1 00:00:02,200 --> 00:00:04,880 Oh, crossing family, I want to welcome those of you joining at 2 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:07,920 all of our physical locations. So whether or not you're here at 3 00:00:07,920 --> 00:00:11,120 our 48th St. location, joining us from Macomb or Kirksville, 4 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:15,720 929 Pike County, Hannibal, Lima, Mount Sterling, Keokuk, 5 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:19,480 Monmouth, Jacksonville, as well as those of you who are joining 6 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:22,960 us online. And a special shout out to those 7 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:25,600 of you who are part of the crossing inside, as we just 8 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:28,760 celebrated the baptisms that have been happening there. 9 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:32,880 I love it. Just because you're locked up 10 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,440 doesn't mean that your heart is, because Jesus will find a way. 11 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:40,080 And we are so excited to be able to minister and partner with 12 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:41,880 you. I also want to welcome those of 13 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:44,800 you who are joining for the first time or the first time in 14 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:49,440 a long time. God is always working, always 15 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:53,120 moving, and the fact that you are here today is a sign that 16 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:55,840 God is trying to draw you closer to Him. 17 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:58,440 You're going to hear this later in the service, but I want to 18 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:00,880 encourage you. Take advantage of the QR code on 19 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:04,200 the seat in front of you and swing by the New Here booth in 20 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:05,720 the lobby. Why? 21 00:01:05,960 --> 00:01:10,000 Connected? Things grow when you stay 22 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:12,120 unconnected. You don't. 23 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:18,560 A battle is going on for your peace, your life, your eternity. 24 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:23,000 The good news is you don't have to do it alone. 25 00:01:23,320 --> 00:01:26,960 This church across three states serving 22 counties and 10,000 26 00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:30,280 square miles wide is in your corner. 27 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:35,280 Our hope is simple to make this region the hardest place on 28 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:37,680 planet earth to get the hell from. 29 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:41,000 And if you are listening to my voice right now, you are either 30 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:46,400 the focus of this mission or you are part of this mission. 31 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:50,240 And there is no middle ground. Now, if you're new to the church 32 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:52,480 or you've gone for a bit because you've been enjoying this 33 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:57,920 summer, we are in a brand new sermon series called Decisions 34 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:02,160 in the Desert. Following God through trials and 35 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:05,400 triumphs, Every single one of us, we are going to find 36 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:08,080 ourselves in the desert at some point in time. 37 00:02:08,479 --> 00:02:12,040 You are either coming out of the desert, you are either in the 38 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:14,840 desert or, and I hate to break this to you because you're like 39 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:17,120 those two, first two aren't me. Well, that means you're probably 40 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:21,000 going into a desert. It might be in your 41 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:24,560 relationships, it might be spiritually, but we will go 42 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:30,320 through dry, discouraging times. And the decisions that you make 43 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:35,520 in the desert will define you. They will determine your 44 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:38,160 destiny. And if you have missed this 45 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:40,960 series at any point in time as we've been kind of going through 46 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:43,600 and you're wanting to catch up, there's all kinds of ways for 47 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:45,920 you to check that out. You can see us on the website, 48 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:50,000 YouTube, podcast, Spotify, and sometimes you might be going, 49 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:52,360 you know what, my friend? I really know that they're going 50 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:54,400 through something and they could really be a benefit to it. 51 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:57,240 Knowing where those things are will gives you the opportunity 52 00:02:57,240 --> 00:02:59,120 to be able to share it. So that way you can minister to 53 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:02,360 them passively. Now, as we've been going through 54 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:06,400 this series, there have no doubt been some, what would you say, 55 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:10,360 some moments that are confusing, maybe a little bit challenging. 56 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:13,240 And I want you to know that today is no different. 57 00:03:13,640 --> 00:03:17,280 There are going to be some tough things in this section of 58 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:20,840 Scripture, so we're going to need a little bit of background. 59 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:24,480 So I'm going to teach for about 10 minutes and then I'll preach 60 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:27,000 and I'll get you guys out of here in under an hour and 45 61 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:27,640 minutes. Promise. 62 00:03:27,640 --> 00:03:30,840 All right, if you were to open up your Bible first page, you 63 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:33,920 find yourself in Genesis and what we hear read in Genesis, 64 00:03:33,920 --> 00:03:37,000 not just the creation of the world, but God's interaction 65 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:41,000 with Adam and Eve. After Adam and Eve, God has an 66 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:44,760 interaction with a guy named Noah, Noah and his ark. 67 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:48,880 After that, God enters into a conversation with a man by the 68 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:54,520 name of Abram, and God makes a promise to Abram that his future 69 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:58,800 generations will be a special people and he will give them a 70 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:03,320 land of their own, a promised land. 71 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:06,600 The land that was belonged to them was called Canaan. 72 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:11,840 This is modern day Israel, modern day West Bank, modern day 73 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:15,840 Gaza, Jordan, and parts of Syria and Lebanon. 74 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:20,560 God changed Abraham's name to Abraham. 75 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:23,000 So if you're reading through the Bible and he's talking to 76 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:25,080 Abraham and then all of a sudden he's talking about the Abraham. 77 00:04:25,280 --> 00:04:29,400 Same guy. Abraham had a son named Isaac. 78 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:33,160 Isaac had a son named Jacob. Check this out. 79 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:38,760 Surprise, surprise, God changed Jacob's name to Israel. 80 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:42,360 Why does all of this matter? So when you are reading the Old 81 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:45,920 Testament and you hear things like children of Abraham, 82 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:53,760 Hebrews, Jews, or Israelites, they are talking about the exact 83 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:58,560 same group of people. They're talking about the people 84 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:04,160 who come out of the family tree of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and 85 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:05,640 they are called children of Abraham. 