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Well, good morning Crossing 
Church, how are you doing this 

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fine day? 
Doing? 

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All right, it's a good day. 
It's been a good weekend, 

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Alison. 
I let our third marriage 

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Retreat, the last two days and 
God's doing great work there. 

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The one before that there was a 
couple that were they they were 

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in the front table and he kept 
coming up to me after sessions 

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and was going that that was just
really just really being 

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appreciative of what he was 
hearing. 

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And someone took me aside and 
said that couple, she's a 

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Believer. 
He's not a Believer, and he's 

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being baptized this week, at 
Pike, County to praise God for 

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that, you know, that's, it's 
just good that God has this 

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ability to do these incredible 
things and he does it on his own

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and we get to walk with him and 
we get to Experience it along 

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with him, but see the Holy 
Spirit work. 

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See God, work in such profound 
ways. 

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So thankful for that, hope that 
you are experiencing that in 

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your life. 
Welcome. 

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All the campuses that are 
joining with us from all over 

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this region. 
So thankful for each and every 

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one of you. 
If you're inside her online, 

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we're thankful for you as well. 
Well, do something. 

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I don't usually do haven't done 
for a long time. 

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But I want to remind you. 
Of a song. 

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Very old song. 
Some of you may remember this 

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song, Were You There When They 
Crucified My Lord? 

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You know the song? 
Were You There When They 

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Crucified My Lord? 
Oh, sometimes it causes me to 

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tremble. 
Tremble. 

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Tremble, Were You There When 
They Crucified My Lord? 

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Yeah, that song was sung. 
Decades. before it was ever 

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written down in notes and words,
That was done in 1899 but it 

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goes all the way back to maybe 
the 1810s 1820s. 

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Is an African American 
spiritual. 

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That was it was the first 
spiritual that was printed in 

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him books for American church, 
goers to sing in church and in 

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worship. 
And there's only one line in 

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that in that song that changes 
with its four verses. 

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But what it actually does is it 
conveys this emotion, it's a 

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powerful song. 
I don't know what it is about 

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the way that the the the music 
is Pictured with the lyrics but 

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it conveys, this emotion. 
This understanding of suffering,

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And being connected to that 
suffering. 

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And that makes sense. 
Because as an African American 

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spiritual, that was shared and 
handed down as people were 

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singing it. 
They would understand that in 

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enslavement, They would 
understand suffering because 

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while they could not be 
eyewitnesses to what happened to

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Jesus, that's the ask the 
question, were you there? 

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They weren't there, we weren't 
there, but they were connected 

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with the suffering and there 
would be a deeper understanding 

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Suffering, The Suffering, a 
proximity to it that of what 

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Jesus had actually done for 
them. 

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And I wanted to think about that
because where we are in the Book

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of John is in the passion of 
Jesus. 

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And what Jesus did when he went 
to the Cross died, for our sins,

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and have all of the writers of 
the gospels, only John, Could 

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claim to have personally, 
experienced all that happened to

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Jesus. 
When he went to that cross. 

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Because John was there. 
I mean, he could sing that song 

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that African American spiritual 
with authority because he was 

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there. 
He was there with the rest of 

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the Apostles, when Jesus prayed 
in the garden. 

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But when Jesus was arrested, 
John stood alone among the 

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twelve, he was the only one that
witnessed the full impact of 

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what happened to his best 
friend. 

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You know, it's one thing and I 
want you to think about this, 

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it's only it's one thing to hear
about something that took place.

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Ace and to try to feel that 
emotion vicariously, but it's 

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quite another when you are 
immersed, in it yourself. 

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And while all the other 
disciples could give an account 

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of their time in the Garden of 
Gethsemane because they were 

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all, they're only Peter and John
would know what it was like to 

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follow Jesus. 
When he was bound and taken to 

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the house of the high priest 
Caiaphas, and then Peter would 

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deny Jesus and he would run 
away. 

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And so it was John and John 
alone that endured the rest. 

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Seeing Jesus beaten at the high 
priest house. 

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Being blindfolded in mocked and 
humiliated, you know, prophesy 

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who who hits you in the face, 
would have been John, that would

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have followed him to the Roman 
authorities, who would have seen

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him scourged beaten with a cat 
of nine tails. 

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The 39 lashes would have heard, 
his anguish would have 

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witnessed, his pain, would have 
seen him humiliated heard the 

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mobs, bloodlust for his death, 
Death by crucifixion. 

