1
00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:10,120
He made a story of John Payton 
who went to be a missionary in 

2
00:00:10,120 --> 00:00:14,840
what was then called the New 
Hebrides, now Vanuatu, as he 

3
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declared his desire to go and 
take the gospel to these 

4
00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:21,840
unreached lands and explains to 
a mission conference perhaps not

5
00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:26,160
unlike this one, why he was so 
full of passion to reach this 

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people with the gospel. 
Eventually someone in the the 

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congregation couldn't hold back 
anymore and they stood up. 

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This was in Scotland. 
They stood up and said the 

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cannibals, the cannibals, you'll
be eaten by the cannibals. 

10
00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:50,080
And John Payton very calmly 
replied, Mr. Dixon, you're 

11
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advanced in years now, and your 
own prospect is soon to be laid 

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00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:57,000
in the grave there to be eaten 
by worms. 

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I confess to you that if I can 
but live and die serving and 

14
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honouring the Lord Jesus, it 
will make no difference to me 

15
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whether I'm eaten by cannibals 
or by worms. 

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And in the great day of the 
resurrection my body will arise 

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as fair as yours. 
In the likeness of our Redeemer.

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There is a man with a passion 
for mission. 

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There is a man willing to 
sacrifice all so that others 

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might hear of the grace and the 
love of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

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And yet, I think there is a a 
danger. 

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There is a danger not with John 
Payton or any other of 1000 

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inspiring missionary stories we 
could have shared this week, 

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whether from history or no doubt
in the lives of some of those 

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missionaries. 
Sponsored by sent from PCPC. 

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But the danger is that we begin 
to think that missionary 

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conferences are about recruiting
All Stars. 

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That is 123-4000. 
People today hear about mission,

29
00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:07,320
hear God's voice in the book of 
Haggai. 

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We think what's going on is that
the top 1% point 5% are being 

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creamed off and sent to do 
something exotic in some exotic 

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corner of the world. 
And then we can go back to 

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everyday life happy and wait for
next year's conference. 

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But to do so, we're to miss 
God's desire, God's desire to 

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see the nation's one and its 
desire to use ordinary people, 

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not All Stars to reach the 
nation's in its final section of

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Haggai this evening, we need to 
ask the question, what do I need

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to be in order to be effective 
in mission in God's church? 

39
00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:02,040
And the answer will be, you need
to be nothing but just see that 

40
00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:06,440
God is everything. 
We will ask the question, what 

41
00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,560
do I need to have in order to be
effective for his cause? 

42
00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:14,640
And we'll hear the same answer. 
You need to have nothing except 

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00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:20,320
the confident trust that Christ 
is all you may feel. 

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00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:23,720
Mission is for others above you,
beyond you. 

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00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:29,080
And the Lord says no, you. 
It is you, young and old, rich 

46
00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:32,160
and poor. 
It is you that I'm going to use.

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00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:37,720
And he does say first of all 
this evening by saying to you, 

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00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:40,520
you are totally incapable. 
You're totally incapable. 

49
00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:41,960
That's what I want you to hear. 
This evening. 

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00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:47,840
There's a final greeting from 
the UK Dallas PCPC. 

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00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:50,680
From the bottom of my heart, let
me tell you, you are totally 

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00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:55,160
incapable. 
But that is the Lord God. 

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00:03:55,160 --> 00:04:02,720
Verse 10, we get this strange 
last prophecy where God comes 

54
00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:05,520
and gets Haggai to ask the 
priest some questions. 

55
00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:07,200
The first one actually is verse 
12. 

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00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:11,840
He asks the priest, look, if 
someone carries holy meat in the

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fold of their garment. 
In other words, meat that's been

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00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:17,720
sacrificed on the altar and then
cooked because the altar in the 

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00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:20,680
temple was a was a bit like a 
giant BBQ, some of the meat 

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00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:24,840
afterwards could be eaten. 
If someone's got that meat and 

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00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:27,440
it's kind of wrapped up in their
garment, notice it's in the 

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00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:28,600
garment. 
That's going to be really 

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00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:35,520
important later. 
And then the garment touches 

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00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:40,160
something else. 
Does the other thing become 

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00:04:40,280 --> 00:04:43,320
holy? 
In other words, is holiness 

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00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:46,040
infectious? 
Now that strikes us as a very 

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00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:49,000
weird question, but for the 
priest it was a very easy 

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00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,240
question. 
There were rules about this in 

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00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:53,320
the book of Leviticus, to which 
we are not going to turn this 

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00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:54,560
evening, you'll be relieved to 
hear. 

