1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:02,760 It's wonderful to be here with all of you today. 2 00:00:03,720 --> 00:00:06,200 In looking out over our audience, it looks like we have 3 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:08,680 several of our members that are missing today. 4 00:00:08,680 --> 00:00:12,560 They're travelling and in other places or some are ill, but we 5 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:14,520 have some visitors here that are among us too. 6 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:16,160 And we're so thankful for your presence. 7 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:19,280 And some are travelling from other congregations stopping 8 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:22,960 with us to worship here today. And some folks are from the 9 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:24,640 community. And we want you to know that you 10 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:28,360 are our honored guest if you consider yourself a visitor here 11 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,520 today. As always is the case, I do 12 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:35,000 consider it a privilege and an honor to speak concerning the 13 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:38,000 Word of God. I hope and pray that everything 14 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:40,960 that we have to consider here for a little while this morning 15 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,360 would be edifying to you and encouraging to you in some way. 16 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,760 We're continuing our series in the Gospel according to Matthew, 17 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:52,520 and we just finished a year and a half long series on the 18 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:56,600 greatest sermon ever preached, Matthew 5-6 and seven, the 19 00:00:56,600 --> 00:00:58,800 Sermon on the Mount. It was the Lord's masterpiece. 20 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,280 We learned all kinds of stuff about the Sermon on the Mount. 21 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:07,240 And last time I began in chapter 8 as Jesus continues his work, 22 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:11,440 his Galilean ministry, and he does so by performing miracles. 23 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:13,840 And you remember last time we talked about the first one that 24 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:18,120 Matthew records, and that is when Jesus cleansed a leper and 25 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:19,800 the significance of that miracle. 26 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:23,120 You remember also that we made the point that there's actually 27 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:28,640 a connection or some similarities between how leprosy 28 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:32,280 is viewed in the Bible and they're similar to how sin is 29 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:36,800 viewed in the eyes of God. For example, leprosy is as 30 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:41,920 disgusting for a person to look upon as it is for God to look 31 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:44,680 upon sin. The point is, there's a 32 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:46,520 difference between leprosy and sin. 33 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:48,200 And here it is. You remember from last time, 34 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:54,000 leprosy attacks an innocent victim, but sin is a choice. 35 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:59,160 And even though in our life we may have been a victim of some 36 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:02,680 circumstance or of some sort in our life, it doesn't give us 37 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:06,560 justification to make bad or sinful choices for the rest of 38 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:09,080 our life. We learned a great deal about 39 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:11,120 that miracle Jesus performed so long ago. 40 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:15,520 Now he comes to number 2, the second miracle as recorded by 41 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:19,760 Matthew, and that is when Jesus is going to heal a centurion's 42 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:21,720 servant. Now, if you look at these verses 43 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:24,840 and you know me and those of you that do, there's no way that I 44 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:29,400 can do an expository sermon on that many verses and cover it in 45 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:31,640 one lesson. I can't hit every single point. 46 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:33,560 I just can't. That's not the way I am. 47 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:36,720 So there's going to be some things that I'm going to narrate 48 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:41,960 earlier on in this story when Jesus heals this man and the 49 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:43,800 significance of it will make some points. 50 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:47,080 And then we'll dive in from verses 10 on a little bit deeper 51 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:49,640 in the application, and we'll make that application today. 52 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:53,320 But let's just go back and begin in Matthew chapter 8 and verse 53 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:56,960 5. The Bible says when Jesus had 54 00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:01,960 entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him pleading with him. 55 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:04,840 First of all, I'm going to talk to you about Capernaum for just 56 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:07,320 a moment. Capernaum is one of the most 57 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:11,680 significant cities in the Galilean ministry of Jesus. 58 00:03:12,640 --> 00:03:16,960 It was located or situated on the western shore of the Sea of 59 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,560 Galilee. It actually became his home 60 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:23,240 instead of Nazareth. In fact, the Bible says in 61 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:27,360 Matthew Chapter 9 and verse one this place was called his own 62 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:30,160 city. It was a very significant place. 63 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:34,080 It was a place, I guess you might say, that became really 64 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:37,480 the closest thing that the Lord had to a permanent place on 65 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:39,960 earth. And we know he did not have a 66 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:43,360 permanent place on earth. His permanent dwelling place is 67 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:46,240 in heaven. But for a brief stay, the 68 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:48,520 closest thing that he could actually call home at this 69 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:52,280 particular point in his ministry was the place called Caperna. 70 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:56,880 It's a place where Peter lived. It's a place where there was a 71 00:03:56,880 --> 00:03:59,960 synagogue and Jesus preached in those synagogues. 72 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:03,840 It was a place that he performed many miracles and he did so 73 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:06,560 every day. But very sadly. 74 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:09,680 Please get this. Because of their unbelief. 75 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:13,680 Yes, because of their unbelief. We're going to talk about 76 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:15,800 unbelief in this lesson a little bit. 77 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:20,360 Because of their unbelief, this once ancient, beautiful city was 78 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:24,160 destroyed as Jesus promised that it would. 79 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:29,400 I actually read that today in the city of Capernaum, the only 80 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:32,680 thing that remains are some ruins of a few houses and I 81 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:36,440 don't know if this is true, but this is free as my father-in-law 82 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:38,600 would say. This is no charge on this. 83 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:44,600 Some say or tradition says that one of the houses whose ruins 84 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:46,760 are there was Peter's. I don't know if that's true or 85 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:50,680 not, but that's what they say. I also read that there's only 86 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:53,680 one synagogue left in the city of Capernaum. 87 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:56,480 It was completely destroyed as Jesus said that it would. 88 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:01,240 It was this place that this man came to Capernaum, and there was 89 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:05,560 a man by the by a by as referred to as a centurion. 90 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:09,120 And he comes to him and he's pleading with Jesus. 91 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:12,360 Who was the centurion? First of all, the word centurion 92 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:15,760 is the title of one of the officers of a Roman legion. 93 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:19,200 The word literally means a ruler of 100. 94 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:22,440 He was a man of prestige. He was a man of power. 95 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:26,760 I actually read that centurions were the moral fibre of the 96 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:29,840 army. They also had to possess the 97 00:05:29,840 --> 00:05:33,920 qualities and the capabilities to fight and the capabilities to 98 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:38,080 command and the capabilities to lead in peacetime operations. 