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He would have watched pilot when
he washed his hands and said he 

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was innocent of Jesus blood, he 
would have walked behind Jesus 

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as he carried his cross. 
He would have seen his best 

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friend. 
His savior being held down to 

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those pieces of wood and having 
his body nailed to. 

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That would, he would have heard 
the agony of it that he would 

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have experienced the spattered 
blood. 

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His body being stripped naked 
and being laid bare in front of 

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everyone else, the insults he 
would have heard the anguish of 

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Jesus mother because he was 
right there holding her. 

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The pain filled words that Jesus
shared from the cross, all of 

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it. 
And that is why when we come to 

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the Book of John and we come to 
this particular part of the Book

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of John, we have to listen to 
him. 

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And like the song asks a 
question. 

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John makes the statement. 
He was there. 

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When They Crucified his Lord, he
was there in the sweat and the 

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spit and the blood he was there 
in all those screams of pain and

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the wrenching. 
Anguish and the Relentless 

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cursing, he was there. 
When the sun went out and that 

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it would they were all subjected
to Darkness, he was there in the

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hopelessness and in the Despair 
and in the defeat he was there. 

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Pushing back his own fear. 
His instincts for 

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fight-or-flight his own personal
trauma. 

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And in all of this. 
What does John choose to see? 

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What does his gospel reflect? 
Maybe we need to step back out 

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of that drama for just a moment 
and understand a little bit more

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about the Gospel of John. 
So, the Gospel of John was 

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written between 90 and 100 AD. 
And John is about the same age 

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as that time frame so he's 
probably in his late 80s, his 

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early 90s, very old man when he 
wrote the Gospel of John so it 

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it's showing you not just the 
event that happened but you're 

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getting a flavor of how John was
processing it through his entire

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life and all of his experiences 
like what he had seen on that 

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day. 
And you have to know that by 

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this late. 
He has read the other gospels. 

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He's read Matthew, Mark and Luke
but he doesn't rely on them for 

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his gospel. 
Somewhat like Solomon in 

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Ecclesiastes. 
He sees his life. 

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John does, as more of a whole 
because he's at the end of his 

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life and he's drawing 
conclusions from that. 

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But unlike Solomon, you remember
Psalm was like everything is 

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meaningless because he was 
looking back on his life and he 

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wasn't seeing any value to his 
life. 

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And here, John writing, the Book
of John, is looking back on his 

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life, but unlike Solomon, he 
doesn't see his life is 

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meaningless. 
And instead He sees Jesus as 

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this Messiah. 
He sees life is precious and 

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purposeful because of what Jesus
has done what he has 

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accomplished. 
And so as we go through this 

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passage of scripture, I want you
to see what John sees, Jesus, 

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the Messiah, the first place we 
see it is in Jesus prayer. 

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In Gethsemane, you know, when we
read about John, John was always

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close to Jesus. 
He was always sitting next to 

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Jesus. 
He was right by Jesus. 

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There was always that proximity 
and so he was able to hear what 

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Jesus was praying and so Jesus, 
In John 17, s a reflection of 

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that, that John was actually 
hearing that with his own ears 

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while the others were sleeping. 
If you might recall. 

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And what we see in this prayer 
in John 17 is Jesus being our 

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high priest. 
He's being our Advocate, our 

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defense lawyer before Heavenly 
Father and where he begins this 

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prayer is in praying for 
himself, Jesus prays for 

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himself, look at 17 verses 1 to 
5. 

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After Jesus said this, he looked
toward heaven and prayed, 

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father. 
The hour has come Glorify your 

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son. 
This is very interesting because

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he's talking about his 
crucifixion and he uses that 

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word to describe it. 
Glorification. 

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Glorify your son. 
That your son may glorify you. 

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For you granted him authority 
over all people that he might 

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give eternal life to all those. 
You have given him now, this is 

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eternal life that they may know 
you. 

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The only true God and Jesus 
Christ whom you have sent. 

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And now father, glorify me in 
your presence with the glory I 

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had with you before the world 
began. 

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Glorify me. 
Lift Me Up. 

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He is giving himself over to the
father. 

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This is not Jesus praying that 
God would take this away from 

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him. 
This is Jesus saying use this to

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its fullest extent to impact. 
The world used me Father Empower

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me in this way. 
He is praying as the sacrifice. 

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And I love that because he's the
high priest and the sacrifice at

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the same time. 
The moves from praying for 

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himself to praying for his 
disciples. 

