Thy Word is truth. It washes us, it cleanses us, it sanctifies us, sets us apart.
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But as the psalmist says in Psalm 119, Your Word, O Lord, is a lamp unto our feet, a light unto our path, in this dark, dark world in which we live and walk in.
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Lord, Your Word provides illumination for us to walk in it.
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And Lord, Your Word keeps us from stumbling and falling in darkness, as our
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Lord says. So Lord, our prayer today is the prayer of the psalmist from 119, this altar.
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O God, deal bountifully with Your servant, each and every one of us, that we may live and keep
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Your Word. Keep Your Word. To obey Your Word. So Lord, I open my eyes that I may see wondrous things from Your law.
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Lord, we would ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, for Your honor and for Your glory.
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Amen. But today, I would like to conclude this series on Jesus calling
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His disciples. It's actually five parts. This is the conclusion. This is the climax.
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And it's a great verse. Actually, it's two verses we're going to be looking at. Verse 50 and 51 of chapter 1 of John.
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So if you're not there, please turn with me there. This series began in John chapter 1, beginning with verse 35.
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Actually, it flows to verse 51, which is the climax, the conclusion of it.
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Then we will be, God willing, going into the study in chapter 2 of the marriage in Canaan, where we will witness and read about the
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Lord's first miracle as He changed the water into wine. But from verse 43 to verse 51, we see
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Jesus called Philip and then Philip went and told his friend what an evangelist
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Philip is, isn't he? He tells his friend Nathanael, which is Bartholomew, by the way, in the
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Synoptic Gospels. Only John, the apostle, here calls Bartholomew Nathanael.
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He doesn't call him by Bartholomew. He calls him Nathanael. We see in verse 45, we have found him of Moses in which the law and also the prophets wrote that Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
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Nathanael was skeptical. He wanted to see things for himself, which we highly respect that, don't we?
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And I believe a lot of us would like that as well. He was very skeptical that the
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Messiah could even come from Nazareth, which Philip invited
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Nathanael to come and see for yourself and meet Jesus. Come see for yourself. And Nathanael was actually asking the question, what good thing could come out of Nazareth?
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What good thing could come out of Nazareth? And here our Lord is knowing and hearing every bit of this.
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When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, of course, he greeted him in a way that implied that Jesus already knew him.
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The Lord knows everything about us, doesn't he? As Brother Keith mentioned in Psalm 139, the
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Lord knows us inside and out. After all, He's the Creator. He created us. So He knows us.
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He knows our thoughts. He knows our beginning and our endings and His sovereignty, everything about us.
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Verse 48 says that Nathanael said to him, How do you know me? How do you know me?
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And Scripture says, Jesus answered and said to him, Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree,
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I saw you. Some scholars and commentators
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I read on this suggest that it was very traditional for Jewish people to sit under a fig tree to read the
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Scriptures. That's interesting. But we don't know the details here, but whatever happened with Nathanael under the fig tree must have been something really supernatural, something very personal, something very intimate, and so private that Nathanael was sure no one could have possibly seen or heard him.
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But the Lord knew. God knew. Jesus knew. The fact that Jesus knew about it was enough to convince
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Nathanael actually to write there on the spot that Jesus was indeed the
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Messiah. And he immediately responded by saying in verse 49, if you see this,
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Nathanael answered and said to him, said to Jesus, Rabbi, which is interpreted Master, Teacher, you are the
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Son of God. This is key right here into the prophecy we're about to look into that Jesus makes.
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You are the Son of God. And you are the
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King of Israel. Two important titles given to Jesus Christ that he is the
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Son of God and the King of Israel. And later in the end of verse 51, we will see that Jesus calls himself the
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Son of Man. The Son of God that came from heaven to come to earth, to die.
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They did not know, the disciples did not know about his coming death here. We need to keep this in mind.
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We look back at the revelation, but they looked at him as the Messiah, the Anointed One, the
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Christ, the King. The Messiah is a King to rule. So this is actually usurped.
