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This is ERC Sundays, the 
messages at Emmaus Rd. 

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Church in DeWitt, Iowa. 
ERC is a Church of people 

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striving to grow in Jesus and 
make him known to others through

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our faith, words and actions. 
Find out more about our church 

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at emmausrdonline.org. 
Here's this week's message. 

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Love to see that I actually, you
know, this is, Oh my gosh, I 

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always get started on a weird 
aside. 

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Matt and I, I think we've called
this my cold open. 

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It's my cold open. 
Well, here's my cold open for 

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today that I did not prepare. 
But one of the reasons why I 

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actually love the Christmas 
season and it's a bit silly 

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really, is because my favorite 
color is red. 

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It is like I'm just like drawn 
to that color. 

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I don't know why, but you see a 
lot of it during the Christmas 

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season. 
It makes me really happy. 

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So there we go. 
There's the cold open for you. 

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Anyway, moving beyond that into 
what's actually kind of being 

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prepared to be said, as Pastor 
Matt pointed out, we are in Week

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2 of Advent in our abbreviated 
series in the book of Isaiah. 

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And so again, we understand that
Isaiah is, of all the prophets, 

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he's the one who probably spoke 
most clearly and most often 

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about the coming Messiah. 
And so he has a lot to say to us

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and and given the opportunity at
some point in our future, in our

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future time, it would probably 
be good to spend a lot more time

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in the book of Isaiah and see 
what else he has to say. 

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But in our abbreviated series 
will be in chapter 55 this week.

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Just so you're aware you can get
there before I get there. 

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So let's review quickly. 
Last week, Pastor Matt, he, he, 

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he started off our series, which
thematically is really talking 

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about home. 
It's really talking about the 

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ability to come home. 
And, and actually one of the 

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things he said that sparked 
something in me a little bit is 

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home is where the heart is now. 
Part of me heard that and I, and

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I couldn't help but think about 
all of the Super awesome 

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Hallmark movies my wife watches 
during Christmas season. 

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They're really good. 
Some of you, some of you are 

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like, yes, that's the only thing
I watch for like 25 days. 

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And I'm like, yes, this is the 
thing I will avoid for 25 days. 

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No, and, and it's fine. 
It's fine. 

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I'm not going to get off too far
on that. 

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But rather than hearing that 
phrase and, and, and thinking 

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too much about Hallmark movies, 
I was more so thinking about the

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fact that as we position our 
hearts and we angle those our 

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hearts towards God, what are we 
really doing? 

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What we're doing is, Lord 
willing, we're angling all of 

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our, our best energy. 
We're angling our, our lives. 

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We're, we're pushing out the 
things that matter most to us 

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and we're pushing them towards a
relationship with God rather 

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than seeking out the things of 
this world. 

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And so Lord willing, your heart 
as as it's as it's drawing ever 

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near to Christ, that's exactly 
hopefully that's what it's 

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doing. 
It's drawing ever nearer to him 

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and and pulling you away from 
the things and the desires of 

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this world that ultimately don't
satisfy. 

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And we'll hear about that in the
text this morning. 

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But hopefully your heart is 
being pushed more and more 

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towards towards towards Christ 
because he's the only one who 

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satisfies. 
He's the really only one who can

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bring us to our true home. 
Now as Speaking of being 

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satisfied, one of the things 
that we have to talk about 

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briefly, at least this week is 
food. 

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And, and I, I, I'm never, I'm 
never bothered by talking about 

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food because it's just one of my
favorite things on the planet. 

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And particularly during this 
time of year, I would, I would 

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guess that a lot of us, one of 
the, one of the central themes 

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of our gathering is food. 
So you're probably going to end 

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up at some place, whether it's 
your house or somebody else's 

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where they're man, the food is 
going to be awesome. 

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I hope it is for you. 
It usually is for me and the 

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places I go because I go the 
right places. 

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But but yeah, the, the, the food
that we get, we get to take in 

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all this kind of very luscious, 
awesome, filling food. 

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And, and then we have the Super 
sugary treats, which might be my

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favorite part, but it's also the
part I should avoid the most. 

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And then we have these just very
rich and sweet drinks. 

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And one of the, one of the 
things that I, I've, I take away

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more and more as I get older 
from the food of this year is 

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that there's always a reckoning 
for it. 

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Now that reckoning for me, gosh,
I don't know if I'm alone here, 

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but that reckoning for me 
usually is like, dude, your 

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pants almost don't fit now. 
Like this isn't working. 

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You either have to buy something
new or you have to work this 

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thing off. 
And I think and I think a lot of

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times what happens is we get 
really excited about the 

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holidays because we we get to 
gather and we get to be in 

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community and we do that often 
times over food. 

