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Well, good morning, everyone. 
For those of you who don't know 

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me, my name is Vance Furtado. 
I'm elder here at Resurrection 

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Church as well as a volunteer 
pastor, and we're so glad all of

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you are here at church. 
This morning. 

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We're going to be taking another
look at a passage in the Gospel 

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of John, which we've been in 
John for quite a while, looking 

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at what's called the Upper Room.
And this message is called 

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finding certainty in an 
uncertain world. 

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All right, And we're going to be
in John chapter 16, verse 25 to 

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verse 33. 
Now, before we get into the 

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Scripture, which we will be 
shortly, I'm going to share with

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you a statement that I think all
of us would agree with here. 

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It is Uncertainty stinks. 
Uncertainty stinks. 

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Uncertainty means chaotic, crazy
things that are happening around

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us. 
We feel as if our lives are 

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totally out of control. 
We feel like we're all birds, 

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just kind of trapped in a dust 
storm, just being blown about 

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one way or the other. 
Now, I came to discover this 

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afresh several years ago one 
Sunday here at our church. 

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I had just taught the first 
session of a short term Bible 

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class on Psalms and it was fun. 
I love to teach, all right. 

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And we were having all kinds of 
good interaction and some 

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questions were shared, some 
discussion we had afterwards. 

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And I was looking forward to the
following Sunday when again we 

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would meet in the activity 
center and we would again take a

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look at Psalms. 
We never met again. 

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The following day after that 
Sunday, I went to work at 

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teaching at Nueva High School, 
the same thing I had done for 

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almost 21 years. 
We were starting our fourth 

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quarter. 
I had my lesson plans all 

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written out for the entire week.
I was ready. 

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I was looking forward. 
I was getting a little worn 

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after 20 some years in the 
classroom, not too far from 

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retirement, but I was still 
loving what I was doing. 

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We met for two days and then 
every school in the state of 

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California closed. 
I didn't know it at the time, 

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but my career as a teacher in 
that school was over. 

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What happened? 
I can tell you in one horrible 

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little word, COVID, the 
coronavirus. 

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COVID had arrived in Kern 
County, and beginning with that 

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week, we were all trying to 
survive, something that most of 

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us had never experienced before,
and that was a pandemic. 

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Now, COVID affected all of us 
differently, even if you never 

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got sick. 
And thankfully, as far as I 

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know, I never actually caught 
COVID, but I knew lots of people

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who did. 
But even if you never got sick, 

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there were so many hard 
uncertainties. 

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For example, some of us were 
students during COVID. 

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We have vivid memories of 
sitting alone at a kitchen table

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or maybe sitting in our 
bedrooms, and you're looking at 

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this screen and you're trying to
learn what the teacher is trying

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to communicate to you. 
You can't ask him any questions.

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Maybe mom or dad is there to 
help some, or maybe an older 

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brother or sibling. 
Otherwise, you're on your own. 

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And let me tell you what it was 
like for the teachers at the 

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other end. 
Imagine being a teacher, looking

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at 30 individual little screens.
Behind each one of those screens

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is one of your students. 
Some of the screens are dark. 

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You don't know if they're there 
or if they're not. 

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And you as a teacher are 
desperately trying to 

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communicate, and you don't know 
what's being received at the 

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other end. 
Remember grocery shopping during

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COVID? 
You know, I never knew toilet 

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paper was that valuable. 
Did you? 

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I mean, it was like, very 
treasure. 

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A lot of us work during COVID. 
We had a new phrase that came 

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into the language. 
It was used a lot working from 

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home for me. 
I retired early then I had 

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planned. 
And the reason was, was that I 

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have trouble with hearing if 
there's a lot of talking going 

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on. 
I have trouble distinguishing 

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that individual conversation. 
It was one reason why I kept 

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such a tight control on my 
classroom. 

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Classroom management, all right.
But now if my students come back

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with me the following school 
year and we all have masks and 

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the students have these 
plexiglass barriers around their

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desks, I was having panic 
attacks thinking, how in the 

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world can I hear what my 
students are saying to me? 

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How can I communicate clearly to
them? 

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How can I manage a classroom if 
I cannot even hear what's going 

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on? 
I retired. 

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I knew I couldn't take it. 
And you know, the hardest of all

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was losing family and friends. 
I recall about two months into 

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the pandemic, I got a phone call
from my friend Mike. 

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We have known each other since 
the 5th grade. 

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We still communicate regularly 
with each other. 

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His voice was breaking as he 
told me Bill has passed away. 

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Our mutual friend Bill was my 
first friend that I had in town 

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when my family moved here and I 
was seven years old. 