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We read that in John 17 a little
later. 

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It says I have revealed you to 
Those whom you gave me out of 

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the world, they were yours. 
You gave them to me and they 

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have obeyed your word. 
I will remain in the world no 

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longer, but they are still in 
the world that I am coming to 

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you. 
Holy Father, protect them by the

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power of your name. 
The name you gave me so that 

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they may be one even as we are 
one sanctify them by the truth. 

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Your word. 
Is truth. 

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That's a definition will need 
that later on in the sermon. 

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As you sent me into the world, I
have sent them into the world. 

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You see, he knows that even 
though the group of people that 

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he's impacted with his personal 
words is only so big. 

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He knows that those disciples 
are going to go out and they're 

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going to change the world. 
That the whole world is going to

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hear about him through their 
message. 

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He thanks, God, that he's set. 
Those people aside for that 

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purpose and he's praying that 
they be empowered to take a 

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message, the message of the 
Gospel which is he is in the 

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process of completing through 
his death, burial and 

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resurrection and take it out to 
a world that so desperately 

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needs hope. 
And then he moves to you. 

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And to me, he prays for us, John
17, 22, 23, my prayer is not for

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them alone. 
I pray also for those who will 

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believe in me through their 
message, that all of them may be

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one. 
Father, just as you are in me 

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and I am in. 
You may they also be in us so 

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that the world may believe that 
you have sent me. 

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I have given them the glory that
you gave me, that they may be 

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one, even as we are one i in 
them and you and me. 

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So that they may be brought to 
complete Unity, then the world 

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will know that you've sent me 
and have loved them even as 

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you've loved me. 
See, this is Jesus being the 

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Good Shepherd. 
He's holding us together. 

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That's what a Shepherd does, 
right? 

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He keeps the flock together. 
He keeps them from wandering and

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straying. 
He wants them to be one. 

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And you know what? 
For what purpose, so that he can

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bring us home. 
He'll bring us all home 

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together. 
What is this prayer in the 

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Garden of Gethsemane? 
Show us Jesus, the Messiah. 

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John looks back. 
Remembers that prayer. 

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And says he's the Messiah. 
Can't you see what I see? 

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He moves forward from the garden
because we can also see this 

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reality in Jesus arrest and his 
trials. 

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And in his beating see John 
remind us reminds us in his 

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narrative that Jesus never has 
stopped being who he is. 

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He is still God In the Flesh. 
He is still this all-powerful 

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being who is submitting himself 
to this. 

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And that never changes through 
this whole narrative. 

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It never changes. 
He never becomes less than that.

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Look at John 18, 4 through 9 
Jesus, knowing all that was 

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going to happen to him because 
he is God. 

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Went out and asked him, who is 
that you want? 

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See this is a mob of soldiers 
and Judas is leading them to 

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arrest Jesus in The Garden of 
Gethsemane. 

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Jesus of Nazareth, they replied 
and Jesus says these words, I am

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00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:16,900
he That's me only doesn't go 
that's me. 

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00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:22,400
He uses these two words. 
Those are profound words in the 

231
00:16:22,408 --> 00:16:24,900
Bible. 
I am. 

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00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:29,200
Jesus said and Judas, the 
traitor was standing there with 

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00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:35,400
them. 
When Jesus said I am he look 

234
00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:38,900
what happened? 
They drew back and fell to the 

235
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ground. 
Really, if I said, I am he. 

236
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What would you do? 
Okay, well then put your hands 

237
00:16:49,700 --> 00:16:52,200
behind your back. 
We're going to know. 

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00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:57,100
They draw back and fall to the 
ground because he's using those 

239
00:16:57,100 --> 00:17:01,100
two words. 
And it has that kind of power 

240
00:17:01,100 --> 00:17:06,099
creates that kind of blowback. 
And again he asked him can you 

241
00:17:06,099 --> 00:17:08,300
see can you imagine in your 
mind? 

242
00:17:08,300 --> 00:17:10,700
Can you see them? 
Like why did I fall back? 

243
00:17:10,700 --> 00:17:14,200
Like what what blew me over and 
they're trying to get back to 

244
00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:18,200
their feet and get their swords 
re situated and and kind of you 

245
00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:21,300
know, their armor back and 
wondering what happened to them.

246
00:17:21,300 --> 00:17:24,300
And in Jesus says, who is it? 
You want. 