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But that that there it comes 
potentially with negative 

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consequences if we're not wise 
about it. 

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Now, I think, no, I didn't 
phrase that correctly. 

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I know that there is a better 
food than anything that we can 

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get during Christmas. 
I know for sure that there is 

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and that better food is what God
offers. 

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It is it is the IT is his 
righteousness. 

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It is, it is it is his gift to 
us. 

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But this, this greatest gift 
that we're going to point to 

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today, especially as we receive 
communion is his body and blood.

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His is the food that doesn't it,
it satisfies fully. 

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It doesn't. 
And it, and it certainly doesn't

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create guilt and shame and new 
gym memberships. 

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It doesn't do that. 
No, it satisfies, it sets us 

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free. 
It brings us into a space where 

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all of the things of this world 
that we thought we were, we were

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hoping for that we are 
gravitating towards in, in our 

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sinful kind of I have to have it
nature. 

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It pulls us out of that. 
And it brings us back into a 

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place where we can find freedom 
from guilt and shame and we can 

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find freedom from what the world
tells us we should be desiring. 

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And so as we get into as we get 
into Isaiah 55, that's where 

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we're going to go and, and 
ultimately we get to land on 

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Jesus Christ and, and his body 
and blood alone. 

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And so here's here's the line of
logic I'm going to use with you 

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today. 
There's a lot in Isaiah 55. 

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It's only 13 verses the whole 
chapter, but there's a lot 

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there. 
And so I, I scrambled this week 

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so hard because I was just 
struggling with like, man, I 

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really want to talk about that 
and that and that and that and 

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that. 
So I, I will again, 

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unapologetically and, and 
shamefully plug the podcast 

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because during that time, Matt 
and I will have an opportunity 

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to talk about some of the things
that you're going to hear in the

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text. 
And I'm going to say nothing 

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about. 
So please tune into that if, if 

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you would like to hear more. 
But the line of logic for today 

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that I think the text is going 
to bring us to first and 

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foremost in verse 2, we get a 
burning question and it is 

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something that we have to 
answer. 

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We have to be accountable to, 
to, to, to this question and 

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answer it. 
Second thing we're going to see 

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is that the time to seek and now
is now. 

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And 3rd, we're going to learn 
that we get to buy without 

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money, which sounds like an an 
insane contradiction, but it's 

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what the text tells us. 
So with that in mind, we'll read

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Isaiah 55. 
We're going to read the whole 

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chapter again. 
It's only 13 verses. 

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It's relatively painless. 
So if you have Bibles and you 

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want to open up to Isaiah 55, 
you can do that or you can 

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follow along on the screen. 
This is the word of the Lord. 

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Come everyone who thirsts, come 
to the waters, and he who has no

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money, come buy and eat. 
Come buy wine and milk without 

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money and without price. 
Why do you spend your money for 

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that which is not bread, and 
your labor for that which does 

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not satisfy? 
Listen diligently to me and eat 

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what is good, and delight 
yourselves in rich food. 

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Incline your ear and come to me.
Hear that your soul may live, 

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and I will make with you an 
everlasting covenant. 

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My steadfast, sure love for 
David. 

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Behold, I made him a witness to 
the people as a leader and a 

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commander for the peoples. 
Behold, you shall call a nation 

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that you do not know, and a 
nation that did not know you 

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shall run to you, because of the
Lord your God and of the Holy 

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One of Israel, for He has 
glorified you. 

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Seek the Lord while he may be 
found. 

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Call upon him while he is near. 
Let the wicked forsake his way, 

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and the unrighteous man his 
thoughts. 

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Let him return to the Lord, that
he may have compassion on him 

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and to our God, for He will 
abundantly pardon for my 

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thoughts, or not your thoughts. 
Neither are your ways my ways, 

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declares the Lord. 
For as the heavens are higher 

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than the earth, so are my ways 
higher than yours, and my 

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thoughts than yours. 
For as the rain and the snow 

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come down from heaven, and do 
not return, and do not return 

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there, but water the earth, 
making it bring forth and 

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sprout, giving seed to the sower
and bread to the eater, so shall

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my word be that goes out from my
mouth. 

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It shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that 

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which I purpose, and it shall 
succeed in the thing for which I

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sent it. 
For you shall go out and joy, 

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and be LED forth in peace. 
The mountains and the hills 

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before you shall break forth in 
singing, and the trees of the 

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field shall clap their hands. 
Instead of the thorn shall come 

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the Cyprus, instead of the briar
shall come the Myrtle, and it 

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shall make a name for the Lord, 
an everlasting sign that shall 

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not be cut off here in the 
reading of God's Word. 