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Bill and I became friends before
we even started the 2nd grade. 

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He passed away sadly hundreds of
miles from his family because 

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social isolation. 
He passed away in his sleep. 

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Looking forward to the birth of 
his first grandchild, knowing 

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his grandson would carry his 
name. 

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He never saw his grandson. 
Uncertainty stinks, but there 

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was a lesson COVID taught all of
us. 

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It is so easy for us to have a 
false sense of security because 

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things just kind of seem to keep
happening according to a 

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pattern. 
We wake up the next day, we go 

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to work, we hang out with our 
friends, we make our plans. 

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Everything seems stable. 
It seems predictable, the 

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reality we make our plans, cast 
our dreams and aspirations, but 

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only Almighty God knows what's 
really going to happen. 

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That's what COVID reminded us 
of. 

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It's what the prophet Jeremiah 
said 2600 years ago. 

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Here's what he wrote. 
I know, Lord, that a person's 

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way is not their own. 
No one who walks determines his 

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own steps. 
Now, that uncertainty, that 

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anxiety, that instability that 
we went through during the COVID

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pandemic, that same kinds of 
feelings and emotions is exactly

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what the disciples were 
experiencing as they were 

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listening to Jesus in that upper
room. 

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Because Jesus had been their 
certainty. 

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He had been their focus. 
He had been the rock that had 

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always been there for three 
years, and now he was saying 

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crazy stuff. 
One of you will betray me. 

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I'm going away. 
You cannot follow me now, but 

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you will follow me later. 
What? 

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It was scary. 
Uncertainty is scary. 

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And because they were 
frightened, because we get 

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frightened. 
Jesus speaks what He says in 

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verses beginning at verse 25 of 
verse 33. 

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Here's the main idea that we're 
focusing on. 

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True certainty outshines false 
confidence. 

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Now as we start reading these 
verses, Please remember this 

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what we're going to be hearing. 
These are the last words that 

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Jesus taught them before He 
died. 

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So it's important. 
Let's start reading now. 

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John 16, beginning at verse 25. 
These things, I have said these 

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things to you in figures of 
speech. 

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The hour is coming when I will 
no longer speak to you in 

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figures of speech, but will tell
you plainly about the Father. 

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In that day you will ask in my 
name. 

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I do not say to you that I will 
ask the Father on your behalf, 

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for the Father himself loves 
you, because you have loved me 

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and have believed that I came 
from God. 

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I came from the Father and have 
come into the world, and now I 

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am leaving the world and going 
to the Father, The disciples 

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said. 
Now you are speaking plainly, 

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not using figurative speech. 
Now we know that you know all 

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things and do not need anyone to
question you. 

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This is why we believe that you 
came from God. 

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Jesus answered them. 
Do you now believe? 

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Behold, the hour is coming, 
indeed it has come when you will

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be scattered, each to his own 
home, and you will leave me 

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alone. 
Yet I am not alone, for the 

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Father is with me. 
I have said these things to you,

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that in me you may have peace. 
In the world you will have 

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tribulation or trouble. 
But take heart, I have overcome 

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the world again. 
True certainty outshines false 

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confidence. 
Jesus is giving us here 2 

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certainties that we can 
absolutely count upon. 

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The first one is in verses 25 to
28. 

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And the first certainty is 
simply this, the Father's love 

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for us. 
We all know real love is always 

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backed up by action, isn't it? 
It's backed up by evidence. 

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So Jesus here in these this 
first paragraph, he gives us 

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three pieces of evidence of the 
Father's love. 

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The first one is in verse 28, 
the Father sent Jesus. 

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Verse 28 is the entire gospel in
one sentence. 

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Jesus came from the Father. 
He entered the world, and now 

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that his work will be shortly 
finished, he is going back to 

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the Father. 
That's the whole thing right 

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there. 
Now why? 

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Why did the Father send Jesus? 
Because we were absolutely 

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doomed unless Jesus saved us. 
According to Ephesians 2 verses 

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one to five, we were dead, 
spiritually dead in our 

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trespasses and sins, but God 
sent his Son Jesus. 

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Romans 58. 
God demonstrates his own love 

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for us in this, in that while we
were yet sinners, Christ died 

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for us. 
Easter is coming up in just a 

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few weeks. 
Easter is a time when we can 

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invite people to church, our 
friends, our family, people 

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living in the neighborhood 
around us, what we call loving 

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our 10 or reaching out to our 
circles. 

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It's a time that we can share 
that message That's in verse 28 

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that the Father sent his son so 
that all of us could have a 

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relationship with God. 
The fact that he said Jesus is 

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always proof of his love. 
Second, Jesus says here we're 

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going to have clear knowledge of
the Father. 