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00:04:56,560 --> 00:05:01,760
And the rules were this, that if
something holy touches something

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unholy, the holy becomes unholy.
It is unholyiness, uncleanness 

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that is infectious. 
We know this, don't we, 

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00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:17,440
children? 
When you sorry parents, when you

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00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,640
send your children out wearing 
white trainers and a white 

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00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:24,040
T-shirt and they come into 
contact with a muddy puddle, the

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00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:26,960
puddle doesn't get cleaner. 
The child gets dirtier. 

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00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:31,720
So too the Levisqal laws. 
And so Haggard goes back a 

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00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:33,560
second time. 
Second question. 

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00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:36,640
Such a strange sounding question
for a book that's meant to 

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00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:42,360
motivate us for mission. 
But stick with me first. 13 If 

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someone who is unclean by 
contact with a dead body touches

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00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:48,960
any of these, does it become 
unclean? 

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00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:52,920
And the priest answered again 
correctly, it does become 

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00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,600
unclean. 
Second time round, it's the 

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00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:57,880
reverse. 
A dead body is unclean. 

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00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:01,000
What happens if a dead body 
comes into contact with 

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00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:04,320
something that's clean or the 
unclean? 

89
00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:06,400
Sorry, the clean thing becomes 
unclean. 

90
00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:14,800
It's Leviticus 101. 
During COVID, my wife and I had 

91
00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:16,560
a young girl from the church 
living with us. 

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00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:22,280
She was, she worked in the 
hospitals and it was that stage 

93
00:06:22,280 --> 00:06:25,240
where no one knew quite how 
serious the disease was going to

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00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:28,320
be and all the rest of it. 
And I came, we all were locked 

95
00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:30,800
down, but she was a hospital 
worker, so still going into 

96
00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:32,960
work. 
And I came downstairs one 

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00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:36,440
morning to find her sat with my 
young, probably 5 year old 

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00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:38,760
daughter on her lap kind of 
combing her hair. 

99
00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:42,160
And I said to this, this young 
woman, oh, you're, you're not 

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00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:45,480
going to work today. 
And she said, no, I've got 

101
00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:51,680
COVID, she's going to take my 
daughter back, please. 

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00:06:54,520 --> 00:07:00,200
Unsurprisingly, my healthy 
daughter did not cure my logic 

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00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:03,880
of COVID. 
And unsurprisingly, not much 

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00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:06,160
later, my family all got COVID. 
They're all fine. 

105
00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:11,800
It is disease that spreads. 
What's the punchline? 

106
00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:14,880
Why is God asking these 
questions? 

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00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:20,560
Verse 14 Haggai answered and 
said so it is with this people 

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and with this nation before me 
declares the Lord. 

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00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:27,280
And so with every work of their 
hands and what they offer is 

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00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:29,080
unclean. 
Do you remember the whole book 

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00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:32,880
of Haggai has been God saying 
time and time again, build my 

112
00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:34,520
temple. 
It's in ruins. 

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00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:38,360
Build it, reconstruct it. 
I need a holy dwelling place on 

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earth. 
There needs to be a point where 

115
00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:44,480
heaven and earth meet. 
Build, build, build. 

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00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:48,520
And finally by this stage of the
book they have been building and

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00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:51,960
God says everything you do is 
going to be unclean. 

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00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:59,480
What is the work of their hands?
The work of their hands has been

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the building of the temple. 
Their hands are muddy with with 

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00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:07,360
brick and cement and yet God 
says you can't do it. 

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00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:13,160
Even what you offer there. 
Verse 14, your sacrifices, your 

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00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:15,560
offerings, they're not going to 
be acceptable to me. 

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00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:20,560
Why? 
Because you are unclean and your

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00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:24,760
uncleanliness is going to spread
to everything you touch and do. 

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00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:28,040
You are incapable of building a 
home fit for me. 

126
00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:33,280
They cannot bring heaven to 
earth. 

127
00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:37,360
They cannot give God anything He
needs or deserves. 

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00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:38,880
Why? 
Because they're unclean. 

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00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:45,880
He needs people to realise they 
can't do anything. 

