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My friends, in Christ alone let 
us hear the word of the Lord for

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us this morning. 
And the Word became flesh and 

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dwelt among us, and we have seen
his glory, the glory as of the 

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only Son from the Father, full 
of grace and truth. 

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John bore witness about him and 
cried out. 

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This was He of whom I said, He 
who comes at before me, after 

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me, ranks before me, because He 
was before me. 

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For from His fullness we have 
all received grace upon grace. 

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For the law was given through 
Moses. 

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Grace and truth came through 
Jesus Christ. 

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No one has ever seen God, God 
the only Son who is at the 

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Father's side. 
He has made him known, and this 

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is the word of the Lord. 
Dear Lord, we do give you thanks

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and praise once again for Your 
word. 

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And we ask that you would take 
it, shape it, mold our hearts 

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with it, We pray in your Son's 
name. 

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Amen. 
Please be seated. 

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So how do you get to know 
somebody? 

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How do you develop a 
relationship with somebody? 

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This is fairly you can 
immediately jump to some obvious

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things. 
You watch what they do, as we 

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all know why our actions speak 
very loudly about who we are. 

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So, and if you're going to 
develop a relationship with 

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somebody, you watch what they 
do. 

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You of course talk with other 
people that might know them. 

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The idea that somebody else 
would have some insight into 

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somebody that you're getting to 
know, that's obviously very 

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helpful and very important. 
The idea of connecting with 

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other people across the board, a
great way of getting to know 

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somebody. 
But I think most of us would 

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naturally assume and 
appropriately so, that if you 

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want to get to know somebody, 
you got to spend time with them,

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spend time with them, ask them 
questions, talk with them, 

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listen to them, share common 
thoughts and ideas. 

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That's a natural part of how we 
get to know somebody. 

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How do you get to know? 
One of the perks of my job is 

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that I get to meet a lot of 
people. 

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Folks are often interested in in
having me meet their family 

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members or visitors or friends 
or something along those lines. 

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So I get to meet a lot of 
different people. 

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And one of the things that you 
do right off the bat is you try 

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to find some common ground, 
because some common ground is 

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going to help develop the 
initiative. 

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And it's again, it's fairly easy
for me because a lot of people 

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that I meet are connected with 
church or interested in church 

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or something like that. 
So immediately whenever we start

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talking, we develop a common 
bond around what church do you 

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go to or do you have a church 
background or something along 

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those lines? 
Or we talk about Pittsburgh, or 

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we talk about the Steelers or 
something along. 

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We quickly find some kind of a 
common ground in order to 

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develop and build upon a 
relationship with. 

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About two years ago, this church
sent Kelly and I over to the 

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Central African Republic, where 
we were speakers at a missionary

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conference. 
And of course it was my interest

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to get. 
When we got over there, I wanted

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to get to know some of the 
people from Central African 

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Republic. 
So we talked with them. 

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We got to know the CAR. 
That's how we're going to 

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nickname it. 
Wanted to get to know the folks 

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from the CAR. 
The problem was there was almost

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no connecting spot for me. 
I didn't speak any of the 

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languages that they spoke. 
They didn't speak English, at 

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least not very well. 
All the cultural experiences 

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that we might share in common, 
we didn't have in common. 

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There was very little connecting
spot. 

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There was very little upon which
we could build upon in order to 

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develop a relationship. 
And when Kelly and I were over 

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there for two years, two years, 
two weeks, and during that time 

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it felt like 2 years. 
During that time, we of course, 

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wanted to get to know people and
by God's blessing, the church 

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leaders took the initiative to 
invite us over to their home. 

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And they had to be incredibly 
accommodating to us because we 

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didn't know what we were doing. 
We didn't know how to interact 

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when we were over there. 
They were very gracious to us 

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because we made some social faux
pas. 

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We, they were took time to 
explain to us what the food was.

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They took time to show us around
the house. 

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They took time to show us their 
family, all the things that were

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necessary for us if we were 
going to build any kind of a 

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connecting spot, any kind of a 
relationship at all. 