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Jesus is saying, I'm not going 
to have to speak basically in 

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those figures of speech. 
See, Jesus had been doing his 

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very, very best to communicate 
God's truth to his disciples, 

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but his disciples to put a 
charitably, we're kind of dumb 

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spiritually. 
They were dense, obtuse, so 

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Jesus had to use stories and 
actions to communicate to them, 

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and even then they didn't get 
it. 

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So they were arguing at the 
beginning of the time in the 

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upper room about which one of 
them is the greatest. 

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So Jesus, according to John 13, 
he dresses himself as a slave 

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and goes around and washes the 
feet of every disciple, 

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including the disciple Judas, 
who will betray him. 

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It's an example of servanthood 
they would never forget. 

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Jesus tells them I'm the vine, 
you're the branches apart from 

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me. 
You can do what is it exactly? 

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But he's saying here, there will
come a time you will learn 

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plainly, clearly knowledge about
my Father. 

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And that will happen when the 
Holy Spirit shows up, the spirit

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of truth. 
Until then, everything's going 

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to be kind of unclear and a bit 
murky. 

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You know, sort of like sometimes
my nephews, they like to take 

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off their swim goggles and throw
it into the swimming pool and 

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then dive after him. 
All right. 

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Why? 
They can see it down there. 

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Now imagine taking swim goggles 
and throwing them into some 

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fishing hole. 
Yeah. 

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Find them. 
That's kind of like what the 

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disciples in terms of what they 
could pick up on. 

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Truth. 
It was murky. 

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It was unclear, but that's going
to change. 

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You know what? 
Also, just to kind of tie in 

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with what Pastor Daniel was 
sharing last Sunday, where he 

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was telling us about how, you 
know, in in Old Testament times,

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how difficult it was for people 
to be able to access God, to be 

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able to come into his presence. 
And you remember all those 

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courts they had to go through 
and a lot of the courts, a lot 

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of those parts of the temple 
nobody could ever enter. 

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They didn't qualify. 
Well, now, as a result of Jesus,

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we can all boldly enter the 
presence of God. 

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We can boldly access, according 
to Hebrews 416, the throne of 

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grace. 
When we're told, we can boldly 

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come into God's presence. 
Guys, that's the same Greek word

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translated here. 
We can hear from the Father 

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plainly. 
You know, the third evidence of 

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the Father's love for us is 
maybe the best one of all, and 

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that's this. 
The Father wants to answer our 

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prayers. 
Matter of fact, He is waiting 

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impatiently for us to come into 
His presence and ask in the name

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00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:40,400
of his son. 
Now that deserves a bit of an 

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00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:47,240
explanation, so here it is. 
In the Bible, God's name 

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00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:54,400
represents God himself. 
So for example in Proverbs 1810 

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it says there the name of the 
Lord is a strong tower, the 

233
00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:03,280
righteous run into it and are 
safe. 

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00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:12,440
God's name represents God, 
Jesus's name. 

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00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:16,680
Obviously represents him as the 
Son of God. 

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00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:23,680
When we are praying in Jesus 
name, that means we're asking 

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00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:30,120
God to do something just like 
Jesus would ask his father to do

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00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:35,200
something. 
Number of years ago all of us 

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00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:39,480
were kind of running around with
these bracelets or these hats or

240
00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:44,320
T-shirts and that had 4 letters 
all in caps. 

241
00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:51,400
WWJD. 
What would Jesus do? 

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00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:57,360
Based upon an old old book 
called In His Steps by Charles 

243
00:20:57,360 --> 00:21:03,720
Sheldon. 
What Jesus is talking about here

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00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:08,360
is not WWJD. 
What would Jesus do? 

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00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:17,040
Think of it this way, when we 
pray to the Father in Jesus 

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00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:28,080
name, it is WWJP. 
What would Jesus pray? 

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00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:35,480
And now you might say, OK, 
Vance, that's about as helpful 

248
00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:40,680
as nothing. 
How in the world are we supposed

249
00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:43,280
to figure out what Jesus would 
pray? 

250
00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:53,600
I mean, I know what I pray. 
I know what I want right now. 

251
00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:57,320
My dresser at home, I've had it 
for over a year, is a gift 

252
00:21:57,320 --> 00:22:02,520
certificate to the wars. 
I know what I want, OK? 

253
00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:06,120
Linda keeps putting me off and 
it's drives me crazy. 

254
00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:15,320
But what does Jesus want? 
You know what helps us to figure

255
00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:21,600
that out guys is 2 things. 
First thing to understand what's

256
00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:30,760
important to Jesus is to look at
what and how did Jesus pray? 