86 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:08,920 They're called Israelites, Hebrews and Jews. 87 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:16,360 Now, Jacob has a bunch of sons and as is common in large 88 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:19,320 families, some of the kids don't like some of the other kids. 89 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:21,520 Raise your hand if you've heard stories right. 90 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:24,760 And but they took it to a whole new level. 91 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:27,200 Like if you think your family is jacked up, this family is the 92 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:30,680 most jacked up. And the all the older brothers 93 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:33,960 got together and they sold the youngest brother at the time by 94 00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:38,200 the name of Joseph into slavery. And Joseph is sold into slavery 95 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:41,640 and he ends up in a country called Egypt. 96 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,840 While he is in Egypt, he is obedient to what God tells him 97 00:05:45,840 --> 00:05:50,920 to do, and he rises to power and ends up being put second in 98 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:56,080 command in all of Egypt. He does so because he protected 99 00:05:56,080 --> 00:06:00,200 Egypt and all the surrounding countries from extinction 100 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:05,440 because of a famine. Well, many years later, Pharaoh, 101 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:08,960 which is what the Egyptians would call their king Pharaoh, 102 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:15,360 comes to power and he has no memory, no recollection of what 103 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:21,320 God had done through Joseph and how Joseph and Joseph's God had 104 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:24,640 saved his people. And so instead of honoring the 105 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:30,040 Israelites, he enslaved the Israelites, and the Israelites 106 00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:34,720 lived in captivity. So God raises up two people, 107 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:40,080 Moses and Aaron, and they go to Pharaoh to tell him to let the 108 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:44,080 people of God go, Let the Hebrews go, let the Jews go, let 109 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:49,280 the children of Abraham go, let the Israelites go and Pharaoh 110 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:55,120 refuses. So God does some plagues, signs 111 00:06:55,160 --> 00:07:00,240 and wonders to not only reveal to the Egyptians that God is 112 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:04,080 real, he should be trusted, he should be followed, and he 113 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:07,800 should be worshipped, but also to show the Israelites, because 114 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:10,680 the Israelites have been living in slavery where they really 115 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:14,480 don't see the hand of God moving and working in their life. 116 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:17,000 And when God is doing the plagues and the signs and 117 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:20,600 wonders, it's also not just to show the Egyptians that God is a 118 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:25,040 is God, but it's also to show the Israelites that God is God 119 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:28,280 and should be worshipped, obeyed and followed. 120 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:32,040 Some of the plagues that happened affected everybody, 121 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:36,640 both the Egyptians, who are the slaveholders, and the Israelites 122 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:40,360 who were the slaves. But some of the plagues happened 123 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:42,320 in Egypt. And inside of Egypt there was 124 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:45,640 this piece of property, they called it the land of Goshen. 125 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:48,640 This is where the Israelites had their homes. 126 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:50,000 It's where they raised their families. 127 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:52,760 It's where they cooked their meals in slavery. 128 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:56,080 And in during some of the plagues, there'd be a plague in 129 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:58,240 Egypt. But all the way around Egypt 130 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:00,600 there'd be plagues, except for in this little spot called the 131 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:03,600 land of Goshen where the people of God were, there was no 132 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:06,760 plague. Plague, no plague. 133 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:12,720 Today we are going to talk about the last plague. 134 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:15,080 Last week we talked about the 1st 9:00. 135 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:17,360 Today we're going to talk about the 10th plague. 136 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:21,040 It's called the death of the first born. 137 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:25,800 Exodus Chapter 11 verses first one, and then we'll do four and 138 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:28,520 seven. Now the Lord had said to Moses, 139 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:33,880 I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. 140 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:39,640 After that he will let you go from here, and when he does he 141 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:45,040 will drive you out completely. So Moses said this is what the 142 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:49,080 Lord says, about midnight I will go throughout Egypt. 143 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:53,800 Every first born son in Egypt will die, from the first born 144 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:58,080 son of Pharaoh who sits on the throne, to the first born son of 145 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:02,480 the female slave who is at her hand, mill and all. 146 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:06,360 The first born of the cattle as well. 147 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:10,920 There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt, worse than 148 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:13,720 there has ever been or ever will be again. 149 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:18,840 But among the Israelites, not a dog will bark at any person or 150 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:22,480 animal. Then you will know that the Lord 151 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:27,920 makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. 152 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:33,960 And I just go ahead and tell you there is no way for you to hear 153 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:39,280 what we just read and not be a little confused and a little 154 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:42,200 conflicted because this is kind of a head scratcher. 155 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:45,560 And if you're here for the first time, you're like, this is 156 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:49,880 definitely not what I was thinking about when I was 157 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:52,600 thinking about God. Like, hey, I want to come to 158 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:54,440 church and start getting my life right with God. 159 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:56,320 And the first thing you're going to tell me is about God goes out 160 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:58,640 and kills the first born. So let's unpack that for a 161 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:00,760 little bit. All right, First thing I would 162 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:03,320 tell you is remember at the very beginning of of the story, 163 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:08,840 Pharaoh had issued a decree that all of the Hebrew boys that were 164 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:13,440 born should be killed. God is punishing them for their 165 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:20,680 cruel act #2 God has giving given the Israelites and he has 166 00:10:20,680 --> 00:10:28,200 given the Egyptians. 