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00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:53,640
Why? 
Not to crush them, but to get 

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them ready to receive grace. 
To make them realise that 

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00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:02,840
without Him they are nothing, 
but in Him they have everything.

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00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:05,120
That is where the Christian life
begins, isn't it? 

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00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:07,960
We realise there is nothing we 
can do to save ourselves, 

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00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:11,960
Nothing we can contribute. 
No good deed, no prayer, no zeal

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00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:15,360
of repentance, nothing. 
In my hands I bring simply to 

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00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:20,280
the cross, I cling. 
It is not the fervency of my 

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00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:23,960
repentance, the soundness of my 
faith, but it purely the grace 

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00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:29,120
of God that saves me. 
But so to the Christian life. 

140
00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:32,040
We don't leave grace behind. 
Every day should begin in the 

141
00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:35,880
same place. 
Lord, I am helpless, but you are

142
00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:43,320
mighty. 
John 15 I am the vine, You're 

143
00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:46,000
the branches, Whoever abides in 
me, and I in Him. 

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00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:49,680
Here it is that bears much 
fruit, for apart from me you can

145
00:09:49,680 --> 00:09:58,400
do nothing. 
You're totally incapable of 

146
00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:03,000
building God's Kingdom. 
You cannot convert a single 

147
00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:09,520
native of Dallas or of Leeds or 
of Japan or of Canada. 

148
00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:13,480
You are unable to bring new 
life. 

149
00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:19,280
And yet, and yet, the book 
doesn't end there. 

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00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:23,640
You're incapable, says God. 
But in verses 15 to 19, he turns

151
00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:27,200
the tables and says, I am 
gracious. 

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00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:33,280
It's a tricky little section of 
the book and we won't get into 

153
00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:35,200
the weeds. 
But he asked them in verse 15, 

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00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:36,600
look, look, what's been going 
on? 

155
00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:38,960
Have things been blooming since 
you turned back to me? 

156
00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:41,040
Have your crops been bursting at
the seams? 

157
00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:43,840
Are your barns full? 
Is all well? 

158
00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:49,280
And the answer is no, things 
haven't been good. 

159
00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:55,920
God has been disciplining them. 
Their crops have been less than 

160
00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:57,640
they hoped for. 
Verse 17 Why? 

161
00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:00,440
Because God struck them. 
I struck you and all the 

162
00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:03,920
products of your toil with 
blight and with Milji, yet you 

163
00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:08,320
did not turn to me. 
I tried to wake you up and you 

164
00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:10,560
would not listen. 
Time and again I appeal to you, 

165
00:11:10,560 --> 00:11:20,380
and you would not listen. 
Disappointment after 

166
00:11:20,380 --> 00:11:25,060
disappointment, prophet after 
prophet sent to call God's 

167
00:11:25,060 --> 00:11:33,560
people back to him, and they 
would not listen, and so he sent

168
00:11:33,560 --> 00:11:35,880
hardship upon them. 
God does that sometimes, doesn't

169
00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:37,560
He? 
There are times that He will 

170
00:11:37,560 --> 00:11:40,720
discipline us, send tough things
into our lives, not because He 

171
00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:43,720
hates us or is turned against 
us, but because He wants to wake

172
00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:45,880
us up. 
He's done that to his people and

173
00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:52,200
still nothing. 
You're hard hearted, you're 

174
00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:54,560
apathetic. 
Everything you do is unclean. 

175
00:11:54,560 --> 00:11:56,560
You will not listen. 
You will not listen. 

176
00:11:56,560 --> 00:11:59,360
So what am I going to do with 
Jesus God and the answer is 

177
00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:01,000
there at the verse end of verse 
19. 

178
00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:04,200
What am I going to do with you 
people who will not listen, 

179
00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:08,160
people who are not interested in
me, people who don't care about 

180
00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:09,400
mission. 
What am I going to do with you 

181
00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:11,040
says the Lord God, I'm going to 
bless you. 

182
00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:17,600
You see end of verse 19. 
But from this day on, I will 

183
00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:22,880
bless you that, but it's it's it
makes no sense. 

184
00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:25,680
In fact, liberal commentators, 
non gospel believing 

185
00:12:25,680 --> 00:12:28,960
commentators on this part of 
Haggai get to this sentence and 

186
00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:32,360
say it is nonsense. 
It makes no sense. 

187
00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:35,040
God is telling them off, telling
them off, telling them off, 

188
00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:38,480
showing them what they've done 
wrong and then saying he's going

189
00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:40,400
to bless them. 
That makes no sense. 

