1 00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:05,640 I invite you to turn in your Bibles with me to the Gospel of 2 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:11,240 Mark in chapter 13. Today we're going to be looking 3 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:18,280 at one verse, but I want to read the surrounding passages because 4 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:21,160 there is a blessing in the simple reading of God's Word. 5 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:28,880 Mark chapter 13, beginning in verse 32, which will be the 6 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:34,640 verse of our focus today we read here. 7 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:40,640 But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the 8 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:43,600 angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 9 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:49,200 Be on guard, keep awake, for you do not know when the time will 10 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:51,880 come. It is like a man going on a 11 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:55,320 journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, 12 00:00:56,040 --> 00:01:00,960 each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 13 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:04,760 Therefore stay awake, For you do not know when the master of the 14 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:08,240 house will come in the evening, or at midnight, or when the 15 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:12,880 rooster crows, or in the morning, lest he come suddenly 16 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:18,240 and find you asleep. And what I say to you, I say to 17 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:24,200 all, Stay awake. Lord, we ask that you bless the 18 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:27,200 proclamation of the Word, the reception of the Word, that the 19 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:30,240 Lord Jesus Christ might be exalted through it, more 20 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:32,000 importantly, through our application of it. 21 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:35,280 Lord, you know the hearts of all men, and we pray that you give 22 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:39,520 us, Lord, a willing heart, an open mind, understanding and 23 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:42,240 clarity, not just for the sake of growing in knowledge, but so 24 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:45,160 that we can grow in our obedience and worship to You. 25 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:49,720 We ask these things in the name, the living name, the saving name 26 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:51,920 of Jesus Christ. Amen. 27 00:01:54,480 --> 00:02:02,240 If God is all knowing. And we as Christians believe 28 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:05,040 that the Lord Jesus Christ is indeed God. 29 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:12,240 But at the same time we see that Christ in this one verse admits 30 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:17,880 to His limited knowledge, namely about the day or the hour of His 31 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:21,400 triumphant return. How do we as Christians 32 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:27,720 reconcile this? It is very difficult to defend 33 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:30,240 the omniscience of the Son of God. 34 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:35,280 If He confesses in this one verse that he doesn't know 35 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:39,120 something. Does he therefore disqualify 36 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:44,000 himself as being divine? Perhaps you have wrestled with 37 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:48,040 this in your own study of the Gospels, or it's very likely 38 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:51,720 that in your endeavours to preach the Gospel, someone has 39 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:56,120 brought this up as an objection to you with the intent of 40 00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:59,320 casting doubt. Because he himself does not 41 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:02,920 acknowledge that the divine nature of the Son of God. 42 00:03:04,640 --> 00:03:07,320 And it's in this particular verse in Mark, which is also 43 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:13,000 found in Matthew, Matthew 2436, that is often employed to do 44 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:17,560 just that, to cause others and to convince them that Jesus 45 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:19,880 Christ isn't who we believe him to be. 46 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:24,560 But if you have been wrestling with this particular passage or 47 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:29,080 you find it difficult to explain it to a skeptic, then I want you 48 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:31,880 to take heart from the beginning that the focus of today's 49 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:33,840 message is to bring clarity to it. 50 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:38,400 And I believe the best way to understand and reconcile what 51 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:46,280 Christ says here with who Christ is, is by providing this answer 52 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:50,600 in three steps. In other words, if someone were 53 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:57,440 to approach me and bring this verse as a dilemma, then I would 54 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:01,560 first want to ask them if they are willing to patiently receive 55 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:07,760 a robust answer because it will require a listening ear and a 56 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:11,200 humble heart in order to have a proper interpretation of this 57 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:15,040 passage. And if you can remember this 58 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:19,360 three layered response, and even if you rehearse it just a little 59 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:22,600 bit, then I can guarantee you that you will grow in your peace 60 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:24,400 with the veracity of the scripture. 61 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:27,840 And you will also be able to have the confidence to convey it 62 00:04:27,840 --> 00:04:32,720 to those who may ask you for the reason of the hope that you 63 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:36,320 have. And so this is a very simple 64 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,160 approach. I want you to take this message 65 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:43,400 as a format of an individual approaching us and asking as 66 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:48,320 they quote Mark 1332, how do you believe Jesus Christ to be God 67 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:51,440 manifested in the flesh if he claims himself that he does not 68 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:56,240 know something? And the first step to this three 69 00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:01,080 staged answer, if you are taking notes, this will be helpful, is 70 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:07,880 to ask the Inquirer #1 to consider the implications of 71 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:11,320 that very verse. That's step #1 Consider the 72 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:15,440 implications of the very verse that you are bringing to my 73 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:19,360 attention. Read Mark 1332 slowly with me 74 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:21,120 once more before we expand on it. 75 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:28,720 But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the 76 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:34,120 angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 77 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:39,240 Now when the Lord Jesus says no one knows, what he means by that 78 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:45,040 is no human being knows. And that would be more obvious 79 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:47,880 if you held the King James Version in your hands, because 80 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:51,160 that translation provides clarification in the following 81 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:52,320 way. This is how it would read in the 82 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:57,360 King James quote. But of that day or that hour 83 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:03,200 knoweth no man. But even if you don't have the 84 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:07,880 King James translation as your go to text, this categorization 85 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:11,800 is understandable since the Lord would not have to follow no one 86 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:17,040 knows with anything else. If Jesus meant to say no one 87 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:22,160 knows to encapsulate absolutely everybody, then he wouldn't have 88 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:26,960 to say not even the angels of heaven nor the sun. 89 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:32,840 No, by the way, this is going to be heavier today, so you got to 90 00:06:32,840 --> 00:06:34,800 lean in and pay attention. You don't want to doze off at 91 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:36,120 one part because you might miss it. 92 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:40,800 Why is understanding this important? 93 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:43,720 Because the Lord is making a clear distinction between 94 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:47,240 classes of beings in His teaching. 95 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:51,640 In fact, if you read it, you'll notice that there's a hierarchy 96 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:55,440 here. He mentions how no human being 97 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:57,840 knows, how no Angel in heaven knows. 