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As I stated before, Christmas 
time is awesome. 

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And then the older I get. 
I got to be really honest with 

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you. 
I just don't care that much 

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about presents. 
You know, we study the five love

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love languages. 
Maybe you're familiar with that.

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And like the gift giving thing, 
like it's great. 

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I'm glad we do it. 
There's nothing wrong with that.

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But the older I get, the more 
like I think about food when it 

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comes to Christmas. 
So it's just true. 

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I just and This is why I have 
pants problems. 

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I won't, I won't go into 
details. 

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It's it's fine. 
Don't even worry about it 

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anyway. 
So what I look forward to 

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typically most on Christmas has 
little to do with presents and 

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everything to do with the 
Christmas brunch that my family 

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and I typically do. 
So what that looks like is that 

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like family, family will come 
over to our house and there's 

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egg bakes and there's, there's 
these little like Crescent rolls

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that we stick fruit inside and 
we bake them. 

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And I have like 6 of them. 
And, and I find myself in a food

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coma or stupor of sorts by the 
time it's all done. 

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And, and I look forward to this 
thing so much. 

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I'm not even joking. 
Like I legitimately am like, I 

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can't wait for that. 
And, and, and The thing is like 

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there's, there's this high level
of short term satisfaction that 

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comes with it. 
And if I, and if I do not check 

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myself, that that satisfaction 
actually turns into misery as I 

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like lay on the couch with my 
food baby. 

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It's like it, it can become 
miserable if I don't check 

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myself. 
And but here's the here's the 

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thing that that's kind of it's 
difficult for me to to wrap my 

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head around other than the 
physiological part. 

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But the difficult thing thing 
for me to wrap my head around is

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after all that's said and done 
and I'm potentially miserable on

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the couch, but happy miserable. 
If you can get that within like 

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3 hours, I'm, I'm, I'm desiring 
all the same things again. 

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Like I don't learn, you know, 
like I just, I don't get it. 

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It's, it's a problem I have. 
I just don't learn. 

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And it just keeps on coming back
every 3-4 hours, whatever it is,

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it just keeps on coming back 
over and over again. 

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And when I think about that, it 
begs the question that that 

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verse 2 asks it just it begs the
question, why do you spend your 

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money for that which is not 
bread and your labor for that 

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which does not satisfy? 
Now we're not Isaiah is not 

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speaking specifically only in 
terms of physical bread and 

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physical food. 
The, the bigger picture that I 

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was talking about here is why 
are we just running after things

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that we get this temporary 
satisfaction and sometimes it 

222
00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:54,800
turns bad, but, but it always, 
it's so fleeting. 

223
00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:59,560
It just goes away so fast. 
And, and I would argue that most

224
00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:04,840
of our society, we have a deep, 
deep struggle with satisfaction.

225
00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:07,680
Like it's a, it's a major issue 
for us. 

226
00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:13,320
And I've known people who their 
families, they are, oh gosh, 

227
00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:16,240
they were missionaries in Africa
and I'll never forget this. 

228
00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:21,200
They told me that one year for 
Christmas, their kids got, I 

229
00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:24,560
think they got like, cocoa 
Pebbles when they were 

230
00:13:24,560 --> 00:13:27,280
missionaries in Africa. 
And it was the best Christmas 

231
00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:31,160
they ever had. 
In fact, gosh, I'm going further

232
00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:34,360
than I wanted to. 
But how they would relay it back

233
00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:37,200
is they came back home to the 
States with their two kids. 

234
00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:40,360
And every year after that, it's 
a PlayStation, It's this gadget,

235
00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:44,080
it's this toy. 
And they reported that their 

236
00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:49,280
kids lacked happiness when they 
got way more expensive things 

237
00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:53,360
like like that box of cocoa 
pebbles in Africa gave them far 

238
00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:56,320
more joy than they ever got with
the hundreds and hundreds of 

239
00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:58,880
dollars of gadgets once they 
returned to the states. 

240
00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:01,800
You see, here's the thing we 
have, we have a very serious 

241
00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:06,560
issue with, with kind of this, 
this sad non-stop cycle of 

242
00:14:06,560 --> 00:14:13,360
consumerism and, and, and gosh, 
that question, why do you labor 

243
00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:18,360
for that which does not satisfy?
I feel it, I really do. 

244
00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:22,680
Now, psychologists will tell you
that they use this phrase called

245
00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:25,720
the treadmill of desire, The 
treadmill of desire. 

246
00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:28,840
You know, when I eat too much at
Christmas or over the holidays, 

247
00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:32,000
I find myself back on a stupid 
treadmill trying to fit into my 

248
00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,160
pants again. 
That seems to be a theme for 

249
00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:36,720
today. 
And, and, and it's just 

250
00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:39,880
obnoxious because I get on there
and I'm counting calories and 

251
00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:41,560
I'm go, you know what, that's 
probably enough. 