190
00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:43,160
And it doesn't make sense. 
Unless you understand the 

191
00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:52,160
gospel, you have nothing, but 
God wants to give you everything

192
00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:59,480
graciously. 
This is Romans 3. 

193
00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:04,400
No one sees God, no one is 
righteous, no one does God good.

194
00:13:05,560 --> 00:13:16,560
But but God gives his Son. 
But now, says Paul, despite all 

195
00:13:16,560 --> 00:13:19,280
your sin, but now the 
righteousness of God has been 

196
00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:23,400
revealed, apart from the law, 
apart from anything you can do, 

197
00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:28,440
God is preaching the gospel to 
his people through Haggai. 

198
00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:33,880
He will bless. 
And indeed he did, didn't he? 

199
00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:37,600
This temple was built. 
This temple of Haggai was built.

200
00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:40,040
And if you read the rest of the 
books of the Old Testament, 

201
00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:44,040
you'll see the end of the story.
Haggai doesn't tell it, but it 

202
00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:46,120
was unclean. 
It was unclean because humans 

203
00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:50,000
cannot build, cannot build 
heaven on earth. 

204
00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:55,920
And so the Lord Jesus comes, and
he is a true temple, isn't he? 

205
00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:01,160
His flesh is holy. 
He is the one place on earth 

206
00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:05,200
that God can dwell because he is
not built with human hands. 

207
00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:10,240
He is born of a virgin by the 
power of the Spirit, and so his 

208
00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:14,000
body becomes a temple of the 
Holy Spirit, a fitting place for

209
00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:17,840
God to dwell on earth, because 
he's made not by the will of 

210
00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:22,000
man, but by the will of God. 
He is pure and spotless and 

211
00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,200
sinless. 
And there's an extraordinary 

212
00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:29,760
chapter in his life, Mark 6, 
where he's called by Jairus, A 

213
00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:32,040
synagogue ruler, to come and 
heal his daughter. 

214
00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:37,440
And as Jesus goes, a woman who's
been bleeding for years touches 

215
00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:39,200
the hem of his cloak, his 
garment. 

216
00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:43,160
She's unclean. 
If you believe you're unclean, 

217
00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:45,960
she touches him. 
And what happens? 

218
00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:52,360
Does he become unclean? 
No, she is healed by touching 

219
00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:56,280
the garment that is wrapped 
around holy flesh. 

220
00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:02,320
And by Haggai, what happens in 
the Old Testament garment 

221
00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:07,760
wrapped around holy flesh, holy 
meat, but it becomes unclean. 

222
00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:10,360
Sin is contagious, but not with 
Jesus. 

223
00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:12,680
With Jesus, righteousness is 
contagious. 

224
00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:16,480
And if you think the the the 
parallel is too stretched. 

225
00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:20,840
How does Jesus continue? 
He continues on having almost 

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accidentally cured that woman 
who touches his garment. 

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He goes to the House of Jairus, 
where the young girl is now 

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lying dead. 
Haggai, what happens when a dead

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body meets something pure? 
The pure is made unclean. 

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Jesus touches the dead body of 
this girl and life flows into 

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here. 
Finally we have the real temple,

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the true temple, the source of 
life and blessing. 

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Blessing here is paradise on 
earth. 

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Here is salvation in the Lord 
Jesus. 

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Everything comes from Him. 
What do you need from Him? 

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Everything. 
What does He demand from you? 

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Nothing. 
If you're not a believer here 

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this evening, if you've never 
come to trust Him, don't think 

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that you're not good enough or 
pure enough. 

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Don't wait until you're 
confident enough in your faith 

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or you hate your sin enough. 
Don't hold back. 

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He is not asking anything of you
other than to come to Him and 

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receive His grace. 
His mercy could my zeal no, 

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respite no Could my tears 
forever flow all, for sin could 

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not atone. 
Thou must save, and Thou alone. 

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Just come to Him and He will 
forgive you with all your mess 

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and He will use you for those 
who already Christ's. 

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You want to be involved in 
building his Kingdom. 

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Kill off self-reliance. 
John Newton, great Anglican 

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minister, used to say that 
Mister Self was his big enemy. 

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In one of his letters he writes 
and says that it's self 

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righteousness that has been the 
main barrier to his growth. 