99 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:41,720 Quite an important man, this centurion that comes to Jesus. 100 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,040 I like what one man said, though he says that beyond, what beyond 101 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:47,360 went beyond? This man's military prowess 102 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:52,040 though was greater. His arm was mighty. 103 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:56,840 But his heart was kind. Luke said that he loved the 104 00:05:56,840 --> 00:06:02,240 Jewish people and he loved their nation and even personally built 105 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:05,680 them a synagogue as found in Chapter 7 of Luke one through 5. 106 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:10,120 He was a man that was not a. Full Jewish proselyte. 107 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:14,320 Now, what is a Jewish proselyte? A Jewish proselyte is someone 108 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:17,120 that is a gentile by blood. And by the way, that's, I think 109 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:19,480 everybody in this room, unless you're Jewish by blood. 110 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:22,200 And I don't think there is anyone here, but if there is, 111 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:24,920 I'm sorry. I missed you. 112 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:30,240 A Jewish proselyte is a gentile, which is anyone else but a 113 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:33,160 Jewish person by blood that was converted to the religion of 114 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:36,880 Judaism. This gentile man was obviously a 115 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:41,560 man of God, or obviously a God fearing man I might say, but he 116 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:45,240 wasn't a full proselyte. He was probably like Cornelius 117 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:49,640 as described in Acts chapter 10. OK, he's a man of great 118 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:52,320 authority, but he recognizes something very important. 119 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:55,400 Please get this. He knows he's very important. 120 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:56,840 He knows he's got a lot of authority. 121 00:06:56,840 --> 00:06:58,080 He knows he's got a lot of power. 122 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,720 But he sees Jesus and he recognizes Jesus is greater than 123 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:04,560 I am. You know, I think that's a great 124 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:06,680 picture there. I don't care who you are. 125 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:09,000 I don't care where you come from. 126 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:11,320 I don't care if you're the president of the United States. 127 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:14,400 You know, the leader of the free world is the most powerful man 128 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:17,960 on earth. They say, I don't care who you 129 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:22,480 are or where you came from, Jesus is greater than you. 130 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:28,360 This was a man that had 100 people to his subordinate and he 131 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:31,800 was leading 100 men. He was a very powerful man, but 132 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:34,360 he recognized Jesus was greater than he was. 133 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:37,840 And he comes to Jesus and he pleads with him. 134 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:42,680 Now verse six, he says, Lord, my servant is lying at home 135 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:45,960 paralyzed, dreadfully tormented. I want to talk about the word 136 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:50,960 Lord for just a moment, please. When you look at the word Lord 137 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:55,680 in the Gospels, it is not necessarily the word Lord that 138 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:58,920 we use when we describe our Lord and Savior. 139 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:04,160 In fact, the word comes from the original word D de scalos, and D 140 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:07,040 de scalos is translated in three different English words. 141 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:11,520 It's translated Lord, it's translated Master, and it's 142 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:13,560 translated Servant. In the New Testament. 143 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:18,040 One scholar said, if you want to notice what our common 144 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:21,760 vernacular might call that word Lord that this man uses, it 145 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:25,360 would be the term of respect that we often refer to as Sir. 146 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:29,720 So he didn't necessarily recognize Jesus as Lord and 147 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:31,640 Savior. What did he recognize? 148 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:33,919 That Jesus was a man to be respected. 149 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:37,960 Jesus was a powerful man and he had the ability to heal his 150 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:40,760 servant just like that leper did before. 151 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:44,520 OK, interesting observation though if you look at the New 152 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:47,760 Testament and you read when the Bible describes the Roman 153 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:55,040 centurions, every one of them is described in a favorable way. 154 00:08:57,320 --> 00:09:00,120 You know when Jesus was hanging on the cross and the earth did 155 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:03,000 quake? And all the events that happened 156 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:05,240 surrounding the cross and Jesus is at the cross. 157 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:07,880 Do you remember that centurion at the foot of the cross? 158 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:10,240 What did he say? Matthew's account says this. 159 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:16,360 He says truly, this was the Son of God referred to as a 160 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:20,440 favorable way here. This man is referred to in a 161 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:23,360 favorable fashion too. And it's I think it's kind of 162 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:26,160 interesting. And this is maybe me just 163 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:29,000 speculating, but I kind of think maybe these men became believers 164 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:32,440 in Jesus and followed Jesus as they should. 165 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:35,800 The man comes to Jesus. He says, Lord, my servant is 166 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:39,640 lying at home, paralyzed, dreadfully tormented. 167 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:42,120 The word servant means young child. 168 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:44,600 And I got to make a couple of points here because anybody here 169 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:49,120 that's seen the movie The Chosen knows exactly what I'm about to 170 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:51,080 say. So let's just go through this 171 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:54,520 and let's find out who their servant could have been, might 172 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:58,680 have been, and in all practicality was according to 173 00:09:58,680 --> 00:10:01,280 the scriptures and not Hollywood's license. 174 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:03,080 OK, let's stick to the scriptures. 175 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:06,560 He comes to him and Matthew uses the word servant. 176 00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:09,560 It's this word here in the original, and it means young 177 00:10:09,560 --> 00:10:12,480 child. OK, so the first thing that you 178 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:14,240 might think is he was a young child. 179 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:21,080 However, not so fast, many scholars say, including brought 180 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:25,560 us that the word here in its origins that is translated young 181 00:10:25,560 --> 00:10:31,560 child can refer to any servant or any slave of any age. 182 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:33,480 So that's what we know for certain. 183 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:35,760 What else? How about Luke's account? 184 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:38,880 Luke uses a different word when it says my servant. 185 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:42,160 Luke uses this word. It's the word doulos and it 186 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:46,280 means a slave. Whoever this was, he was a 187 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:51,840 slave, OK? It's very possible, some 188 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:55,840 scholars say, that he was born into the family of the 189 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:58,280 Centurion, and that's the reason for the great connection. 190 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:02,560 Here's what. They did in the chosen because 191 00:11:02,560 --> 00:11:05,800 of this, because he could have been a young child, because he 192 00:11:05,800 --> 00:11:08,880 was probably born into the family of the centurion. 193 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:11,360 This is the Hollywood license that they took. 194 00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:19,320 They said he was the centurion son and the centurion son came 195 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:24,080 as the product or as the offspring of a adulterous 196 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:28,400 relationship that the centurion may have had with a female slave 197 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:31,600 and therefore this was his own son and that was the reason that 198 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:33,080 he loved. Him so very much. 199 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:35,800 I don't read that in the Bible. That's a stretch. 