9 Signs and wonders 9 plagues and giving 167 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:32,120 them a chance to acknowledge God, worship God, obey God, 168 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:35,440 follow God. And the Bible tells us that to 169 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:39,800 whom much is given, much will be expected. 170 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:43,880 They have had nine opportunities to not just witness the hand of 171 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:49,760 God, the mighty acts of God, and yet still they have a heart that 172 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:55,520 refuses to acknowledge God and there are consequences. 173 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:59,560 Jesus and his teaching says blessed are those who believe 174 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:04,360 even though they don't see. Why does this matter? 175 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:08,120 Because the the centerpiece of the Christian life or the way 176 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:12,520 you access the Christian life is through faith. 177 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:18,120 Faith is not the absence of evidence, but faith is the 178 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:23,120 absence of sight. And the only way to please God 179 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:26,120 is through faith. Faith. 180 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:32,280 And so the more you have seen of God, the higher he will raise 181 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:36,000 the accountability or the standard for how you and I are 182 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:39,360 to behave. So when you see the hand of God 183 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:42,680 in an indisputable way in your life, you will be held 184 00:11:42,680 --> 00:11:46,840 accountable for how you lived. As a result of that, all of 185 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:52,160 these people have seen 9 plagues in six months and they're still 186 00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:54,960 gone. Yeah, I'm not going to follow 187 00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:57,960 you. Third thing we need to know. 188 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:04,000 Paul teaches us in the book of Romans that there is no one 189 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:09,320 righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands. 190 00:12:09,560 --> 00:12:14,440 There is no one who seeks God. All have turned away. 191 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:17,600 They have together become worthless. 192 00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:23,040 There is no one who does good, not even one. 193 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:30,600 Romans chapter 323 says this, for all have sinned and fall 194 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:38,840 short of the glory of God. Going further, Romans 623 says 195 00:12:38,840 --> 00:12:44,560 for the wages of sin is death. Why does all this matter? 196 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:51,640 I'll tell you, nobody who died in the 10th plague was innocent. 197 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:58,040 Everybody who died deserved to die. 198 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:03,400 The question is why are they dying? 199 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:07,920 Is because they have fallen short of the perfect and holy 200 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:12,440 standard of God. You might be going, well, I 201 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:14,600 don't think that's right, and I hear you. 202 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:18,000 That's fine. And when you speak your own 203 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:21,680 world into existence with your words, you can make your own 204 00:13:21,680 --> 00:13:23,360 rules. But since you don't have a 205 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:34,160 universe and you're not a God, maybe you should shut up #4 I 206 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:41,520 want you to know that God is perfect and holy, including 207 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:48,840 every decision that He makes. So even when God is punishing, 208 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:53,960 he is right in the punishing. Look what it says in Deuteronomy 209 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:58,360 chapter 32. I will proclaim the name of the 210 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:01,880 Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our 211 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:03,720 God. He is the rock. 212 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:08,600 His works are perfect and all His ways are just. 213 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:15,240 A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just. 214 00:14:15,560 --> 00:14:19,520 Is He. To be clear, while there is. 215 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:22,360 While this story is hard to hear, there's not a single 216 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:26,200 person who deserved or who didn't deserve to die. 217 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:30,440 All of them deserved it. The tougher truth is that you 218 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:34,960 and I deserve to die as well. The real question we should be 219 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:37,760 asking is why did those people die? 220 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:43,400 The question we should be asking is why are we not dead yet? 221 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:47,800 Because we have fallen short of the standard of God. 222 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:51,560 The reason you and I are still alive and we have the 223 00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:55,200 opportunity today to respond to His goodness is because God is 224 00:14:55,200 --> 00:15:00,480 not just perfect and holy, He is also good and great and gracious 225 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:04,240 and compassionate. So how did God protect the 226 00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:06,640 Israelites from this plague of death? 227 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:10,760 He gave them very specific commands that they were to take 228 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:16,240 a lamb without blemish and they were to kill it. 229 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:21,720 They were to be careful not to break a single bone when they 230 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:25,760 did so, and they were to take some of the blood and they were 231 00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:30,440 to sprinkle it on the top and on the sides of the door frame of 232 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:33,000 their house. And then they were to take a 233 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:37,680 meal with bread that had no leaven in it, no yeast. 234 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:40,000 It was like the original flatbread for hippies. 235 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:42,800 God was to say, when you eat this meal, we're going to do 236 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:45,480 flatbreads. And inside of this we can find 237 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:48,240 it in Exodus chapter 12, verse 21. 238 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:52,520 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to 239 00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:56,360 them, Go at once and select the animals for your families and 240 00:15:56,360 --> 00:16:02,800 slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it 241 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:06,200 into the blood in the basin, and put some of the blood on the top 242 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:08,560 and on both sides of the door frame. 