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Interesting that, isn't it? 
Not sin, but self righteousness,

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which of course is a sin. 
He says this I've wanted to 

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contribute. 
I'm tired of being totally 

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dependent on Jesus, always 
having to come to Him as a 

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miserable, helpless Sinner. 
I wanted, and I'm paraphrasing 

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here, the 18th century English. 
I wanted to be able to sort some

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things out on my own and come to
Him for the big things. 

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But I found I can't do anything 
without his help. 

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That is true, isn't it? 
Nothing without him. 

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But Newton goes further. 
He's so honest. 

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That's why his LED is a 
beautiful to read. 

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He says this. 
If this had only humbled me and 

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LED me to rejoice in his or 
sufficiency, it would have been 

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well. 
But it has often had a different

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effect to make me sullen, angry 
and discontented. 

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Very honest. 
We don't. 

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We're so proud. 
We don't like having to rely on 

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Jesus. 
We want to be able to bring our 

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kids to faith without having to 
pray daily for them. 

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We want to evangelise our 
friends without the need to be 

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bringing them to the Lord on our
knees. 

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We want to act without needing 
to rely. 

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But Lord says no, you can't do 
it apart from me. 

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You can do nothing but again 
with me. 

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I will cleanse you and empower 
you and you can do anything that

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I call you to you. 
He wants to bless. 

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That's why he came to earth to 
bless. 

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He wants to build this temple 
till it fills the earth. 

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His desire, as we've said time 
and again this weekend, his 

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desire to bless far exceeds your
desire to be blessed because 

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he's full of grace. 
And that's why the book ends 

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with this promise from God, this
final prophecy. 

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I promise that that we could 
summarize very simply by saying 

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God declares I will win. 
I will win right at the end of 

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00:19:39,410 --> 00:19:42,930
your sheets there. 
And we get a final prophecy from

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00:19:42,930 --> 00:19:46,610
verses 21 through 23, and it's 
given to Zerubbabel, who's the 

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king figure. 
He is a descendant of David and 

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an ancestor of Jesus. 
And he's promised, he's promised

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that the nations are about to be
shaken up, the heavens and the 

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earth. 
I'm going to knit together, says

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God, two things that never 
should have been torn apart, 

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religion and politics. 
Now, I'm not about to get 

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political. 
Don't panic. 

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But the gospel is political. 
The gospel is political because 

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the gospel declares Jesus Christ
is king. 

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00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:25,240
That is ultimately a political 
statement. 

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00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:28,640
I don't mean in terms of 
Democrats and Republicans or 

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00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:30,640
Labour and Conservative or 
whatever it is in your own 

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00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:32,160
country. 
There are of course, 

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00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:35,480
implications for politics, but 
ones that I'm not foolish enough

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00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:39,680
to get into this evening. 
But it's the rubbable. 

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00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:43,280
The King is told. 
I will shake the nations that 

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stand against you. 
Nothing in heaven or earth will 

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00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:51,880
be able to stand against you. 
The rubbable, the strength of 

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00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:54,760
the kingdoms of the nations, the
Chariots, they're riders. 

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00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:56,960
They'll be overthrown. 
It's Exodus language. 

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00:20:56,960 --> 00:20:59,640
Remember the Exodus where 
Pharaoh sends his Chariots and 

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00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:03,000
God throws them upside down in 
the Red Sea for user rubber 

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00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:04,440
ball. 
The same thing will happen, 

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00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:12,000
heaven and earth. 
The physical enemies of the 

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00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:18,240
church will not stand. 
Ultimately, neither will the 

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00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:21,520
spiritual enemies, heaven, God. 
In the beginning, God made the 

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00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:24,760
heavens and the earth, the 
invisible realm and the visible 

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00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:27,880
realm. 
Both have rebelled in differing 

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00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:31,840
degrees, but neither will win. 
Satan will fall. 

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00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:39,400
And so on that day, verse 23, 
because the Lord of hosts, I 

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00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:42,960
will take you, Zerubbabel, my 
servant, and make you like a 

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00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:46,640
signet ring, like my image, a 
signet ring bears your image. 

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00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:51,560
For I've chosen you, declares 
the Lord of hosts. 

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00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:56,440
I will shake the world and 
enthrone you, and then I'll rule

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00:21:56,440 --> 00:22:06,720
through you. 
Did it happen? 

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00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:12,080
Was the world shaken and 
Zerubbabel enthroned? 