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That's why Peter had such a difficult time to understanding that when Jesus started speaking at the great confession that he made in Matthew 16, he says,
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Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And the Lord says, you did not come up with this,
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Peter. My Father in heaven revealed this to you. And then
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Peter turns right around and when Jesus began to speak about his death and his sufferings, Peter began to rebuke the
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Lord. So he understood his person, but he didn't understand his work. He was absolutely confused.
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Folks, let's don't give them a hard time about this because even John the Baptist, the greatest man that has ever been born of a woman, of course outside of the
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Lord, Jesus said he was the greatest one ever been born of a woman, and he even was confused about the
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Lord's, to rule at that time. They did not see it.
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None of them saw this. That's why they all, after Jesus died on the cross, they all fleed and ran.
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They were confused. They did not understand the work that this king, this king of Israel, the
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Messiah, would die on a Roman cross. They didn't get it. But this whole background here brings us to our text and our focus today in verse 50 and 51.
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Let me read it to you. It's really deep, folks. Jesus answered and said to him,
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Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.
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And he said to them, Most assuredly I say to you, Hereafter you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the
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Son of Man. Pay close attention to how the Lord gives that order.
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Angels of God ascending first and then descending upon the Son of Man. Very, very interesting.
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The question we should ask ourselves is this. Was this verse in which our
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Lord speaks of, was this fulfilled in his lifetime? That's a good question.
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That's a very good question. Was it fulfilled in our Lord's lifetime?
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Let me give a few suggestions here. If you look for a story in the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, in which this happened, you will not find one.
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As a matter of fact, the closest events that we will find to this are this.
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Number one, I thought of the baptism of Jesus. Jesus' baptism.
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What do we see there? When the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus.
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We know that. The Holy Spirit descends upon Him and actually remains on Him in the form of a dove.
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The Holy Spirit came in the form of a dove. It doesn't mean the Holy Spirit is a dove. It came in the form of a dove. Signifying the gentleness, but the
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Spirit of God came upon Him, the Son of Man, at His baptism.
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And the Father in Heaven spoke, declaring that Jesus' one and only
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Son, His beloved Son, in whom He was well pleased in. We know that.
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But there's nothing there in the text that speaks about angels that will be ascending and descending, right?
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But we know the Holy Spirit came and descended upon Him. The second thing
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I think of is Jesus' transfiguration upon the mountaintop, which was a great event.
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Actually, it's a preview of His glorified state when He comes back in His second coming.
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And there's all of His power and His glory with all the holy angels, but there's no angels there.
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We see, actually, when Peter, James, and John saw Jesus in His glorified state, which was a preview of the second coming, in His glorified state, as He appeared, we see
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Moses, we see Elijah accompanying, and then they speak about the resurrection,
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Jesus' departure. Jesus is in the middle. He's the focal point.
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And then the Father speaks in a powerful voice from Heaven, which actually rebuked
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Peter. And the Father says, This is My beloved Son. Hear ye
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Him. Listen to Him. Listen to Him. The third and final thing
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I think of that comes to mind is the ascension of Christ.
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His ascension after His resurrection in which they met again at a mountaintop and they worshipped
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Him, in which Jesus then was called up to Heaven. He ascended up into the clouds.
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Now, however, while these glorious examples include the heavens being open, we do know that the heavens were open, no doubt.
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None of them include angels. Much less Nathaniel or anyone else seeing the angels ascending and descending on Jesus.
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So the question still remains, what was this fulfilled in Jesus' lifetime?
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It's very, again, what does it mean that Jesus' promise to Nathaniel was, does it mean it was not fulfilled?
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I don't believe so by any means. And as I was studying this, you have to see,
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I believe that there are many times that we see reading the
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Scriptures the prophecies as given. This is the Lord Himself giving it. Speaking to Nathaniel, we see throughout the
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Old Testament there's prophecies that's very closely linked together of the first advent of Jesus and what
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He's going to accomplish at the first advent. And then the second advent comes right directly close to it.