243 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:13,640 None of you shall go out of the door of your house until 244 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:16,920 morning. When the Lord goes through the 245 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:21,600 land to strike down the Egyptians, He will see the blood 246 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:28,200 on the top and the sides of the door frame and will pass over 247 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:33,120 that doorway, and He will not permit the destroyer to enter 248 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:41,160 your house and strike you down. Now, for just a second, anytime 249 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:43,440 you're reading the Bible, it's really good for you to kind of 250 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:46,040 like roll around in the text until you get some letters stuck 251 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:48,560 to you. So imagine for just a second 252 00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:52,560 that you are an Israelite getting ready to go through this 253 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:57,680 Passover meal. Some of you would be a little 254 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:00,840 freaked out. Some of you would be excited 255 00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:03,080 because you're a second born and you're tired of sharing a room. 256 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:06,160 You're like, he deserves to die, Lord, take him. 257 00:17:06,599 --> 00:17:07,560 Right. I know you guys. 258 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:11,000 I know you second borns and you got two guys. 259 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:14,760 You got Burton Kurt. And they're both a little 260 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:16,960 nervous about, you know, they're both talking about, hey, what 261 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:19,160 are we supposed to do? Yeah, We, you know, we, we got 262 00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:20,560 the land. We go ahead, we went ahead and 263 00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:23,040 we, we got ourselves our stuff taken care of and we went out 264 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:24,480 and we put stuff over the door. And. 265 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:28,200 But, you know, I got to be honest with you, Bert, I'm a 266 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:30,440 little nervous. Really. 267 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:33,600 Yeah. I mean, you know, my dad's a 268 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:38,120 first born and I'm a first born and my kids are first born and, 269 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:41,320 you know, it's just a little. So I'm a little nervous. 270 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:46,240 I'm a little scared. I'm a little worried. 271 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:51,200 And Kurt's like, I'm not. You're not. 272 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:52,920 No. Why not? 273 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:55,840 Well, I mean, I, I did what God told me to do. 274 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:00,080 And Bert's like, well, I did too. 275 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:02,600 I went, I put the, I put the blood where I was supposed to 276 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:04,560 put the blood and I did the stuff with the lamb that I was 277 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:06,720 supposed to do with the lamb. I did all the same things. 278 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:15,760 I'm just a little scared. And you could look at Burton 279 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:18,960 Curtin and be like, one has a ton of faith and the other one 280 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:25,280 just has a little What happened after the Passover? 281 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:28,040 They come out of their house the next morning. 282 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:31,360 Did Burt or Kurt lose anybody in their home? 283 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:35,840 No. Did the one who was confident 284 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:39,920 that they would be completely fine and protected lose any of 285 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:42,840 the first born in their family? No. 286 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:46,040 What about the one who was nervous? 287 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:51,240 Did he lose anybody? What about the one who was 288 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:53,680 scared? Did he lose anybody? 289 00:18:55,800 --> 00:19:02,880 No, neither 1 lost any of the first born in their home. 290 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:07,160 Why? Because death passed over them, 291 00:19:07,360 --> 00:19:12,160 not on account of the strength of their conviction, but whether 292 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:15,560 or not through faith they had covered themselves and the door 293 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:17,760 frame of their house by the blood. 294 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:21,240 It is called the Passover because the judgment of God 295 00:19:21,440 --> 00:19:27,320 passed over them on account of the blood, and by faith in 296 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:30,840 obedience they did what God had called them to do. 297 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:35,560 The faith was not in themselves. The faith, great or small, was 298 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:39,000 in the obedience that they had that God would do what He said 299 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:43,200 He was going to do. This became for the Israelites 300 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:46,800 what July 4th is for rednecks in the Midwest. 301 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:50,720 This became a day of massive celebration. 302 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:55,360 In fact, every single year the Jews would celebrate the 303 00:19:55,360 --> 00:19:58,080 Passover. It was their Independence Day 304 00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:02,360 out of slavery from the Egyptians, as well as the fact 305 00:20:02,360 --> 00:20:05,320 that God's judgment had passed over them. 306 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:11,600 A unblemished lamb selected in advance, not a bone broken, 307 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:15,600 covered by the blood. And the judgment passes over. 308 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:17,240 Some of you are already getting ahead of. 309 00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:19,720 With me. So let's go ahead and get there. 310 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:23,320 I'd like to introduce you to somebody, a friend of mine by 311 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:27,320 the name of Jesus. You might be asking yourself, is 312 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:30,000 this Jesus in fact an unblemished lamb? 313 00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:33,240 Well, when he walks onto the scene in the book of John 314 00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:36,680 written by the apostle John, he quotes John the Baptist saying 315 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:38,800 this. When John the Baptist interacts 316 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:42,920 with Jesus, John chapter one, the next day John saw Jesus 317 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:51,240 coming toward him and said, look, the Lamb of God who takes 318 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:56,240 away the sins of the world. If you have no sin in your life, 319 00:20:56,400 --> 00:21:00,640 the judgment of God would pass over you. 320 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:05,800 Was this lamb Jesus selected in advance? 321 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:07,720 Well, first Peter seems to point to it. 322 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:13,200 Look what he has to say with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb 323 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:19,920 without blemish or defect. He, this is Jesus, was chosen, 324 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:28,440 oh, before the creation of the world. 325 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:36,360 I hope you see this about our God before you were ever born, 326 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:41,680 before He breathed his breath into you, before you could do 327 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:46,600 something wrong or you could do something right, before you said 328 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:50,360 your first cuss word, before you stole your first candy bar, 329 00:21:50,360 --> 00:21:52,680 before you had your first affair. 