257
00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:37,040
For example, Jesus gave us a 
pattern for prayer. 

258
00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:43,160
We call it the Lord's Prayer. 
It starts off our Father who are

259
00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:47,160
in heaven, who is in heaven 
hallowed or make holy your name.

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00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:53,320
Oh, God wants us to honor and 
glorify his Father. 

261
00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:58,160
Jesus wants us to do that. 
Forgive us our sins as we 

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00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:00,080
forgive those who sin against 
us. 

263
00:23:00,360 --> 00:23:05,560
Oh, Jesus wants us to extend 
forgiveness to others, whether 

264
00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:12,280
we want to or not. 
Jesus also would pull all 

265
00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:17,480
nighters when it came to prayer.
Before he picked his 12 

266
00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:20,960
disciples, we're told he spent 
the whole night in prayer to 

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00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:24,800
God. 
The next morning he picked the 

268
00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:30,880
12, including Judas. 
Pastor Daniel's sermon next 

269
00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:39,840
Sunday is chapter 17 of John. 
Chapter 17 is Jesus's prayer. 

270
00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:45,960
It shows us what's important to 
him. 

271
00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:49,000
And by the way, what's important
to him is us. 

272
00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:58,600
He's going to go to Gethsemane 
where he'll be arrested. 

273
00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:07,320
He will pray, Father, not my 
will, but yours be done. 

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00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:13,800
He will go to the cross, and he 
will pray for those soldiers who

275
00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:18,200
are murdering him. 
And he will say, Father, forgive

276
00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:21,480
them for they do not know what 
they do. 

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00:24:24,360 --> 00:24:30,720
If we look at how Jesus prayed 
and if we look how he prayed, 

278
00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:36,040
we're going to learn a lot about
what we should pray about. 

279
00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:46,960
Secondly, we have to have to 
spend time with Jesus. 

280
00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:53,600
There is no quick three steps. 
There is No 4 principles. 

281
00:24:54,360 --> 00:24:59,640
It's not that easy. 
We get to know somebody by 

282
00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:05,400
spending time with somebody. 
It's the same thing with Jesus, 

283
00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:13,040
spending time in his word, 
pursuing him in prayer, 

284
00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:16,920
meditating, which simply means 
to think over and over again 

285
00:25:17,120 --> 00:25:20,480
about maybe a scripture that 
jumps out at us. 

286
00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:27,400
You ever notice how people who 
have been married a long time, 

287
00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:31,480
like say 50 or 60 years, and a 
picture is taken of them? 

288
00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:33,240
You ever notice how they start 
to look alike? 

289
00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:41,600
We spend time with Jesus. 
We're going to start looking a 

290
00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:45,400
little bit like Jesus, Amen. 
And we're going to have a 

291
00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:51,160
clearer understanding of what it
means to pray in such a way that

292
00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:54,080
it honors Jesus, that it honors 
His Father. 

293
00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:56,720
Let me tell you something I've 
learned in prayer. 

294
00:25:56,720 --> 00:26:03,240
And sometimes when I am praying 
and I don't know how to pray for

295
00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:08,960
a situation, I will actually ask
the Lord Lord, how should I pray

296
00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:14,200
about this? 
And He will give me direction. 

297
00:26:15,120 --> 00:26:17,440
I wish I would have figured that
out a long time ago. 

298
00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:26,040
If we're walking with Him, we'll
have a better understanding of 

299
00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:32,320
His heart. 
Here's an easy way to remember 

300
00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:37,960
this quality. 
Time with Jesus equals coming to

301
00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:43,160
know Jesus equals learning to 
pray like Jesus. 

302
00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:49,720
Now I think the Lord wanted to 
immediately follow this up with 

303
00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:53,280
what He's going to say next at 
verse 33, but at this point 

304
00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:56,680
Jesus got interrupted by his 
disciples. 

305
00:26:56,680 --> 00:27:00,400
So let's take a look at verses 
29 and 30 for just a moment. 

306
00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:07,560
His disciples said, Now you are 
speaking plainly and not using 

307
00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:11,320
figurative speech. 
Now we know that you know all 

308
00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:14,280
things and do not need anyone to
question you. 

309
00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:19,920
This is why we believe that you 
came from God. 

310
00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:29,120
We got it. 
You came from God, guys. 

311
00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:32,520
They've been hanging out with 
him for over three years. 

312
00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:42,080
Talk about Captain Obvious. 
But they're so proud of their 

313
00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:46,400
insight. 
Jesus, do we get gold stars now?