98 00:06:57,840 --> 00:07:01,960 Then he speaks of himself by saying nor the Son, but only the 99 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:04,800 Father. So within the same text that 100 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:09,120 people often use to dilute the nature of Christ, you actually 101 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:13,080 have the Lord Jesus placing himself in an order that is 102 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:17,480 superior. He mentions no one knowing, no 103 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:20,760 rational, intelligent human being is able to know. 104 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:24,880 Then he speaks about the angels in heaven not knowing, and after 105 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:32,720 that he says nor the Son, He separates himself from spiritual 106 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:37,480 beings and from human beings. And so This is why I say step 107 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:40,040 one is to consider the implications of the verse 108 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:43,160 because you have to acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ is 109 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:44,520 conveying something about himself. 110 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:48,440 There's a intentional difference being spelled out here, 111 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:51,840 something that I would ask a skeptic and if they're willing 112 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:54,800 again to listen, then I would show how what Christ is saying 113 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:57,600 here is in concert with the rest of the Bible. 114 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:03,280 And one of the go to passages for this to be echoed is the 115 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:05,840 book of Hebrews. Turn to the book of Hebrews 116 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:09,040 chapter one. Do you want to know the goal of 117 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:13,400 the book of Hebrews? The author there intends to show 118 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:19,480 why Jesus Christ and the New Covenant is greater than Moses 119 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:22,960 as the mediator of the Old Covenant and the Old Covenant 120 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:25,280 itself. And right at the beginning of 121 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:30,920 this letter, there is no time wasted for the Spirit of God to 122 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:34,360 demonstrate and declare the greatness and the superiority of 123 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:37,559 the Lord Jesus Christ. He's greater not just more than 124 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:40,400 Moses, not just over the Old covenant, but over everything. 125 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:43,520 He's superior to all things, period. 126 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:47,280 And we weren't, we're not going to read the 1st 3 verses, but we 127 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:50,880 read there that He is appointed the heir of all things. 128 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:53,960 We read there that He is the creator of the whole world. 129 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:57,360 You read there that He is the radiance of the glory of God and 130 00:08:57,440 --> 00:09:04,000 the exact imprint of His nature. You read there that He's supreme 131 00:09:04,560 --> 00:09:07,280 over everything. And in the same breath, you 132 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:11,400 realize as you come to verse four that He is even recognized 133 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:15,480 as greater in the realm of the spirit, more specifically among 134 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:18,560 angels. Let's read verse 4 together. 135 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:22,520 Having become this is speaking about the Son of God having 136 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:27,680 become as much superior to angels as the name he has 137 00:09:27,680 --> 00:09:30,280 inherited is more excellent than theirs. 138 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:34,360 For to which of the angels did God ever say, You are my Son? 139 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:38,560 Today I have begotten you, or again I will be to him a Father, 140 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:42,400 and he shall be to me a Son. And so you see here that the 141 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:46,960 prominence of Christ is heralded in that he holds a unique title 142 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:51,600 that no Angel shares and that he has a relationship with the 143 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:56,440 Father that no Angel has. And if that isn't convincing 144 00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:59,600 enough, you read in verse 6 something astounding. 145 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:03,960 And again, when he brings the first born into the world, he 146 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:11,120 says let all God's angels worship him, worship the Son of 147 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:13,800 God. So not only is he superior 148 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:16,400 because he has a name that they do not have, not only is he 149 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:18,920 superior because he has a relationship they do not have, 150 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:22,040 He is superior in that he's to be worshipped. 151 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:25,920 He's to be worshipped by these heavenly beings. 152 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:30,120 Now, there are some who really, really, really don't want to 153 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:33,480 believe that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. 154 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:37,120 And so they would say, yes, he is superior. 155 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:41,640 Yes, he does have eminence, but among the creatures he is the 156 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:44,560 greatest of all creatures. He is distinguished. 157 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:49,160 And that is what your friendly Jehovah's Witness believes, that 158 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:53,160 he was the prized creature and through him God performed 159 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:55,280 everything, including the creation of the universe. 160 00:10:56,160 --> 00:10:59,160 But if one is honest enough to acknowledge what we just found 161 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:03,600 in Hebrews in the beginning of the book, then you have to also 162 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:07,720 be honest enough to honor the rest of what the author says. 163 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:12,600 Look down here at verse 8. He's still again proclaiming the 164 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:16,120 preeminence of Christ. And not only does he say that 165 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:19,480 the angels worship in verse six, but now the Spirit of God 166 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:23,280 through this author tells us what God says about the sun. 167 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:25,520 Highlight this if you've never seen it. 168 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:31,320 This is where God honours and acknowledges the sun in a way 169 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:34,520 that is undeniable. But of the sun, he says, who's 170 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:37,040 he? Verse five tells us it's God 171 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:40,120 who's speaking. So it's the same person who is 172 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:44,040 saying these things. But if the Son, he says your 173 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:50,400 throne, O God is forever and ever, who's speaking God? 174 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:52,840 And what does he say to the Son? Your God? 175 00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:57,640 God is telling the Son of God that He is God. 176 00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:00,800 The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom. 177 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:03,640 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. 178 00:12:03,880 --> 00:12:07,960 Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of 179 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:12,840 gladness beyond your companions. So the same God who declares 180 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:16,840 that Jesus Christ the Son is superior to angels is to be 181 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:20,720 worshipped by angels. Himself acknowledges and crowns 182 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:25,200 him with deity. Your throne, O God, is forever 183 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:29,800 and ever. You know, this obviously 184 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:33,800 troubles many cults, including Jehovah's Witnesses and the 185 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:35,840 Jehovah's Witnesses have their own version of the Bible. 186 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:38,320 It's a perverted version. It's a satanic version actually. 187 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:41,080 And what they've done with this particular verse, I'm going to 188 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:45,120 quote it to you, is there's to go to show how much Satan hates 189 00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:50,320 how he absolutely loathes the truth that God, the mystery of 190 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:52,720 godliness manifested in the flesh. 