330 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:58,400 God was already moving on your behalf to redeem and rescue you. 331 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:02,360 Because Jesus was chosen before the creation of the world to 332 00:22:02,360 --> 00:22:06,240 redeem the world that was rebelling against its Creator. 333 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:10,840 Through Him you believed in God who raised him. 334 00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:14,040 That's Jesus from the dead and glorified him. 335 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:18,800 So your faith and hope are in God. 336 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:22,240 Let me be clear. Your hope is not in me. 337 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:27,120 My hope is not in me. Your hope should not be in you. 338 00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:33,520 My hope is not in you. Our hope is to be firmly placed 339 00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:38,480 in the work of Jesus. And when our life is covered in 340 00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:45,040 the work of Jesus, the judgment passes over not a bone broken. 341 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:48,200 Look what it says in John chapter 19. 342 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:52,240 But when they came to Jesus, this is Jesus on the cross, and 343 00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:57,880 found that he was already dead. They did not break his legs. 344 00:22:58,360 --> 00:23:02,640 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus's side with a 345 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:07,320 spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 346 00:23:08,360 --> 00:23:13,320 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is 347 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:16,080 true. He knows that He tells the truth 348 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:20,600 and He testifies so that you also may believe. 349 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:26,240 These things happen so that the scripture would be fulfilled. 350 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:32,280 Not one of his bones will be broken, and as another scripture 351 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:35,000 says, they will look on the 1:00. 352 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:43,000 They have Pierce a lamb selected in advance, not a bone broken, 353 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:46,960 covered by the blood. Hebrews chapter 10 says this. 354 00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:52,800 Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full 355 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:58,120 assurance that faith brings. We can draw close to God because 356 00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:02,120 of what Jesus has done, and we access what Jesus has done 357 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:05,120 through faith, not in ourselves, but in Him. 358 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:11,200 Having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty 359 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:15,280 conscience, having our bodies washed with pure water. 360 00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:20,480 Let us, that's you and me, hold unswervingly to the hope we 361 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:26,400 profess, for He who promised is faithful. 362 00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:35,280 The Jews still celebrate the Passover every year. 363 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:42,360 They are waiting on a Messiah who has already arrived. 364 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:49,360 In fact, in Jesus's lifetime, Jesus celebrated the Passover. 365 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:54,640 In fact, they were. Jesus celebrated the Passover, 366 00:24:54,880 --> 00:25:00,840 and the Passover in that Jesus celebrated was his Last Supper. 367 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:09,400 Did you know when Jesus died? It was past over the meal, the 368 00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:13,200 last meal, the meal where he washed his disciples feet was 369 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:17,840 Jesus celebrating the Passover meal. 370 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:22,760 And in the middle of the Passover meal, Jesus takes a 371 00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:28,440 little bit of bread and he says this, this is my body given for 372 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,240 you. And when you circle up and when 373 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:36,280 you gather as Christians in my name, do this and remembrance of 374 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:40,640 me. Then he took the cup and he says 375 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:45,560 this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood. 376 00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:53,800 Do this and remembrance of me. That's why when Christians 377 00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:58,040 gather all across the world every single week, you know what 378 00:25:58,040 --> 00:25:59,720 we do? We take communion. 379 00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:02,720 We take communion in remembrance of Him. 380 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:05,680 But do you know where this meal that we take in communion comes 381 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:10,240 from? It comes from the Passover meal 382 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:14,560 where we celebrate the fact that the judgment of God that would 383 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:20,600 bring our death passes over us. The judgment of God that we 384 00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:25,520 deserve passes over us. But it landed on somebody. 385 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:31,040 It landed on Jesus, the Passover lamb. 386 00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:36,160 We are covered by the blood of Jesus and that when you come to 387 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:41,000 faith in him, you place the blood of his life over the top 388 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:46,920 and the sides of you. You might be here today and you 389 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:48,120 might be going. Yeah, that's great. 390 00:26:48,120 --> 00:26:49,480 I'm a pretty good person, though. 391 00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:51,360 Clayton, you need to hear me say this. 392 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:54,640 You might be a good person, but you are not good enough to get 393 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:56,920 into heaven. You might be here today and 394 00:26:56,920 --> 00:26:58,440 you're going. I'm a pretty hard worker and 395 00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:01,000 you've got where you've got because you're an incredibly 396 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:02,640 hard worker. That's wonderful. 397 00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:06,760 I'm happy for you, but you can't work hard enough to get yourself 398 00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:10,280 in to heaven. You might be here today and you 399 00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:13,240 have a pretty wife because you're a smooth talker, but I 400 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:17,520 need you to know that you can't smooth talk your way into 401 00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:20,760 heaven. The only way that you and I get 402 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:25,520 into heaven is if we are covered by the blood of Jesus. 403 00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:29,320 We to deserve death and judgement and hell, but through 404 00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:32,920 Jesus's sacrifice, the lamb that was slain, the blood that was 405 00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:36,880 spilled, we can cover our lives in the blood of Jesus and the 406 00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:42,280 judgement of God passes over us. Look what it says in Isaiah 407 00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:47,360 chapter 53, verses 6 and seven. We all, like sheep, have gone 408 00:27:47,360 --> 00:27:49,200 astray. You know that's true. 409 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,200 Each of us has turned to our own way. 410 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:57,360 You know that to be true, but the Lord has laid on him that's 411 00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:04,600 Jesus, the iniquity of us all. He that's Jesus was oppressed 412 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:08,440 and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. 