314
00:27:52,720 --> 00:28:00,400
You see their insight, and 
granted, it's a true insight 

315
00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:03,600
that they do have about Jesus. 
He indeed is from God. 

316
00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:07,640
He indeed knows their hearts 
even before they speak it, just 

317
00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:09,760
as He knows each and every one 
of our hearts. 

318
00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:15,560
The problem guys, is this. 
This is false confidence. 

319
00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:21,560
They think they finally have the
inside track on understanding 

320
00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:27,560
Jesus. 
One guy, DA Carson, wrote this. 

321
00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:32,440
No misunderstanding is more 
pathetic than that which thinks 

322
00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:40,160
it no longer exists. 
You need to catch the skepticism

323
00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:51,840
in Jesus's question. 
Do you now believe you see? 

324
00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:54,760
And he tells them immediately 
after he asked them that 

325
00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:57,360
question. 
He tells them their immediate 

326
00:28:57,360 --> 00:29:03,640
future, their professed belief, 
is so fragile it will 

327
00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:06,960
immediately collapse In a few 
hours. 

328
00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:14,400
They will all desert the one 
they said they would never 

329
00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:19,240
desert. 
They would all fail. 

330
00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:29,560
There is not a disciple of Jesus
who does not fail repeatedly. 

331
00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:44,320
We all do it, We all screw up, 
but Jesus still loves us. 

332
00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:53,560
Remember this, Our faith is 
rooted in Christ, not upon our 

333
00:29:53,560 --> 00:30:00,840
failures. 
I have struggled since I was a 

334
00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:07,520
teenager with a ferocious 
temper. 

335
00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:13,840
I'm so thankful. 
Here I am, 65 years old, and 

336
00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:18,520
it's at least finally God's 
knocked enough edges off, beat 

337
00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:20,320
me all over the head enough 
times. 

338
00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:25,280
I've apologized I don't know how
many times, but at least I'm 

339
00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:27,920
finally growing in that area of 
my life. 

340
00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:31,280
But I failed and I failed and I 
failed. 

341
00:30:36,080 --> 00:30:38,200
My students were sometimes 
scared of me. 

342
00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:43,480
My family was sometimes scared 
of me. 

343
00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:53,040
Our failure, our faith, is 
rooted in Christ, not upon our 

344
00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:58,800
failures. 
Jesus never gives up on any 

345
00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:04,960
child of His. 
So the disciples are approaching

346
00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:07,480
failure brought on by false 
confidence. 

347
00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:12,000
But you know what? 
That's not His last word to 

348
00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:15,600
them. 
His last word that He teaches 

349
00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:21,240
them is in verse 33. 
I have said these things to you,

350
00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:28,160
that in me you may have peace, 
in the world you will have 

351
00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:35,400
tribulation or trouble. 
But take heart, I have overcome 

352
00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:42,760
the world. 
Now, just at the face value, 

353
00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:49,080
Jesus statement doesn't seem to 
make much sense because we know 

354
00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:54,480
what's going to happen. 
If you've read the gospels, he's

355
00:31:54,480 --> 00:32:01,680
going to be arrested, He's going
to be falsely accused in trials.

356
00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:05,000
He's going to be savagely 
beaten. 

357
00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:11,080
He's going to be crucified, 
which I'm so thankful that all 

358
00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:13,560
of the gospel simply tell us he 
was crucified. 

359
00:32:13,560 --> 00:32:18,480
They don't go into the details 
because it was probably one of 

360
00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:21,560
the most horrible deaths that 
anyone could ever experience. 

361
00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:30,040
And he's going to die in spite 
of all of that. 

362
00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:40,080
He says I have overcome. 
Here's why. 

363
00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:46,080
Jesus says that there's two 
stories, both of them absolutely

364
00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:51,680
true, that are happening at this
time. 1 is what we read about 

365
00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:59,040
the events in the gospels. 
The other is true about what was

366
00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:02,240
happening behind the scenes 
spiritually. 

367
00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:09,960
So, for example, Paul, he wrote 
to the Philippian Christians. 

368
00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:14,440
Most of what he wrote in 
Philippians 2, beginning at 

369
00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:20,840
verse 5 to 11 is a worship song.
But here's what he wrote 

370
00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:26,440
describing Jesus's victory, 
because that's the second 

371
00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:29,920
certainty sharing Jesus's 
victory. 

372
00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:36,120
He wrote this in your 
relationship with one another 

373
00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:42,600
have the same mindset as Christ 
Jesus, who, being in very nature

374
00:33:42,600 --> 00:33:47,440
God, did not consider a quality 
with God something to be used to

375
00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:51,960
His own advantage, but rather he
made himself nothing. 

