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And sort of the surprise, we 
know it's coming and someone in 

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my house in June announced 6 
months till Christmas and I was 

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like, oh, panic in my soul right
here. 

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It comes and it comes every 
year. 

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But but one of the things and 
the reasons why Advent is so 

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important is that it actually 
causes us to slow down and to 

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consider the hard messages to 
which Christmas is an answer, 

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the hard messages, the hard 
truths to which Christmas is an 

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answer. 
And so we're invited in the 

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season of Advent, and Advent 
actually the beginning of the 

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Christian calendar. 
So if you had a Christian 

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calendar that was put up on your
refrigerator or your bulletin 

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board, it would actually begin 
with December or even in 

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November, in the first week of 
Advent. 

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And that's the beginning of the 
Christian calendar. 

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And so today's message again is 
on the dark side of Christmas 

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and that it introduces us to one
of the most essential elements 

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of our lives, one of the 
essential invitations of God to 

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living well and to being at home
with him. 

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And that is the curious case for
repentance, not just as 

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something we do once and then, 
oh, I'm saved and now I'm 

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baptized, but something that we 
do every day and any occasion 

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that the Lord moves in our 
lives, we can repent. 

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That may sound like a really 
strange religious word, but 

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hopefully by the end of today's 
message, you will like, I know 

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that I think I'm going to 
repent. 

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Our text is a traditional 
Christmas text. 

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It's the story of John the 
Baptist. 

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And so we're going to start with
his birth announcement that came

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by the mouth of Zechariah. 
It's actually a birth song, so 

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none of you would remember if 
your parents sang when you were 

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born. 
Maybe you don't want to remember

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such a thing, but Zechariah's 
song When John the Baptist Was 

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Born and Being Named 7 or 8 Days
Later is recorded here in the 

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scripture. 
And we're going to start with 

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his song to help us look at John
the Baptist, his assignment to 

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prepare people for Jesus and to 
call them to repentance. 

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So let's start with the text in 
Luke chapter 1, beginning in 

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verse 57. 
When it was time for Elizabeth 

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to have her baby, she gave birth
to a son. 

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Her neighbors and relatives 
heard that the Lord had shown 

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her great mercy and they shared 
her joy. 

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On the 8th day they came to 
circumcise the child and they 

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were going to name him after his
father Zechariah, but his mother

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spoke up and said no, he is to 
be called John. 

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And they said to her there is no
one among your relatives that 

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has that name. 
They made signs to his father to

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find out what he would like to 
name the child and he asked for 

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a writing tablet and to 
everyone's astonishment he wrote

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his name is John. 
Immediately his mouth was opened

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and his tongue set free and he 
began to speak, praising God. 

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All the neighbors were filled 
with awe and throughout the Hill

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Country of Judea people were 
talking about all these things. 

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Everyone who heard this wondered
about it, asking what then is 

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this child going to be for? 
The Lord's hand was with him. 

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His father Zachariah was filled 
with the Holy Spirit and 

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prophesied. 
Praise be to the Lord the God of

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Israel, because He has come to 
His people and redeemed them. 

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He has raised up a horn of 
salvation for us in the House of

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His servant David, as He said 
through His holy prophets of 

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long ago. 
Salvation from our enemies and 

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from the hand of all who hate 
us. 

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To show mercy to our ancestors 
and to remember His holy 

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covenant, The oath He swore to 
our Father Abraham, to rescue us

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from the hand of our enemies and
to enable us to serve Him 

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without fear in holiness and 
righteousness before Him all our

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days. 
And you, my child, speaking to 

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John the baby, you will be 
called a prophet of the Most 

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High, for you will go on before 
the Lord to prepare the way for 

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Him. 
To give His people the knowledge

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of salvation through the 
forgiveness of their sins, 

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because of the tender mercy of 
our God, by which the rising sun

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will come to us from heaven to 
shine on those living in 

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darkness and in the shadow of 
death. 

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To guide our feet into the path 
of peace. 

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What an extraordinary excitement
to a child. 

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And then notice the way he grew 
up. 

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The child grew up and became 
strong in spirit, and he lived 

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in the wilderness until he 
appeared publicly to Israel. 