252
00:14:41,560 --> 00:14:45,120
I think I burned off at least 
half of those stupid little 

253
00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:47,000
croissants with the grapefruit 
inside of them. 

254
00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:51,440
I think I got half of them down.
But that treadmill desire, it 

255
00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:54,520
just goes on and on and on. 
And the other thing that 

256
00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:56,800
psychologists tell us, I didn't 
know this phrase before 

257
00:14:56,800 --> 00:15:00,120
recently, there's this phrase 
that they used to describe this 

258
00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:03,600
process called hedonic 
adaptation. 

259
00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:06,920
Hedonic adaptation, And here's 
the definition of that. 

260
00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:10,640
It is the process by which 
positive or negative effects on 

261
00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:15,680
happiness fade over time. 
The process by which positive or

262
00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:18,200
negative effects on happiness 
fade over time. 

263
00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:23,240
In other words, the more we get,
the more we have to get in order

264
00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:26,280
to find the same level of 
happiness that we first had, 

265
00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:29,440
right. 
This is this is just the, the, 

266
00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:32,120
the probability of addiction in 
some ways. 

267
00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:38,640
So whether it's caffeine, OK, so
give, give a small child a 

268
00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:42,440
caffeinated beverage with 30 to 
50 milligrams of caffeine and 

269
00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:45,440
we're all over the place. 
We're doing great. 

270
00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:47,080
We're bouncing off the walls. 
It's awesome. 

271
00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:51,400
Move that child forward in space
about 10 years and they're 

272
00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:54,280
drinking two or three Monsters 
day and going, I can still go to

273
00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:58,040
bed. 
OK, you had 600 milligrams of 

274
00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:00,880
caffeine. 
So what we what we see is that 

275
00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:04,480
this definition, this, this 
idea, it's absolutely true. 

276
00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:07,320
The more we get, the more we 
think we need. 

277
00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:11,600
It's this unending cycle and 
it's insane. 

278
00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:14,680
It's ridiculous. 
It is the treadmill that never 

279
00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:18,120
stops. 
And, and I just, I thought about

280
00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:21,520
it another way this week. 
If the treadmill illustration 

281
00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:23,600
doesn't fully grab you, let me 
give you another one. 

282
00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:28,000
Let's say that you were in the 
middle of the ocean. 

283
00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:33,120
You are stuck. 
And what happens is as the sun 

284
00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:37,280
burns on you and you bake to a 
crispy golden brown, you start 

285
00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:40,600
to get really, really thirsty. 
And you look around you and 

286
00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:43,600
you're like, there's trillions 
of gallons of water that's 

287
00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:46,640
starting to look pretty good. 
So what do you do? 

288
00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:48,800
You start to drink this super 
salty water. 

289
00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:52,120
Well, scientists tell us that 
that process of drinking super 

290
00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:55,640
salty water, what it does is it 
actually pulls water out of our 

291
00:16:55,640 --> 00:16:58,400
cells and put instead of putting
water into our cells. 

292
00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:02,200
And in that process, I'm not a 
science teacher, but I read it. 

293
00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:06,119
And in that process, what we do 
is we just get more and more 

294
00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:08,920
thirsty and we're actually 
expelling more water than what 

295
00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:11,240
we're taking in because our body
can't filter it correctly. 

296
00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:14,920
This is what's happening on that
treadmill. 

297
00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:18,240
This is what's happening when 
when we get to that question And

298
00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:21,319
Isaiah asked why do you labor 
for that which does not satisfy 

299
00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:24,160
man. 
We are running hard and we are 

300
00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:27,440
drinking salt water, getting 
ever thirstier the more and the 

301
00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:29,160
more we drink. 
And you know what it's going to 

302
00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:30,880
do? 
It's going to kill us. 

303
00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:34,680
It's going to kill us. 
We're going to start to just 

304
00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:37,440
like with the water, the salt 
water are the organs start to 

305
00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:39,920
shut down. 
You don't feel like yourself 

306
00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:41,200
anymore. 
You grow faint. 

307
00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:45,240
You, you sometimes people start 
to see like weird visions. 

308
00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:51,320
They hallucinate, I think. 
I think we are in a Society of 

309
00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:56,080
people, especially in the West, 
where we are hallucinating every

310
00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:58,960
single day and we're seeing 
things on screens and on our 

311
00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:01,920
phones and, and we're buying 
into the lie of the fact that, 

312
00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:04,720
you know, what would really make
you happy? 