247
00:17:24,300 --> 00:17:27,500
And they said, Jesus of 
Nazareth, they said and he 

248
00:17:27,500 --> 00:17:31,300
answered, I told you that I am 
he, if you are looking for me, 

249
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didn't let these men go. 
This happened so that the words 

250
00:17:35,300 --> 00:17:37,300
he had spoken would be 
fulfilled. 

251
00:17:37,300 --> 00:17:40,500
I have not lost one of those you
gave me. 

252
00:17:41,900 --> 00:17:45,300
Jesus was is and always will be 
The Great. 

253
00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:50,600
I Am. 
That name of god, Jehovah 

254
00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:56,500
Yahweh. 
Incarnate In the Flesh and he 

255
00:17:56,500 --> 00:18:00,500
makes that very, very clear to 
those people in that Garden, 

256
00:18:00,500 --> 00:18:03,100
that shows you the power. 
He had over that moment. 

257
00:18:04,500 --> 00:18:06,300
He didn't have to go through any
of this. 

258
00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:12,000
But he chose to do it. 
He willingly did it because of 

259
00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:16,600
how much he loves us. 
But Jesus did not hesitate to 

260
00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:18,200
make his innocence. 
Clear. 

261
00:18:18,300 --> 00:18:22,600
Look at John 18, 19 to 24. 
Meanwhile, the high priest 

262
00:18:22,700 --> 00:18:26,400
questioned Jesus about his 
disciples in his teaching, I 

263
00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:29,900
have spoken openly to the world.
Jesus replied, I've always 

264
00:18:29,900 --> 00:18:34,000
taught in the synagogues or at 
the temple where all the Jews 

265
00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:36,400
come together. 
I've said nothing in secret. 

266
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If I said something wrong, 
Jesus, replied testify to what 

267
00:18:42,300 --> 00:18:45,700
is wrong. 
Tell me what I've said that's 

268
00:18:45,700 --> 00:18:50,400
wrong, but if I spoke the truth,
why did you strike me? 

269
00:18:51,500 --> 00:18:56,000
Then anise was the former high 
priest sitting bound to Caiaphas

270
00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:59,100
the present, high priest, that 
high priest. 

271
00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:04,000
So, Jesus makes no bones about 
it. 

272
00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:07,400
That, that he hasn't done 
anything wrong and they know 

273
00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:12,000
that they just want to get rid 
of him because they see him as 

274
00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:16,200
such a threat. 
And then Jesus is taken to 

275
00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:20,500
Caiaphas and then he's taken to 
Pontius Pilate and John records.

276
00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:24,800
The discussion between Jesus and
Pontius Pilate and he explains 

277
00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:30,000
the kingdom of God to a pagan. 
Look at John 1835 be and 

278
00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:32,800
following your own people and 
chief priest hand. 

279
00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:35,800
You over to me, this is what 
pilate said, what is it? 

280
00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:39,700
You've done. 
Jesus said, my kingdom is not of

281
00:19:39,700 --> 00:19:42,900
this world. 
If it were my servants would 

282
00:19:42,900 --> 00:19:45,500
fight to prevent my arrest by 
the Jewish leaders. 

283
00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:48,900
But now my kingdom is from 
another place. 

284
00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:53,300
Oh you are a king then pilate 
said pilate. 

285
00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:55,300
Jesus answered. 
You say that I'm a king. 

286
00:19:55,300 --> 00:20:00,100
In fact, the reason I was born 
and came into the world is to 

287
00:20:00,100 --> 00:20:04,500
testify to the truth. 
Everyone on the side of Truth, 

288
00:20:05,300 --> 00:20:09,800
listens to me. 
And then pilot responds with 

289
00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:14,300
those three words. 
What is truth? 

290
00:20:15,300 --> 00:20:18,600
Retorted pilot with this. 
He went out again to the Jews 

291
00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:23,300
gathered there and said I find 
no basis for a charge against 

292
00:20:23,300 --> 00:20:26,100
him. 
But it is your custom for me to 

293
00:20:26,100 --> 00:20:29,800
release to you, one prisoner at 
the time of the Passover. 

294
00:20:29,900 --> 00:20:32,700
Do you want me to release the 
king of the Jews? 

295
00:20:33,500 --> 00:20:35,700
They shouted back. 
No, not him. 

296
00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:41,200
Give us Barabbas. 
What is truth? 