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He was a wild child. 
This John the Baptist was a 

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fierce and strong person, and 
God had given him a special 

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assignment. 
Prepare the way for Jesus. 

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Prepare the way for the Lord. 
John and Jesus were actually 

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cousins, separated by about 
three months, and John just 

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ahead of him had a task and 
assignment from God where 

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Zechariah reaches all the way 
back to the Isaiah prophecy, 

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where Isaiah prophesized that 
there will be one who prepares 

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the way of the Lord. 
It became so notable that when 

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Matthew wanted to describe 
John's ministry and what he did,

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he also referred to the text. 
Notice what Matthew says. 

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This is still Luke talking. 
We'll get to Matthew. 

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Here we go. 
So Luke describes the beginning 

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of the ministry of John. 
He says in the 15th year of the 

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reign of Tiberius Caesar, when 
Pontius Pilate was governor of 

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Judea, Herod tetrarch of 
Galilee, his brother Philip, 

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tetrarch of Etruria and 
Trachonitus, and Lysanius 

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tetrarch of Abilene. 
During the high priesthood of 

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Anas and Caiaphas, the Word of 
God came to John, son of 

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Zechariah in the wilderness. 
He went into all the country 

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around the Jordan preaching a 
baptism of repentance for the 

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forgiveness of sins as it is 
written in the book of the words

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of Isaiah the prophet. 
A voice of one calling in the 

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wilderness. 
Prepare the way for the Lord, 

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Make straight paths for him. 
Every valley be filled in, every

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mountain and hill made low. 
The crooked Rd. shall become 

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straight, the rough way smooth, 
and all people will see God's 

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salvation. 
Now Zacharias had envisioned a 

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people changed by the one to 
whom John would point that when 

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John pointed to Jesus and said, 
behold the Lamb of God who takes

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away the sin of the world. 
Zacharias had envisioned that 

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John's life would have an impact
on a people who would get to 

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know the Messiah. 
Look at these five things that 

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he said would be true about 
these people. 

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These people would have a 
knowledge of salvation through 

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the forgiveness of sins, that 
this would be something they 

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know not just that they know 
about, but they would know it in

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the very interior life of their 
heart and world. 

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They would know experientially 
that God had forgiven them a 

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sin, that they would experience 
the tender mercy of our God. 

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Now this is such a contrast. 
John is a wild child who becomes

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a wilderness man, a survivalist 
if you will, who knew how to 

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live off the land, live in the 
wilderness, but also had a 

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fierce message calling them. 
But even though John's message 

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was fierce, Zachariah says these
people are going to experience 

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the tender mercy of God. 
Imagine that you see a child 

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running into the street. 
What are you going to do? 

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Wow, what are you going to do? 
You're going to stop him? 

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What if he's too far away? 
What are you going to do? 

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Stop. 
No, you're going to shout. 

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Any parent who's had this moment
knows that there's this 

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immediate move to shout. 
Shouting is reserved for an 

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emergency stop. 
And so John, he sounds harsh, 

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but what he's actually inviting 
them into is the tender mercy of

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God, the embrace of our Father 
who loves them, that they would 

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have an encounter of the rising 
sun from heaven. 

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I don't know about you, but I 
love those mornings when I see 

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even by 8 O clock now, a little 
glimmer of sun on the horizon. 

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I'm like, ah, there's the light 
of day, There's the light for us

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today. 
And that light then reveals 

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something in our lives, but it 
also casts something away. 

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He says they're delivered from 
the shadow of death. 

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The shadow of death would keep 
you in fear. 

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The fear of death will cause a 
fear of living. 

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And he says that the light of 
Christ, the Messiah to whom John

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would point, would bring about a
confidence of a people who don't

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live in fear of the shadow of 
death. 

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In fact, he says, their whole 
life trajectory is different 

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because they're guided into 
paths of peace. 

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Wow, a people who are known for 
walking in the path of peace. 

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Their heart is at peace. 
Their way is to create peace. 

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Their way is to know the ways of
a God of peace. 

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And John was pointing to the one
preparing them who could give 

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them this. 
When we this little line, the 

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path of peace also quotes from 
Isaiah. 

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We read that long text in Isaiah
59 today which seems so stark 

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and dark about the presence of 
sin. 