313
00:18:05,360 --> 00:18:09,880
You got to have this. 
And I could give you hundreds of

314
00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:17,400
examples, but I just, I feel so 
done with it. 

315
00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:22,560
Don't you? 
Don't you feel done? 

316
00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:26,360
We've seen hundreds if not 
thousands of advertisements per 

317
00:18:26,360 --> 00:18:30,520
day and all of them are quietly 
and subtly telling you you are 

318
00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:34,640
not enough without this. 
You will be happier if you have 

319
00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:36,400
this. 
You will finally be the person 

320
00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:39,760
you want to be if you have that.
Aren't you tired of it? 

321
00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:45,360
I'm sick of it. 
I'll tell you what, I I'm 

322
00:18:45,360 --> 00:18:47,120
honest. 
Stuff like that, it makes me 

323
00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:53,840
want to drop kick my phone into 
a lake just I'm so done with it.

324
00:18:57,480 --> 00:19:00,160
I hope you're feeling that a 
little bit too. 

325
00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:04,400
It's a mildly uncomfortable 
feeling, but I hope you're, I 

326
00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:05,840
hope you're feeling done with 
that too. 

327
00:19:06,120 --> 00:19:10,920
And, and, and all the more as we
approach the gift giving season.

328
00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:14,360
Now again, I, I have no problem 
with giving gifts at Christmas. 

329
00:19:14,360 --> 00:19:16,240
I'm not, I'm not saying that at 
all. 

330
00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:21,640
I think it's a great tradition, 
but man, can we put this in 

331
00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:23,400
check? 
Can we? 

332
00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:27,600
Can we, can we actually give 
with joy instead of give going? 

333
00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:30,400
Man, I wonder if I'll be able to
pay the credit card bill next 

334
00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:34,200
month. 
I hope so. 

335
00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:36,000
I hope so. 
Well, so. 

336
00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:40,960
So the question that is raised 
in in in verse 2, I think no, I 

337
00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:42,880
know for a fact it has an 
answer. 

338
00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:45,800
How do we get off the treadmill?
How do we stop drinking the salt

339
00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:47,880
water? 
That question has an answer. 

340
00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:53,160
Here's the answer. 
Listen diligently to me, incline

341
00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:57,600
your ear and come to me. 
Hear that your soul may be, may 

342
00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:01,240
live, and I will make with you 
an everlasting covenant. 

343
00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:05,840
OK, listen, incline your ear. 
Hear. 

344
00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:10,240
Jewish people have what they 
call the Shema, and they pray at

345
00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:14,680
morning and night. 
Hear, O Israel, hear, O Israel, 

346
00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:16,120
the Lord our God, the Lord is 
one. 

347
00:20:16,120 --> 00:20:19,120
That's how it starts. 
It starts with hearing. 

348
00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:24,360
Man, there's so much noise in 
our world and there's so many 

349
00:20:24,360 --> 00:20:27,840
things vying for our attention. 
And, and it's not necessarily 

350
00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:31,160
just advertisements, man, it's, 
it's, it's the job, It's, it's 

351
00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:33,040
the spouse, it's the kids, it's 
all these things. 

352
00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:36,080
And, and again, in them, in and 
of themselves, those things are 

353
00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:41,520
not bad things, right? 
But, but man, what are we really

354
00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:43,160
listening to? 
What are we really trying to 

355
00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:47,200
hear through the noise? 
God says in order to answer this

356
00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:51,840
question of, of, of being 
satisfied, you need to start 

357
00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:54,600
listening to me. 
You need to start listening to 

358
00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:56,000
the Lord. 
You need to start listening to 

359
00:20:56,000 --> 00:21:00,120
what he says about you and what 
he has already done for you. 

360
00:21:01,120 --> 00:21:05,040
That's where that starts to get 
fixed because I could, I could 

361
00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:07,720
stand up here all day and 
criticize myself and us in our 

362
00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:10,840
society and talk about, oh, 
we're so materialistic, we could

363
00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:13,120
do that all day. 
But I want a solution. 

364
00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:17,120
I want a solution. 
And God tells us right here, you

365
00:21:17,120 --> 00:21:22,160
have to start listening to me. 
I you need to start letting the 

366
00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:26,440
word of God dwell so richly in 
you that all of those other 

367
00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:31,040
things, they start to get quiet.
All those things that the world 

368
00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:33,680
tells us that we have to have 
that will finally make you the 

369
00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:35,320
person you want to be and 
satisfy you. 

370
00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:38,440
No, God says, start listening to
me and those things are going to

371
00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:41,640
get real quiet. 
He wants to take his remote and 

372
00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:45,440
put those things on mute so that
you can hear him so that you can

373
00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:48,080
actually be satisfied with your 
life. 