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But the time frame is quite separated, isn't it? But it's given to us. But I'd like to show you from the
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Scriptures that to expect this to be the promise of a literal vision of angels is to totally misunderstand what
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Jesus is really saying. Which actually is more significant than promising a vision of angels.
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Verse 51, as Jesus says this, He is actually making a reference to a story from the
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Old Testament. And I believe going to this Old Testament story will help us see things very clearly and much more of a clear light of what
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Jesus is... He actually is referring to Genesis chapter 28. So go with me to Genesis chapter 28 and let's look at the story in which we see
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Jacob. Verse 10.
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I like to read verse 10 to 12 and we will see this is Jesus' reference. Now Jacob went out from Bathsheba and went toward Haran.
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So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night because the sun had set. He took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head and he lay down in that place to sleep.
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That stone was actually a pillow. Notice verse 12. Then he dreamed and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth and its top reached to heaven and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
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Let's stop right there for a second. Beloved, this is a portrayal of a heavenly
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Lord's personal involvement in the affairs of earth.
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It's wonderful, isn't it? We see God the Creator that He is involved with mankind.
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But here there's a covenant promise that's behind this that's going to help us see this.
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Remember our Lord, how He taught the disciples how to pray? He first begins with worship.
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Our Father which art in heaven. That's a great revelation right there because everybody knows that in the
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Old Testament that God is God of creation. He's the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
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But to address God the Creator as Father is a tremendous revelation.
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Tremendous. Tremendous. And then our Lord goes on to say as you pray,
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He teaches them to pray Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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Notice, heaven and earth. Heaven and earth. So God's will is always being done in heaven.
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God's kingdom is always in heaven. But is it so on earth?
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Is it so on earth? Not yet, but it's happening. It is, but it's not completely fulfilled.
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It is, and yet it is being. It's kind of like our salvation.
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We are saved, but yet it will be complete. It is, but it continues.
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It is exactly here that God is involved with heaven and earth. Just not heaven, but earth.
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And here especially as they related to the divine covenant, the promises of Jacob and his life.
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Notice in verse 13 to 15. Notice what it says. And behold, the
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Lord stood above it. What did he stand above? The ladder. And said, I am the
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Lord God of Abraham, your father, and the God of Isaac, and the land of which you lie,
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I give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth, and shall spread abroad to the west and the east, and to the north and the south, and in you and in your seed, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
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Look how deep and broad is that covenant. And then he says this, Behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land, and I will not leave you until I have done what
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I have spoken to you. A promise that God gives Jacob that God will fulfill.
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In this particular vision, Jacob here sees heaven opened, and the ladder, or you could say the ladder is like a bridge.
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It's a bridge spanning the great gulf. The gulf, a gap between heaven and earth.
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And this is what vision he sees. And it's interesting that Jesus speaks this to Nathanael.
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And the angels of God were actually, as he saw this, ascending and descending.
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Ascending, going up, then descending. Jesus says it exactly the way it says here.
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First the ascent, then the descent. That's interesting.
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I was meditating on that, and I said why first the ascent?
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We will see. And you notice right here, this is all a covenant relation.
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A covenant, a promise that God has given. Let me draw your attention to another situation.
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Interesting, Brother Keith mentioned this to me. And I said, many very good commentators relate to this and tie this in here, but you also may recall, remember that the people of Babel, which we get the word
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Babylon later on, Babel, we see it actually in Revelation again.
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And in Genesis chapter 11, earlier that people tried to build a tower with its top to reach the heavens.
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Here they are. They're trying to go up to heaven to reach. And you know what
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God did. God confused them, right? God wasn't happy.
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God wasn't smiling upon that. There's a reason. You know, it's first, here they wanted to reach the heavens.
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It almost makes me think about people today. They're not content with the earth and what God has given on the earth and the earth and nature speaks of all
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His glories to the smallest things to the largest things, from the worms to the whales, from the grass to the sun, and the ocean and all that's abroad.