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And it says of this people who 
were caught in a trajectory of 

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sin, they do not know the ways 
of peace, which indicates that 

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all their relationships become 
conflictual. 

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They're an argument waiting for 
a place to happen. 

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They do not know the ways of 
peace. 

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What an extraordinary picture 
from from John and Zacharias you

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see intertwined in preparing a 
people for Jesus is this matter 

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of repentance. 
To prepare for Jesus, to prepare

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for God to do something 
extraordinary in their lives and

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hearts, they would have to 
repent and turn. 

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The word repent basically means 
turn, turn around, turn away, 

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turn toward something, turn away
from something, turn to the 

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other to prepare for Jesus. 
Then how did John go about his 

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message? 
I've alluded to it. 

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Let's see how he did it. 
John said to the crowds that 

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were coming out to be baptized 
by him. 

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You brood of Vipers, you bunch 
of snakes, you're in House 

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Slytherin. 
Basically, that's what he's 

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saying. 
Who warned you to flee the 

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coming wrath? 
It's almost as if he's lifting a

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phrase right out of Isaiah 59. 
It might have resonated with 

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some of them to go what? 
He's calling us a bunch of 

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sinners. 
He's calling us a bunch of 

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snakes. 
It's right out of Isaiah 59 that

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we read earlier, and he lifts it
out, seemingly with a pointing 

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finger. 
Who warned you to flee the 

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coming wrath? 
Produce fruit in keeping with 

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repentance. 
And do not begin to say to 

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yourselves, we have Abraham as 
our father. 

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In other words, we have a legacy
that keeps us safe with God. 

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We have a heritage that keeps us
safe with God. 

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Our ancestors keep us safe with 
God, he says. 

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Don't say that, for I tell you 
that out of these stones God can

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raise up children for Abraham. 
The axe is already at the root 

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of the trees, and every tree 
that did not, does not produce 

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00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:06,200
good fruit, will be cut down and
thrown into the fire. 

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00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:12,720
This sounds so stressful. 
He's not the kind of preacher 

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00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:17,160
you want to go see at Christmas.
I'm sorry, but here he is. 

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00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:20,840
Few years ago, quite a few now, 
we had a plum tree that was in 

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the back of the yard. 
It had produced no plums. 

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00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:29,760
I was ready to cut it down. 
In fact, the axe was at the root

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of the tree almost. 
And Ellen said wait, don't cut 

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00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:40,360
it down yet, give it a chance. 
Give it a chance. 

200
00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:43,240
They say sometimes you have to 
stress a tree. 

201
00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:47,720
So I I took the axe of the saw 
actually, and I turned it around

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00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:49,400
and I whacked it against the 
tree. 

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I gave it a warning. 
I said your days are numbered if

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you don't produce fruit. 
You know what happened the next 

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year? 
There was fruit. 

206
00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:04,360
That tree was stressed. 
Do you see? 

207
00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:08,280
I, I don't understand someone's 
why the Spirit of God has to 

208
00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:12,720
bring some stress in our lives, 
some conviction in our lives, 

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some sense of, oh, they're 
supposed to be a different kind 

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of fruit in my life. 
It feels a little bit painful, 

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but there is a call and 
opportunity for repentance for 

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00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:34,280
turning, even when that comes 
because we're envisioning and 

213
00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:39,520
we're seeing a future that we 
don't like or a future that we 

214
00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:41,960
love. 
And we're like, I want to turn 

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00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:45,160
towards that future. 
I want to turn towards the 

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00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:50,080
person of that future. 
And so this is John's 

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00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:53,880
invitation. 
There is one coming. 

218
00:16:54,840 --> 00:17:05,640
Who is for you? 
Why do we resist repentance when

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00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:09,599
we've been given a vision of 
what could be good in our life 

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if we leave something behind? 
Why do we resist changing? 

221
00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:20,240
Why do we resist the repentance 
of even adding something good 

222
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into our life? 
There's so many amazing pictures

223
00:17:24,119 --> 00:17:28,800
from the Old Testament about 
resisting repentance. 

224
00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:35,000
One is hardness of heart. 
It's the most common to have a 

225
00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:39,680
hard heart towards God. 
Another one is to be stiff 

226
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necked. 
That means you don't turn very 

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well. 
You're not limber. 