374
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:51,360
Man, there's books and books and
books and I read so many 

375
00:21:51,360 --> 00:21:56,600
articles on different websites 
this week, You know, secular 

376
00:21:56,600 --> 00:21:58,800
psychology. 
I've read all that junk this 

377
00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:02,400
week. 
And then they all have it wrong.

378
00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:06,000
They all have it wrong. 
I, I read 1, I read 1 

379
00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:08,600
psychologist who said, you know 
the answer to this treadmill 

380
00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:10,440
problem. 
The answer to the treadmill 

381
00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:12,960
problem is stop spending your 
money on stuff and start just 

382
00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:14,440
spending your money on 
experiences. 

383
00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:18,400
You'll be happier. 
Gosh, I, I, I partially agree 

384
00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:19,960
with that. 
I really do. 

385
00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:23,640
But in the same sense, man, you 
go on vacation, you come home 

386
00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:27,360
and it's gone, poof. 
It's a memory at best, or some 

387
00:22:27,360 --> 00:22:29,560
photos on your phone that you 
never look at again. 

388
00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:34,080
We can do better if we start 
listening. 

389
00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:38,640
If we start listening, we can we
can have a shot at breaking the 

390
00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:44,040
mold on this thing. 
Now, with that in mind, Isaiah 

391
00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:47,400
tells us that the time to start 
doing that is right now, the 

392
00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:50,040
time to start listening, the 
time to perk up your ears, the 

393
00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:55,040
time to turn up your, Oh my 
gosh, your, your hearing aids. 

394
00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:56,720
Dick Walker said that on 
Thursday. 

395
00:22:56,720 --> 00:22:59,440
He's like, hey, it just says 
turn up your hearing aids. 

396
00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:03,960
And I was like, oh, OK, I don't 
have them yet, but sure. 

397
00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:06,800
There we go. 
Thank you, Mr. Walker, for that 

398
00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:09,640
great illustration. 
So turn up your hearing aids 

399
00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:12,320
and, and when we start to do 
that, we should be in that 

400
00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:14,600
seeking mode. 
We should be in that seeking 

401
00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:16,120
mode. 
Why we need to seek right now. 

402
00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:17,880
Why is it so important to start 
seeking right now? 

403
00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:23,880
Well, we should recognize that 
in all the striving for all the 

404
00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:27,400
things that we often run after, 
what we're doing is we're 

405
00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:29,400
running the opposite direction 
of God. 

406
00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:32,800
So if God is here saying, I need
you to listen to me, I need you 

407
00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:34,160
to hear me, I've got peace for 
you. 

408
00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:36,160
I've got joy for you. 
I've got something for you that 

409
00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:39,280
the world cannot give. 
When we're, when we're so 

410
00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:41,240
focused on getting the next 
great item. 

411
00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:43,680
What we're doing is we're moving
the opposite direction. 

412
00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:48,960
And here's here's what's OK 
about this, the story of the 

413
00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:51,440
prodigal son, the prodigal son. 
He, he runs away. 

414
00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:53,880
He, he takes the inheritance. 
He takes all this money. 

415
00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:57,600
He takes all these resources 
from his dad, like wish you were

416
00:23:57,600 --> 00:23:59,560
dead, Dad, I'm taking the 
inheritance right now. 

417
00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:01,880
See you later. 
And he and he blows it all. 

418
00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:04,600
You know, he, he, he blows it 
all on things that don't 

419
00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:07,640
actually satisfy him. 
And when he comes back, when he 

420
00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:11,440
starts to walk back, the Father 
sees him and he runs to him. 

421
00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:15,480
That's a gift. 
That means that even if we fail,

422
00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:19,360
even if we blow it and we just 
fall on our faces in terms of 

423
00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:22,240
like looking for satisfaction in
the way that the world wants to 

424
00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:27,040
give it, even if we totally ruin
ourselves on it, our Father in 

425
00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:30,320
heaven will still forgive us. 
He sees us on the horizon and he

426
00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:32,840
runs to us. 
That's a gift. 

427
00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:40,640
However, what this text is 
getting to is that sometimes we 

428
00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:44,640
can run so far that we don't 
have a chance. 

429
00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:46,440
We don't have the time to turn 
back. 

430
00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:56,760
We can run that far away. 
I guess what sensitive topic for

431
00:24:56,760 --> 00:25:01,320
a lot of people, but I'm telling
you, tomorrow is not guaranteed.

432
00:25:02,360 --> 00:25:05,480
You can run far enough away that
you don't have time to get back 

433
00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:12,560
because it's just tomorrow is 
not a guarantee. 