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But yet people want to go to the moon. They want to go to Mars. They want to keep going up, go up, go up and reach the heavens.
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Now I want you to think, this is just the first heavens and the sky that speaks of in Babel. And why did they do it?
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Why did they do it? The Bible actually tells us why. They wanted to make a name for themselves. They wanted to make a name for themselves.
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God was not in their thoughts. And to protect themselves, they were all thinking about themselves, themselves, themselves.
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God was not even in their thoughts. They sought to span a gap between heaven and earth through their own strength, through their own power, through their own wisdom, which was foolishness, through their own endeavors, through their own works, through their own knowledge, through their own intellect, with nothing to do with God.
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Then God confused them. Could you imagine being there?
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All of a sudden the confusion came and God went down and paid them a visit.
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God was seeing it all anyway, but he goes down, he descends, and confusion takes place.
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And how was the confusion? Languages. That's how we got all these languages today.
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How many languages are there? I'm not for sure, but I'm sure there's many. I'd like to Google that one sometime, see how many languages there are in this world.
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There's a lot. There's thousands and thousands of them. But could you imagine, one was speaking Russian, and one was speaking
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Arabic, and another one Hebrew, and another one English, and all these languages, and they couldn't understand each other until they finally came in groups and then they spread out.
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But God did exactly that. It caused them to stop what they were doing, brought a judgment, and they spread out throughout the earth.
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God stopped them. But you don't think of it. Think of this.
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All man -made religion in this world tries somehow to work their way up to God.
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Religion, all the religions of the world, no matter what name you put on it, how much fluff, and how much so -called holy sanctimonious, how sanctified they think they are, they somehow, it's always man trying to do, do, do.
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Get to God. Something I got to do. I got to pray. I got to fast. I got to do this.
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I got to even obey. I got to go to church more. I got to do this. I got to do that. But can
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I tell you, beloved, what separates Christianity from all those religions? It's not.
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Amen. It's the trust in Christ alone that God, it's not do, do, do.
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It's Jesus says done, done, done. It's done.
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God has done it for us. God has done something. That's what
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Christianity is. So what Jacob saw in this vision was that God alone can only span that great gulf, the gap between heaven and earth.
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And as we are totally, completely incapable. I like that word.
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We are incapable. It's almost as Jesus was saying about the impossible life.
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The Christian life is the impossible life. In other words, there's nothing that we can do within our own power to make it happen.
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That's why Scripture says, even in John, it says those who have been born, not of the will of man, but of God.
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It's God. It's not he that runs, but it's God that does the work.
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It is God alone that does the work. It is Christ that has paid it all.
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Isn't that enough? We can lean on that, folks. And know that Jesus has paid the price in full.
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When he said it is finished, it went down to the caverns of hell and it made hell tremble. Jesus said it is finished.
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And that means it is finished. That means we can rest on that.
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That Jesus paid it all. That God has done all this. That's why your salvation and my salvation is secure.
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And the Holy Spirit is the down payment. Beloved, God is involved in heaven, but he's involved in earth.
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Heaven is his throne. Earth is his footstool. Think of this.
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We are totally incapable of reaching heaven by our own good works. Think of this.
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God himself has come down to us, to this earth, from heaven to earth, and he has done it all through his son, the
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Lord Jesus Christ. And his son is the one that made the earth. He's the word.
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He is the word and flesh. Jesus Christ came to us in his incarnation.
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He pitched his tent. In other words, he tabernacled among us. This is what's so great about Christianity.
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Amen? That knowing that God almighty, the second person of the Trinity, as mysterious as it is, came here into flesh and descended here.
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Born to die. Born for work. From heaven to earth he came in order to lift us up.
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Folks, think of this. Man had fallen in the garden. I like what
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R .C. says. R .C. says, he just didn't break a bone or two. He broke his neck.
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He broke every bone in his body, so to speak. Shattered it. He couldn't do nothing.