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And it was all possible, made 
possible, simply because the CAR

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people went way out of their way
to accommodate themselves to our

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limitations. 
We were incredibly limited and 

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they went out of their way to 
accommodate themselves. 

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And if they had not, we would 
never have developed any kind of

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a relationship at all with the 
people that are there. 

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We're in the middle of our 
Advent series, and the Advent 

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series is, of course, focusing 
upon Emmanuel, God with us, God 

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coming and dwelling with us. 
And specifically we're looking 

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at what are the gifts that we 
get from His presence, from the 

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fact that God is present here or
the God has come to earth in 

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human form. 
What are some of the gifts that 

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we receive because of His 
presence, His Emmanuel with us? 

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And last week, if you were here 
with us, we looked at the very 

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first part of the text in which 
I read here for us, verse 14. 

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If you have John chapter 1 open 
for you, we're going to flip 

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through a couple different 
texts, but having John one open 

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will probably be the best way 
for you to go. 

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Verse 14 and the word became 
flesh. 

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And here we're talking about 
that incarnation that that 

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marvel that that utterly and 
totally unique action that God 

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has taken in all creation where 
God himself takes on human form.

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That's what incarnation means. 
He took upon himself flesh. 

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This is God coming to dwell with
us. 

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God came, became flesh and dwelt
among us. 

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And last week we looked at that 
idea of tabernacling, the fact 

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that God not just lived here 
among us, but he desired to be 

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among us, that that was the 
desire of his heart to 

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Tabernacle to be with us. 
In that regard, we have seen his

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glory, the glory as of the only 
Son. 

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Today what I want to do is I 
want to look at a separate idea 

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of that comes from the gift of 
his tabernacling with us, the 

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Emmanuel God with us. 
And that's the idea of God 

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revealing himself, the 
revelation of God. 

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This is the notion of a doctrine
of divine accommodation. 

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The doctrine of a divine 
accommodation is very similar to

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what the CAR folks did with 
Kelly and I. 

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They accepted our weaknesses. 
They accepted our limitations. 

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They were gracious when we made 
mistakes, and they lowered 

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themselves. 
They humiliated themselves. 

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They acted humble before us in 
lowering themselves so that they

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could communicate with us on our
level. 

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This is precisely what the Lord 
does in Emmanuel. 

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This is one of the gifts of His 
revelation dwelling with us. 

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Take a look at verse 18 if you 
would. 

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Verse 18. 
No one has ever seen God. 

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Now this is just a statement of 
reality. 

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No one has ever seen God, 
period, full stop. 

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God, the only Son who is at the 
Father's side, He has made Him 

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known. 
Now I need to step aside just 

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for a second and say this. 
That right wrapped into this 

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verse and wrapped into what 
we're going to be talking about 

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today is the Christian doctrine 
of the Trinity. 

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The Christian doctrine of the 
Trinity describes the 

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relationship in the one God of 
the three persons, the Father, 

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Son, and Holy Spirit. 
Normally in a setting like this,

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my guess is that you along with 
me, whenever you come across the

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idea of the Trinity, that our 
best defense is simply to say, 

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well, that's a mystery. 
That's something beyond us. 

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Luckily, we don't have to 
understand it. 

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We're just going to pass it by. 
I think that's a bit of a 

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mistake. 
Now, today's not the day in 

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which we're going to tackle the 
doctrine of the Trinity, but the

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doctrine of the Trinity cannot 
be ignored by God's people 

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because God has taken the time 
to reveal it to us once again. 

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If he has taken his time to show
us something of himself, it is 

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incumbent upon us to try to 
understand it, to embrace it. 

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And so this is an encouragement 
to you that you would encourage 

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us, the leadership of the 
church, that we need a Bible 

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study, we need a Sunday school 
class, we need an evening 

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teaching. 
We need something so that we can

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help understand what the 
Scriptures do tell us about the 

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Trinity. 
It's woven here into this 

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understanding of this passage. 
And we can't. 