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00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:17,040
No. 
But yes, you'll find 

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00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:19,240
Zerubbabel's name again in the 
Scriptures. 

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00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:21,000
It's not a well known character,
is he? 

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00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:23,760
But he's back in the genealogy 
of the Lord Jesus. 

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00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:28,800
This promise, as it were, is a 
family heirloom passed down from

330
00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:31,560
Zerubbabel to his Son, to his 
Son, to his Son, until 

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00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:34,600
eventually it is put into a 
cradle, into a Manger in 

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00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,920
Bethlehem, and into the hands of
the King for whom it was always 

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00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:40,280
meant. 
And that king grew up, that holy

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00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:45,440
King who was both king and 
temple, who was holy flesh and 

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00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:50,560
holy warrior, and he rode into 
battle in the most unexpected of

336
00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:53,400
ways by riding into battle on 
the cross. 

337
00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:57,680
On the cross he defeated Satan 
as he paid for our sin. 

338
00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:00,960
He took away all the allegations
that that Satan could hurl 

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00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:06,760
against the church. 
All sin cancelled, all debts 

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00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:11,240
written off. 
He defeated Satan and died. 

341
00:23:13,120 --> 00:23:15,160
And as he died, you remember God
shook the earth. 

342
00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:21,560
Matthew's Gospel. 
But the dead come out of the 

343
00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:25,760
tombs, and the Lord Jesus comes 
out of his tomb, rises again as 

344
00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:30,600
king. 
The temple rebuilt the rubble. 

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00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:33,560
The name means out of exile, the
seed of exile. 

346
00:23:34,120 --> 00:23:37,080
Lord Jesus was sent into exile, 
castaway from his Father's 

347
00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:41,360
presence on the cross, but then 
rose again to triumph and sent 

348
00:23:41,360 --> 00:23:44,160
his disciples to make all 
nations his. 

349
00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:53,880
He is determined to see the 
nations one and the way he's 

350
00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:56,560
going to do it is through you 
and through me. 

351
00:23:59,360 --> 00:24:03,360
How, how specifically in your 
life? 

352
00:24:03,360 --> 00:24:05,400
That is a question for you to 
think through. 

353
00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:10,600
But that He will do it is sure 
and is certain. 

354
00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:15,800
And that's why a book that is 
about the building of the temple

355
00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:17,400
ends with the promise of a 
Kingdom. 

356
00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:20,840
Because we're not going to build
a cult, a little sect in the 

357
00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:23,920
corner of the world. 
The church and the Kingdom 

358
00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:27,000
become one because there's one 
king and one saviour. 

359
00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:31,080
Christ has not come just to run 
1 little corner of the earth, 

360
00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:34,320
but the whole earth. 
And the way into the Kingdom is 

361
00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:37,440
through the door of the church. 
As you enter the church, you 

362
00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:40,360
enter Christ's palace. 
And the nations need to hear 

363
00:24:40,360 --> 00:24:43,160
that because there is no other 
way to be saved. 

364
00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:52,480
Only one life will soon be done.
Only what is done for Christ for

365
00:24:52,480 --> 00:25:03,000
Christ, Only what is done for 
Christ will last and say PCPC, 

366
00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:08,080
that is your call. 
Go and make disciples of all 

367
00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:11,600
nations in the power of Spirit 
and confident that Christ 

368
00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:15,440
Himself is sending you, is with 
you and is ahead. 

369
00:25:16,120 --> 00:25:20,080
Let's pray. 
Our Father in Heaven, we bring 

370
00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:24,480
before you one final time this 
weekend the Great Commission to 

371
00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:27,920
make disciples of all nations. 
We ask that in your loving 

372
00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:34,240
kindness you would establish 
churches and bring men, women 

373
00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:36,600
and children to bow the knee 
before the Lord Jesus, as 

374
00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:41,120
Saviour and as Lord, as priests 
bringing cleansing and as King 

375
00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:44,080
bringing victory. 
Give us confidence that he will 

376
00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:47,280
win, that in the resurrection of
the Lord Jesus we see already 

377
00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:53,840
that the victory is won. 
Send us out with humble 

378
00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:59,520
confidence, we pray cast down 
the remaining forces of 

379
00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:05,000
darkness, and we pray save many 
millions. 

380
00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:10,160
We ask for the glory of Christ, 
and in His name, Amen.