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It's Speaking of an animal that 
won't be turned. 

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A horse that won't respond to 
the bit but is so set on going 

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forward. 
How many of you have ever had a 

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Crick in your neck? 
You know it's terrible. 

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You can't turn your neck. 
It's so painful, that stiff neck

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and so somewhat over here speaks
to you. 

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So you go and but he's saying 
you never turn to listen when 

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God calls out an uncircumcised 
heart. 

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You have no sensitivity towards 
God turning the shoulder, where 

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instead, as you get up, having 
heard the voice of God, you just

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turn the shoulder. 
You know, have you ever given 

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someone a cold shoulder? 
Maybe you've been in the car, 

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someone was driving and you were
mad at them, so you just turned 

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away and looked out the window. 
That's the cold shoulder. 

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00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:39,680
And this is the description of 
resisting repentance, of saying 

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I've just turned my shoulder and
act like God's not there, 

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stopping up the ears. 
La, la, la, la, la, la, la. 

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Don't talk to me. 
I'm not listening. 

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00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:54,200
I can't hear you. 
La La, La, La, La, La, straying 

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and wandering like a sheep. 
This one's actually very kind 

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and forgiving because it just 
says it's part of our nature to 

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resist the good way we wander 
off. 

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And then here's my favorite 
backsliding. 

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Have you ever gone sledding at 
Queen Elizabeth Park? 

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And at the end of the day, the 
snow is some so compact. 

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And I see you don't need a sled.
All you need is your back and 

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you can flop down on your back 
and you will race down that 

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hill. 
And here's the description of a 

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00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:33,320
non repentant person is that 
they used to be at the peak with

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God, but now they're just 
sliding backwards, losing all 

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the ground they had received, 
refusing to return, grieving and

259
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quenching the Holy Spirit. 
The Holy Spirit calls, and you 

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grieve the Spirit with that 
resistance, and then here's a 

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00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:57,560
great one kicking against the 
goads. 

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00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:01,720
Anybody know what this is? 
Who was this said to? 

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This was said to the apostle 
Paul, who we know as Saul, who 

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was out to murder the church. 
And Jesus appears to him, and 

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Paul says, Who are you, Lord? 
Who are you? 

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And says the Lord whom you are 
persecuting, why are you kicking

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so against the goads? 
OK, so this is the description. 

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00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:29,880
You're a horse and there's a 
stick. 

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00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:33,920
It's the goat and the stick is 
being used to prod you. 

270
00:20:34,120 --> 00:20:37,640
Or you're a donkey and the stick
is being used to prod you 

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towards the way to go and 
instead you kick against it. 

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Active resistance to God. 
I want you to think about 

273
00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:51,360
yourself for a moment in your 
life with God. 

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00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:53,800
Which one of these describes 
you? 

275
00:20:53,800 --> 00:21:00,800
Keep it to yourself. 
Which one of these describes 

276
00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:07,000
part of your life in the past? 
Which of these describes your 

277
00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:24,360
current way with God today? 
Being at home with God requires 

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00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:31,960
repentance. 
It requires a shift and it must 

279
00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:35,560
be conscious. 
I do believe that the Spirit of 

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00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:38,200
God, when we're close to the 
Spirit of God and we've been 

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00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:42,080
walking with Jesus, it can 
become reflexive to repent 

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00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:46,840
quickly, to confess quickly, to 
agree with God quickly. 

283
00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:50,640
God provokes us with something 
in his word in the morning and 

284
00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:53,640
we're like, yes, Lord, you're 
right. 

285
00:21:53,880 --> 00:21:58,240
Yes, Lord, you're right. 
I agree with you. 

286
00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:03,400
And it sets our feet on a step 
of being at home with God, 

287
00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:05,480
continuing to be at home with 
him. 

288
00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:09,400
But repentance is required. 
Jesus said it himself. 

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00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:13,320
Notice what Jesus does. 
When Jesus heard that John, 

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00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:17,320
that's John the Baptizer, had 
been put in prison, he withdrew 

291
00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:22,680
to Galilee, leaving Nazareth. 
He went and lived in Capernaum. 