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We're going to have to do what 
we always do, just say, well, 

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OK, it's out there. 
But it's given to us to 

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understand, at least to embrace.
And so I'm encouraging you to 

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encourage us to pursue the 
doctrine of the Trinity here 

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within this church because we 
have to. 

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It's biblical. 
It is the way our Lord has 

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revealed himself to us. 
No one has ever seen the God 

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that's true. 
But God, the only Son who's at 

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the Father's side, he has made 
him known. 

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Now the the very end of that 
sentence, you've got preposition

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or pronouns that toss themselves
out here. 

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What are we saying? 
That he, the Son of God, has 

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made him the Father known. 
The Son has made the Father 

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known. 
Listen to what we're 

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articulating here, that one of 
the benefits, one of the 

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blessings, the the gifts of 
Emmanuel, God being with us, is 

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that he reveals to us God the 
Father, God the Son. 

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Being present here reveals to us
God the Father. 

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Now the problem the, the, the 
reality is that for many of us, 

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we don't recognize what a 
marvelous action on God's part 

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that really is, because we tend 
to think that getting to know 

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God is similar to getting to 
know each other. 

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OK, We have all these 
connections. 

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We have all these connecting 
spots. 

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We're a part of the Hebron 
church. 

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We're all connected by living 
close to Pittsburgh. 

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I can understand most of your 
jobs. 

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You can understand most of my 
job. 

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We can kind of talk. 
We, I see your family, you see 

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my family. 
There's all these connecting 

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spots. 
And so it's easy for us to make 

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these relation, to build a 
relationship together. 

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And for many of us, we tend to 
think that God is just somebody 

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else like that, that it's easy 
for us to make a relationship 

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with God. 
All we do is have to build on 

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all of the connecting spots, 
completely forgetting that we 

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hold so much more in common with
the people from CAR than we ever

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possibly do with God himself. 
Imagine what we're talking 

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about. 
We are talking about a creature,

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somebody who is created, 
somebody who is finite and very 

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definition thinking that it's 
easy to develop a relationship 

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with somebody who is infinite, 
somebody who is eternal, 

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somebody who is all knowing and 
all-encompassing, somebody who 

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is the creator. 
We should be astounded at the 

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arrogance that we have to think 
that we can easily build a 

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relationship with a being like 
that if it were not for the 

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doctrine of divine accommodation
where God Himself accommodates 

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Himself to our weakness, to our 
limitations, to our brokenness, 

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By what? 
Emmanuel coming and dwelling 

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here on earth with His people 
because He has done so. 

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Now we've talked before about 
the purpose of the incarnation. 

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The purpose of the incarnation 
is the ultimately leads to the 

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cross of Jesus Christ. 
It's wonderful that we were 

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brought to this passage of 
Scripture by the song we just 

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sang because it touches on the 
whole incarnation and it leads 

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us to the cross of Jesus Christ,
the salvation of our souls. 

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Absolutely the center core 
purpose of the incarnation. 

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But you can't deny the side 
benefits of the incarnation. 

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And one of them here is this 
beautiful picture that God 

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reveals himself. 
He accommodates himself to our 

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lowliness by coming to us, 
dwelling with us, and then what?

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Making him known, making God 
known to us. 

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There's the idea that in every 
human being there's a yearning 

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for God. 
Now, I know some people would 

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deny this, but it's an 
anthropologically proven, 

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demonstratable evidence. 
And of course, biblically and 

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theologically we see that to be 
true. 

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Every person in some format or 
another yearns for God. 

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John Calvin, the theologian 
called it the sense of 

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divinitatus, That is, the sense 
of the divine that built into 

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every person. 
There's a sense a yearning for 

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God. 
Saint Augustine talked about a 

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hole in our hearts, a God shaped
vacuum in every human being that

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can only be filled properly 
spoken by God. 

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And yet that God shaped toll in 
every heart is yearning to be 

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filled with something. 
And everybody reaches out for 

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something. 
Even the atheist ultimately, I 

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believe has a yearning for God, 
although they might deny God's 

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existence. 
All of us have this yearning for

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the Lord, and here we see in the
midst of the redemptive history,

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the story that brings us 
salvation, the incarnation of 

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Jesus Christ. 
We have that wonderful 

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accommodation of God to fill 
that very void. 