200 00:11:37,560 --> 00:11:39,880 I guess anything's possible, but I don't read that. 201 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:43,480 What I read is this. This was a man that was strong 202 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:47,480 mightily, but he had a kind heart and he loved this servant. 203 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:51,520 He loved this slave. He was a treasured member of his 204 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:56,920 household. OK, then the Bible says he was 205 00:11:56,920 --> 00:11:59,960 paralyzed. You know, some say that this was 206 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:02,280 this meant that he had spinal meningitis. 207 00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:07,120 Some say it was a progressive paralysis with respiratory 208 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:13,280 spasms or even tetanus. Whatever it was, Jesus says I 209 00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:19,560 will come and I will heal him. I think these are beautiful 210 00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:23,600 words and they show the concern that the Lord has, and it shows. 211 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:27,960 It reveals also that Jesus is always willing to help those who 212 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:32,000 cannot help themselves. That's the Lord that we serve. 213 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:37,600 In other words, He's willing not only to grace the presence of 214 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:41,680 the centurion's home, but also he's willing to bring his power 215 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:44,080 and he's willing to heal him. But I've got to make a point 216 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:49,440 here. Jesus is not going to impose His 217 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:53,080 will on the home of the centurion, OK? 218 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:57,160 He never says I will come to your house and heal him until 219 00:12:57,160 --> 00:13:00,360 he's invited. You see the picture there? 220 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:06,560 Jesus will never enter your home until he's invited. 221 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:12,800 Jesus will never enter your heart until he's invited. 222 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:16,760 The Bible says he's standing and he's knocking. 223 00:13:17,560 --> 00:13:21,080 Like that song we used to sing. He's knocking at your heart's 224 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:24,640 door. The door knob of that door is on 225 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:26,760 your side on your heart. You have to open it. 226 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:31,600 Jesus never imposes his will. And if you want Jesus in your 227 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:34,960 home, and you want Jesus in your life and you want Jesus in your 228 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:39,600 heart, you got to. Open it and invite him in. 229 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:42,120 We're going to talk about how you do that, not generically, 230 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:45,240 specifically later on, but you have to open it. 231 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:50,760 You have to invite him in. There's another time when Jesus 232 00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:53,640 was the morning of the resurrection. 233 00:13:55,960 --> 00:14:01,640 In Luke chapter 24, Jesus meets with those two disciples on the 234 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:04,280 road to Emmaus, that little village, and they travelled 235 00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:08,280 about 7 miles. And Jesus allows them to 236 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:11,080 unburden their aching hearts, and then he begins to preach 237 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:14,760 himself from the Old Testament scriptures to them. 238 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:18,040 They had no idea at the time that it was Jesus. 239 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:20,920 And finally, what did they say? Didn't our hearts burn within us 240 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:23,000 when he showed up? The scriptures, the things about 241 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:25,320 himself along the way, powerful thing. 242 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:27,360 They were moved by the Word of God. 243 00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:29,840 Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. 244 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:33,080 Great picture there. What happens when they got to 245 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:35,320 Emmaus? They arrived at Emmaus and the 246 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:38,520 Bible says Jesus acts as though he's going to keep on walking on 247 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:42,480 by and they peeled off like they were going to their home in that 248 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:44,160 village. And what did they do? 249 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:48,200 The Scripture says they compelled him to go with them. 250 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:52,080 Jesus wasn't going to impose himself. 251 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:55,800 They had to ask. They had to want. 252 00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:58,320 Jesus. And it was only after the 253 00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:01,200 centurion's request that Jesus says I will come and heal him. 254 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:05,480 But the centurion said this, he said, wait a minute, I'm not 255 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:08,960 worthy. I'm not worthy that you should 256 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:12,880 even come into my home. I know that you're a man of 257 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:15,440 authority though, and I know that you could speak the word 258 00:15:15,960 --> 00:15:17,720 and my servant will be healed, he said. 259 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:19,600 I know that because I'm a man of authority too. 260 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:21,600 He said. I can say to this servant over 261 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:23,400 here go. I can say to that servant over 262 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:27,080 there come, I can tell somebody what to do and they will do it. 263 00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:30,120 He said so I know that you could speak those words, and my 264 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:37,440 servant will be healed. Now verse 10, here's the 265 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:39,840 response. Now we're going to begin our the 266 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:42,320 last part of our lesson and we'll get deeper into these 267 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:45,840 things here. When Jesus heard it, he 268 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:48,560 marvelled. You know, it's amazing to me 269 00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:52,600 when I looked at this. Who are we talking about here? 270 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:57,240 We're talking about Jesus. We're talking about the Son of 271 00:15:57,240 --> 00:15:59,160 God. And you know, when the Bible 272 00:15:59,160 --> 00:16:02,320 talks about Jesus as the Son of God, it means he was fully 273 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:04,200 divine. Our Messiah was fully divine. 274 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:06,160 You know what that means? Means he knows everything. 275 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:10,680 So how is it possible that someone that knows everything 276 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:15,520 that's fully divine was at the very beginning of creation and 277 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:18,240 everything that was created, He was there helping to create. 278 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:22,640 He was spotless, He was sinless, He was all those things, and yet 279 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:25,880 in a physical sense, he marvelled. 280 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:28,720 That is amazing to me, but I love it. 281 00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:32,920 You know why? Because not only was Jesus the 282 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:36,280 Son of God, which means he's fully divine, it also says he's 283 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:39,040 the Son of man, which means he's fully human. 284 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:41,560 Didn't mean he had earthly parents, meant he was fully 285 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:44,880 human. So our Messiah that we love, 286 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:49,160 that we serve, that died for our sins is such not only fully 287 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:52,760 divine, but he's fully human. And he felt all the emotions 288 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:55,160 that even me and you had. Can you imagine that? 289 00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:57,360 Here it is. You got this centurion. 290 00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:00,240 And he says, no, I'm not worthy. You should come into my house to 291 00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:02,400 speak the words. And he's shocked at that. 292 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:08,800 He marvels at that of this man's faith. 293 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:14,160 He possessed that human emotion, and because of that he was 294 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:17,520 suddenly surprised at such a demonstration of his faith. 