191 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:56,880 Here it is in a New World translation and whoever came up 192 00:12:56,880 --> 00:12:59,520 with that translation is going to is going to be terrified when 193 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:03,360 they stand before God. Hebrews 1/8 and the New world 194 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:09,560 translation reads but about the Son, he says God is your throne 195 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:13,800 forever and ever. What's in your translation? 196 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:18,120 But of the Son, he says in verse eight of ours, your throne, oh 197 00:13:18,120 --> 00:13:20,360 God is forever. How did the Jehovah's Witnesses 198 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:24,680 spell it out? God is your throne forever and 199 00:13:24,680 --> 00:13:27,600 ever, and the scepter of your Kingdom is the scepter of 200 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:32,320 uprightness. And if you do engage with the 201 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:34,240 Jehovah's Witness, you can actually prove from their own 202 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:38,440 Bible that whoever mistranslated this actually messed up because 203 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:40,200 they didn't finish the rest of the chapter. 204 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:44,120 So they went to the most obvious verse that declares the deity of 205 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:46,120 Christ from the mouth of God himself. 206 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:49,360 But God didn't finish speaking in Hebrews 18 and 9:00. 207 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:52,520 There's a verse 10. Look at verse 10 in your own 208 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:55,680 Bibles. The the Bible is telling us here 209 00:13:55,680 --> 00:14:01,320 that God is still speaking. Look at verse 10 and quote now 210 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:04,280 God is still speaking to the Son of the Son. 211 00:14:04,680 --> 00:14:12,960 And you Lord, you Lord laid the foundation of the earth in the 212 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:15,960 beginning and the heavens are the work of your hands. 213 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:21,000 So somebody forgot to miss translate verse 10 because God 214 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:24,320 is not telling of the Son your Lord. 215 00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:32,040 And he quotes Psalm one O 225 to 27, which in that Psalm ascribes 216 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:35,720 the creation and all these wonderful things to Yahweh. 217 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:41,520 So the Lord is not just calling him Lord in the sense that we 218 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:44,920 see it sometimes in the Old Testament as master as a 219 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:48,000 superior. When you see that he's quoting 220 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,680 Psalm 1O2, he's actually God is actually saying of the Son, 221 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:57,360 you're Yahweh, you're Yahweh. So why am I bringing this all to 222 00:14:57,360 --> 00:14:59,440 your attention? Because if back in Mark in our 223 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:05,200 main verse, Christ contrasts himself from all men and angels 224 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:08,320 and Hebrews confirms that order that he's superior. 225 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:10,560 He's he's been appointed the heir of all things, He's 226 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:14,400 superior to the angels while acknowledging that the Son is 227 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:15,800 God. Then the skeptic has to 228 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:21,720 reconsider his weaponization of Mark 1332 because Christ places 229 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:25,520 himself as the Son above the angels, above all human beings. 230 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:28,720 And Hebrew elaborates on that and says, yes, He is above all 231 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:31,760 things, He is above the angels, but He's above in the sense that 232 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:37,640 He is God over all these things. So what is Christ implying by 233 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:40,600 him placing himself in that order? 234 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:43,760 That's why you have to step one. Consider the implications of the 235 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:47,160 very verse that you are quoting to deny the deed of Christ. 236 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:49,080 Christ is actually confirming it. 237 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:55,800 That's step #1. Consider the implications of 238 00:15:55,800 --> 00:16:01,240 this verse. Step #2 is to honour the 239 00:16:01,240 --> 00:16:05,440 immediate context. Honour the immediate context. 240 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:08,240 So step number one is to consider the implications of 241 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:11,440 that one stand alone verse. My follow up to that in the 242 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:15,120 second stage of my response would be to honour the 243 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:19,120 surrounding passages. Anybody who was honest would 244 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:22,240 acknowledge that it would be irresponsible and completely 245 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:26,160 unfair to take one verse out of a body of text and rip it out to 246 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:31,040 make it say something that is not faithful, that is not 247 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:35,040 honest, that is not integral. Especially that stand alone 248 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:38,200 statement is connected to a body and a flow of thought. 249 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:41,360 And that's exactly what Mark 301332 is. 250 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:46,120 So if some insist that Mark 1332 means that Christ cannot be 251 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:51,680 divine, then I would remind the person that Mark 1332 is not the 252 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:56,280 only verse in Mark. It's not. 253 00:16:56,560 --> 00:17:00,080 Mark doesn't begin in Mark 1332 and end with Mark 1332. 254 00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:04,640 And so if you have been with us in the past, we've been in this, 255 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:07,240 I think over a year at least, I'm sure over a year, probably 256 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:11,359 close to two years studying Mark together week after week after 257 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:12,920 week after week. And we've seen one 258 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:17,040 demonstration, one display example, illustration after 259 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:21,880 another, showing us that God is in fact manifested in the person 260 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:25,280 of Jesus Christ. From his profound teachings and 261 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:29,320 claims to his demonstrations of divine power, we gladly 262 00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:31,520 acknowledge that Jesus Christ is our God. 263 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:34,840 He bears the attributes of deity. 264 00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:39,440 So in the very same breath that Jesus says he does not know the 265 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:43,000 day or the hour, he thunders the following declaration. 266 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:46,880 I mean, how many places can we go on Mark to show that he is in 267 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:48,680 fact divine? But you don't even have to go 268 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:50,200 back to chapter one. You don't have to go to chapter 269 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:51,240 three. You don't have to go to chapter 270 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:52,960 5. All you have to do is look at 271 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:57,560 the immediate context and look at this right before he says 272 00:17:57,560 --> 00:17:58,800 that he does not know the day or the hour. 273 00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:04,120 Look at Mark 1331. We study this briefly last week. 274 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:10,240 He proclaims heaven and earth will pass away, but my words 275 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:14,400 will not pass away. For a mere man to declare that 276 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:21,560 would be absurd would be bold. But Christ is no mere man. 277 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:25,840 He's no ordinary fellow and the way he fashions this statement 278 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:31,760 about the eternality of his own words was strategic because as 279 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:33,240 you remember, this is a little bit of review. 280 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:36,120 As you remember when he said that in the presence of his 281 00:18:36,120 --> 00:18:39,120 disciples, they would have connected it to what the Old 282 00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:44,240 Testament says about God's word. Here's Jesus saying everything 283 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:48,040 will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 284 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:51,640 And those listeners would have said, wait a minute, hold on 285 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:54,880 because here's what Isaiah 40 verse eight says. 286 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:58,360 The grass Withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God 287 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:04,040 will stand forever. And so Isaiah the prophet 288 00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:06,200 declares the exclusive trustworthiness and 289 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:08,840 indestructible witness of God's Word. 290 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:14,200 And yet Jesus of Nazareth comes along, and he dares to claim 291 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:17,960 that his word is on the same level as God's. 292 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:22,320 The skeptic must make a conclusion. 