297
00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:46,500
We have a whole generation of 
whole culture today in America, 

298
00:20:46,500 --> 00:20:49,000
that reflects those very same 
words. 

299
00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:51,600
Truth is whatever you want it to
be. 

300
00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:56,200
Truth is relative truth moves. 
My truth and your truth. 

301
00:20:56,200 --> 00:21:01,200
Don't have to be the same truth.
We live in a post truth. 

302
00:21:02,100 --> 00:21:05,100
Culture. 
Well, that's what pagans 

303
00:21:05,100 --> 00:21:08,600
believe, whatever. 
Fits me at any particular time. 

304
00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:14,500
But the truth is and the, as as 
the truth was, because the truth

305
00:21:14,500 --> 00:21:18,000
was that truth was standing 
right in front of Pontius 

306
00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:20,600
Pilate. 
The embodiment of it. 

307
00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:25,600
And the truth is today that the 
truth is standing right in front

308
00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:28,100
of you because Jesus is in this 
room. 

309
00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:32,200
He's in every one of these rooms
where we're worshipping right 

310
00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:37,900
now and he stands before you. 
And you don't have to ask the 

311
00:21:37,900 --> 00:21:39,700
question. 
What is truth? 

312
00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:46,800
Maybe you could answer ask this 
question, who is truth? 

313
00:21:49,100 --> 00:21:55,000
and here Jesus is words from 
John 14, say I am The truth. 

314
00:21:57,100 --> 00:22:02,300
He's the Messiah. 
We see it in Jesus's crucifixion

315
00:22:02,300 --> 00:22:06,500
because now the scene that John 
relates to us, turns deadly, 

316
00:22:06,500 --> 00:22:10,500
John, 19 1, through 3, then 
pilate took Jesus and had him 

317
00:22:10,500 --> 00:22:13,500
flogged. 
That's the that's the scourge, 

318
00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:16,900
and the soldiers Twisted 
together, a crown of thorns and 

319
00:22:16,900 --> 00:22:20,800
they put it on his head and they
clothed him in a purple robe and

320
00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:23,500
they went up to him again. 
And again, saying hail King of 

321
00:22:23,500 --> 00:22:26,500
the Jews, they slapped him in 
the face. 

322
00:22:27,900 --> 00:22:32,900
Hmm. 
See John writes those words and 

323
00:22:32,900 --> 00:22:36,400
you know what he's thinking, 
he's thinking that was my 

324
00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:38,700
beating Jesus that you took for 
me. 

325
00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:47,000
That was my humiliation. 
But I say the same thing, I read

326
00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:49,600
John's words and I say, Jesus, 
that was my beating. 

327
00:22:50,700 --> 00:22:54,800
That was my humiliation. 
The sentence that was pronounced

328
00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:56,700
on you. 
That was my sentence. 

329
00:22:57,900 --> 00:23:02,300
That you're taking for me. 
Because he's the Messiah. 

330
00:23:04,900 --> 00:23:09,100
And now John writes the words of
that once, and for all sacrifice

331
00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:14,200
in John, 19, starting in verse 
17, carrying his own cross. 

332
00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:18,600
He went out to the place of the 
skull, which in Aramaic is 

333
00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:24,300
called Golgotha and there they 
crucified him and with him two, 

334
00:23:24,300 --> 00:23:29,000
others, one on each side, and 
Jesus in the middle and near the

335
00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:33,600
cross of Jesus stood his mother,
his mother's Sister Mary, the 

336
00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:36,200
wife of clopas Yes, and Mary 
Magdalene. 

337
00:23:37,300 --> 00:23:40,900
When Jesus saw his mother there 
and the disciple whom he loved, 

338
00:23:40,900 --> 00:23:46,000
that's John standing nearby. 
He said to her woman, here is 

339
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:49,000
your son. 
And to the disciple. 

340
00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:53,900
Here is your mother, and from 
that time, on this disciple, 

341
00:23:53,900 --> 00:23:58,200
John took her marry into his 
home. 

342
00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:05,000
John was there. 
He was there. 

343
00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:12,300
And what did he see? 
the same thing that he saw 

344
00:24:12,300 --> 00:24:17,900
reflecting in his mind and in 
his heart, six decades later, as

345
00:24:17,900 --> 00:24:24,000
an old man, he saw the Messiah 
and when Jesus said it is 

346
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:30,200
finished from the cross, it was 
It was finished. 