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00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:28,480
And from that time on, Jesus 
began to preach, repent, for the

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00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:32,440
Kingdom of heaven has come near.
In other words, the Kingdom of 

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00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:36,040
heaven is so close that the 
Kingdom of God wants to be at 

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00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:39,720
home with you right here. 
And for this Kingdom to be at 

296
00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:43,320
home with you, and for you to be
at home in the Kingdom of God, 

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00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:50,880
you must repent. 
This verse was quoted by Martin 

298
00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:56,160
Luther when he nailed A thesis 
to the door of Wittenberg in 

299
00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:59,480
1571. 
Can you imagine making a long 

300
00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:03,360
list of 95 statements, taking it
to a door and nailing it? 

301
00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:07,720
That's sort of the mythology of 
Martin Luther, that he did this.

302
00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:11,160
We know he printed lots of 
pamphlets with it, and what he 

303
00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:16,840
was trying to do was to argue 
against the idea that you only 

304
00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:24,800
needed to repent once, or that 
you could get situated in life 

305
00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:28,640
by paying a little bit of money 
or by doing a little thing that 

306
00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:32,400
would situate in life so that no
repentance was required. 

307
00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:37,920
You could be a mafia Christian. 
A mafia Christian comes to 

308
00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:42,760
church, listens to the word of 
God, says it rolls off like 

309
00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:45,960
water on a duck's back, and then
they go and murder whoever they 

310
00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:51,280
want, does whatever bad deed 
they want. 

311
00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:57,080
That's a mafia Christian and 
Martin Luther was resisting that

312
00:23:57,680 --> 00:23:59,680
and he says this in his first 
thesis. 

313
00:23:59,920 --> 00:24:03,680
When our Lord and Master Jesus 
Christ said repent, he willed 

314
00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:08,320
the entire life of believers to 
be 1 of repentance. 

315
00:24:10,360 --> 00:24:12,320
That's the best translation from
English. 

316
00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:19,400
That life is repentance. 
I'll take that thought on for a 

317
00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:22,960
moment. 
Life is repentance. 

318
00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:27,960
Here's some helpful pairings 
that I have found in trying to 

319
00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:35,000
bring me more aware of the 
discrepancies or hypocrisy that 

320
00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:40,560
could reside in my own heart and
life in regards to repentance. 

321
00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:45,480
And the first is to pair 
attitudes and actions. 

322
00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:49,120
The scripture says, watch 
yourselves and make yourselves 

323
00:24:49,120 --> 00:24:52,280
clean. 
Come cease to do evil. 

324
00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:56,560
Learn to do good. 
Have you ever gotten in at the 

325
00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,080
end of the day? 
And one of your parents said, 

326
00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:03,000
what's that? 
You need to go take a bath? 

327
00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:08,800
You need to take a shower. 
You've been out playing all day 

328
00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:10,960
long. 
You've been sweating in the gym.

329
00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:15,640
Go take a shower. 
And you said no, don't, no, no, 

330
00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:16,880
don't. 
Don't need that. 

331
00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:20,440
The stink is good. 
And so you resist. 

332
00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:29,240
The stink is good. 
There's an attitude shift that 

333
00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:31,000
says, oh, the stink's not so 
good. 

334
00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:35,120
I think I'll go take a bath. 
I think I'll be cleansed of 

335
00:25:35,120 --> 00:25:37,720
this. 
And then not only that, think 

336
00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:40,960
I'm going to cease. 
And sometimes in relation to sin

337
00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:44,840
in our lives, there's got to be 
both attitudes and actions that 

338
00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:48,240
are paired together. 
Sometimes we have right actions,

339
00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:53,400
but our attitudes stink. 
In fact, Paul said if you do all

340
00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:57,480
kinds of good things and don't 
have love, it's awful. 

341
00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:00,960
It's like death beliefs and 
behaviors. 

342
00:26:01,120 --> 00:26:06,840
Sometimes I need to change my 
beliefs as well as my behaviors.

343
00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:09,080
The Kingdom of God has come 
near. 

344
00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:11,120
Repent and believe the good 
news. 

345
00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:16,080
Jesus is saying hey, there is an
announcement that must be 

346
00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:18,720
believed that the Kingdom of God
is here. 