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The idea of our salvation is 
built a course upon the cross of

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Jesus Christ and his sacrifice 
for our sin. 

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All that is true, but it is not 
a doctrine that we are supposed 

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to not know. 
It is an experience that we are 

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supposed to walk in each of our 
lives. 

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And that's only possible when we
know the one who has sent it, 

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when we know God himself. 
And so the beauty of this text 

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tells us that the coming of 
Jesus Christ, one of the great 

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gifts of his presence dwelling 
with us is that we actually get 

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to see God himself. 
We do get to see God himself. 

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The the great challenge here, 
the opening of this verse. 

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No one has ever seen God realize
that no one has ever seen God. 

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But the Son has revealed the 
Father to each and every one of 

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us. 
Now that revelation comes, I 

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think with three understandings,
3 aspects to it. 

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One, its fullness. 
Two, it's continual in nature. 

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And three, it's uniqueness, it's
fullness, the fullness. 

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This is what the passage that 
Jerry read for us, that he 

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commented on and that Sue 
commented on the peace of God 

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that is built into there. 
I'm interested in the part where

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Phillip says to Jesus, he says 
Jesus says something that's very

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pious and and that frankly, I 
would expect Jesus would Philip 

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probably said it with the 
expectation that Philip would 

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pat him on the back and say, oh,
very good job. 

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But that's not what he does. 
Philip says to him, Jesus, just 

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show us the father and that's 
enough for us. 

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You know, this is one of these 
hyper spiritual religious guys. 

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Look at how wonderful I am. 
Just show us the father Jesus, 

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and that's good enough for us. 
And I suspect he kind of 

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expected to be applauded by by 
by Jesus wife Philip. 

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That's a great question. 
That's a great desire. 

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That's the yearning. 
That's that that God shaped 

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vacuum within your heart. 
Yes, you want to see Jesus, but 

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that's not how Jesus responds, 
is it? 

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Look at how Jesus responds in 
chapter 14 verses 910. 

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When whoever has seen me has 
seen the Father. 

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How can you say show us the 
father? 

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Do you not believe that I am in 
the Father and the Father is in 

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me? 
The fullness of seeing God is 

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found in Jesus Christ. 
The fullness of seeing God is 

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found in Jesus Christ, and it's 
what is what is seen. 

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If you want to see the love of 
Jesus Christ, sorry. 

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If you want to see the love of 
God, look to Jesus Christ. 

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If you want to see the wrath of 
God, look to Jesus Christ. 

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If you want to see the 
righteousness of God, look to 

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Jesus Christ. 
If you want to see the mercy of 

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God, If you want to see the 
goodness of God, the compassion 

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of God, the peace of God, the 
comfort of our God, if you want 

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to see our God, look to Jesus 
Christ. 

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The fullness, everything that is
there is seen in the fullness of

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Jesus Christ. 
That's what Jesus is 

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articulating. 
That's what John is saying here 

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at the end, that he has revealed
him to us so that we can see not

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a little bit of Jesus, not a 
little bit of God, not the parts

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that we want to see, not things 
that we need to supplement. 

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And that is the damning danger 
that confronts every one of us. 

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The damning danger is simply 
this that will say, yeah, Jesus 

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is good at showing me some parts
about God, but I need something 

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more. 
I need something else. 

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I need something clearer. 
I need something that scratches 

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my itch. 
I need something that satisfies 

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me. 
And over and over again the 

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00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:24,880
scripture says the only thing 
that you need is Jesus Christ. 

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00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:30,280
The danger of saying Jesus plus 
Jesus and something else is 

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completely debunked by this. 
Where Peter where, where Philip 

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00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:38,520
is addressed and Philip says we 
just want to see the Father and 

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00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:44,120
Jesus says look at me. 
That is the only response that 

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00:17:44,120 --> 00:17:46,360
each and every one of us can 
possibly have. 