413 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:12,000 He was led like a lamb to the slaughter as a sheep before it's 414 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:16,680 sheer is silent. So he did not open his mouth. 415 00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:20,720 God laid on Jesus what we have done. 416 00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:25,120 He took the sins that you and I have committed and He placed 417 00:28:25,120 --> 00:28:29,440 them on Jesus. Look what it says in verses four 418 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:31,600 and five of the exact same chapter. 419 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:37,880 Surely he that's Jesus took up our pain and bore our suffering 420 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:43,120 what we deserved, yet we considered Him punished by God. 421 00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:48,200 That's exactly right. God was punishing Jesus for the 422 00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:53,920 sins that we deserved. He was pierced for our 423 00:28:53,920 --> 00:28:59,120 transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities, and the 424 00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:07,400 punishment that brought us peace was put on him, and by his 425 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:13,360 wounds we are healed. You can go home and look this up 426 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:16,480 in Second Corinthians chapter 5. This is what it says. 427 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:22,760 God took him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him, 428 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:26,720 that's Jesus, we become the righteousness of God. 429 00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:30,360 Here's what God's doing. He is taking the sins of you and 430 00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:32,760 me, and it's placing him on Jesus. 431 00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:36,920 Jesus is being treated the way you and I deserve to be treated. 432 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:43,760 And because of that, the judgement of God passes over us, 433 00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:47,440 and you and I get treated the way Jesus deserved. 434 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:50,880 Well, Jesus was perfect. Jesus was spotless. 435 00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:54,200 Jesus had never sinned. And the way I'm able to get into 436 00:29:54,200 --> 00:29:57,720 heaven, the way I'm able to have a right relationship with God is 437 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:02,160 because I'm getting treated like Jesus because Jesus got treated 438 00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:04,400 by me. That means that when you and I 439 00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:07,320 are struggling with the sins of our past, and some of you are 440 00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:10,480 very realistic about the sins, you know what you've done. 441 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:13,680 You're sitting here in a church at one of our locations and you 442 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:16,680 can look across the auditorium and see some of the people that 443 00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:20,080 you've done stupid stuff with. Not only do you know your past, 444 00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:23,160 they know your past. But I want you to know you don't 445 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:25,400 have to worry about the sins of your past. 446 00:30:25,560 --> 00:30:29,560 They have been laid on Jesus and through faith and baptism, when 447 00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:33,360 you receive what He has done on your behalf, the judgment of God 448 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:40,400 passes over you and it landed on Jesus so that you could be 449 00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:43,360 treated like Jesus. There might be some of you today 450 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:46,000 and you're just being completely real and you're going the stuff 451 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:50,760 that I am in the middle of right now has disqualified me from a 452 00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:52,440 right relationship with the Father. 453 00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:54,520 And you could not be more accurate. 454 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:59,720 You are disqualified, but you become qualified not on the work 455 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:03,360 that you have done, but on the fact that you can be covered in 456 00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:07,120 the blood of Jesus and what you were once unqualified. 457 00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:11,160 You become qualified when you are covered in the blood because 458 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:16,160 the judgement of God passes over you and it lands on Him who knew 459 00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:18,520 no sin. So that way you could be treated 460 00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:21,920 as if you had never sinned. That means that when I look into 461 00:31:21,920 --> 00:31:25,240 my future and I know that there are things about me that are 462 00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:28,240 going to bust and break and they'll be sins that I don't 463 00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:31,360 want to do, that I end up doing, I have No Fear. 464 00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:34,360 Because when those moments happen, I know that those 465 00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:39,000 moments too were covered by the blood of Jesus, who was who 466 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:42,760 before the creation of the world was already in moving on my 467 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:46,240 behalf to redeem and restore me to the Heavenly Father. 468 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:49,320 The judgment that I will rightly deserve in my future. 469 00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:53,520 I do not need to fear because I have through faith, covered 470 00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:57,000 myself in the blood of Jesus. Then the punishment that I 471 00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:01,880 deserve will be on Him and the relationship with the Father 472 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:05,840 that I don't deserve I will have access to because I will be 473 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:10,400 treated as a son because of the work of Jesus. 474 00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:14,440 If you are listening to my voice right now and you are not 475 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:18,280 covered in the blood, you should be. 476 00:32:19,560 --> 00:32:22,520 There might be some of you. We're going Clayton, man, that 477 00:32:22,520 --> 00:32:26,480 sounds great. But I got to be honest with you. 478 00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:32,160 If I, I feel like that's a little narrow minded when you 479 00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:35,680 guys talk about Jesus being the only way to heaven, I mean, 480 00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:38,760 there's a lot of people who believe in awful lot of things 481 00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:41,760 and I think it's just a little narrow minded for you guys to 482 00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:45,120 think that Jesus is the only way. 483 00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:48,520 And what I would tell you is, I get it. 484 00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:52,600 That makes sense. I will tell you that Jesus said 485 00:32:52,800 --> 00:32:55,600 that he's the only way to the Father and that no one gets to 486 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:58,240 the Father except through him because the only way to get to 487 00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:01,200 the Father is to be covered in the blood and the only way to be 488 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:04,240 covered in the blood is through Jesus. 