295 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:20,640 And then he says this. And he said to those who 296 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:24,480 followed, assuredly, I say to you, I have not found so great 297 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:27,520 faith not. Even in Israel now please get 298 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:31,120 this. Think about all the Jewish 299 00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:34,800 people that would have heard what Jesus said. 300 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:39,800 And you know what he's saying. He was saying that Roman 301 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:42,720 Gentile. Is greater than them. 302 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:48,680 I haven't even seen that great a faith that this Roman Gentile 303 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:52,440 had. I haven't seen it in all of 304 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:54,440 Israel. And by the way, think about how 305 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:57,480 Israel felt about the Gentiles. They hated the Gentiles. 306 00:17:57,480 --> 00:17:59,560 You know why? Because under the Old Testament 307 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:02,760 law, the Jews were God's chosen people. 308 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:07,040 The Gentiles were considered among the heathen and we're 309 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:10,560 going to get into actually the mindset in the thought process 310 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:13,800 that the Jewish people actually had about Gentiles. 311 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:16,760 That's why I love this. That's why they had no clue. 312 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:19,680 They had no idea. But Ephesians chapter 3 says 313 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:22,800 that it was always God's plan, just not revealed yet. 314 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:26,840 It was always God's plan that Jewish people that are faithful 315 00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:30,880 believing Christians and Gentile people that are faithful 316 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:34,600 believing Christians are those that are going to be in one body 317 00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:36,680 and they're going to be in the one saved body. 318 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:39,120 And that is the body of Christ, of the church, the Kingdom. 319 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:44,120 Wow, that is wonderful. But you know what they thought 320 00:18:44,120 --> 00:18:45,760 about the Gentiles. They're. 321 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:48,640 Rotten. We don't like those guys. 322 00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:53,880 You know what Jesus says? I haven't even found so great a 323 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:57,560 faith as that Roman centurion Gentile. 324 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:02,320 I haven't found such great faith, no, not even in Israel. 325 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:05,680 Now, by the way, this in a magnified sense is a 326 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:10,880 condemnation of Israel itself. It really is even the Jews in 327 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:12,920 Israel. It's a comic condemnation of 328 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:16,360 Israel itself. And here's why it's true. 329 00:19:16,360 --> 00:19:20,880 And we know that, that most Jewish people living under the 330 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:26,280 Jewish religion back then and still today do not recognize 331 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:28,640 Jesus Christ as the Messiah. That's a fact. 332 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:32,640 There were many times when Jesus was walking on the face of the 333 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:35,640 earth that people thought he was a good man, but they didn't 334 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:39,400 think he was the Messiah. The messianic prophecy that goes 335 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:41,360 all the way back to the Old Testament, what do they want? 336 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:44,080 They wanted a Messiah. They just missed the one they 337 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:46,600 got. They rejected the one that they 338 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:48,880 got. They thought he was going to 339 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:51,760 establish an earthly Kingdom and finally lift the oppressive 340 00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:53,480 thumb of Rome and get that off their back. 341 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:56,720 And it was going to be more of a political, worldly thing, right 342 00:19:57,160 --> 00:19:58,200 They. Misunderstood. 343 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:01,360 They misunderstood about the Messiah. 344 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:08,920 Many Jews back then didn't accept him as the Messiah, and 345 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:12,840 many Jews even today do not accept Jesus as the Messiah. 346 00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:14,960 That's point #1. Here's point #2. 347 00:20:16,360 --> 00:20:21,360 Some Jews believe then, and some Jews don't believe today. 348 00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:24,200 Or some Jews believe today. Some believe then, some believe 349 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:27,000 today, right? But what's different? 350 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:33,840 They lack, many lack the commitment to Jesus, the 351 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:37,560 reverence for Jesus, the humility it takes to come to 352 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:41,520 Jesus, and they lack what this man had. 353 00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:44,640 I think this is beautiful because this was a man that 354 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:49,120 didn't have the privileges of all the aspects of Judaism. 355 00:20:49,120 --> 00:20:50,920 He didn't have those privileges. He didn't know about that. 356 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:52,200 And by the way, you know what else he didn't know? 357 00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:55,400 This is amazing. They didn't know all the 358 00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:57,120 prophecies of the Messianic Kingdom. 359 00:20:57,120 --> 00:20:58,280 They didn't know anything about that. 360 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:01,960 He knew nothing about that. And yet he has greater faith 361 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:05,120 than all the Jews. As a result, Jesus says, I've 362 00:21:05,120 --> 00:21:08,880 never seen anyone like him. And the Jews were originally 363 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:11,480 God's people. They were the ones for whom the 364 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:15,080 Messiah first was sent, but I love this. 365 00:21:15,120 --> 00:21:18,560 Ultimately Jesus came for the entire world and his account 366 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:22,600 encounter with this Gentile hints of the universality of the 367 00:21:22,600 --> 00:21:25,200 Messianic Kingdom. Notice Matthew chapter 8 and 368 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:28,280 verse 11. Here's what I mean and I say to 369 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:31,040 you that many will come from the east and the West. 370 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:34,720 That's amazing. He's telling them, if you can 371 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:39,720 just imagine how they feel about this, I haven't seen anyone like 372 00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:43,520 this Roman gentile in all of Israel. 373 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:47,400 Then he said this. I say to you that many will come 374 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:49,600 from the East and the West. Who's that? 375 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:52,760 Who are those that comes from the East and the West? 376 00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:54,680 I'm going to tell you the ones that come from the east and the 377 00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:55,600 West. That's me and you. 378 00:21:57,320 --> 00:22:02,120 That's the Gentiles, what they thought about the Messianic 379 00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:04,640 Kingdom and what they thought about God's relationship with 380 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:06,480 man and what they thought about Judaism. 381 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:09,880 What he's saying is this, you're mistaken and you're wrong. 382 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:13,320 I'm telling you this, there's going to be those that come from 383 00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:15,800 the East and the West. That's Gentiles. 384 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:22,000 That's me and you, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob 385 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:25,000 in the Kingdom of heaven. Let me give you some Bible about 386 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:30,600 that. Acts 13 to 46 Then Paul and 387 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:35,000 Barnabas grew bold and said it was necessary that the word of 388 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:37,040 God should be spoken to you first. 389 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:39,320 Who is that? That's the Jewish people. 390 00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:46,120 OK, but since you, the Jewish people, rejected it and noticed 391 00:22:46,120 --> 00:22:52,400 this phrase and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, we 392 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:54,160 beat we. Turn to the Gentiles. 393 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:58,000 Now I got to make a point of clarification here, because 394 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,520 guess what? Nobody's worthy. 395 00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:05,880 Nobody is worthy of everlasting life. 396 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:09,200 That's true. That's why we are saved by 397 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:12,800 grace, which is unmerited favor, which is a gift that you don't 398 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:16,320 deserve. God gives us what we don't 399 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:20,280 deserve, and that is grace or eternal life when we obey Him. 400 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:23,080 And God doesn't give us what we do deserve. 