347
00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:24,840
Not just some out there future 
age, but here and now and over 

348
00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:27,760
and over. 
I found that there's beliefs in 

349
00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:35,720
my life about me, about God, 
about my future, about the stuff

350
00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:41,440
of earth, about other people 
that must be changed so that my 

351
00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:44,480
behavior can actually change 
too. 

352
00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:48,200
Belief and behavior, and then 
motives and missions. 

353
00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:53,160
This suggests that we really do 
want sincerity of heart and 

354
00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:57,440
alignment of our motives and 
what we're doing, that it lines 

355
00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:01,880
up with the mission of God. 
But this also tells me I can 

356
00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:05,960
have a shadow mission. 
I can have a shadow mission 

357
00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:09,760
that's always lurking in the 
background, sort of informing 

358
00:27:09,760 --> 00:27:12,080
what I'm doing and why I'm doing
it. 

359
00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:20,560
And shadow missions fuel a life 
of deception, dishonesty, 

360
00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:28,880
hiding, despair and destruction.
And so if I'm to be at home, 

361
00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:33,120
then repentance may start at the
surface but continually goes 

362
00:27:33,120 --> 00:27:35,960
deeper. 
That's the invitation. 

363
00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:39,560
And here's the beauty of this is
that the way we start the 

364
00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:41,800
Christian life is the way we 
continue it. 

365
00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:45,680
We are meant to start the 
Christian life by faith, by 

366
00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:48,320
grace. 
And we continue even in 

367
00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:55,200
repentance by faith, by grace, 
when Paul wanted to address the 

368
00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:58,320
fact that some people were 
saying, Hey, Paul, you seem to 

369
00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:03,240
have two messages, go ahead, a 
message for the Gentiles and a 

370
00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:05,640
message for the Jews. 
And he's like, no, there's, 

371
00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:09,200
there's one message. 
They must turn to God in 

372
00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:12,320
repentance and have faith in our
Lord Jesus Christ. 

373
00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:16,480
That's the message. 
This is what it is to be 

374
00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:21,640
Christian, to have repentance 
towards God and faith in Jesus. 

375
00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:26,440
We start with faith, we start 
with repentance, we start with 

376
00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:30,840
faith and both continue on in 
our lives. 

377
00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:36,760
The way you live as a Christian 
today is by repentance and by 

378
00:28:36,760 --> 00:28:40,320
faith. 
And so I want to ask you again, 

379
00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:47,840
what have you heard in the last 
month, the last week today where

380
00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:50,480
God is prodding you towards 
repentance? 

381
00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:55,840
It's a little a little move that
in the long time will change 

382
00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:58,720
your life. 
We call this the Kairos moment, 

383
00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:03,160
that this moment where you know 
that something has happened in 

384
00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:05,040
your life. 
There's stress, there's pain, 

385
00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:08,400
maybe you've seen it before and 
here it is again. 

386
00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:16,000
And So what is God saying to you
and how will you respond if God 

387
00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:19,720
is speaking to you? 
Will you repent, change your 

388
00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:22,640
mind, your attitudes and 
actions, beliefs and behaviors, 

389
00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:28,080
motives and missions? 
And then what do you do in 

390
00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:31,800
response? 
That doing may be just a two 

391
00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:37,280
degree shift, but all of you 
know studying vectors, that 2° /

392
00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:42,440
a long course of time is a 
trajectory of great change. 

393
00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:48,920
And that's the invitation of God
day in and day out as a disciple

394
00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:54,720
to let him shift and change you.
This is why Advent matters. 

395
00:29:55,880 --> 00:30:00,240
Back to Zechariah. 
Which of these do you long for? 

396
00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:04,920
Which of these are you longing 
for? 

397
00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:13,520
Which of these do you need? 
One of the favorite you can just

398
00:30:13,520 --> 00:30:15,280
leave it there. 
One of our favorite Christmas 

399
00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:20,720
movies is or stories is A 
Christmas Carol right by Dickens

400
00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:25,720
going to invite the worship team
to come on up And in that story,

401
00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:30,160
Ebenezer Scrooge what does? 
What is Ebenezer Scrooge's 

402
00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:36,440
famous line? 
Bah humbug, right? 

403
00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:41,280
Bah humbug. 
He hated Christmas. 