434
00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:18,920
Seek the Lord while he may be 
found. 

435
00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:23,120
Call upon him while he is near 
one. 

436
00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:26,720
I've maybe the greatest 
illustration of this and then 

437
00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:30,080
and then I'll have to stop. 
But maybe the greatest 

438
00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:34,000
illustration of this comes from 
a story that Jesus gives in in 

439
00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:36,680
Luke chapter 12. 
And and here's the story. 

440
00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:41,320
It's it's very brief. 
And he told him a parable saying

441
00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:44,480
the land of a rich man produced 
plentifully. 

442
00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:47,200
And he thought to himself, what 
should I do? 

443
00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:49,920
For I have nowhere to store my 
crops. 

444
00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:53,480
And he said, I will do this, I 
will tear down my barns and I'll

445
00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:57,160
build larger ones, and there I 
will store my grain in my goods.

446
00:25:57,400 --> 00:26:01,760
And I will say to my soul, you 
have ample goods laid up for for

447
00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:06,680
many years. 
Relax, eat, drink, be merry. 

448
00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:15,000
God said to him, Fool, this 
night your soul is required of 

449
00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:16,680
you. 
And the things that you have 

450
00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:20,800
prepared, whose will they be? 
So is the one who lays up 

451
00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:24,160
treasure for himself and is not 
rich towards God. 

452
00:26:29,820 --> 00:26:36,980
I find that story a little 
scary, if I'm being honest. 

453
00:26:36,980 --> 00:26:40,060
I I read that and I've read that
several times and every time it 

454
00:26:40,060 --> 00:26:45,140
just hits me in the gut because 
it makes me think, what have I 

455
00:26:45,140 --> 00:26:48,020
been chasing after and when will
God come from my soul? 

456
00:26:48,020 --> 00:26:51,280
Will I be ready? 
Will I be ready for that day? 

457
00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:54,800
Because I don't know if it is 
today or tomorrow or 10 year, 

458
00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:56,240
Who knows? 
I don't know. 

459
00:26:57,160 --> 00:27:00,920
Neither did the rich guy. 
Neither do you. 

460
00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:08,000
You don't know. 
Now this command to seek him 

461
00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:10,040
while he is near. 
The command comes with a 

462
00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:11,160
promise. 
Do you see it? 

463
00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:17,280
The command comes with a promise
that he will abundantly pardon. 

464
00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:21,120
He will abundantly pardon. 
That's a gift. 

465
00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:25,160
So how do how do I get him to do
that? 

466
00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:29,120
How do I get God to abundantly 
pardon me when I've been such a 

467
00:27:29,120 --> 00:27:32,160
jerk? 
Is it man? 

468
00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:33,520
You know what, let me let me 
make a list. 

469
00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:35,920
Maybe it's maybe it's perfect 
church attendance. 

470
00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:40,640
That would be cool. 
Maybe it's maybe I should make 

471
00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:44,480
sure that my volunteer hours are
slightly more than I waste on my

472
00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:47,240
phone on any given day. 
Maybe then it's good. 

473
00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:51,440
Maybe, maybe it's a deal where I
have to memorize enough verses 

474
00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:55,640
or say enough prayers or or read
my Bible and I don't know, Maybe

475
00:27:55,640 --> 00:28:04,640
it's those things. 
I think, I think this, I think 

476
00:28:05,120 --> 00:28:08,800
that if I were a Buddhist, 
that's exactly the advice I 

477
00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:12,520
would give you. 
I would say read your Bible more

478
00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:15,360
often and, and, and again, those
aren't bad things, but but 

479
00:28:15,360 --> 00:28:17,440
that's what I would tell you. 
You want to know why I would 

480
00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:19,960
tell you to work harder and try 
harder and do more and more and 

481
00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:22,920
more and more to to get this 
abundant pardon. 

482
00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:26,080
Funny enough, I heard it this 
week. 

483
00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:30,440
I didn't realize that Buddha's 
last words, his last teaching 

484
00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:36,040
was strive without ceasing. 
That's what he died with. 

485
00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:40,880
That's what that man died with, 
is Strive without ceasing. 

486
00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:45,440
Work harder, do more, over and 
over and over again. 

487
00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:47,600
Stay on the treadmill until it 
kills you. 

488
00:28:48,040 --> 00:28:58,160
Keep striving, keep working. 
The older I get it, just it 

489
00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:02,280
sounds like terrible advice. 
It sounds like an awful way to 

490
00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:06,840
live, but I'm absolutely 
convinced that most of us live 

491
00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:11,280
that way, striving without 
ceasing day in and day out and 

492
00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:13,240
and it's just not how God 
designed us. 