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00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:52,880
Look to Jesus Christ. 
Now that's great for Philip, 

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that's great for the disciples. 
They had Jesus Christ. 

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00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:02,120
They had Christ before them. 
What about us? 

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What about us 2000 years later? 
And the great scriptural witness

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00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:14,120
is that that revelatory work of 
Jesus Christ where He reveals to

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00:18:14,120 --> 00:18:18,040
us God the Father is ongoing 
today. 

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00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:23,520
It still goes on even today, the
ongoing work of the continual 

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00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:25,440
work of the revelation of our 
God. 

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00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:28,200
Look at John 14 verses 16 
through 17. 

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00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:33,720
Jesus says, and I will ask the 
Father, and he will give you 

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00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:38,160
another helper who will be with 
you forever, even the spirit of 

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00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:41,520
truth, whom the world cannot 
receive because it neither sees 

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00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:44,200
him nor knows him. 
But you know him, for he dwells 

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00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:49,120
in you, and he will be with you.
The revelation of God for 

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00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:52,280
Jesus's disciples has not 
stopped. 

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It's an ongoing work. 
It's a continual thing that 

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happens for each and every one 
of us today. 

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And it happens why and how 
through the Word of God. 

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00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:05,680
And so we have the Spirit of God
speaking through the Word of God

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00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:10,400
amidst the people of God. 
That shows us the Son of God, 

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whereby we can see the character
of our God. 

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00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:17,280
Wow, that was really good. 
Let's see if we can do that 

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00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:19,440
again. 
How did I start it? 

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The Spirit of God using the Word
of God amidst the people of God,

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00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:32,520
revealing the Son of God so that
we might see the character of 

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00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:35,240
God. 
Wow, that's really good. 

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00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:38,040
I got to try to remember that in
the next next time. 

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00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:43,480
The continual work of the Holy 
Spirit in each of our lives is 

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00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:46,720
something that is available and 
open to each and every believer.

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00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:50,960
Every follower of the Lord is 
blessed with the Holy Spirit. 

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00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:54,440
Whose intent? 
What is the Spirit sent to do? 

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00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:59,760
This is in John 14 and John 16. 
The Holy Spirit is to tell us 

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00:19:59,960 --> 00:20:04,560
and to show us Jesus Christ and 
one of the great blessings of 

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00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:08,600
the presence of Jesus Christ. 
Is to reveal to us the 

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00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:13,480
character, the purpose, the love
of God, the Father for each and 

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00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:18,640
every one of us, the fullness of
God, the continual revelation of

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00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:23,640
God, and finally the unique 
revelation of God, the unique 

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showing of who we are in Jesus 
Christ. 

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00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:32,000
Look at John chapter 10. 
I am the Father, are one, Jesus 

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00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:36,080
says, so that you may know and 
understand that the Father is in

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me and that I am in the Father. 
The reality is, is there's that 

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00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:46,760
great hole that exists in every 
believer, in every created human

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00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:52,320
being, that great vacuum that 
can only be filled by God, can 

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00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:59,800
only be filled by Jesus Christ. 
The exclusive nature of our 

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00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:06,080
coming to know God is bound up 
in Jesus Christ and in him 

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00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:09,560
alone. 
People don't like hearing that. 

353
00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:15,520
People don't like being 
confronted with an exclusive 

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00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:18,000
option like that, an exclusive 
choice. 

355
00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:22,520
And yet the reality of the 
Scriptures are that we find 

356
00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:25,720
Jesus Christ not by taking a 
little bit of this and a little 

357
00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:28,800
bit of this idea and a little 
bit of this and a little, but we

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00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:32,720
find Jesus Christ. 
We find God the Father in Jesus 

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00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:39,920
Christ and in Him alone. 
So what? 

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00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:49,280
So I know in a group this size 
that there are people who do not

361
00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:53,840
know the Lord, who are not 
following Jesus Christ. 

362
00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:58,400
There is but one way to know 
God. 

363
00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:01,040
There is but one way to 
salvation. 