293 00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:29,040 Either Christ is a blasphemer or he is claiming to be God. 294 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:36,240 For him to authenticate his word as the same as God's is an 295 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:40,320 astounding assertion. But it's not even just that. 296 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:44,200 I mean, we're still in Mark 13. Scroll back to Mark 1326. 297 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:55,600 And then he says, they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds 298 00:19:56,240 --> 00:20:01,480 with great power and glory. And we touched on that, how he 299 00:20:01,480 --> 00:20:04,920 is borrowing from Daniel's vision and Daniel chapter seven 300 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:08,760 of one like a Son of man who comes before the Ancient of 301 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:11,360 Days. And not only does the Ancient of 302 00:20:11,360 --> 00:20:14,640 Days recognize him and attribute to him the prerogatives that 303 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:17,640 belong to God alone, but everybody will worship this one 304 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:21,200 who is like a son of man. And most people who come to this 305 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:24,600 passage just stick with verse 26 and don't realize that verse 27 306 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:29,000 is jam packed with evidence, further evidence that Christ 307 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:31,960 himself is more than just a man. Notice what he says. 308 00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:39,680 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from 309 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:44,320 the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. 310 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:49,440 So he says one like a Son of man will come in the clouds with 311 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:52,240 great power and glory. And it's like that's obviously a 312 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:54,440 reference to Daniel. But then he follows that by 313 00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:58,120 saying, and he the same one, the same Son of man, he's going to 314 00:20:58,120 --> 00:21:01,320 dispatch his angels and they're going to gather the elect from 315 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:04,400 the four corners of the earth and from even the ends of 316 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:06,760 heaven. And again, if if you're 317 00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:09,680 saturated in the Hebrew Scriptures, then you also with 318 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:11,840 verse 27 would say, hold on, hold on, hold on. 319 00:21:12,120 --> 00:21:15,560 I read in many places that there is only one who has the 320 00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:19,840 authority and the ability to fetch for his people from such a 321 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:23,840 distance, from such a scattered state. 322 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:28,200 There's only one who possesses that ability and you guess the 323 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:32,640 right is God Almighty. Here's one among many references 324 00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:34,680 that you can have. Write this down. 325 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:39,520 Write it down in Deuteronomy 30, listen to what God says to his 326 00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:43,560 people after warning them if they disobeyed, how they would 327 00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:47,000 be in fact exiled. But he promises hope in 328 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:49,920 Deuteronomy 30, verse three and four. 329 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:52,880 And here's why I'm quoting this. I'm quoting this to show you 330 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:55,680 that the things that Christ claims about His power and His 331 00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:58,840 ability and His authority, it can only be linked to one other 332 00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:01,560 person, and that's God himself, and it's no different here. 333 00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:05,000 Here's what the Word of God says in Deuteronomy 30, verse 3. 334 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:09,240 Then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have 335 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:14,440 mercy on you, and He will gather you again from all the peoples 336 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:16,440 where the Lord your God has scattered you. 337 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:22,840 If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from 338 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:28,680 there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He 339 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:33,040 will take you. You find it in Isaiah, you find 340 00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:35,280 it in other places. It's sprinkled that whenever the 341 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:38,920 Lord says this, He attributes that ability to Himself. 342 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:41,120 And yet here's Christ and His teaching of the end times, 343 00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:44,400 saying me as the Son of Man. When I return, I'm going to call 344 00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:46,200 for the elect. I'm going to dispatch my angels 345 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:49,000 because they're inferior to me. They serve me, and they will 346 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:52,440 gather the elect to myself. Who do you think you are? 347 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:57,240 That's a simple question you can ask in the Gospel of Mark or any 348 00:22:57,240 --> 00:22:59,960 gospel account. Who does Christ think he is? 349 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:03,880 Never mind what you think, never mind what may be convoluted and 350 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:06,920 complicated for you. But who does Christ claim to be? 351 00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:10,720 Obviously he is claiming to be God. 352 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:15,360 So step one, if I'm standing before a skeptic who's saying if 353 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:17,000 Jesus is God, then how does he not know? 354 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:19,200 I would say, well, consider the implications of the verse. 355 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:22,280 Do you realize the order? You realize the hierarchy here. 356 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:25,000 Where does Christ place himself? Well, I don't know what this 357 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,120 means for Him to be after the angels and the human mix. 358 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:29,040 Well, let me show you in Hebrews what it means. 359 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:32,640 And after that I would say zoom out a little bit and look at the 360 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:35,280 surrounding passages. What does Christ say in the same 361 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:37,360 breath where He says He does not know the day or the hour? 362 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:39,880 What does He say about himself? What does He say about what He 363 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:43,360 can do? Let's not even go throughout the 364 00:23:43,360 --> 00:23:45,080 whole neighborhood. And Mark, let's just stick here 365 00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:48,400 to this one street, so to speak. But this is where it gets 366 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:49,680 exciting. This is stage 3. 367 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:52,360 This is step three. If that person is able to endure 368 00:23:52,360 --> 00:23:55,680 everything that I just said, I would then say this. 369 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:57,720 Not just consider the implications of the verse, not 370 00:23:57,720 --> 00:23:59,120 just honor the immediate context. 371 00:23:59,120 --> 00:24:03,720 You're Step 3 to this answer. Factor the wider testimony of 372 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:07,080 Christ. Factor in the wider testimony of 373 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:08,760 Christ from throughout the Bible. 374 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:12,920 And what you notice about these steps is what we're zooming out, 375 00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:14,200 right? You start in the verse, then you 376 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:15,840 look at the context just in Mark. 377 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:18,240 And that's important because some people will say, yeah, 378 00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:20,000 well, that's what this person says. 379 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:21,760 That's what that book says. But that's not what Mark says. 380 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:25,040 OK, let's just stay in Mark then, and if they're still 381 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:27,120 willing to listen, then I would say, let's consider now what the 382 00:24:27,120 --> 00:24:30,120 whole Bible has to say, because all of God's Word is God's word. 383 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:37,000 How much of Christ being more than just a man is presented to 384 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:38,400 us? But not just that. 385 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:44,440 There are even places where we see without a doubt, Christ 386 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:47,160 claiming or at least receiving the acknowledgement that He is 387 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:49,640 all knowing, that He is all knowing. 