347
00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:38,800
And I can imagine all of those 
thoughts and memories and and 

348
00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:43,000
illustrations and word pictures,
flooding into John's mind. 

349
00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:49,800
That he finished it all. 
When he died on the cross, he 

350
00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:55,500
was there for all of it. 
But I wasn't there. 

351
00:24:57,700 --> 00:25:02,600
And you weren't there. 
And I don't wish I was there. 

352
00:25:03,700 --> 00:25:07,500
Do you do you wish you could 
have been there to see that I 

353
00:25:07,500 --> 00:25:11,700
want a bit wanted to be as far 
away from that as possible. 

354
00:25:12,700 --> 00:25:16,600
Now, when I think about, it's 
funny to me, but there are 

355
00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:19,100
times, I'm reading God's word 
and I was, I'm thinking to 

356
00:25:19,100 --> 00:25:22,600
myself, I really wish I was 
there but the things that I wish

357
00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:25,800
I was there for are all the good
things I want. 

358
00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:27,400
I want to be there for the good 
ones. 

359
00:25:27,700 --> 00:25:30,800
I want to be there for the ones 
that with without all the fear. 

360
00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:35,500
And without all the stress 
without all the pain, but if I 

361
00:25:35,500 --> 00:25:39,500
were there, If I would have been
there. 

362
00:25:40,700 --> 00:25:45,000
Which part in the story would I 
have played? 

363
00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:50,400
Well, honestly, I don't think I 
would have been there. 

364
00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:53,000
I wouldn't have been at the 
cross. 

365
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:56,800
I wouldn't have heard what Jesus
said. 

366
00:25:57,100 --> 00:26:00,000
I wouldn't had have experience 
with my senses. 

367
00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:03,200
What was happening? 
I don't know what would have 

368
00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:06,800
kept me away. 
It might have been like, the 

369
00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:11,700
majority of the apostles who 
just scattered when Jesus was 

370
00:26:11,700 --> 00:26:17,300
arrested in the garden and it 
just ran away. because, Would 

371
00:26:17,300 --> 00:26:20,100
you agree with me honestly that 
there are times when it's just 

372
00:26:20,100 --> 00:26:24,800
easier to run? 
It's just easier to avoid the 

373
00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:29,500
stress and the pressure times. 
When I'll say inside my head, I 

374
00:26:29,500 --> 00:26:32,900
just need to take care of me. 
I need to regroup, I need to 

375
00:26:32,900 --> 00:26:35,500
think this through and then 
later on when things are 

376
00:26:35,500 --> 00:26:38,500
settled, maybe then I'll come 
back when things get more 

377
00:26:38,500 --> 00:26:42,400
comfortable. 
I might have been like that. 

378
00:26:45,900 --> 00:26:47,100
I don't think I would have been 
there in. 

379
00:26:47,100 --> 00:26:49,500
And you know why I might have 
been like Peter. 

380
00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:54,400
Maybe I would have stepped a 
little further into the danger. 

381
00:26:55,700 --> 00:27:00,000
Only to fold up when somebody 
points the finger directly at me

382
00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:06,500
like they did to him. and in 
that moment, I would actually 

383
00:27:06,500 --> 00:27:12,400
realize like Peter did, how 
flawed my faith is how shallow 

384
00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:18,000
it can be given the right set of
circumstances or Temptations and

385
00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:23,000
in those moments. 
I start to hate what I learn 

386
00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:26,800
about myself and I begin to 
question like you begin to 

387
00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:29,700
question is my faith even real 
at all? 

388
00:27:33,100 --> 00:27:38,800
Or God forbid. 
I might think I know better than

389
00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:45,700
Jesus Does. 
And I attempt to bend his will 

390
00:27:45,900 --> 00:27:48,700
to my will. 
If he would only do what I tell 

391
00:27:48,700 --> 00:27:51,500
him to do, we would all be 
better off. 

392
00:27:53,500 --> 00:27:57,500
In those prideful times, I 
really look more like Judas. 

393
00:27:58,500 --> 00:28:03,000
Than anybody else. 
I get so caught up in my own ego

394
00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:06,800
that I can't couldn't see the 
big picture if it were hung 

395
00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:12,700
around my neck. 
You know, when I read the 

396
00:28:12,700 --> 00:28:15,500
narrative that John writes for 
us, I don't think that he 

397
00:28:15,500 --> 00:28:18,600
portrays himself as a hero not 
in this gospel. 