364
00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:04,920
There is but one way truth in 
the life, and that is in Jesus 

365
00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:09,240
Christ and in Him alone. 
And if you are outside of the 

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00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:12,920
faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
then there is a straightforward 

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00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:15,800
step for you to take at this 
point, and that is to bow your 

368
00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:19,160
head and to say Jesus Christ. 
Reveal the Father to me. 

369
00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:21,600
I know that I am desperately in 
need of Him. 

370
00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:27,880
Show Him to me. 
That's what it means if you are 

371
00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:31,800
separated from Jesus Christ, to 
hear this word, to hear the fact

372
00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:34,960
that Jesus has revealed the 
Father to us. 

373
00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:41,000
There is but one option for 
those who do not know Him, and 

374
00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:45,320
that is to turn to Him. 
Dear Lord, I do know that there 

375
00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:49,800
are people here that are present
that do not know you at this 

376
00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:53,840
time. 
Please call them to yourself. 

377
00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:59,440
Speak powerfully to them, open 
your, open them up to your way 

378
00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:00,680
and your love. 
We pray. 

379
00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:07,400
But what about all of those who 
do know Jesus Christ And they 

380
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:12,480
come here to this place. 
And we have a reality that there

381
00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:16,040
are so many folks that go 
through the ritual of coming to 

382
00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:20,920
church that have lost that 
fervor, that have lost the 

383
00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:24,200
passion. 
They, they remember what it was 

384
00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:28,280
like last week or last month or 
last year or last decade. 

385
00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:31,040
They remember their passion. 
They know what it's like to 

386
00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:33,560
follow Jesus Christ. 
And it has fallen off for them. 

387
00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:36,080
Now they come here because it's 
something they're supposed to 

388
00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:37,680
do. 
It's a club in which they belong

389
00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:41,440
to. 
There is but one response and 

390
00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:45,400
that is to look to Jesus Christ.
It is through him that you will 

391
00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:49,080
experience the, the, the fervor,
the passion that you're yearning

392
00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:51,080
for. 
That doesn't come by ramping 

393
00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:53,600
yourself up. 
That doesn't come by doing more 

394
00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:55,800
things. 
That comes by looking at Jesus 

395
00:23:55,800 --> 00:24:00,240
Christ because by looking at 
Him, we see God. 

396
00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:04,760
There is but one option for you 
and that's the look to Jesus 

397
00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:06,800
Christ. 
Dear Lord, and fought in heaven.

398
00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:11,120
We know that there are so many 
of us here that are yearning 

399
00:24:11,120 --> 00:24:15,160
again to see you more clearly, 
to know you more faithfully. 

400
00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:19,120
And we know that that only comes
through the love and care of 

401
00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:22,240
Jesus Christ. 
Reveal him to us more clearly 

402
00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:26,600
that we might see you and that 
we might again feel that passion

403
00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:29,000
and that fervor of following 
after you. 

404
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:34,440
And there are many of us that 
experience that passion and know

405
00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:37,480
that fervor and know what it 
means to follow the Lord. 

406
00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:42,920
What does it say to us? 
Never ever, ever stop looking at

407
00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:47,120
Christ. 
Christ is where your life is. 

408
00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:51,320
Christ is where you're, you're 
where the revelation of God is. 

409
00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:55,120
Never cease looking at Jesus 
Christ. 

410
00:24:56,040 --> 00:24:59,360
Great God in heaven, we pray 
that you would indeed work 

411
00:24:59,360 --> 00:25:04,000
powerfully in our hearts to 
reveal to us yourself through 

412
00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:07,200
Jesus Christ our Lord and 
Savior, who taught us to pray 

413
00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:11,720
together, saying, Our Father who
art in heaven, hallowed be thy 

414
00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:16,880
name, thy Kingdom come, Thy will
be done on earth as it is in 

415
00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:19,520
heaven. 
Give us this day Our Daily 

416
00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:24,720
Bread, and forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors and 

417
00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:29,120
lead us not in temptation, but 
deliver us from evil, for thine 

418
00:25:29,120 --> 00:25:32,840
is the Kingdom and the power and
the glory forever. 

419
00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:33,520
Amen.