376
00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:56,800
By taking the very nature of a 
servant being made in human 

377
00:33:56,800 --> 00:34:00,440
likeness and being found in 
appearance as a man, he humbled 

378
00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:06,560
himself by becoming obedient to 
the faith, obedient to death, 

379
00:34:06,560 --> 00:34:15,760
sorry, even death on a cross. 
Therefore God exalted him in the

380
00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:19,639
highest place and gave him the 
name that is above every name, 

381
00:34:20,400 --> 00:34:25,000
that at the name of Jesus every 
knee should bow in heaven and on

382
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:28,480
earth and under the earth, and 
every tongue acknowledge that 

383
00:34:28,480 --> 00:34:33,400
Jesus is Lord to the glory of 
God the Father. 

384
00:34:34,040 --> 00:34:40,159
Second certainty again, Jesus. 
We are sharing in Jesus victory 

385
00:34:42,639 --> 00:34:45,960
to the Christians living in the 
little city of Colossae. 

386
00:34:46,920 --> 00:34:53,159
Paul wrote this. 
When you were dead in your sins 

387
00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:58,920
and the uncircumcision of your 
flesh, God made you alive in 

388
00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:03,120
Christ. 
He forgave all our sins. 

389
00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:07,120
Having cancelled the charge of 
our legal indebtedness, which 

390
00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:12,360
stood against us and condemned 
us, He has taken it away, 

391
00:35:13,240 --> 00:35:17,440
nailing it to the cross. 
And having disarmed the powers 

392
00:35:17,440 --> 00:35:20,840
and authorities, he made a 
public spectacle of them, 

393
00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:25,280
triumphing over them by the 
cross. 

394
00:35:27,520 --> 00:35:39,680
Paul is telling us this Jesus 
clobbered, Jesus stomped, Jesus 

395
00:35:40,040 --> 00:35:48,040
crushed, Jesus ground his 2 feet
into Satan's face and plans and 

396
00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:56,320
we share Jesus's victory. 
That's pretty awesome. 

397
00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:02,520
That's why he says I, I have 
overcome. 

398
00:36:04,040 --> 00:36:08,360
He hasn't even gone through the 
horrible death yet, but already 

399
00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:15,600
his victory is assured. 
Now what's it like to share in 

400
00:36:15,600 --> 00:36:18,440
someone else's victory like what
Jesus did for us? 

401
00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:23,040
The picture you're going to see 
momentarily on the screens is my

402
00:36:23,040 --> 00:36:27,160
daughter Kathleen. 
And what she's doing in this 

403
00:36:27,160 --> 00:36:33,160
picture is she is completing not
her first, but her second 

404
00:36:33,160 --> 00:36:43,080
marathon, 26 miles, five hours. 
I took that picture. 

405
00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:48,520
I was there. 
I was taking pictures as fast as

406
00:36:48,520 --> 00:36:52,160
I could with my little phone. 
Why? 

407
00:36:53,200 --> 00:37:02,000
Because I was excited. 
That's my girl now. 

408
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:07,480
I didn't act like that she would
have killed me, but that's how I

409
00:37:07,480 --> 00:37:13,720
felt. 
I got to celebrate. 

410
00:37:15,400 --> 00:37:19,520
Even though I didn't run the 
marathon, I still got to 

411
00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:24,120
celebrate her finishing that 
grueling experience. 

412
00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:27,160
You see where I'm going with 
this? 

413
00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:34,720
I hope you do. 
Jesus went through all kinds of 

414
00:37:34,720 --> 00:37:42,480
hard, hard things for us, and we
can share, and we do share. 

415
00:37:42,520 --> 00:37:46,360
Every believer shares in Jesus's
victory. 

416
00:37:48,720 --> 00:37:55,400
We celebrate with Jesus. 
Now there are three important 

417
00:37:55,400 --> 00:38:00,160
things that Jesus is telling us 
in verse 33, and I want to just 

418
00:38:00,160 --> 00:38:03,680
point them out to you. 
All right, first of all, please 

419
00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:08,160
notice that Jesus says we may 
have peace. 

420
00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:16,560
Whether we have Jesus peace or 
not depends upon our choice. 

421
00:38:18,720 --> 00:38:25,440
He wants to give us His peace. 
We have to choose to accept it. 

422
00:38:27,120 --> 00:38:33,280
We have to let go of our 
uncertainties, our anxieties, 

423
00:38:33,280 --> 00:38:38,720
our fears so that we can receive
His peace. 