388 00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:51,680 OK, so you have your Bibles with you, right? 389 00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:55,800 Go to John 21. This is very important to see 390 00:24:55,800 --> 00:25:02,880 with your own eyes. How can Jesus be crowned as God 391 00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:05,160 if he is not all knowing? Well consider these verses in 392 00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:07,320 the Gospel accounts that tell us he is all knowing. 393 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:14,360 John 21 verse 17. Here's Jesus with Peter and some 394 00:25:14,360 --> 00:25:16,960 of the disciples. Peter decided to go fishing when 395 00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:17,920 he wasn't supposed to be fishing. 396 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:21,400 He was called to Fishman, but disappointment in your 397 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:23,800 sanctification and in your performance for Christ can 398 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:28,360 really do a number. He is so just distraught, he 399 00:25:28,360 --> 00:25:31,760 decides to go back to square one before Christ called him to 400 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:34,440 himself. And Jesus stands on the shore. 401 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:39,040 What a merciful king we have. And he calls to Peter and the 402 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:41,920 rest of that boat, and they recognize that it's Christ and 403 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:43,800 they come to the shore and what do they find? 404 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:47,640 They find their Master. And what does the Master do? 405 00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:52,040 He prepared breakfast for them. Can you imagine God making you 406 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:56,760 breakfast? He prepares a meal for them and 407 00:25:56,760 --> 00:25:59,680 he sits with them. And this is so amazing because 408 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:02,520 he's intending to take this opportunity for Peter, who 409 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:06,840 publicly denied Christ, to now publicly affirm his love for 410 00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:10,840 Christ. So after their bellies were 411 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:17,520 full, Jesus turns over to Peter and he asked them twice before 412 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:19,120 what we're about to read. Do you love me? 413 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:24,960 Peter says I do feed my sheep. Do you love me? 414 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:29,440 I do 10 my lambs. And look at verse 17. 415 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:34,560 He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love 416 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:37,280 me? Peter was grieved because he 417 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:39,960 said to him the third time, Do you love me? 418 00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:47,040 And he said to him, Lord, you know everything, you know 419 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:50,160 everything. You know that I love you. 420 00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:57,960 Wow, you know, I thought about that. 421 00:26:57,960 --> 00:26:59,720 Never mind. We're making this is very much a 422 00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:01,400 theological session. I get it. 423 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:04,080 But I just want to pause here. Isn't it amazing that Peter 424 00:27:04,760 --> 00:27:08,040 understood something about Christ that he did not even need 425 00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:09,840 to tell him he loved him. He knew that Christ. 426 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:13,320 He knew that Christ knew that he loved him or not. 427 00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:17,200 Christ knows your heart. He knows my heart. 428 00:27:18,120 --> 00:27:22,160 The facade might fool others, but he already knows before I 429 00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:28,200 sing a note or preach a gospel message, if I love him. 430 00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:36,680 Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you. 431 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:40,520 You know what Jesus didn't say, Peter? 432 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:44,000 Now you said I know everything. I don't know everything. 433 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:45,560 Remember? Remember that teaching when I 434 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:46,920 said I don't know the day or the hour? 435 00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:51,080 Jesus corrected Peter on many blunders. 436 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:55,480 You read the gospel accounts, you discover that Peter has a 437 00:27:55,480 --> 00:27:57,480 tendency to just say things right off the whim, right? 438 00:27:57,720 --> 00:27:59,720 And Jesus corrects him, sometimes rebukes him. 439 00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:04,520 But here's Peter saying, Lord, you know everything. 440 00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:08,640 You know that I love you. And Jesus said to him, feed my 441 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:11,240 sheep. He doesn't misdirect his 442 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:12,400 thoughts. He doesn't correct. 443 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:16,680 He receives he receives that acknowledgement. 444 00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:24,000 Now you realize that John 21 is Christ post resurrected, right? 445 00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:28,120 This is after his resurrection. This is before his ascension. 446 00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:32,520 So that is to be taken into consideration. 447 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:38,760 But go to John 16 and look at another account of the disciples 448 00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:43,480 having a conversation with Jesus where he tells them that he will 449 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:45,640 no longer speak to them and figures of speech what will 450 00:28:45,640 --> 00:29:00,270 speak to them plainly. John 1629, his disciples said, 451 00:29:00,350 --> 00:29:07,390 ah, now you're speaking plainly and not using figurative speech. 452 00:29:07,750 --> 00:29:15,680 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to 453 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:20,480 question you. This is why we believe that you 454 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:25,880 came from God. So pause, take your time and 455 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:31,840 understanding what the disciples are saying here, they realize it 456 00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:33,480 dawned to them, the light was switched on. 457 00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:37,000 Oh, you, you know all things. And they followed up by saying 458 00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:39,080 and do not need anyone to question you. 459 00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:40,840 What do they mean by that? Lord? 460 00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:44,960 You don't need anybody to test your knowledge to probe you 461 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:49,680 because you've convinced us you know everything. 462 00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:54,480 So unlike others who might be subject to scrutiny and 463 00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:59,840 investigation and testing, you stand out among them all because 464 00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:05,120 you know all things. And the omniscience of Christ 465 00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:08,360 moved them to such a degree that they make this conclusion. 466 00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:09,680 Look at the last part of verse 30. 467 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:13,480 This is why we believe that you came from God. 468 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:20,280 What compounded their conviction that Christ came from God? 469 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:24,520 He knows all things. You know everything. 470 00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:26,920 We don't have to wonder about it. 471 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:27,920 We don't have to second guess it. 472 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:30,480 It's so plain and so obvious now. 473 00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:33,320 This is a major claim, is it not, for somebody to know 474 00:30:33,320 --> 00:30:36,960 absolutely everything? Wouldn't this be an opportunity 475 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:41,120 for Christ? This is before his death, by the 476 00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:42,560 way. That's why I'm quoting it to 477 00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:44,960 you. This is John 16. 478 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:47,840 He hasn't gone to the cross yet. This is him while he's still on 479 00:30:47,840 --> 00:30:49,680 earth fulfilling His earthly ministry. 480 00:30:50,840 --> 00:30:55,920 Wouldn't this be the time for him to say now, Now I did come 481 00:30:55,920 --> 00:30:59,000 from heaven, but I don't know absolutely everything. 482 00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:03,240 Instead, look what he says in verse 31 is his response. 483 00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:07,840 Jesus answered them. Do you now believe like finally 484 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:11,960 you got it. Finally you understand that yes, 485 00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:13,520 I did come from God. But more than that, he's 486 00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:16,440 acknowledging everything that they're saying that I also know 487 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:25,080 all things. So we come to this passage. 