401 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:26,160 That's mercy, and that's to be. Lost when we obey Him, He 402 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:28,040 doesn't give us that. He shows us mercy, right? 403 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:31,600 So if nobody's worthy and the Bible says there's none, 404 00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:34,560 righteous, No, not one, what does this phrase right here 405 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:38,040 mean? You judge yourself unworthy of 406 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:40,000 everlasting life. Here's the answer. 407 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:44,040 The answer is found in this passage. 408 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:50,160 Those that reject it judge themselves unworthy of 409 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:54,200 everlasting life. The flip side of that is this. 410 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:57,760 Still saved by grace, still a gift, unmerited favor. 411 00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:01,920 But the flip side of this is if those that reject it deem 412 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:04,440 themselves unworthy of everlasting life, then the 413 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:09,320 opposite is those that accept it judge themselves. 414 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:14,440 Worthy of everlasting life, not based on our own merits. 415 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:16,480 It just means this. You're a candidate for 416 00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:19,480 everlasting life when you accept it and accept the terms. 417 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:25,440 Paul and Barnabas talked boldly to the Jews and said this and 418 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:28,760 says, because you have rejected it and judged yourself unworthy 419 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:31,600 of everlasting life. Then he says, we turned to the 420 00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:36,560 Gentiles. OK, The Jews, by the way, are 421 00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:40,280 descendants of Abraham. And what he's saying though is 422 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:42,600 this. He's saying that non Jews will 423 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:45,560 take precedence at the Messianic banquet. 424 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:50,200 And that's when he says right here, this phrase will sit down 425 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:54,560 with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of heaven. 426 00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:56,800 The phrase sit down actually means this. 427 00:24:57,160 --> 00:25:00,040 It means to recline as at a banquet table. 428 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:04,160 You know, this phrase or this term actually initiated with the 429 00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:08,960 Persians or this concept here. It was later adopted by the 430 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:11,200 Greeks and the Romans and also the Jews. 431 00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:15,760 And it's referring to leaning back or reclining on someone at 432 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:17,200 a low table. At a banquet. 433 00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:20,880 That's what it's referring to, interestingly, But it's 434 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:23,360 interesting in the Scriptures how things have changed. 435 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:29,720 Jesus is using this phraseology right here of sitting down, 436 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:33,360 meaning this is a good thing, this is coming to the banquet 437 00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:34,800 feast. This is talking about heaven, 438 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:39,760 and they're going to be reclined in heaven and have a place of 439 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:42,400 celebration and a place of rest and all that. 440 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:45,680 But that word, or that phraseology in its origins, 441 00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:48,040 really had a negative connotation going back to the 442 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:51,160 Old Testament. It was used to describe people 443 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:53,160 that were lazy. By the way, I got to tell you, 444 00:25:53,480 --> 00:26:00,360 God has never appreciated laziness or sluggard or somebody 445 00:26:00,360 --> 00:26:02,400 that didn't take care of their responsibilities. 446 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:06,400 Amos refers to the same phraseology as. 447 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:10,480 Being at ease at Zion, it's the same kind of concept, same kind 448 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:13,320 of thing. So what once was a very negative 449 00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:16,000 connotation, it had changed in time. 450 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,760 And Jesus is using this sitting down, which is this reclining at 451 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:23,760 a banquet table to describe what it's going to be like in heaven 452 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:27,080 one day. Brought us said it this way. 453 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:33,040 The person reclined, leaning on his left elbow so as to take 454 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:36,520 food from the table with his right hand, while the feet 455 00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:39,200 extended obliquely to the outside of the couch. 456 00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:44,520 Thus the feet could be washed while one was reclining. 457 00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:49,160 What he's saying is many are going to come from the east and 458 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:52,480 the West and are going to have this position in heaven, and 459 00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:55,920 they're going to be with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the 460 00:26:55,920 --> 00:27:01,560 Kingdom of heaven. In other words, this really 461 00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:02,120 shocked. Them. 462 00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:03,360 You know why? You know what they thought? 463 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:07,920 They thought that it was the Jews themself that we're going 464 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:11,560 to be with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all those heroes under 465 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:13,400 Jewish faith, and they were going to be the ones that were 466 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:15,640 going to be there. You know what Jesus says, Not 467 00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:18,400 you. No, it's going to be those from 468 00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:23,120 the East and the West. It's going to be those Gentiles 469 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:28,560 or believing Christians. OK, something else too that they 470 00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:30,080 believed. And I thought this was 471 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:31,760 interesting. I didn't know this and study 472 00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:32,960 this, but I thought it was interesting. 473 00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:36,200 I'm going to share it with you. One of the greatest. 474 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:39,200 Things that they believed or felt. 475 00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:42,080 And I'm talking about the Jewish people that thought that they 476 00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:43,440 were going to get to go to heaven, right? 477 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:47,000 One of the greatest things that they felt is not. 478 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:50,320 Only were they going to enjoy being in the presence of God and 479 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:53,560 the presence of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the heroes and 480 00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:56,200 all that stuff, right There was more. 481 00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:00,160 One of the great blessings to a Jewish person was. 482 00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:03,880 They were going to be there and the Gentile would not be there. 483 00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:08,200 That's a terrible attitude. I got to tell you something. 484 00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:10,400 I've tried to do my best to devote my life to preach in the 485 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:14,280 gospel, and I know what the Word of God says in order for a 486 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:16,160 person to be saved, and I'm going to preach that for the 487 00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:19,120 rest of my life. But I'm going to tell you 488 00:28:19,120 --> 00:28:21,080 something. If God decided to change his 489 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:23,160 mind and let everybody in, I'm good with that. 490 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:27,280 If that's what God chooses to do, He says he won't do that. 491 00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:29,720 But if he did, if he decided to let everybody. 492 00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:32,080 And anyone into heaven, I'm not going to have a. 493 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:37,800 Problem with that, what the Jews thought is the Jews thought is 494 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:40,320 we're getting in and they're not, and they took great pride 495 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:41,760 in that. That's a terrible attitude to 496 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:44,720 have. I don't think we should ever 497 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:48,280 have the mindset or the attitude that we're going to be glad that 498 00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:52,280 we're saved and somebody's lost. I think that is a terrible 499 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:53,560 attitude. We should never have the 500 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:57,000 attitude that somebody else or be happy that somebody else has 501 00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:02,920 lost and didn't make it. In fact, I read something about 502 00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:04,640 the 23rd Psalm. You know, the 23rd Psalm. 