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But God did something. God did something. So from heaven to earth, Jesus came and now he lifts us up to the heavenlies.
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Seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus together. Is not this the gospel
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I speak to you about? That Jesus lifts us up. He lifts us up to have an intimate, personal relationship with himself.
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To reconcile. I like that word reconcile because the gospel is packed together with that word, the ministry of reconciliation.
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That God, this is what he does. This is what God has done. He has reconciled sinful man to a holy
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God. And not only that, the exchange of our filthy righteousness that we must renounce to take the righteousness of Christ.
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Folks, that's the gospel. By faith alone. Rest in that. And here, that reconciliation has taken place.
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Allow me to use a little sanctified imagination here. Could it have been that Nathaniel was reading the scriptures underneath the fig tree and could it have been that he had possibly could have been to the exact scripture in Genesis chapter 28 here.
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Could it? We don't know. And then Jesus speaks about the angels of God.
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The angels of God. And he speaks about coming upon the
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Son of Man. And he says it. He says, Amen, Amen.
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Most assuredly, I say to you. Truly, truly. Verily, verily. Amen, Amen. I say to you,
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Nathaniel. To you. And actually the other disciples was hearing it as well. Hereafter you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the
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Son of Man. Could it be Nathaniel was reading Genesis and about Jacob's dream and the vision that Jacob saw?
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Possibly. Very possible. Jacob's ladder, beloved, is just not
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Jacob's ladder. This is God's ladder. And by the way, God's ladder is the person of Jesus Christ.
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That is the ladder. That's the point. Everything about this wonderful Bible points and brings us to Christ.
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What Jesus is saying to Nathaniel in John 1 .51 is that He is
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Jacob's ladder. He is Jacob's ladder. He is the bridge that spans that great, great, great gulf between heaven and earth.
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Glory. Think of that. No one else could bridge that.
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Who could dare bridge it? But God knew. God knew how to bridge it. Jesus is that bridge.
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It is in Jesus Christ that God has come down and descended from heaven to earth in order to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
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And beloved, notice what He says. Again, this I believe is a fulfillment and it speaks about what is going to happen at the cross.
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But it goes further than that. Because we don't see actually the angels of God ascending and descending and that fulfillment here.
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When will we see that? At the second coming. When Jesus comes back with all the holy angels with Him.
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And it's almost as if I'm thinking to myself here that He's answering and telling
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Nathaniel which Nathaniel says in verse 46
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Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Can anything good come out of Nazareth?
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And it's like Jesus is saying you just wait till I come back in power and glory as the
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Messiah as the King of Israel as you have said and as you're right
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Nathaniel you will see you will see this fulfilled. But at the same time in order for the second coming to be fulfilled what had to happen first?
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Christ the Messiah had to die on a cross so that He will reconcile even
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His disciples and all of us that we may believe in Him. And the cross is the link that bridges that gap from earth to get to heaven.
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That's why Jesus says first ascending and descending. So He came to save us to deliver us to rescue us to lift us up into a personal relationship with Himself and to give us eternal life in heaven.
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He is that heaven. You know I think heaven is going to be so glorious folks. And it's beyond our imagination.
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Paul says I saw things Paul says I'll paraphrase what he says but I saw things there it was just not lawful to utter.
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Say think of that. Now the apostle Paul says I don't have words to speak about how glorious heaven is.
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But think of this. Christ Himself is the maker of heaven and earth and He is the King of Glory the
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King of Kings the Lord of Lords sitting upon His throne in sovereignty and the one that Isaiah saw when
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I saw Him I felt like dead I came to myself I want to be disintegrated.