488 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:29,520 The Lord doesn't deny it. He confirms everything that 489 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:31,960 they're claiming. So before the resurrection, 490 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:35,160 after the resurrection, the Scriptures directly deal with 491 00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:38,040 the person of Christ and declare that He is what all knowing. 492 00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:40,320 So then how do we make sense of him? 493 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:45,560 How do we make sense of Him in Mark 1332 saying that He doesn't 494 00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:48,760 know something? And this is where you and I have 495 00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:51,880 to take into account the dual nature of Christ. 496 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:57,240 Everything that was presented up to this point, I hope confirms 497 00:31:57,240 --> 00:32:00,880 to you that Jesus did not cease to be God when he entered into 498 00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:04,920 this world. And we also believe that through 499 00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:10,160 the incarnation that the Lord of glory did come to become a true 500 00:32:10,160 --> 00:32:16,040 human, which means that as much as his divine attributes were 501 00:32:16,040 --> 00:32:19,800 present while on earth, we have to also remember that the 502 00:32:19,800 --> 00:32:25,400 components and the essential ingredients of being a human 503 00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:28,920 were also in function, though without sin. 504 00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:36,800 So he was fully or truly God, but he was also fully and truly 505 00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:40,400 man. And if he was truly man, though 506 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:44,880 without a trace of sin, you have to understand then that there's 507 00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:48,520 going to be limitations by virtue of being man. 508 00:32:49,320 --> 00:32:55,280 So He has to eat and he has to drink and he has to rest. 509 00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:59,040 And He asked to, as we learned in the Gospels, grow in his 510 00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:01,240 wisdom and knowledge. And part of that growth and 511 00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:04,640 wisdom and knowledge is that there is some restriction to a 512 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:11,200 certain degree of data, and that is all to again confirm His 513 00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:14,040 humanity. And so the restriction that 514 00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:19,360 Christ underwent is part of His subjecting himself to the will 515 00:33:19,360 --> 00:33:22,480 of God by entering into this world as a man. 516 00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:26,520 Now you might think to yourself, this is so complicated, it can't 517 00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:30,000 be true. How do you make sense of the 518 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:34,240 mingling of someone being truly divine and and truly human? 519 00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:37,040 What are the intricacies of the mechanics of that? 520 00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:40,480 The Bible doesn't give it. But let me comfort you in this, 521 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:42,680 and maybe this is something that will help. 522 00:33:43,800 --> 00:33:47,120 Never mind the complexities of two nature working in one 523 00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:51,080 person, your nature alone as a man, we can't figure ourselves 524 00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:54,640 out. You realize that the depths of 525 00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:59,440 consciousness, how your brain functions, why certain things 526 00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:00,680 happen and why they don't happen. 527 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:04,440 We can't even figure that out. And here we are not renouncing 528 00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:08,280 our existence. And so it's it's something for 529 00:34:08,280 --> 00:34:14,080 us to take into account that we ourselves are complicated beings 530 00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:18,159 and yet we're willing to throw away the truth just because we 531 00:34:18,159 --> 00:34:21,639 can't wrap our minds around the person of Jesus Christ in his 532 00:34:21,639 --> 00:34:24,880 incarnation. There is a ceiling that you will 533 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:27,840 meet in this. And the Bible does not give us 534 00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:32,480 this in depth kind of insight into how those things work. 535 00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:35,040 All it does is give us the evidence and we're supposed to 536 00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:38,840 acknowledge that evidence and humble ourselves at a certain 537 00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:41,080 point. Say you are God. 538 00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:45,040 That's why Timothy tells us that this is the mystery of godliness 539 00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:47,520 that God manifested in the flesh. 540 00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:51,960 It's a mystery. It's a mystery and we as 541 00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:55,679 creatures have to humbly accept mystery in our faith that we are 542 00:34:55,679 --> 00:34:58,840 a rational faith. We're not people who who blindly 543 00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:03,400 accept things, but there's some things that we must be joyfully 544 00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:07,000 surrendered to. But again, this is the part 545 00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:11,160 where we go from wondering to worship, because again, the 546 00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:14,840 restrictions of man is something that Christ willingly surrender 547 00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:16,120 to. And that's why in Philippians 548 00:35:16,120 --> 00:35:18,480 27, you read this in Philippians 27. 549 00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:22,600 But he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant being born 550 00:35:22,760 --> 00:35:27,240 in the likeness of man. So Paul tells us, not only did 551 00:35:27,240 --> 00:35:32,440 he humble himself by becoming a man, but he became a servant. 552 00:35:32,840 --> 00:35:37,120 Yes, human, but not a king, not a human king, not a not a human 553 00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:40,160 ruler. No, He came as a man, but as a 554 00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:43,560 servant. And what's so amazing is that 555 00:35:43,600 --> 00:35:49,000 Jesus Christ indirectly speaks about one of the elements of 556 00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:51,760 being a servant. That sheds some light into him 557 00:35:51,760 --> 00:35:54,200 not knowing the day or the hour. If you want to see it, you're 558 00:35:54,200 --> 00:35:56,640 already in John. I hope go to John 1515 and 559 00:35:56,640 --> 00:35:59,840 you'll be able to under score what I'm conveying. 560 00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:14,640 John 1515 No longer speaking to his disciples. 561 00:36:14,640 --> 00:36:18,640 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does 562 00:36:18,640 --> 00:36:22,160 not know what his master is doing. 563 00:36:24,160 --> 00:36:26,280 Paul tells us that when Jesus came to this world, he became a 564 00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:28,960 servant. And look how Jesus qualifies. 565 00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:31,920 What a servant the limitations of a servant. 566 00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:35,160 At least he says a servant doesn't know what his master is 567 00:36:35,160 --> 00:36:39,080 doing. But I've called you friends, for 568 00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:41,760 all that I have heard from my Father, I have made known to 569 00:36:41,760 --> 00:36:47,160 you. Ah, Christ becoming a servant is 570 00:36:47,160 --> 00:36:51,640 willing to subject, subjugate himself to a role in which he 571 00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:55,840 restricts his knowledge. So how do we tie this all 572 00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:59,600 together? As a man, as the perfect servant 573 00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:04,360 of the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ would not be able to 574 00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:08,880 recollect that which the Father chooses only to make known to 575 00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:13,200 Him. So he he surrendered to the 576 00:37:13,200 --> 00:37:15,400 Father, revealing to Him everything that He needed to 577 00:37:15,400 --> 00:37:18,920 know as a servant. At the same time, the ability 578 00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:23,760 for Christ to recall all things always remained, so He 579 00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:26,800 surrendered Himself to that limitation in His humanity. 580 00:37:26,800 --> 00:37:31,560 But in His divine aspect He did know all things. 581 00:37:32,240 --> 00:37:38,400 How to make sense of that? Not easy, it's not easy, but the 582 00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:42,320 evidence is plain, and so the intricacies of it, the 583 00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:46,560 harmonization of it, may not be plain, but what it is plain is 584 00:37:46,560 --> 00:37:49,200 that He does know all things. And yet in His humility and His 585 00:37:49,200 --> 00:37:52,880 mission to come save us to identify with man, He applied 586 00:37:52,880 --> 00:37:57,840 limitations as a servant, only being able to convey and bring 587 00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:02,080 to mind that which the Father as his superior would make known to 588 00:38:02,080 --> 00:38:09,120 him what we can under there. Hopefully you know now the three 589 00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:12,080 steps to answering that question concerning that that verse. 