404
00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:47,040
Bah, humbug. 
And yet there were people around

405
00:30:47,040 --> 00:30:51,880
him who with less and who had 
struggles in their lives, who 

406
00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:56,640
loved Christmas and actually 
their motives and lives seem so 

407
00:30:56,640 --> 00:31:00,320
pure. 
Tiny Tim, you know, he, he says,

408
00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:02,640
oh, God bless them all, every 
one of them. 

409
00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:11,600
But Ebenezer Scrooge refuses 
until Marley's warning when his 

410
00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:17,920
former Co laborer, former boss 
appears. 

411
00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:24,040
And Warren Scrooge, you're going
to suffer a terrible thing if 

412
00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:27,560
you don't turn. 
He didn't say the word repent, 

413
00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:30,760
but he could have. 
Did you know that A Christmas 

414
00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:36,800
Carol is a story of repentance? 
It's an invitation for cultural 

415
00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:42,440
repentance, individual 
repentance, the ghost of 

416
00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:46,680
Christmas pass. 
So Scrooge, his humble 

417
00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:52,560
beginnings, his lonely 
childhood, but also his joyful 

418
00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:55,960
apprenticeship that there were 
people in his life showing him a

419
00:31:55,960 --> 00:31:58,320
different way and he could have 
chosen it. 

420
00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:03,120
There was the picture of 
Christmas present, of people who

421
00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:08,080
were living in poverty and 
quiet, but also living with 

422
00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:12,480
warmth and goodwill, and who 
seemed so at home with 

423
00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:17,560
themselves and with God. 
And then there's the Christmas 

424
00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:22,000
yet to come. 
And Scrooge has shown a grim and

425
00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:26,920
desolate future where no one 
cares that he died and that his 

426
00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:30,560
possessions were stolen. 
And then he was forced to 

427
00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:34,400
confront his isolation and he 
wakes up. 

428
00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:39,280
The invitation to repentance 
seemed tough. 

429
00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:42,280
Now, what was Scrooge going to 
do? 

430
00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:48,880
What was he going to do? 
And he woke up and became a 

431
00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:53,440
changed man. 
He embraced Christmas. 

432
00:32:55,320 --> 00:32:58,600
He changed his life. 
And then his name became one 

433
00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:03,240
filled with irony, Right? 
Ebenezer Scrooge. 

434
00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:09,040
What's a Scrooge? 
Tight fisted, wretched, greedy 

435
00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:11,080
person who holds on to 
everything. 

436
00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:15,840
But what's a person whose name 
is Ebenezer? 

437
00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:20,160
Does anybody know what Ebenezer 
means? 

438
00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:23,800
It's right out of the scripture.
It means hit her. 

439
00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:25,360
By your help. 
I've come. 

440
00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:30,280
It points to the Lord and says 
all the good that I have in my 

441
00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:33,200
life today has come because of 
you. 

442
00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:38,520
And so there's Ebenezer who 
couldn't formally acknowledge 

443
00:33:38,560 --> 00:33:41,600
all the good things that had 
come in his life ultimately 

444
00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:45,000
because God showed him some kind
of grace and he was being tight 

445
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:49,040
fisted. 
But then the new Ebenezer, he 

446
00:33:49,040 --> 00:33:51,520
could have done away with the 
name Scrooge. 

447
00:33:52,480 --> 00:33:58,160
He became a generous person at 
home with God and at home with 

448
00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:04,200
others. 
His pathway there is through the

449
00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:13,000
narrow door of repentance. 
Our pathway there is through the

450
00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:16,719
narrow door of repentance with 
Christ Jesus. 

451
00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:27,639
And it's possible because Jesus 
himself entered that door and 

452
00:34:27,639 --> 00:34:32,639
showed us the way. 
He opened it up for us with His 

453
00:34:32,639 --> 00:34:37,880
own body and with His blood, 
with His very life, by coming to

454
00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:42,880
dwell with us. 
One of the questions that 

455
00:34:42,880 --> 00:34:47,280
sometimes accompanies the Lord's
Supper is an examination 

456
00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:52,120
question to say, Have I been 
obedient to the last thing I 

457
00:34:52,120 --> 00:35:07,880
heard from the Lord? 
Only you can answer that 

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00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:09,920
question. 
Let's stand together.