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And He pronounced a woe upon Himself and the apostle John even says I felt as a dead man as I saw
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Christ and His glory and that vision on the Isle of Patmos and you see
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Daniel seeing it and you see Ezekiel seeing it and every one of these men that came in contact with this
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Holy God in heaven it's like their sin came to fruition they came to light and they said woe is me
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I'm disintegrated who am I? Habakkuk says
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I put my hand to my mouth I was shut up. Job said he was like terrified after God gave him question after question after question that He's the creator the
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Holy God oh how glorious is this folks and keep in mind this that Jesus is just not saying that He has come to point the way
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He is the way now we are pointers like John the
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Baptist John the Baptist told his disciples he pointed at there He is the Lamb of God go follow
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Him we are pointers but here He is the Christ the Son of the
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Living God He comes He walks and then He is the way John 14 if you go to that wonderful chapter don't you love this?
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you see once again in John 14 after Jesus speaks to them that in chapter 13 at the end
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He said He asked a question will you lay down your life for my sake? speaks to Peter Peter said oh
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I'll lay down my life for your sake of course I will and then Jesus gives them most assuredly anytime
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Jesus says verily verily Amen it's going to happen folks most assuredly
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I say to you the rooster shan't crow to you you have denied me three times then He turns and then the flow of it and then graciously after the
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Lord speaks that powerful prophecy that was fulfilled He says but let not your heart be troubled how gracious is our
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Lord He knew Peter would deny Him three times and then said let not your heart be troubled you believe in God believe also in Me in My Father's house are many mansions and if it were not so I would have told you
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I go to prepare a place for you and if I go to prepare a place for you
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I will come again is He going to come again folks? He's going to come again
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Jesus said it right there I will come again and receive you to Myself and where I am there you may be also and where I go you know and the way you know and then
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Thomas said this Lord we do not know where you're going in terms of location and that's what
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He's speaking of and how can we know the way Jesus said to him
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I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the
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Father except through Me and that means exactly what He says there is no other way to God I don't care if man makes a billion religions there is only one way to God and then
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He says this if you had known Me you would have known My Father also from now on you will know
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Him and have seen Him here comes Philip first it's Thomas now it's
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Philip Philip said to him Lord show us the Father and it is sufficient for us in other words that will be enough for us if you show us the
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Father Jesus said to him have I been with you so long and yet you have not seen known
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Me Philip now Jesus is not saying He's the Father He's saying He's God He's deity cause
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He says this He who has seen Me has seen the Father see He turns right around and He says if you've seen
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Me I'm the Son you've seen the Father I'm the exact representation of the Father the express image
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Paul says and He says so how can you say show us the Father and do you not believe that I am in the
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Father and the Father in Me and the words that I speak to you I do not speak of my own authority but the
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Father who dwells in Me does the works believe Me that I am in the
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Father and the Father in Me or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves and we know because supposedly blasphemy this is why
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Christ was hung on a cross because the religious people the Pharisees the
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Sanhedrin says He makes Himself equal with God hang
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Him on a cross exactly that's what happened but the princes of this world if they'd known who
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He really was they would have never crucified the Lord of Glory but it was done in God's will
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I gotta hurry up well you may think and be tempted to think that this ladder from Heaven means that first of all
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I'm to climb up as high as I can now let me say this that wonderful psalm I am climbing
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Jacob's ladder is very good it speaks about our sanctification and growing in the Lord we do climb
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Jacob's ladder but that's in sanctification but in salvation it is
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God who first ascended now the descension comes again we don't have enough strength we don't have enough stamina we are incapable of even reaching
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God right no way all the good works we can do not the labor of my hands can fulfill that law's demands it's simply clinging to that cross because the cross is the link for us to come to God to reach