398
00:28:19,900 --> 00:28:24,700
And if anyone would see him in 
any light, that way it would 

399
00:28:24,700 --> 00:28:28,000
just be. 
Because of this, he just didn't 

400
00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:32,500
leave. 
And that's a lot more than we 

401
00:28:32,500 --> 00:28:36,800
may think. 
Jesus could see him from the 

402
00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:41,400
cross while he's dying holding 
on to his mother, he could speak

403
00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:45,100
to him and be heard by him even 
while he was in agony. 

404
00:28:45,300 --> 00:28:49,200
Jesus knew that he wasn't alone,
his friend was there. 

405
00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:52,900
When all everyone else abandoned
him, his friend was there. 

406
00:28:53,100 --> 00:28:56,200
And maybe that is the most 
powerful thing we can do, when 

407
00:28:56,200 --> 00:29:01,700
we walk in faith with Jesus to 
refuse to walk away. 

408
00:29:03,900 --> 00:29:08,500
Even when it doesn't make sense,
even when it hurts, even when 

409
00:29:08,500 --> 00:29:12,500
I'm confused, even when I'm 
discouraged, even when I feel 

410
00:29:12,500 --> 00:29:15,200
like I'm alone, I just don't 
walk away. 

411
00:29:16,100 --> 00:29:19,600
Even when it gets hard, when I 
don't have all the answers, what

412
00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:23,100
it looks like everything is 
upside down when our feelings in

413
00:29:23,100 --> 00:29:27,000
our Temptations, get the best of
us to just hang in there. 

414
00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:38,300
because that is what friends do.
And that is what Jesus did for 

415
00:29:38,300 --> 00:29:42,800
me. 
And that is what Jesus did for 

416
00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:49,200
you. literally, He hung in 
there. 

417
00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:58,600
In that space between worlds. 
Where he bore our sins. 

418
00:30:00,500 --> 00:30:04,400
Where he endured the rejection 
of God, because of the sin that 

419
00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:10,400
he bore. 
And that makes him whether I 

420
00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:14,200
recognize it or not. 
Whether I live according to it 

421
00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:17,700
or not, it makes him my best 
friend. 

422
00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:22,100
Even when sometimes I'm a pretty
poor friend. 

423
00:30:23,500 --> 00:30:29,600
To him. 
I want you to be thinking today,

424
00:30:30,500 --> 00:30:36,500
all of our locations. as we 
spend time, thinking about 

425
00:30:36,500 --> 00:30:40,800
Thanksgiving and thinking about 
the birth of the Lord Jesus, 

426
00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:49,000
That we remember. 
That, that all led to a cross. 

427
00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:55,000
So that he could be what John is
sharing with you today. 

428
00:30:56,200 --> 00:31:01,300
The Messiah, your Messiah. 
Would you think about that as we

429
00:31:01,300 --> 00:31:10,900
move to a time of decision? 
So, I want to encourage you 

430
00:31:10,900 --> 00:31:13,700
today. 
To think. 

431
00:31:14,900 --> 00:31:22,000
About this reality. 
To look back at that question, 

432
00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:24,800
Were You There When They 
Crucified My Lord? 

433
00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:29,500
Were You There When They nailed 
him to the tree? 

434
00:31:29,500 --> 00:31:33,200
We were you there. 
When the sun refused Shish to 

435
00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:37,200
shine, Were You There When They 
laid him in the Tomb? 

436
00:31:39,700 --> 00:31:44,300
Want you to think about that. 
In your heart and your mind. 

437
00:31:45,900 --> 00:31:55,300
Because we weren't there. but I 
wonder, It's the reality, the 

438
00:31:55,300 --> 00:31:59,800
truth of that story and how it 
affects you across two 

439
00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:04,800
millennia. 
I wonder if In This Moment. 

440
00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:10,200
It might cause you. 
To tremble. 

441
00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:18,100
To tremble. 
To tremble. 

442
00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:27,300
Some of you in this room have 
never Come into an intimate 

443
00:32:27,300 --> 00:32:29,700
personal relationship with Jesus
Christ. 

444
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:33,100
Maybe you've attended church for
a long time. 

445
00:32:33,100 --> 00:32:36,900
Maybe you're related to people 
that have been committed to the 

446
00:32:36,900 --> 00:32:39,400
Lord, but for you, it's been 
more. 

447
00:32:41,300 --> 00:32:45,900
Tradition than relationship more
rules. 