489 00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:08,280 But what I would tell you is you're, you're stopping the 490 00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:12,600 sentence too short. It's not just that Jesus is the 491 00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:17,160 only one, it's Jesus is the only one who. 492 00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:19,720 Let me unpack that. Would you guys say who? 493 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:25,800 You see, Jesus is the only one left heaven and came to earth on 494 00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:29,520 my behalf. Jesus is the only one lived a 495 00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:33,760 perfect and spotless life. Jesus is the only one paid the 496 00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:35,800 ultimate price. He's the only one who? 497 00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:40,680 Oh, Dang it, I did The Who? I'll preach my own sermon. 498 00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:43,680 Jesus is the only one who perfectly demonstrated the love 499 00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:45,920 of God. He's the only one who destroyed 500 00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:48,240 the works of the devil. Let me unpack that for a second. 501 00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:52,040 If Satan wants to come after me and accuse me and point at me 502 00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:54,920 for all the sin that I've done, he can't figure out where to 503 00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:58,080 place his finger because everywhere he points in my life 504 00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:00,000 is covered by the blood of Christ. 505 00:34:00,280 --> 00:34:02,880 He can't find me. He can't accuse me. 506 00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:06,280 He can't come after me. Jesus is the only one who picked 507 00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:08,600 me up. He's the only one who turned me 508 00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:10,400 around. He's he's the only one who 509 00:34:10,560 --> 00:34:15,199 placed my feet on solid ground. If you ask me, Clayton, how did 510 00:34:15,199 --> 00:34:18,239 you end up in heaven? I'll tell you, Jesus is the only 511 00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:19,639 one who could have made that happen. 512 00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:23,800 If you ask me how is my life the way it is, I'll tell you Jesus 513 00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:26,600 is the only one who could pull me up out of the miry clay. 514 00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:28,440 He's the only one who could bring me in the right 515 00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:30,480 relationship. He's the only one who could make 516 00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:32,560 me righteous. He's the only one who had the 517 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:35,800 sins of my life and your life placed on his shoulders. 518 00:34:35,920 --> 00:34:38,080 He's the only one who saves because he's the only one. 519 00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:41,080 Whoever has, he's the only one, whoever will, and he's the only 520 00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:44,800 one who has already accomplished it past, present and future. 521 00:34:44,920 --> 00:34:47,600 He's not just the only way, He's the only one. 522 00:34:48,639 --> 00:34:56,280 And if you are in relationship with Him, you are covered in the 523 00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:59,240 blood. And when you and I become 524 00:34:59,240 --> 00:35:03,920 obedient in the area of baptism and place our faith in Him, we 525 00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:07,840 get access to that blood. We're moving to a time of 526 00:35:07,840 --> 00:35:16,080 decision. If you are here today and you've 527 00:35:16,080 --> 00:35:18,520 never started an intimate personal relationship with Jesus 528 00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:21,680 Christ, I need to spit some facts in your direction. 529 00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:26,960 That means that right now your life is not covered in the 530 00:35:26,960 --> 00:35:29,520 blood. And that means that the 531 00:35:29,520 --> 00:35:31,960 judgement you will get is the judgement that you deserve. 532 00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:35,440 But it doesn't have to be that way. 533 00:35:36,800 --> 00:35:39,720 And I know some of you, you're going, Clayton, I got some 534 00:35:39,720 --> 00:35:43,520 questions that I need to answer. And I would tell you it's time 535 00:35:43,520 --> 00:35:48,400 for you to start asking those questions because your life and 536 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:52,240 your eternity are too important to put off getting the answers 537 00:35:52,440 --> 00:35:56,040 that you, your family and your eternity desperately need 538 00:35:56,040 --> 00:35:59,720 answered. But I would also tell you like, 539 00:35:59,720 --> 00:36:01,800 if you'd allow me to like poke you in the chest for a little 540 00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:03,640 bit, back into the corner for a little bit. 541 00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:06,400 I think you know more than you realize. 542 00:36:06,400 --> 00:36:09,320 You know, I think you know enough. 543 00:36:11,280 --> 00:36:14,760 You may not know all of it, but I don't really know if I could 544 00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:18,440 worship a God that I could completely understand, because 545 00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:20,720 if I could figure everything there is out about a God, that 546 00:36:20,720 --> 00:36:24,920 would kind of make me a God. I know you want to know more, 547 00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:29,120 but I think you know enough. Fellas, help me out here. 548 00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:31,920 Raise your hand if you know everything there is to know 549 00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:35,000 about women. Yeah, a couple single people 550 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:37,720 almost lifted their hands. Those fellas, like they're easy. 551 00:36:37,720 --> 00:36:41,600 Yeah, whatever with Jennifer and I this year, we're going to 552 00:36:41,600 --> 00:36:44,400 celebrate 15 years of marriage. She's been happily married for 553 00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:46,280 two. I've been happily married for. 554 00:36:46,280 --> 00:36:48,560 Yeah, 14. You're, we're applauding her 555 00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:52,000 because if you've been around me, you know I'm a lot. 556 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:54,360 Can you imagine? Like, we got to go home with 557 00:36:54,360 --> 00:36:55,680 him? I mean, he's great for like 30 558 00:36:55,680 --> 00:36:57,640 minutes a week, but Can you imagine living with me? 559 00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:02,000 And you got to know something. Jennifer's. 560 00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:06,200 She's not in here. And if you tell her, I'll pray 561 00:37:06,360 --> 00:37:07,960 in purgatory. Prayers on your life. 562 00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:13,760 Just as soon as I think I figured her out, she changes. 563 00:37:18,480 --> 00:37:23,120 There's like 5 love languages. She's made-up six more and she 564 00:37:23,120 --> 00:37:26,840 just rotates them. So I'm over here slaving on last 565 00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:29,000 month's love language. Doesn't care about that one 566 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:30,320 anymore. I've changed it. 567 00:37:30,600 --> 00:37:32,000 I didn't tell you no. Post it. 568 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:35,240 No, you're just failing. OK, Appreciate you. 569 00:37:37,120 --> 00:37:39,480 I don't know everything there is to know about women. 570 00:37:39,480 --> 00:37:41,800 I don't know everything there is to know about Jennifer. 571 00:37:41,960 --> 00:37:45,880 I just knew I wanted her. I just knew I needed her. 572 00:37:46,960 --> 00:37:48,320 I don't know how to make a pizza. 573 00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:51,800 I don't know everything that goes in to making a delicious 574 00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:56,120 pizza. But I know when I want one and I 575 00:37:56,120 --> 00:37:59,600 know that I need one. I don't know everything there is 576 00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:03,000 to know about a car. I don't know everything about 577 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:04,680 how to make them work. I don't know how to fix them 578 00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:06,800 when they're busted. I don't know if I paid the right 579 00:38:06,800 --> 00:38:09,120 price or the wrong price. There's an awful lot I don't 580 00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:11,120 know about cars. I just know I didn't want to 581 00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:16,120 walk here. I knew I needed one, and there 582 00:38:16,120 --> 00:38:17,600 are some of you here today that you're going. 