503 00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:08,560 It says thou preparest a table before me in the presence of 504 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:11,760 mine enemies. That's a beautiful thing, right? 505 00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:15,480 You know what Jewish rabbis interpreted that passage to mean 506 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:17,560 right here? This is what they actually 507 00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:21,520 believe It to me that a table is going to be spread exclusively 508 00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:25,760 for the Jews within sight of the Gentile enemies, leaving these 509 00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:27,600 outcasts to watch. And shame. 510 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:37,440 And in anger. Jesus says no, anyone that comes 511 00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:39,000 to Jesus, we'll get to that in a minute. 512 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:44,400 No matter who you are or where you're from, Those Gentiles in 513 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:47,840 particular are going to be reclining with Abraham, Isaac 514 00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:49,440 and Jacob in the Kingdom of heaven. 515 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:52,320 And then he says about what the fate they're going to go 516 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:53,760 through. And here it is in the next 517 00:29:53,760 --> 00:29:58,280 verse. But the sons of the Kingdom will 518 00:29:58,280 --> 00:30:02,120 be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and 519 00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:04,320 gnashing of teeth. What is that? 520 00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:07,720 Here's another shockwave that ripples through the crowd as 521 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:09,840 he's concluding this particular narrative. 522 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:14,680 And that is this. Not only are the Gentiles going 523 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:18,520 to get into heaven, but the Jews, the sons of the Kingdom. 524 00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:22,760 By the way, that is a phrase that is used, a common Hebrew 525 00:30:22,760 --> 00:30:25,160 idiom referring to Abraham's legal descendants. 526 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:26,360 In other words, what he's saying is this. 527 00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:29,800 Abraham's legal descendants are not getting in. 528 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:32,600 You know why? You know why? 529 00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:36,160 Because you can't go to heaven without Jesus. 530 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:43,200 Anybody got a problem? With that, Jesus says no one 531 00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:44,960 comes into the Father except through me. 532 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:48,320 So I don't care how good they thought they were under the law 533 00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:51,200 of Moses, if you can't go to Jesus, you can't go to heaven. 534 00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:56,600 So what he's saying is the Gentiles that accept Jesus, 535 00:30:56,600 --> 00:30:59,760 they're going to get in, but the sons of the Kingdom or those 536 00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:03,680 that were legal descendants of Abraham that reject Jesus, they 537 00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:06,280 are not getting in. The Lord's point is this. 538 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:09,640 Abraham's true descendants are those who combine a faith in 539 00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:13,800 Christ with good works. John chapter 8 and 39, they 540 00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:16,280 answered and said to him, Abraham is our father. 541 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:20,880 Jesus said to them, if you were Abraham's children, you would do 542 00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:24,280 the works of Abraham. Here's another passage, 543 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:27,480 Galatians 3:00 and 9:00. So then those who are of faith 544 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:30,440 are blessed with believing Abraham. 545 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:35,400 Who's going to be blessed? Those of faith, the sons of the 546 00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:37,640 Kingdom that reject Jesus. What's going to happen? 547 00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:39,840 They'll be cast into outer darkness. 548 00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:42,040 You know, these next two statements are some of the 549 00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:48,320 saddest statements in the Bible. And I promise you something when 550 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:52,200 I'm done with this lesson, I'm going to tell you some good 551 00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:57,320 stuff. But right now I got to come to 552 00:31:57,320 --> 00:31:59,400 this part of this verse and I got to tell you some bad stuff. 553 00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:06,560 In particular, and in the context, Jesus was saying that 554 00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:10,040 those in the Kingdom or. Those sons of the Kingdom, those 555 00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:13,200 Jews that rejected Jesus, they're going to be cast out 556 00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:16,440 into outer darkness. That is a picture of you know 557 00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:22,720 what it is? It's hell, it's what it is. 558 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:30,680 They're going to be lost. The point is God severely 559 00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:32,160 punishes. Please get this. 560 00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:36,280 God severely punishes those who reject His Son. 561 00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:40,720 Can you imagine how it must be in the eyes of God? 562 00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:44,120 By the way, I'm not God and I do believe that Bible passage. 563 00:32:44,120 --> 00:32:46,720 It says that God's thoughts are not my thoughts, His ways are 564 00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:48,640 not my ways, and he's so much higher than me. 565 00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:52,840 I'm nothing in the eyes of God. I'm nothing compared to God, but 566 00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:54,760 I can just. Picture in my human mind. 567 00:32:55,920 --> 00:33:01,440 As somebody that actually is a parent and a father, and I can 568 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:06,800 kind of relate in one aspect when I do something for my 569 00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:11,080 children. And then they decide to reject 570 00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:13,120 it. That's painful. 571 00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:19,680 Can you imagine how it is for God, who is so much superior to 572 00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:23,280 me and who has done greater things for His children than I 573 00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:26,920 could ever do for anyone in this world by sending Jesus to die 574 00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:27,960 for our sins? What? 575 00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:33,760 Do you think God thinks when He looks down and sees people 576 00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:38,640 reject him or looks down and sees people that turn their back 577 00:33:38,640 --> 00:33:45,520 on Him and stop serving him? How must that feel to God? 578 00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:53,240 We had a great Bible study this last week and you know the older 579 00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:56,200 I get I think I've changed how I feel about things. 580 00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:01,360 I remember we used to have singings here at Plans Rd. 581 00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:04,200 Many of you have. Go back that far and you will 582 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:07,840 remember when a brother used to sit right here, when the one of 583 00:34:07,840 --> 00:34:10,679 the great song leaders in our congregation set right here. 584 00:34:10,679 --> 00:34:14,920 And I remember he would get up during our singings, lead a 585 00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:16,920 song, and then he would stop and say, wouldn't it be great if the 586 00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:22,040 Lord came back right now? And I used to think that's a 587 00:34:22,040 --> 00:34:28,400 wonderful concept. And I do believe that we long 588 00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:34,600 for the coming of Jesus. But the older I get, I want 589 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:36,040 Jesus to come back. Yeah, that's true. 590 00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:42,719 But not now. And I'm going to tell you why. 591 00:34:43,639 --> 00:34:45,120 Stay with me. I haven't got off the 592 00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:53,040 reservation because I know that there are people that are not 593 00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:55,360 living right that still have good, honest hearts, and I want 594 00:34:55,360 --> 00:35:04,710 God to give them time. I know about that personally. 