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God and that cross when I speak of the cross even though it was made of wood like ladders were made of wood that cross is where we come and meet
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God and that's where God reconciles us right there the cross of the
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Lord Jesus Christ no one's capable of doing it on their own go with me to Romans chapter 10
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I like to see something very quickly Romans 10 look at verse 6 to 10 in salvation but the righteousness of faith notice what
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Paul says the righteousness of faith speaks in this way do not say in your heart who will ascend into heaven notice he's talking about the ascent that is to bring
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Christ down from above or who will descend into the abyss that is to bring
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Christ up from the dead don't you love the way Paul speaks but what does it say what does he mean it the scripture what does the scripture say you know folks that's the bottom line what does the scripture say that's the bottom line
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Paul says what does it say the word is near you in your mouth and in your heart that is the word of faith which we preach and then he says this that if you confess with your mouth the
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Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead you will be saved and notice this confession is not enough though confession is a part of it but you must believe verse 10 for with the heart with the heart this is the part that people miss there's professors and possessors many professors but few possessors right but you got to believe in your heart with the heart one believes into righteousness and with the mouth confession is made into salvation for the scripture says whoever believes on him will not be put to shame for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek for the same
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Lord over all is rich to all who call upon him whoever calls on the name of the
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Lord shall be saved in the original there in the
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Old Testament it says shall be delivered and that's actually what salvation is being saved means to be delivered shall be delivered and we know what does it mean to call on the name of the
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Lord that means to repent to believe the gospel repent and believe the gospel well there notice what the apostle was saying wonderful in other words the message of the gospel is not that you and I have to climb our way up to God but that God has come down to us aren't you glad he has come down to us this ladder of God beloved is
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Jesus Christ and the way we come to God is through the blood of his cross by faith alone
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God's ladder is the cross in which God mediates and bridges that great gulf to reconcile us to the holy
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God it's like we're so unholy it's hard for us to get our mind around this
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God is so holy and we're so sinful and yet Jesus it's like he's the
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God man and at the cross it's like he's one hand on God the father and one hand on sinful man and the holy touches the unholy and the unholy becomes holy really
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God is the holy one he is so holy the bible even says even the stars he created are not even pure in his sight how holy is
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God can we really grasp that there was a man in the
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Old Testament that cried out how can how can this be reconciled look at Job chapter 9
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Job chapter 9 is loaded folks Job is basically saying here there's no mediator but notice how he begins in verse 1 then
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Job answered and said truly I know it is so but how can a man be righteous before God what a question how can a man be righteous before God if one wished to contend with him he could not answer him one time out of a thousand
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God is wise in the heart and heart and mighty in strength who has hardened himself against him and prospered he removes the mountains and they do not know when he overturns them in his anger he shakes the earth out of its place and its pillars tremble he commands the sun and it does not rise and he seals off the stars he alone spreads out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea he made the bear the
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Orion and the Pleiades and the chambers of the south and he does great things past finding out yes wonders without number and if he goes by me
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I do not see him if he moves past I do not perceive him notice what he's saying he's so holy it's beyond me and this is the godly
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Job the patriarch Job suffering great sufferings and he's almost asking where's the mediator listen to this in verse 12 and if he takes away who can hinder him who can say to him what are you doing who can say to God what are you doing
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God will not withdraw his anger the allies of the proud lie prostrate beneath him how then can
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I answer him and choose my words to reason with him for though I were righteous I could not answer him at least
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Job knew that through the spirit of God listen to this I could beg mercy of my judge if I called and he answered me
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I would not believe that he was listening to my voice for he crushes me with a tempest so he knew
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God God was sovereign over this and all that was taking place in his life he knew God was orchestrating it and he multiplies my wounds without cause he would not allow me to catch my breath but fills me with bitterness he's suffering folks it is a matter of strength indeed he is strong and of justice who will appoint my day in court though I were righteous my own mouth could not
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I'm sorry would condemn me though I were blameless it would prove me perverse
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I am blameless yet I do not know myself listen to that I despise my life it is all one thing therefore