583 00:38:17,600 --> 00:38:19,760 I just don't know everything I need to know about God. 584 00:38:19,760 --> 00:38:21,840 I'm just saying, I think you should know at this point. 585 00:38:21,920 --> 00:38:23,560 You should know enough that you need Him. 586 00:38:24,520 --> 00:38:27,000 I don't understand everything there is about God's love, but I 587 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:29,440 know enough about the fact that I need it in my life. 588 00:38:29,680 --> 00:38:31,840 I don't understand everything that happened on the cross. 589 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:33,840 I just need the forgiveness that came from it. 590 00:38:33,960 --> 00:38:35,800 I know enough to know that I need it. 591 00:38:36,200 --> 00:38:39,120 And some of you are waiting till all of the pieces of the puzzle 592 00:38:39,320 --> 00:38:40,760 come together. Other than the fact that 593 00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:43,320 recognizing that the pieces, the puzzle that need put back 594 00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:47,960 together are not God, it's you. And today, maybe today you're 595 00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:48,600 going. You know what? 596 00:38:48,600 --> 00:38:51,600 I know enough. I know enough to know that God 597 00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:57,040 is real, that Jesus is alive, that the cross was real, that 598 00:38:57,040 --> 00:39:00,360 the tomb is empty and I want to be covered in the blood. 599 00:39:00,840 --> 00:39:03,720 And if that's you, in just a few moments, the people around you 600 00:39:03,720 --> 00:39:05,600 are going to stand and worship, and some of them are going to 601 00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:07,880 come to the steps and pray. And I'm going to encourage you 602 00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:11,880 to take a walk of faith right over there underneath that 603 00:39:11,880 --> 00:39:14,760 screen next to that baptistry, and start asking some of the 604 00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:16,640 questions that you know you need to ask. 605 00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:19,400 To the rest of you in the room, those of you who are Christians, 606 00:39:19,400 --> 00:39:21,680 I'm going to be quick. I've talked about this before. 607 00:39:21,680 --> 00:39:25,120 When I take communion at our church, I take a double dose. 608 00:39:25,240 --> 00:39:28,080 And it's not because I'm, you know, bigger than all of you and 609 00:39:28,080 --> 00:39:29,920 we're a bigger center than all of you, although both of those 610 00:39:29,920 --> 00:39:32,360 things are true. It's because there are four 611 00:39:32,360 --> 00:39:34,960 prayers that I've been praying for, I think ever since college. 612 00:39:36,400 --> 00:39:39,160 When I take communion, when I take the first piece of bread, 613 00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:43,560 I'm reminded the fact that he paid a price that I could never 614 00:39:43,560 --> 00:39:46,560 pay, that he did something that I could never do. 615 00:39:47,480 --> 00:39:50,000 If I could fix me, he wouldn't have sent Jesus. 616 00:39:51,040 --> 00:39:54,200 If I was the solution to the problem, Jesus wouldn't have 617 00:39:54,200 --> 00:39:57,520 been on the cross. He did something that I could 618 00:39:57,680 --> 00:40:01,400 never do on my own, and I thank Him for doing so. 619 00:40:02,080 --> 00:40:04,800 The second prayer that I pray is thank you for never giving up on 620 00:40:04,800 --> 00:40:07,320 me. Because, man, I've given him 621 00:40:07,520 --> 00:40:11,520 plenty of opportunities. There is nobody on planet Earth 622 00:40:11,640 --> 00:40:13,880 that I have let down more than him. 623 00:40:14,360 --> 00:40:16,600 There's nobody. There is nobody that I have 624 00:40:16,600 --> 00:40:20,040 failed more times than him. There is nobody that I have 625 00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:24,320 given more excuses to walk in or me to walk away and out of my 626 00:40:24,320 --> 00:40:27,240 life. There is nobody I have failed 627 00:40:27,240 --> 00:40:31,440 like I have failed him. And yet I cling to the fact that 628 00:40:31,440 --> 00:40:34,520 his mercies are new every morning. 629 00:40:35,120 --> 00:40:38,240 Other people have walked out on me, but not him. 630 00:40:38,920 --> 00:40:41,480 I've run from him. And when I got done running and 631 00:40:41,480 --> 00:40:45,120 I turned around, he was already there waiting on me. 632 00:40:45,120 --> 00:40:49,320 And when you pray a prayer, being honest about the fact that 633 00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:52,280 this God who has done something that you could never do on your 634 00:40:52,280 --> 00:40:58,360 behalf and has never given up on you after he already did it, it 635 00:40:58,360 --> 00:41:01,920 changes you. When I take the first piece of 636 00:41:01,920 --> 00:41:05,000 juice, I said God help me to live a life. 637 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:11,000 In response to this, one of the biggest, dumbest things you 638 00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:15,280 could ever think is that you can call yourself a Christian, have 639 00:41:15,280 --> 00:41:19,280 been covered in the blood based on the sacrifice of Jesus, be 640 00:41:19,280 --> 00:41:23,600 exposed to the love of God in a radical way, and live however 641 00:41:23,600 --> 00:41:28,000 you want. That you can just pick and 642 00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:29,800 choose where you're going to be obedient. 643 00:41:30,760 --> 00:41:33,720 That you can go, oh I love him and oh he's good and oh he's 644 00:41:33,720 --> 00:41:36,840 great and oh he's God and oh he's wonderful, but I'm just 645 00:41:36,840 --> 00:41:38,840 going to do whatever I want to do. 646 00:41:39,920 --> 00:41:42,800 Those two statements are not compatible. 647 00:41:44,040 --> 00:41:47,280 Either he is the God of your life or he's not. 648 00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:52,080 Either he is your Lord or he is not. 649 00:41:52,720 --> 00:41:57,320 There's no middle ground and it's because I've been exposed 650 00:41:57,320 --> 00:42:02,680 to what he's done. My life must reflect it. 4th 651 00:42:02,680 --> 00:42:03,600 prayer. You're not going to like this 652 00:42:03,600 --> 00:42:04,520 one. This is where it gets worse. 653 00:42:04,520 --> 00:42:06,600 This is where you wish the grape juice was actually wine. 654 00:42:09,160 --> 00:42:13,880 My 4th prayer is helped me to remember that you died for 655 00:42:13,880 --> 00:42:20,760 everybody I will ever meet. How many of you know somebody 656 00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:25,000 you don't like? Yeah. 657 00:42:26,600 --> 00:42:28,440 How many of you have somebody that's hurt you? 658 00:42:29,840 --> 00:42:32,560 Yeah. How many of you know somebody 659 00:42:32,560 --> 00:42:37,160 that you'd classify as an enemy You. 660 00:42:37,160 --> 00:42:40,960 One of the hallmarks of the Christian faith is enemy love. 661 00:42:43,160 --> 00:42:50,240 You want to know why? Because I was an enemy of God 662 00:42:50,440 --> 00:42:55,600 and he sent his Son to die on my behalf to redeem his enemy and 663 00:42:55,600 --> 00:42:59,000 turn an enemy into a son or daughter of the King. 664 00:43:00,160 --> 00:43:03,120 And so when you and I take communion, we are recognizing 665 00:43:03,120 --> 00:43:06,920 that the very blood that covers us, that passes, that allows the 666 00:43:06,920 --> 00:43:10,040 judgement to Passover us, has not just been shed on our 667 00:43:10,040 --> 00:43:12,640 behalf, but on our enemies behalf. 668 00:43:12,880 --> 00:43:16,040 That the same blood that covers me could cover them. 669 00:43:16,320 --> 00:43:20,480 And the same God that sent Jesus to die on my behalf sent Jesus 670 00:43:20,600 --> 00:43:24,040 to die on their behalf. And when you pray prayers like 671 00:43:24,040 --> 00:43:30,320 that, it'll mess with you. Would you stand, God, I'm asking 672 00:43:30,320 --> 00:43:37,480 you to move in a very specific way, God, that those who are far 673 00:43:37,480 --> 00:43:41,320 from you right now would be drawn close to you, that they 674 00:43:41,320 --> 00:43:45,880 would overcome every obstacle that they need to overcome so 675 00:43:45,880 --> 00:43:47,440 they could be covered in the blood today. 676 00:43:48,440 --> 00:43:52,440 And God, for those of us who are followers of you, that our lives 677 00:43:52,440 --> 00:43:56,920 would begin to be shaped and conformed by you, that we would 678 00:43:56,920 --> 00:44:00,680 turn over the reins so we would get out of the driver's seat. 679 00:44:00,680 --> 00:44:04,320 That we would turn our life over to you and live a life in 680 00:44:04,320 --> 00:44:05,920 response to you. Your name, I pray. 681 00:44:06,120 --> 00:44:06,400 Amen.