595 00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:15,960 I also know there's a lot of people in this world that are 596 00:35:15,960 --> 00:35:22,520 wonderful people that don't know Jesus, but they're wonderful 597 00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:27,200 people with great hearts. I want God to give them time 598 00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:33,560 too. I used to preach a sermon and I 599 00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:37,440 used to make the point, if the Lord came back today, would he 600 00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:44,280 be an intrusion in your life? And I still believe that there's 601 00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:49,040 a difference between, by the way, having the Lord come back 602 00:35:49,040 --> 00:35:51,600 and not wanting the Lord to come back because I just got a lot of 603 00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:54,960 stuff to do. I got a lot of worldly stuff I 604 00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:57,280 want to do and participate in or whatever it is. 605 00:35:57,400 --> 00:35:59,760 There's a big difference between that and wanting the Lord to 606 00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:02,680 tarry because there are good, honest souls that still need to 607 00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:04,640 come back. Big difference. 608 00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:10,120 I longed for the time when the Lord had come back, but I want 609 00:36:10,120 --> 00:36:11,960 Him to come back at a time when He gets us all. 610 00:36:13,720 --> 00:36:17,800 That's what I want. It's in His hands, only God 611 00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:19,720 knows. And by the way, one final thing, 612 00:36:19,840 --> 00:36:21,520 I'll slip it in. This is this is me. 613 00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:26,760 This is my opinion. I think there's a reason why the 614 00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:31,200 Bible says that God is the only one that knows when God, when 615 00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:33,640 Jesus is going to come back. Only God knows Jesus is my 616 00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:35,040 Father only, not the angels in heaven. 617 00:36:35,200 --> 00:36:37,280 I think there's a reason you've heard me say it before. 618 00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:40,240 I'm going to say it again. I think the. 619 00:36:40,240 --> 00:36:43,800 Reason is, is because God hasn't made that determination of when 620 00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:47,840 that's going to be yet because there are still good, honest 621 00:36:47,840 --> 00:36:50,440 hearts. What did God do in the Old 622 00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:52,400 Testament? When God was done, He was done. 623 00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:55,920 He destroyed the world with the flood, He destroyed Sodom and 624 00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:58,720 Gomorrah. He said I won't, I won't destroy 625 00:36:58,720 --> 00:37:00,080 it. If there's just 10 righteous 626 00:37:00,080 --> 00:37:02,160 souls, I'll spare it for 10 righteous. 627 00:37:02,240 --> 00:37:05,800 But there wasn't. When God's done, he's done. 628 00:37:07,520 --> 00:37:10,480 I don't care what people try to tell us about how this world's 629 00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:12,480 going down the hill and this country's gone. 630 00:37:13,240 --> 00:37:18,680 Whatever you want to say, hey, man, it ain't as bad as it once 631 00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:24,200 was and we can look optimistically to the future and 632 00:37:24,200 --> 00:37:29,200 take the gospel to good, honest people hear Jesus talking about 633 00:37:29,440 --> 00:37:31,360 the lake of fire, but you know what Jewish tradition, they 634 00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:31,960 didn't get it. They. 635 00:37:32,200 --> 00:37:34,080 Didn't understand this. You know what the Jews thought 636 00:37:34,200 --> 00:37:35,560 he said. The sons of the Kingdom that 637 00:37:35,560 --> 00:37:37,680 reject Jesus going to go to outer darkness. 638 00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:41,000 What they believed, according to Edersheim is Jewish tradition 639 00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:44,760 maintained that the Gentiles will be consigned to the darkest 640 00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:47,880 valley of Hinnom. By the way, that is a city waste 641 00:37:47,880 --> 00:37:50,960 dump where fires burned all the time. 642 00:37:50,960 --> 00:37:53,920 It was a city waste up where things were thrown there and so 643 00:37:53,920 --> 00:37:57,200 forth, just like a dumped wood and fires burned all the time, 644 00:37:57,200 --> 00:37:59,680 right? OK, That is the picture of what 645 00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:01,680 Gehenna hell is, the lake of fire. 646 00:38:02,160 --> 00:38:04,000 Jewish sinners, this is what they believed. 647 00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:06,920 Because of the merit of circumcision, they will be 648 00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:09,640 delivered from this awful place. In other words, because of the 649 00:38:09,640 --> 00:38:12,720 covenant of circumcision under the old law of Moses, it didn't 650 00:38:12,720 --> 00:38:16,920 matter what they did therein is. That what Jesus just said. 651 00:38:18,040 --> 00:38:21,320 Jesus says the opposite. And at the judgement, evil doers 652 00:38:21,320 --> 00:38:23,440 will be banished from the light of God's presence. 653 00:38:24,080 --> 00:38:25,800 And then I want to notice this last phrase here. 654 00:38:25,800 --> 00:38:27,320 They'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 655 00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:29,800 Weeping is in contrast to happiness. 656 00:38:32,240 --> 00:38:43,080 It is the messianic feast happy, the banquet happy, joyful. 657 00:38:44,760 --> 00:38:48,120 Opposite of that outer darkness weeping. 658 00:38:49,960 --> 00:38:51,720 You ever notice about this phrase gnashing of teeth? 659 00:38:51,760 --> 00:38:54,040 I used to think it meant it's going to be so painful. 660 00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:56,920 It's kind of like if you've ever had to endure any pain you ever 661 00:38:56,920 --> 00:38:58,720 had any pain. Hurts. 662 00:38:59,240 --> 00:39:01,840 Hurts. Yeah. 663 00:39:02,200 --> 00:39:04,800 And you grimace. OK. 664 00:39:04,800 --> 00:39:06,360 I used to think that's what it means, not what it means. 665 00:39:07,600 --> 00:39:10,680 The phrase gnashing of teeth is not referring necessarily to 666 00:39:10,680 --> 00:39:13,800 pain. It's referring to anger. 667 00:39:16,080 --> 00:39:18,320 It's referring to anger. Can you imagine somebody that 668 00:39:18,320 --> 00:39:20,560 falls into the category being an outer darkness? 669 00:39:20,560 --> 00:39:22,600 They're going to be weeping and anger. 670 00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:30,800 Why is that? When you arrogantly assume that 671 00:39:30,800 --> 00:39:34,880 your fate is sealed for good, and you find out that it is not, 672 00:39:34,880 --> 00:39:36,800 and it's because of what you. Did. 673 00:39:39,040 --> 00:39:42,120 Wow. That is a fate that I did to 674 00:39:42,120 --> 00:39:46,400 myself when the Lord said to obey and then I decide not to 675 00:39:46,560 --> 00:39:50,080 and I don't make it. That is a fate that I did to 676 00:39:50,080 --> 00:39:52,520 myself and I got what was coming to me. 677 00:39:52,640 --> 00:39:54,800 If I make heaven, it's not going to be what was coming to me. 678 00:39:54,800 --> 00:39:59,640 It's going to be a gift. OK, but if I don't make heaven, 679 00:39:59,640 --> 00:40:01,640 it's my fault. It is my fault. 680 00:40:04,520 --> 00:40:07,000 And I think really when the Bible says it's worse for 681 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:10,320 someone that once knew and left, I think the phraseology just 682 00:40:10,320 --> 00:40:12,200 means this. I don't think the punishments 683 00:40:12,200 --> 00:40:14,640 worth worse. I think the mindset to know for 684 00:40:14,640 --> 00:40:16,480 eternity, it didn't have to be that way. 685 00:40:16,840 --> 00:40:20,240 I think that's what that means. If you don't know what you don't 686 00:40:20,240 --> 00:40:21,560 know, then you don't know what you don't know. 687 00:40:22,200 --> 00:40:24,560 But if you didn't know and then you rejected it, you're going to 688 00:40:24,560 --> 00:40:28,520 know for eternity and then you're going to want one more 689 00:40:28,520 --> 00:40:31,760 day. Unfaithful Jewish people moan 690 00:40:31,760 --> 00:40:33,480 because of their self-inflicted faith. 691 00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:37,680 Fate, the invitation they arrogantly assume is in the 692 00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:40,200 mail, as one man said, is in reality delivered to the 693 00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:43,720 faithful. This phrase right here, gnashing 694 00:40:43,720 --> 00:40:45,840 of teeth, is referring to anger. Let me just give you a couple of 695 00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:48,280 scriptures about that. In Job 16 and 9. 696 00:40:48,440 --> 00:40:51,040 He tears me in his wrath and hates me. 697 00:40:51,160 --> 00:40:55,080 He gnashes at me with his teeth. My adversary sharpens his gaze 698 00:40:55,080 --> 00:40:58,000 on me. OK, remember when Stephen was 699 00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:00,800 about to be stoned to death and Stephen is standing there and 700 00:41:00,800 --> 00:41:03,520 Stephen looks up into the heavens and he says, I see Jesus 701 00:41:03,520 --> 00:41:05,000 standing on the right head of God. 702 00:41:05,400 --> 00:41:08,480 They were so angry. You know what they did when they 703 00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:10,680 heard these things? They were cut to the heart. 704 00:41:10,680 --> 00:41:12,680 And they gnashed at him with their teeth. 705 00:41:14,320 --> 00:41:18,400 Didn't bite him. Didn't he go bite him? 706 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:31,680 Nashed at him with their teeth. Anger, anger, quite a quite a 707 00:41:31,680 --> 00:41:39,640 contrast between being lost being the sons of the Kingdom 708 00:41:39,640 --> 00:41:45,000 were the Jewish people that rejected Jesus and those that 709 00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:47,240 come from the east and the West that come to Jesus. 710 00:41:47,240 --> 00:41:49,800 Now I'm going to say Jesus specifically was talking about 711 00:41:49,800 --> 00:41:51,560 Jewish people and them being lost. 712 00:41:51,560 --> 00:41:57,920 But folks, I got to say it. The same fate is true for 713 00:41:57,960 --> 00:41:59,720 anyone. Regardless of what your blood 714 00:41:59,720 --> 00:42:04,040 type is, regardless of where you came from, your nationality, if 715 00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:05,720 you reject Jesus, it's the same thing. 716 00:42:09,840 --> 00:42:11,560 Let's talk about something happy. 717 00:42:11,560 --> 00:42:15,600 Now. You know Jesus talks about 718 00:42:16,480 --> 00:42:20,680 heaven as a banquet in the marriage of the King's son. 719 00:42:20,680 --> 00:42:24,920 It's beautiful. In the marriage of the King's 720 00:42:24,920 --> 00:42:28,200 son, he talks about a banquet, a banquet feast. 