424
00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:44,640
Sort of like, you know, imagine 
a dog with a nasty smelling, 

425
00:38:44,640 --> 00:38:50,720
filthy chew toy and the owner is
trying to get that out of the 

426
00:38:50,720 --> 00:38:54,480
dog's mouth because the owner 
got a really nice new chewed toy

427
00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:59,280
and it even still has the 
squeaker in it and the dog won't

428
00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:06,440
let go. 
We have to let go to experience 

429
00:39:06,440 --> 00:39:10,800
his peace. 
Secondly, Jesus tells us up 

430
00:39:10,800 --> 00:39:17,520
front we will have trouble. 
Unavoidable. 

431
00:39:20,120 --> 00:39:27,040
We will have trouble, but that's
how we grow in the Christian 

432
00:39:27,040 --> 00:39:30,400
life. 
I like what one guy said. 

433
00:39:30,400 --> 00:39:35,720
We are not saved from trouble, 
we are saved in trouble. 

434
00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:41,440
You know, about a week and a 
half ago, there was absolutely 

435
00:39:41,440 --> 00:39:44,560
no way I could be up here doing 
this message. 

436
00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:49,520
See, I came down with that nasty
thing called the norovirus. 

437
00:39:50,920 --> 00:39:52,680
I had every one of those 
symptoms. 

438
00:39:52,800 --> 00:39:55,840
You know how people, we like to 
say that when you're sick, you 

439
00:39:55,840 --> 00:39:59,840
feel like it got hit by a truck?
Well, I think I got hit by a 

440
00:39:59,840 --> 00:40:02,040
truck and then I got hit again 
by the truck. 

441
00:40:02,040 --> 00:40:04,320
And then the truck just kind of 
parked on top of me. 

442
00:40:07,320 --> 00:40:10,360
And I kept saying, Lord, I got 
to preach. 

443
00:40:10,640 --> 00:40:14,560
I got to preach as I'm running 
to the bathroom again. 

444
00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:28,480
We will have trouble, but Jesus 
is right with us through every 

445
00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:33,720
trouble. 
The third thing he says is that 

446
00:40:33,720 --> 00:40:39,200
he has overcome. 
You know that word overcome. 

447
00:40:40,480 --> 00:40:44,800
Nike stole that word. 
It's nikao in Greek. 

448
00:40:44,800 --> 00:40:46,960
It simply means to be 
victorious. 

449
00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:53,480
And The thing is, the way Jesus 
said that is that victory is 

450
00:40:53,480 --> 00:41:00,080
permanent. 
Jesus won, we share that 

451
00:41:00,080 --> 00:41:01,920
victory. 
That's a certainty. 

452
00:41:02,040 --> 00:41:06,520
And you know what? 
A year from now, I could tell 

453
00:41:06,520 --> 00:41:12,200
you again, Jesus won. 
We share that victory. 10,000 

454
00:41:12,360 --> 00:41:19,720
years from now it is still true.
There will never be a time when 

455
00:41:19,880 --> 00:41:26,600
Jesus did not win and we share 
that victory. 

456
00:41:26,680 --> 00:41:34,880
That's a certainty. 
So again, true certainty 

457
00:41:35,080 --> 00:41:42,120
outshines false confidence. 
Now, maybe you're here this 

458
00:41:42,120 --> 00:41:46,600
morning and you're not a 
Christian. 

459
00:41:46,600 --> 00:41:49,120
At least you don't think you 
are. 

460
00:41:49,120 --> 00:41:52,480
You're not a Christian and but 
you're curious. 

461
00:41:53,080 --> 00:41:56,240
First of all, let me tell you, 
we're glad you're here. 

462
00:41:57,240 --> 00:42:00,080
We're glad you're here to here 
and to share and be with us. 

463
00:42:01,760 --> 00:42:06,440
But if you're not a Christian, 
let me just ask you to consider 

464
00:42:06,440 --> 00:42:12,280
something. 
We all experience uncertainties,

465
00:42:12,600 --> 00:42:22,000
fears every single day. 
But what if you had someone in 

466
00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:25,640
your life who would always be 
there? 

467
00:42:26,880 --> 00:42:35,560
Who would be the one certain 
person to help you, who loves 

468
00:42:35,560 --> 00:42:41,880
you, who wants to have a 
relationship with you? 

469
00:42:43,800 --> 00:42:52,080
Would you come to him? 
That's the gospel Jesus offers 

470
00:42:52,080 --> 00:42:56,400
to take away every wrong we've 
ever done. 

471
00:42:57,320 --> 00:43:03,360
It's called sin so that we can 
have a relationship with God 

472
00:43:03,360 --> 00:43:10,560
Himself. 
Now, if you would like to have 

473
00:43:10,560 --> 00:43:14,720
that relationship, I'm going to 
pray a prayer in just a moment, 

474
00:43:14,720 --> 00:43:16,840
and I would invite you to pray 
with me. 