493
00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:15,360
How do I know that? 
Here's how I know that. 

494
00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:21,040
I know that because he says come
everyone who thirsts come to the

495
00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:26,200
waters and he who has no money 
come and buy and eat, come and 

496
00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:29,680
buy wine and milk without money 
and without price. 

497
00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:32,960
That's what he says. 
Do you do you see the 

498
00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:35,120
invitation? 
Because it's phenomenal. 

499
00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:38,520
It is a phenomenal invitation. 
And this doesn't even make 

500
00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:41,680
sense. 
I've got people who English, 

501
00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:44,560
people in the room who know the 
language far better than I do, 

502
00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:46,680
and I'm telling you, this makes 
no sense. 

503
00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:49,880
Buy without money. 
Is it buying if there's no 

504
00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:51,800
money? 
What is that? 

505
00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:54,560
I honestly, it's really strange 
thing to say. 

506
00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:02,360
Now, saying all that, I'm going 
to ask you a question. 

507
00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:05,720
You should answer the question 
out loud. 

508
00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:09,840
You should. 
I'm asking for audience 

509
00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:11,720
participation to make sure 
you're still awake. 

510
00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:18,000
OK, so here's the question. 
What does it cost to receive 

511
00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:22,520
gifts from God? 
Nothing. 

512
00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:26,040
Let's try that again. 
What does it cost to receive 

513
00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:29,040
gifts from God? 
Very good. 

514
00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:33,760
We're learning so well. 
Here's the thing. 

515
00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:38,000
If you can recognize and you can
come to grips with the fact that

516
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:45,160
all you need is need because all
you have without God is nothing,

517
00:30:46,200 --> 00:30:52,640
then you'll gain everything. 
If you can recognize that all 

518
00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:56,440
you need is need because you 
have nothing without God, then 

519
00:30:56,440 --> 00:31:02,680
you gain everything. 
Now I'll ask you a second 

520
00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:04,600
question that you don't have to 
answer out loud. 

521
00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:07,880
What did it cost God to love 
you? 

522
00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:17,320
Everything, his life. 
God in Jesus Christ left heaven,

523
00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:23,040
left perfection, left everything
that was ever good came down in 

524
00:31:23,040 --> 00:31:26,840
the form of a small baby, left 
his home to he traded his home 

525
00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:28,320
for this one. 
I wouldn't do that. 

526
00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:34,320
And and he was born in obscurity
and he was born in, in, in all 

527
00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:37,680
these rumors and all these 
terrible things that I'm sure 

528
00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:39,400
that they said about Mary and 
Joseph. 

529
00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:41,320
Oh, who's she been hanging out 
with? 

530
00:31:41,680 --> 00:31:44,040
She says she's pregnant by the 
Holy Spirit. 

531
00:31:44,360 --> 00:31:48,880
Can you imagine? 
That's what he, that's what God 

532
00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:51,440
comes into. 
He comes into that, and then he 

533
00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:55,400
spends his life serving and 
giving, only to be rewarded with

534
00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:58,680
people hating him, just 
absolutely hating him, beating 

535
00:31:58,680 --> 00:32:03,080
him into a pulp so that he was 
barely even recognizable as a 

536
00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:04,680
human. 
And then, if that weren't 

537
00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:08,800
enough, hanging him on a cross. 
Why? 

538
00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:15,440
So he could love you. 
Because the best food that we 

539
00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:18,960
can ever have, the only food 
that ever satisfies, is his body

540
00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:20,840
and blood. 
That is the only one that'll do 

541
00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:25,920
it. 
It's the only thing that draws 

542
00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:29,480
you into a place of real peace, 
that draws you into a place of 

543
00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:33,640
real satisfaction. 
It is his body and blood given 

544
00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:37,160
for you. 
We're we're about to take 

545
00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:44,960
communion and so but I, I want 
to remind you that your only 

546
00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:50,080
ticket home, your only ticket 
home is absolutely free to you. 

547
00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:55,880
It's absolutely free to you. 
It costs you nothing, but it 

548
00:32:55,880 --> 00:33:01,000
cost him everything. 
Come to the foot of the cross. 

549
00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:04,280
Come to the table only with your
need. 

550
00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:07,440
Don't come with anything else, 
because nothing else is 

551
00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:10,840
acceptable at his table. 
It's only your need, and he 

552
00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:14,520
perfectly fulfills it through 
his death on the cross. 

553
00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:17,320
Amen. 
Amen. 

554
00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:23,200
Thanks for listening to ERC 
Sundays. 

555
00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:26,680
To support the work God is doing
an Emmaus Rd. church, visit 

556
00:33:26,680 --> 00:33:29,640
emmausrdonline.org/giving.