721 00:42:29,880 --> 00:42:31,520 I've thought about that throughout the years, and I've 722 00:42:31,520 --> 00:42:36,360 thought about, I mean, me or you. 723 00:42:38,800 --> 00:42:41,880 It's so far removed from our lives to go to the King's palace 724 00:42:44,120 --> 00:42:45,880 that that's a whole nother group of people. 725 00:42:45,880 --> 00:42:49,880 I don't even know how to say it. And maybe the only thing that we 726 00:42:49,880 --> 00:42:52,800 would ever see from a King's palace is maybe from a distance, 727 00:42:54,680 --> 00:42:57,360 maybe from a distance looking through those gates and looking 728 00:42:57,360 --> 00:43:02,680 into the beautiful landscaping. But from a distance, when I 729 00:43:02,680 --> 00:43:06,920 think about the King's palace that the Lord refers to 730 00:43:06,920 --> 00:43:10,520 metaphorically, I think about it from a literal standpoint. 731 00:43:10,520 --> 00:43:15,000 And I think about that is so far removed from our lives, that 732 00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:18,520 concept. But just picture this. 733 00:43:20,360 --> 00:43:27,120 What if one day, what if one day you got an invitation and it 734 00:43:27,120 --> 00:43:30,720 wasn't to go get get a tour at the King's palace, It was to sit 735 00:43:30,720 --> 00:43:36,440 at the King's table. I can't even imagine what that'd 736 00:43:36,440 --> 00:43:40,600 be like. I bet we'd go out and get the 737 00:43:40,600 --> 00:43:43,400 best clothes we could possibly afford. 738 00:43:45,080 --> 00:43:49,240 If we didn't have them, we'd rent them because we're going to 739 00:43:49,240 --> 00:43:53,720 the marriage of the King's son. We're going to sit at a banquet 740 00:43:53,720 --> 00:43:58,000 and eat with the king. And maybe on that day that we 741 00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:03,800 got there, and it was the night of that feast, maybe we got up 742 00:44:03,800 --> 00:44:05,960 to those gates and we looked into those gates that we once 743 00:44:05,960 --> 00:44:10,320 peered through from a distance. But this time it's different. 744 00:44:12,520 --> 00:44:14,160 Maybe. Now we stood before those gates 745 00:44:14,160 --> 00:44:18,480 and they open wide, and then the King's servants are lined up on 746 00:44:18,480 --> 00:44:20,760 the right and on the left, and they're bowed down before us. 747 00:44:22,560 --> 00:44:26,920 It's different tonight. Then here comes a servant and 748 00:44:26,920 --> 00:44:28,800 grabs us by the hand and leads us through the gates. 749 00:44:28,800 --> 00:44:33,320 And the first thing that we do is we look at our clothes that 750 00:44:33,320 --> 00:44:35,000 we once thought were good enough for the occasion. 751 00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:36,800 We realize they're nothing but filthy rags. 752 00:44:39,120 --> 00:44:42,880 Then here comes another servant, and the servant hands us a 753 00:44:42,880 --> 00:44:48,440 wedding garment and we put it on, and it's the most beautiful 754 00:44:48,440 --> 00:44:52,560 thing we've ever seen. And right then and there, for 755 00:44:52,560 --> 00:44:56,560 the very first time, we say I belong. 756 00:44:59,640 --> 00:45:05,320 I belong here. And then maybe the servant takes 757 00:45:05,320 --> 00:45:06,840 us to the doors of the banquet room. 758 00:45:09,920 --> 00:45:13,200 The doors are even beautiful. Even the door knob is solid gold 759 00:45:15,120 --> 00:45:17,440 and the doors swing open wide and we look inside and it's a 760 00:45:17,440 --> 00:45:20,720 place of light. It's a place of beauty. 761 00:45:21,880 --> 00:45:23,600 It's a place of warmth and fellowship. 762 00:45:25,160 --> 00:45:30,960 And we go inside and we go to a seat that is taken to, we're 763 00:45:30,960 --> 00:45:33,280 taken to that place and our name is written down. 764 00:45:33,840 --> 00:45:39,840 You know why? Because we were invited and a 765 00:45:39,840 --> 00:45:43,920 spot was reserved for us. That's my spot. 766 00:45:45,680 --> 00:45:51,400 And I sit down and you sit down and then we look out and we try 767 00:45:51,400 --> 00:45:52,800 to look at those that were there too. 768 00:45:52,800 --> 00:45:54,200 Other people. You know what we find? 769 00:45:55,720 --> 00:45:57,680 Hey, there's a there's a lame man over there. 770 00:45:59,600 --> 00:46:01,800 There's a fellow over there. He's groping because he's blind. 771 00:46:01,800 --> 00:46:06,160 He's trying to find his spot. And finally, everybody gets 772 00:46:06,160 --> 00:46:09,560 seated and you look around and you wonder where are all the 773 00:46:09,560 --> 00:46:14,400 people that didn't make it? Where's the doctors of the law? 774 00:46:14,400 --> 00:46:16,360 Where are the scribes and the Pharisees? 775 00:46:16,440 --> 00:46:19,720 Where's all the religious, Jewish religious elite? 776 00:46:19,720 --> 00:46:22,680 Where are they? They weren't there. 777 00:46:22,680 --> 00:46:23,720 You know why? 2 reasons. 778 00:46:25,280 --> 00:46:29,840 They either rejected the invitation altogether or they 779 00:46:29,840 --> 00:46:35,480 just didn't have time. I'm going to tell you something, 780 00:46:35,480 --> 00:46:38,960 folks. The picture of that representing 781 00:46:38,960 --> 00:46:41,840 the banquet in heaven is similar, but here's where it's 782 00:46:41,840 --> 00:46:43,600 different. When you get the wedding garment 783 00:46:43,600 --> 00:46:46,120 and you. Enter in to that feast. 784 00:46:46,240 --> 00:46:49,840 You won't be blind anymore. You won't be lame. 785 00:46:52,040 --> 00:46:57,120 You'll be perfect. We won't be having brothers miss 786 00:46:57,120 --> 00:46:59,720 services today because tomorrow or the next day he's getting a 787 00:46:59,720 --> 00:47:01,640 pacemaker or one that's already had one. 788 00:47:03,560 --> 00:47:05,160 We won't have people that are battling. 789 00:47:05,160 --> 00:47:09,000 Cancer. We won't have people that have 790 00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:09,760 other. Ailments. 791 00:47:09,760 --> 00:47:14,200 It won't be there on our. Own the. 792 00:47:14,200 --> 00:47:16,800 Filthy rags that we wear, we're not worthy. 793 00:47:17,320 --> 00:47:22,240 But when you put on the wedding garment, you belong, and you 794 00:47:22,240 --> 00:47:23,520 put. On that wedding garment when 795 00:47:23,520 --> 00:47:25,000 you're. Baptized into Jesus Christ for 796 00:47:25,000 --> 00:47:27,920 their mission of your sins when you become. 797 00:47:27,920 --> 00:47:32,360 A child of God, an obedient. Child of God, you can't do it on 798 00:47:32,360 --> 00:47:35,600 your own way. A place of warmth. 799 00:47:37,040 --> 00:47:41,520 One final thing. The thing that made all of. 800 00:47:41,520 --> 00:47:45,280 These people that made it into the banquet room. 801 00:47:48,440 --> 00:47:54,520 Here's the criteria. They were invited and they came. 802 00:47:57,440 --> 00:48:01,960 Jesus. In verse 13 heals this man, he 803 00:48:01,960 --> 00:48:06,040 heals him from his sin, the centurion. 804 00:48:06,040 --> 00:48:09,600 Servant healed the servant. From his illness, in the same 805 00:48:09,600 --> 00:48:11,680 way Jesus heals us from our sin too. 806 00:48:13,440 --> 00:48:19,000 But here's the invitation you got to hear the word of God. 807 00:48:20,480 --> 00:48:23,480 Romans 10/17 So faith comes. By hearing and hearing by the 808 00:48:23,480 --> 00:48:24,920 word of God. We've done that today. 809 00:48:26,280 --> 00:48:28,480 But upon hearing the word of God, you got a choice. 810 00:48:28,720 --> 00:48:30,880 Jesus said this. You got to believe with all your 811 00:48:30,880 --> 00:48:32,240 heart. Hebrews 11 and 6. 812 00:48:32,240 --> 00:48:35,200 Without faith it's impossible to please him, for he who comes to 813 00:48:35,200 --> 00:48:39,360 God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those 814 00:48:39,360 --> 00:48:41,360 who diligently seek Him. Then what? 815 00:48:41,640 --> 00:48:44,240 You got to repent of your sins? Acts 17 and 30. 816 00:48:44,440 --> 00:48:48,080 Truly these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands 817 00:48:48,080 --> 00:48:51,840 all men everywhere to repent. Now what? 818 00:48:52,400 --> 00:48:54,000 After you take those steps, you're a fit. 819 00:48:54,000 --> 00:48:56,400 Candidate to do this, and that is to make the greatest 820 00:48:56,400 --> 00:48:59,440 confession you will ever make, and that's confessing Jesus 821 00:48:59,440 --> 00:49:02,800 Christ as the Son of God. Acts 837 Then Philip said, if 822 00:49:02,800 --> 00:49:04,040 you believe with all your heart, you may. 823 00:49:04,560 --> 00:49:07,840 And he answered, said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of 824 00:49:07,840 --> 00:49:09,960 God. Now these steps are leading 825 00:49:09,960 --> 00:49:12,200 toward or pointing to the point of salvation. 826 00:49:12,400 --> 00:49:15,680 But please get this the point of salvation. 827 00:49:15,680 --> 00:49:19,520 Is. This be baptized for the 828 00:49:19,520 --> 00:49:22,760 remission of your sins Mark 1616. 829 00:49:22,960 --> 00:49:26,320 He who believes and is baptized will be saved he who does not 830 00:49:26,320 --> 00:49:29,840 believe will be condemned. Is baptism essential to be 831 00:49:29,840 --> 00:49:32,160 saved? I didn't say it The word of God 832 00:49:32,160 --> 00:49:36,680 does first Peter 321 the light figure where in the even baptism 833 00:49:36,920 --> 00:49:42,960 does also now save us, not the. Putting away the filth of the 834 00:49:42,960 --> 00:49:44,200 flesh. But the answer of a good 835 00:49:44,200 --> 00:49:47,320 conscience toward God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 836 00:49:48,000 --> 00:49:51,160 What else? What happens when you take those 837 00:49:51,160 --> 00:49:53,560 steps of obedience and become a child of God? 838 00:49:53,800 --> 00:49:56,520 And what happens when their sin becomes in your life? 839 00:49:56,520 --> 00:49:59,080 Then what Bible? Says what we do. 840 00:49:59,080 --> 00:50:01,400 There here. First John 1:00 and 9:00 if we. 841 00:50:01,400 --> 00:50:04,840 Confess our sins he's faithful and just to forgive us our. 842 00:50:04,840 --> 00:50:06,960 Sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 843 00:50:06,960 --> 00:50:09,840 I love this. Confess means this to say the 844 00:50:09,840 --> 00:50:11,720 same thing that God says about that sin. 845 00:50:11,920 --> 00:50:15,160 That is confessing sin to God with godly sorrow and 846 00:50:15,160 --> 00:50:16,840 repentance. Then what? 847 00:50:17,200 --> 00:50:20,760 God Forgives us and cleanses us from all unrighteousness, 848 00:50:20,760 --> 00:50:23,360 meaning even the contamination of that sin is gone. 849 00:50:23,440 --> 00:50:25,360 Isn't that beautiful? Gone. 850 00:50:26,720 --> 00:50:29,920 Why is it important to confess? James 516 says confess your 851 00:50:29,920 --> 00:50:32,840 trespasses to one another and pray one for another that you 852 00:50:32,840 --> 00:50:34,480 may be healed. The effective fervent prayer of 853 00:50:34,480 --> 00:50:35,720 a righteous man avails much.