590 00:38:12,080 --> 00:38:13,600 But there is an alternative view. 591 00:38:14,640 --> 00:38:16,720 There is an alternative view that I want to present to you. 592 00:38:16,720 --> 00:38:20,680 And it's a good case to make many people make it. 593 00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:22,000 Maybe this is the first time you've heard it. 594 00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:23,920 Maybe this is something that you believe. 595 00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:27,840 Go back to Mark 1332 as we're prepared to close in a moment, 596 00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:33,400 he says. But concerning that day or that 597 00:38:33,400 --> 00:38:36,880 hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, 598 00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:43,160 but only the Father. Now the word know in the 599 00:38:43,160 --> 00:38:49,240 Scriptures can mean something else depending on the context. 600 00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:56,520 It can also mean to make known. So to know something isn't 601 00:38:56,520 --> 00:38:59,480 limited to the Bible in the sense of having cognitive 602 00:38:59,480 --> 00:39:04,120 understanding of something that word know can also mean to make 603 00:39:04,120 --> 00:39:05,560 known. It's almost like a verb to 604 00:39:05,560 --> 00:39:11,000 reveal or to disclose. And the the best example of that 605 00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:14,600 being the case is in First Corinthians chapter 2, verse 2, 606 00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:17,880 where Paul tells these Corinthian believers the 607 00:39:17,880 --> 00:39:22,760 following. For I decided to know nothing 608 00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:25,720 among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 609 00:39:29,280 --> 00:39:33,120 So what's happening here is Paul admitting that he knows 610 00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:35,760 absolutely nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 611 00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:39,400 No, no, that's absurd. That's not what Christ. 612 00:39:39,520 --> 00:39:40,720 That's not what Paul rather is saying. 613 00:39:40,880 --> 00:39:42,880 He's telling these Corinthian believers as he's reminding 614 00:39:42,880 --> 00:39:46,800 them, that when he came to them to preach to them, he decided to 615 00:39:46,800 --> 00:39:50,480 make known. I decided to know in his 616 00:39:50,480 --> 00:39:53,880 language, nothing among you. My central message was the 617 00:39:53,880 --> 00:39:57,000 gospel, the person of Christ and what he's done on the cross. 618 00:39:58,040 --> 00:40:02,760 But notice the verbiage here. For I decided to know nothing 619 00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:05,920 among you. And so the alternative view is 620 00:40:05,920 --> 00:40:10,840 when you take this and apply it back to Mark 1332, it could read 621 00:40:10,840 --> 00:40:14,080 the following way. But concerning that day or that 622 00:40:14,080 --> 00:40:18,120 hour, no one knows one because they don't have the ability to 623 00:40:18,120 --> 00:40:19,440 know. Human being knows that they are 624 00:40:19,440 --> 00:40:25,600 the hour, not even the angels in heaven, because they also don't 625 00:40:25,600 --> 00:40:27,040 know. They're not omniscient. 626 00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:32,840 They don't have access to that, nor the son, not because he 627 00:40:32,840 --> 00:40:38,880 doesn't know, but because as a servant, because he is subject 628 00:40:38,880 --> 00:40:42,840 to the father, he does not have the prerogative or the right to 629 00:40:42,840 --> 00:40:46,600 make it known. I cannot make that known unless 630 00:40:46,600 --> 00:40:49,880 the father gives me access and the authority to make it known. 631 00:40:49,880 --> 00:40:53,760 I do know cognitively, but I can't, like Paul says, I can't 632 00:40:53,760 --> 00:40:57,720 make it known to you. That's up to the father alone. 633 00:40:57,720 --> 00:40:59,440 And that's why he says, but only the Father. 634 00:41:00,720 --> 00:41:04,400 So that is a view that many do hold to even his historically. 635 00:41:04,400 --> 00:41:06,920 That is a view that many have held to and explained this verse 636 00:41:06,920 --> 00:41:09,960 in that way. But All in all, this is how I'm 637 00:41:09,960 --> 00:41:14,720 going to end because I don't want to end it on that thought. 638 00:41:16,480 --> 00:41:18,520 But concerning that day or the hour, no one knows, not even the 639 00:41:18,520 --> 00:41:20,480 angels in heaven, nor the Son. But only if I what is he talking 640 00:41:20,480 --> 00:41:22,080 about that day or the hour? The day or the hour of his 641 00:41:22,080 --> 00:41:23,480 return. And when he returns, he's coming 642 00:41:23,480 --> 00:41:30,400 to judge. So we were in school today, we 643 00:41:30,440 --> 00:41:32,440 this was heavy theology today and that's good. 644 00:41:32,440 --> 00:41:36,240 The church needs it. But I want to end by giving you 645 00:41:36,240 --> 00:41:39,280 an opportunity to receive the Lord Jesus Christ. 646 00:41:40,360 --> 00:41:42,760 You know, verse comes to mind and I want to quote it to you. 647 00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:48,040 It's in Acts 10 where the apostles say the following in 648 00:41:48,040 --> 00:41:53,640 Acts 1042. And He commanded us to preach to 649 00:41:53,640 --> 00:42:00,080 the people and to testify that He is the one appointed by God 650 00:42:00,320 --> 00:42:03,400 to be judge of the living and the dead. 651 00:42:03,400 --> 00:42:07,680 Let me tell you something. Jesus Christ was not just 652 00:42:07,680 --> 00:42:10,360 appointed to save the world. He's been appointed to judge the 653 00:42:10,360 --> 00:42:12,800 world. Judgement Day is coming. 654 00:42:14,320 --> 00:42:16,520 And for you who might be bothered by that message, you 655 00:42:16,520 --> 00:42:18,840 have to come to this verse and try to explain it, because these 656 00:42:18,960 --> 00:42:22,240 are telling us that they were commanded to preach. 657 00:42:22,240 --> 00:42:26,720 What judgement He commanded us to preach to the people to 658 00:42:26,720 --> 00:42:30,600 testify that what he is the appointed 1 by God to judge the 659 00:42:30,600 --> 00:42:33,240 living and the dead. Not a lot of talk of judgement 660 00:42:33,240 --> 00:42:39,840 from preachers today, but this is Apostolic and so I want to 661 00:42:39,840 --> 00:42:43,920 let you know that there's a day coming where God is gone to by 662 00:42:43,920 --> 00:42:47,080 the Son. Take into account every single 663 00:42:47,080 --> 00:42:53,280 thought, deed, action, lack of action, and bring retribution to 664 00:42:53,320 --> 00:42:56,640 it. There is a day coming where 665 00:42:56,640 --> 00:43:00,080 you're going to give your final breath, and the very few seconds 666 00:43:00,080 --> 00:43:04,360 after that, your eternal destination will be sealed. 667 00:43:06,240 --> 00:43:08,200 And I heard somebody say it this way, that the job of the 668 00:43:08,200 --> 00:43:12,880 preacher is to preach and convince others to change their 669 00:43:12,880 --> 00:43:18,240 eternal address. You're going somewhere, I'm 670 00:43:18,240 --> 00:43:20,720 going somewhere. I know you want to try to live 671 00:43:20,720 --> 00:43:24,200 here as long as possible, but I heard another preacher say this 672 00:43:24,200 --> 00:43:27,800 way, that he stood on the side of many deathbeds where people 673 00:43:27,800 --> 00:43:30,200 have fought for their breath and they couldn't keep it. 674 00:43:32,080 --> 00:43:34,320 Explain the sight and the sound of it that there have been 675 00:43:34,320 --> 00:43:38,360 people who try to hold on to their breath and it's going to 676 00:43:38,360 --> 00:43:41,640 leave you. No matter how strong you are, no 677 00:43:41,640 --> 00:43:43,720 matter how many vitamins you've pumped into your body, no matter 678 00:43:43,720 --> 00:43:45,960 how many weights you've lifted, no matter how many things that 679 00:43:45,960 --> 00:43:48,520 you've done for you to be as healthy as possible, there's 680 00:43:48,520 --> 00:43:50,800 going to be a day where your breath is going to leave you and 681 00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:55,000 you can't do anything about it. And the moment you give that 682 00:43:55,000 --> 00:43:58,240 final breath, you're going to enter into a world more real 683 00:43:58,240 --> 00:44:01,680 than this one. And what's going to happen is 684 00:44:01,680 --> 00:44:04,000 this. What you did with Jesus here 685 00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:05,960 will determine what Christ will do with you then. 686 00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:11,280 He's been appointed by God to judge. 687 00:44:11,280 --> 00:44:15,120 He's going to judge every wicked deed, every unbelieving thought, 688 00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:19,440 every single conviction that contradicts His truth will not 689 00:44:19,440 --> 00:44:22,320 be winked at. It will be acknowledged and it 690 00:44:22,320 --> 00:44:26,960 will be dealt with by a holy God and the scrutiny of His 691 00:44:26,960 --> 00:44:29,560 Holiness. No man can dare stand there and 692 00:44:29,560 --> 00:44:31,720 even think that they can defend themselves. 693 00:44:31,720 --> 00:44:36,200 The very sight of His being will cause you to melt and realize 694 00:44:36,200 --> 00:44:41,640 that you have no chance. You have no chance to receive 695 00:44:41,640 --> 00:44:45,040 eternal life. But that's not the only thing 696 00:44:45,040 --> 00:44:50,080 that the apostles said here in Acts 1042. 697 00:44:50,080 --> 00:44:53,360 We're told that they were were to preach this message. 698 00:44:53,360 --> 00:44:58,080 But look at verse 43. To him, all the prophets bear 699 00:44:58,080 --> 00:45:01,320 witness that everyone who believes in Him receives 700 00:45:01,320 --> 00:45:03,120 forgiveness of sins through His name. 701 00:45:03,120 --> 00:45:10,160 So it's not just judgement, it's grace forgiveness. 702 00:45:10,480 --> 00:45:12,640 Judgement Day is coming, but you can escape it. 703 00:45:13,120 --> 00:45:15,160 Judgement Day is coming, but you can be forgiven. 704 00:45:15,600 --> 00:45:19,000 And notice that forgiveness for any sin, any deed, any action, 705 00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:23,480 any misaction, is only applied and accessed through His name, 706 00:45:23,880 --> 00:45:26,160 the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom I serve. 