475
00:43:17,560 --> 00:43:22,560
And all you're doing at that 
time is inviting Jesus into your

476
00:43:22,560 --> 00:43:25,920
life to be your Lord and to be 
your Savior. 

477
00:43:26,800 --> 00:43:30,160
So I'm going to ask now that we 
all bow our heads and close our 

478
00:43:30,160 --> 00:43:33,720
eyes simply so that there's no 
distractions. 

479
00:43:35,280 --> 00:43:41,800
Again, if you want to know 
Jesus, pray this prayer either 

480
00:43:41,800 --> 00:43:50,240
out loud or silently with me. 
Dear Jesus, I ask you to come 

481
00:43:50,240 --> 00:43:55,400
into my heart. 
I ask you to be my Savior and 

482
00:43:55,400 --> 00:43:59,800
Lord. 
I ask you to cleanse me of my 

483
00:43:59,800 --> 00:44:07,560
sin, to give me a new heart. 
I want to know you. 

484
00:44:07,560 --> 00:44:15,840
I want to walk with you. 
I want you in my life. 

485
00:44:15,960 --> 00:44:21,720
Lord Jesus. 
Now if you prayed that prayer 

486
00:44:22,880 --> 00:44:26,640
with me, would you simply raise 
your hand so that I can see it? 

487
00:44:29,520 --> 00:44:33,920
Thank you. 
Amen. 

488
00:44:35,720 --> 00:44:37,320
Let's go ahead and stand, 
please. 

489
00:44:41,200 --> 00:44:44,000
We have a few things that are 
going to happen before we have 

490
00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:46,840
communion. 
But let me say, first of all, if

491
00:44:46,840 --> 00:44:53,160
you prayed to ask Jesus into 
your life, welcome to the 

492
00:44:53,160 --> 00:45:00,560
family. 
If you'll notice over here and 

493
00:45:00,560 --> 00:45:03,800
over here on the back wall, we 
have two tables that says, I 

494
00:45:03,800 --> 00:45:06,000
raised my hand. 
We have people there. 

495
00:45:06,720 --> 00:45:12,520
And if you just ask Jesus to 
come into your life, I would 

496
00:45:12,520 --> 00:45:16,720
invite you to visit the folks we
have at those tables simply 

497
00:45:16,720 --> 00:45:22,200
because we want to help you in 
your new walk with the Lord. 

498
00:45:23,240 --> 00:45:26,800
Now, Christians, let me talk to 
you for just a moment, All 

499
00:45:26,800 --> 00:45:31,880
right? 
If you're struggling with 

500
00:45:31,880 --> 00:45:39,560
uncertainty like all of us do, 
there are two things that we can

501
00:45:39,560 --> 00:45:45,320
do from this text that will help
us, all right? 

502
00:45:45,320 --> 00:45:47,040
These are both applications, all
right? 

503
00:45:47,360 --> 00:45:51,360
And both of them have the same 
word focus. 

504
00:45:53,040 --> 00:45:56,680
If we're struggling with 
uncertainty, anxiety, with 

505
00:45:56,680 --> 00:46:02,000
fears, first thing, focus upon 
the Father's love. 

506
00:46:04,880 --> 00:46:10,880
Secondly, focus upon Jesus 
victory. 

507
00:46:12,600 --> 00:46:17,400
And when I say focus, I mean the
kind of focus that we do when 

508
00:46:17,400 --> 00:46:20,600
we're playing some kind of 
computer game or we're watching 

509
00:46:20,600 --> 00:46:24,280
something. 
It's like everything else sort 

510
00:46:24,280 --> 00:46:27,320
of fades away, and that's what 
we're dealing with. 

511
00:46:27,640 --> 00:46:30,080
That's the kind of focus we have
to have. 

512
00:46:31,160 --> 00:46:38,680
If we do that, God will come 
alongside and give us that 

513
00:46:38,680 --> 00:46:42,440
certainty, even though we live 
in a very uncertain world. 

514
00:46:43,720 --> 00:46:48,000
But we have to focus on Him now.
I'm going to invite the prayer 

515
00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:52,760
team to come forward. 
If you want to come forward with

516
00:46:52,760 --> 00:46:56,360
prayer, which I think is a great
thing to do, please come forward

517
00:46:56,360 --> 00:47:00,360
as Lee prays. 
And then after this time, we 

518
00:47:00,360 --> 00:47:04,680
will be celebrating communion. 
You come as the Lord leads.