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I say he destroys the blameless and the wicked if the scourge slays suddenly he laughs at the plight of the innocent the earth is given into the hand of the wicked he covers the face the faces of its judges if it is not he who else could it be now my days are swifter than a runner they flee away and they see no good they pass like swift ships like an eagle swooping on its prey and if I say
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I will forget my complaint I will put off my sad face and wear a smile he's suffering folks and then he says this
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I am afraid of all my sufferings and I know that you will not hold me innocent and if I am condemned why then do
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I labor in vain if I wash myself with snow water and cleanse my hands with soap yet you will plunge me into the pit and my own clothes will abhor me he's getting to something folks listen to this for he is not a man as I am he's speaking of God but little did he know
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God becomes man listen to this he's not a man as I am that I may answer him and that we should go to the court together in verse 33 nor is there any mediator between us who may lay his hand on us both you get what he's saying in other words
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I need a mediator to lay hand on God and that God will lay his hand on me folks
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Jesus is the mediator let him take his rod away from me and do not let dread of him terrify me and then
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I would speak and not fear him but it is not so with me he didn't know at the time that Jesus would come and be that great mediator but Jesus came to be that mediator it makes me think oh
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God you're most holy, holy, holy brother Keith says we can't even get a hold of holy rather than holy, holy, holy
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I'm sinful we're desperately in need of you oh God we can't argue with you and if you bring me into a courtroom as Job says
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I can't even answer one of a thousand questions we're sinners have mercy on us
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I need somebody to go between somebody who can lay his hand upon us both
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I need a middle man I need a daisman, I need a mediator that's what
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Job is saying beloved do you not know that he Job was crying out for, he was crying out for that mediator and Jesus is that mediator 1
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Timothy 2 5 6 for there is one God Paul says one
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God and one mediator aren't you glad there's no one like him there's no one like Jesus one mediator notice what
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Paul says between between God and man and by the way the scripture says that between God and men that M is small then he says this the man, capital,
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Christ Jesus who gave himself us for a ransom for all to be testified in due time
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Job centuries before the birth of the Messiah knew he was in need of a savior folks that mediator was
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Jesus Christ he is God's ladder Jacob's ladder we have to come to the cross at Calvary is where the great gulf was spanned in Jesus Christ it's incredible it's so amazing, so divine as Isaac Watts says it demands my life, my soul, my all if we see the cross that all that God gives to us is through Jesus Christ and it's at the foot of the cross and I'm telling you what, when we come at the foot of the cross that's where man's pride is crushed that's where man's pride is crushed and if you and I want our pride crushed let's come to the feet of the cross of the
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Lord Jesus Christ and see him and gaze upon the
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God man, the Lord Jesus Christ makes me think about the cross, what happened with those two thieves one was mocking, one did not fear but the other
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God got his attention and I love what Alistair Begg says about this the man in the middle says
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I could come when he died Alistair Begg uses his sanctified imagination and comes before the court and it's almost like how did you get here talking about the thief he said the man in the middle said
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I could come yeah but you didn't you didn't pray, you didn't you didn't go to church all the times but the man in the middle said
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I could come don't you love that, Jesus says today you will be with me in paradise and that meant today the first person always,
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Jesus Christ him alone, right him alone let us gaze upon our
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Lord Jesus Christ at this time as we come to our time of communion let's pray oh father in heaven how great how great you are that you would even care enough to send your one and only son and first of all it's for your glory then our salvation but how you desire for sinful man to be reconciled to yourself that the
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Lord Jesus will come and seek and save the lost how wonderful it is that you're the seeker we're the lost ones we were lost but now we're found thank you
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Lord for your son, your love gift the Lord Jesus Christ in your great love you sent him to bridge that great gulf, that great span that we could not even come close impossible with men but not impossible with you you made it possible oh
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Lord Jesus paid it all through his death his life his works his active obedience his passive obedience all in perfection becomes ours works of righteousness that we cannot even touch and do but yet we're clothed in the righteousness of Christ by faith alone justified by faith alone once and for all
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Father what a great consolation, what a great assurance you give Father as you said in your scripture the apostle
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Paul says as you made him your son who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in him, thank you
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Father for this great exchange oh how this humbles us, his robes for mine, his robes for mine hallelujah what a savior thank you
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Father for your unspeakable gift and we praise you and we thank you and bless us now as we continue to worship as we remember the sufferings of our