707 00:45:27,160 --> 00:45:29,680 And I present to you that name. If you have not believed on that 708 00:45:29,680 --> 00:45:33,720 name, if you have not repented from your sin and received and 709 00:45:33,720 --> 00:45:36,920 applied your heart to that name, today is your day. 710 00:45:38,080 --> 00:45:41,080 Let your heart be at rest this afternoon, knowing that you've 711 00:45:41,080 --> 00:45:45,160 made peace with God Almighty. Let your heart be at rest, 712 00:45:45,160 --> 00:45:49,640 knowing that you have received salvation as a gift from this 713 00:45:49,680 --> 00:45:55,360 Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And so I want to invite you 714 00:45:55,360 --> 00:45:58,320 today if you have never made that choice, if you can't 715 00:45:58,320 --> 00:46:02,120 remember a time where you have decided I will turn from my sin 716 00:46:02,120 --> 00:46:05,160 and I will receive the shed blood of Jesus Christ to wash 717 00:46:05,160 --> 00:46:08,120 over me, why would you deny such a request? 718 00:46:08,320 --> 00:46:14,000 There is a time coming where many, many people will realize 719 00:46:14,000 --> 00:46:16,840 the foolishness of them rejecting this message that I 720 00:46:16,840 --> 00:46:21,200 present to you. You think we're just a random 721 00:46:21,200 --> 00:46:24,160 ball floating in the blackness of space and this just all 722 00:46:24,160 --> 00:46:26,760 happened? You think this is going nowhere? 723 00:46:26,760 --> 00:46:30,080 No, no, no, no, no. Every Rd. is leading to Judgment 724 00:46:30,080 --> 00:46:37,200 Day and God in His great love and steadfastness has made a way 725 00:46:37,200 --> 00:46:41,560 for us to hide from the wrath to come and to receive not just 726 00:46:41,560 --> 00:46:45,760 forgiveness, but fellowship with God, fellowship with God. 727 00:46:46,040 --> 00:46:49,560 This is not just you erasing your account so that when when 728 00:46:49,560 --> 00:46:52,680 he comes, he's going to examine you, say, OK, you pass, now just 729 00:46:52,680 --> 00:46:54,560 tuck yourself somewhere in the peripheral of heaven. 730 00:46:56,040 --> 00:46:59,280 This is God in his great love, though Judge is also one who 731 00:46:59,280 --> 00:47:02,840 desires to extend himself as Father to his creatures, and he 732 00:47:02,840 --> 00:47:05,440 wants to receive you and know you, walk with you, love you, 733 00:47:05,440 --> 00:47:09,760 and for you to share an eternal communion forever. 734 00:47:11,920 --> 00:47:14,120 And so I herald this truth to you today. 735 00:47:15,160 --> 00:47:20,040 Repent from your sins and flee to the cross of Jesus Christ. 736 00:47:20,680 --> 00:47:24,320 Run to him. Flee to the city of refuge 737 00:47:25,880 --> 00:47:30,360 before it's too late. I know many people want to make 738 00:47:30,360 --> 00:47:32,400 other people feel good. You can make people feel good 739 00:47:32,400 --> 00:47:36,360 until they go to hell. That's not my job. 740 00:47:37,080 --> 00:47:39,560 That's not the job of the preacher, the job of the 741 00:47:39,560 --> 00:47:43,120 preachers, to proclaim salvation and for people to enter into 742 00:47:43,120 --> 00:47:45,360 abundant life through His name alone. 743 00:47:45,760 --> 00:47:47,440 I'm not inviting you to a drudgery. 744 00:47:47,440 --> 00:47:50,400 I'm not inviting you to some kind of weighty way of life in 745 00:47:50,400 --> 00:47:51,800 which you're always looking over your soul. 746 00:47:51,960 --> 00:47:56,080 I'm inviting you to joy. And joy abundantly can only come 747 00:47:56,080 --> 00:47:58,880 for the One who made you, can only come from the One who 748 00:47:58,880 --> 00:48:00,520 created. You can only come from the One 749 00:48:00,520 --> 00:48:02,440 who saved you, wants to restore you, make you whole. 750 00:48:03,320 --> 00:48:05,240 You are a frag. You are creating the image of 751 00:48:05,240 --> 00:48:09,120 God, but it's fragmented. You are created to reflect His 752 00:48:09,120 --> 00:48:13,560 glory, but sin has muddied it and only Christ can cleanse it. 753 00:48:14,400 --> 00:48:16,800 Only Christ can restore you and make you whole. 754 00:48:17,080 --> 00:48:20,280 And I want to tell you today in my closing that this Jesus 755 00:48:20,280 --> 00:48:22,960 Christ, who I proclaim to you is not just the way into heaven, 756 00:48:22,960 --> 00:48:25,200 He's the way into. You can know freedom here on 757 00:48:25,200 --> 00:48:28,000 earth. He sets free. 758 00:48:28,200 --> 00:48:34,920 He breaks any shackle, any bondage, any turmoil. 759 00:48:35,040 --> 00:48:39,040 Let me tell you something. When I got saved, I know I got 760 00:48:39,040 --> 00:48:42,480 saved. Not into sinless perfectionism. 761 00:48:42,480 --> 00:48:44,760 No, no, no, no, no. But I can tell you that the 762 00:48:44,760 --> 00:48:48,560 weight came off. The burden of sin, the power of 763 00:48:48,560 --> 00:48:52,000 iniquity was removed from my life. 764 00:48:52,000 --> 00:48:56,240 And it's been 12 years and I can look back and still say I'm a 765 00:48:56,240 --> 00:48:59,280 free man because of Jesus Christ. 766 00:48:59,880 --> 00:49:07,000 I invite you into freedom in Christ, my brother. 767 00:49:07,000 --> 00:49:09,240 Do you struggle, dear? Do you have bad days? 768 00:49:09,240 --> 00:49:14,920 You better believe it, but I have Christ in my life, and I 769 00:49:14,920 --> 00:49:18,320 rather be with Christ on a stormy day than be without 770 00:49:18,320 --> 00:49:21,520 Christ on a sunny day. I want Him. 771 00:49:21,520 --> 00:49:25,240 I have nowhere else to go. You are a wanderer. 772 00:49:25,240 --> 00:49:28,360 You are lost. You are abandoned without Him. 773 00:49:29,240 --> 00:49:33,320 But here He is now, inviting you to know fellowship and 774 00:49:33,320 --> 00:49:37,040 relationship with your Maker. Do not deny it. 775 00:49:37,040 --> 00:49:40,440 He is stretching His hand to you on the Sunday afternoon, and 776 00:49:40,440 --> 00:49:43,680 he's pleading with you to come and receive the assurance of 777 00:49:43,720 --> 00:49:49,080 eternal life and life today. And so I beg of you, come, 778 00:49:49,080 --> 00:49:50,480 receive the living bread of heaven. 779 00:49:51,080 --> 00:49:53,040 I beg of you, drink of this living water. 780 00:49:53,600 --> 00:49:56,200 If you come and sip from this, you will never have to look at 781 00:49:56,200 --> 00:49:59,320 another well again. I assure you that if you drink 782 00:49:59,320 --> 00:50:02,280 from this fountain, you will never have to explore another 783 00:50:02,280 --> 00:50:04,160 day in your life to no satisfaction. 784 00:50:04,600 --> 00:50:08,600 It's completely found in him. And there's a day coming that 785 00:50:08,600 --> 00:50:10,920 this invitation I present to you has an expiration. 786 00:50:11,520 --> 00:50:14,560 There is an expiration date. You cannot afford to wait. 787 00:50:14,680 --> 00:50:16,240 Did you notice what we read in the beginning? 788 00:50:16,360 --> 00:50:18,480 After speaking about that day or the hour in which he will 789 00:50:18,480 --> 00:50:21,320 return, he urges his listeners stay awake. 790 00:50:21,400 --> 00:50:22,840 We're going to talk about that next week. 791 00:50:24,040 --> 00:50:25,360 You don't know when it's going to happen. 792 00:50:25,360 --> 00:50:27,320 Don't. Don't allow yourself to stay 793 00:50:27,320 --> 00:50:30,000 asleep. Get up from your slumber and 794 00:50:30,000 --> 00:50:33,880 realize that the day of salvation is now, is now. 795 00:50:34,240 --> 00:50:37,320 So I beckon you to get saved. Listen, if you don't know Jesus 796 00:50:37,320 --> 00:50:40,360 Christ as your Lord and Savior, the elders will be here. 797 00:50:40,680 --> 00:50:43,680 Whoever came with you as a believer will be here to answer 798 00:50:43,680 --> 00:50:46,760 any questions and to help you find the light in Christ. 799 00:50:47,040 --> 00:50:48,680 That's what this is about. We're not here to play church. 800 00:50:48,680 --> 00:50:50,880 They didn't sign up for this thing to just go through an hour 801 00:50:50,880 --> 00:50:52,600 and a half every single Sunday and just go home. 802 00:50:53,320 --> 00:50:55,320 Souls are hanging in the balance every week. 803 00:50:55,320 --> 00:50:58,200 And so I want to let you know that we take this seriously. 804 00:50:58,360 --> 00:51:00,920 If you need to be saved, find one of us. 805 00:51:01,160 --> 00:51:03,680 Find one of us and ask, and we'll be glad. 806 00:51:03,840 --> 00:51:05,680 It will be considered a privilege to help you see the 807 00:51:05,680 --> 00:51:08,080 glory of Jesus Christ. I'm done. 808 00:51:09,880 --> 00:51:12,600 Let's pray together as the praise team comes up, before the 809 00:51:12,840 --> 00:51:14,600 actually praise team come up, and then I'll pray. 810 00:51:14,800 --> 00:51:17,720 I just want you right now in the silence of your own heart to 811 00:51:17,720 --> 00:51:19,960 evaluate yourself. If you're somebody here who 812 00:51:19,960 --> 00:51:23,560 doesn't know Christ, ask yourself, why would I deny this 813 00:51:23,560 --> 00:51:26,640 gospel? Why would not I accept this free 814 00:51:26,640 --> 00:51:29,600 gift of salvation? Believe if you're here, just 815 00:51:29,600 --> 00:51:32,080 rejoice in knowing that this Bible that you hold is the 816 00:51:32,080 --> 00:51:35,840 truth, and give God glory in knowing that you have everything 817 00:51:35,840 --> 00:51:40,680 you need in Him. Lord, we do thank you from the 818 00:51:40,680 --> 00:51:43,200 bottom of our hearts for this session in which we were able to 819 00:51:43,200 --> 00:51:44,720 understand the depths of Scripture. 820 00:51:45,160 --> 00:51:48,360 Thank you for confirming to us that even in places in the Bible 821 00:51:48,360 --> 00:51:51,720 that may seem to be challenging and those who may say he's 822 00:51:51,720 --> 00:51:54,160 contradicting, you've given us answers. 823 00:51:54,160 --> 00:51:57,640 We praise you for that. But Lord, in this day or the and 824 00:51:57,640 --> 00:52:00,120 then in this hour, we realize that the gospel must be 825 00:52:00,120 --> 00:52:03,560 proclaimed. Yes, explanations, but also the 826 00:52:03,560 --> 00:52:06,080 gospel that saves. Explanations can only go so far. 827 00:52:06,080 --> 00:52:08,720 It's this gospel that renews and redeems. 828 00:52:09,000 --> 00:52:11,320 So we pray that if even if there's one person in here that 829 00:52:11,320 --> 00:52:14,040 doesn't know Christ, that your Spirit will continue his work. 830 00:52:14,400 --> 00:52:16,920 They're bringing that conviction that brings about change if it's 831 00:52:16,920 --> 00:52:20,440 responded to appropriately. Lord, at this time, we worship 832 00:52:20,440 --> 00:52:22,280 you. We thank you that you did send 833 00:52:22,280 --> 00:52:26,800 your Son, the superior one who humbled himself and became a 834 00:52:26,800 --> 00:52:34,440 servant to serve sinners. There is no God like you and we 835 00:52:34,440 --> 00:52:37,640 worship you and give you your due on this Sunday afternoon. 836 00:52:38,240 --> 00:52:40,280 In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 837 00:52:40,480 --> 00:52:44,040 Let's stand and give him glory and praise and exaltation. 838 00:52:44,200 --> 00:52:46,560 He is worthy. He is the King of kings. 839 00:52:46,720 --> 00:52:48,040 He is the Lord of Lords.