448
00:32:47,100 --> 00:32:55,800
Than relationship. and I wonder,
If In This Moment, the fact that

449
00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:59,800
Jesus is real, that he's here 
that what he did actually 

450
00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:04,200
happened and that he did it for 
you, he prayed for you in the 

451
00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:07,300
garden. 
He was arrested for you. 

452
00:33:07,300 --> 00:33:10,000
He's beating for you, he's 
crucified for you. 

453
00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:16,900
He died on that cross in Haiti 
for you. if maybe, for the first

454
00:33:16,900 --> 00:33:23,900
time, it becomes personal. 
And it causes you. 

455
00:33:25,100 --> 00:33:29,300
To tremble. 
Maybe to the point where you 

456
00:33:29,300 --> 00:33:32,800
would walk up to the front of 
this church over by the 

457
00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:36,700
baptistry right there, where 
someone will be standing and say

458
00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:41,500
it's just no good anymore. 22 
just know the story. 

459
00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:49,400
He has to be my savior. 
I want to step in to that 

460
00:33:49,400 --> 00:34:01,200
reality. because someday, if you
do that, you will be there. 

461
00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:06,500
Not Where They Crucified My 
Lord. 

462
00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:17,199
But where he sits on his throne.
And where he looks at you with 

463
00:34:17,199 --> 00:34:21,000
familiarize. 
And recognizes you. 

464
00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:28,900
And maybe points you out and 
says, I know you, I know you. 

465
00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:38,199
Do you make that decision today?
If you've never made it and many

466
00:34:38,199 --> 00:34:40,800
of you here today, have made 
that decision. 

467
00:34:43,199 --> 00:34:45,600
And, you know, we're just right 
here on the front edge. 

468
00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:52,100
The cusp of this crazy season of
the year, for some of us, it's 

469
00:34:52,100 --> 00:34:56,500
heartbreaking. 
For some of us, it's incredible.

470
00:34:57,500 --> 00:35:02,600
And the distractions are 
overwhelming. and in the midst 

471
00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:05,600
of all the stuff that's 
happening, all around us, and in

472
00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:11,100
our homes and with our families 
and in our relationships, and 

473
00:35:11,100 --> 00:35:16,300
our communities, That we would 
just say Lord I want to be 

474
00:35:16,300 --> 00:35:19,700
there, I want to live in this 
moment with you. 

475
00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:25,800
And I'm going to invite you to 
come up and get down on your 

476
00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:29,500
knees up here at these steps and
just commit your way to the 

477
00:35:29,500 --> 00:35:32,300
Lord. 
Just spend some time with him, 

478
00:35:32,900 --> 00:35:35,800
you know, in the garden, they 
all fell asleep. 

479
00:35:38,600 --> 00:35:41,500
While he was begging them to 
pray with him. 

480
00:35:41,500 --> 00:35:45,600
Watch with me. 
And you can just kind of be 

481
00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:49,300
here. 
But you could say, you know, 

482
00:35:49,300 --> 00:35:51,900
Lord, I'm going to live in this 
moment. 

483
00:35:51,900 --> 00:35:54,600
I'm going to be here, right? 
I want you to see that I'm right

484
00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:58,100
here with you. 
In This Moment. 

485
00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:03,300
And you can come up here, get 
down on your knees and spend 

486
00:36:03,300 --> 00:36:08,800
some time with the one who went 
far further than his knees for 

487
00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:10,400
you. 
Would you stand with me? 

488
00:36:10,700 --> 00:36:13,100
Let's pray. 
Heavenly Father and Jesus name. 

489
00:36:13,700 --> 00:36:18,600
This moment as every moment 
belongs to you, but we pray. 

490
00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:22,700
Father, that would, we would 
relinquish any illusion of 

491
00:36:22,700 --> 00:36:28,400
control and let you reign in our
hearts, in this moment, as we 

492
00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:33,000
respond. 
Pond to you the king of kings, 

493
00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:37,900
and the Lord of lords, even 
while you're bleeding, even 

494
00:36:37,900 --> 00:36:43,400
while you're dying, even when 
you're in agony, no, less the 

495
00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:48,900
king. 
Glorified before your heavenly 

496
00:36:48,900 --> 00:36:55,700
father, lifted up to draw all of
us to the foot of your cross. 

497
00:36:56,900 --> 00:36:59,600
In Jesus name, amen. 
In Jesus name, amen.