The Word Became Flesh

Youtube Link - John 1:1-14 The Word Became Flesh

The following transcript is a direct copy from the Youtube automatic transcript. It may not be 100% accurate but it is being provided until we can produce a better and more accurate transcript of the sermon.

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good morning how are you today there we go now I'm hot it's good to see all of

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you open your Bibles with me if you would to John chapter one so this is an

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interesting text how many of you are familiar with John chapter one yeah this

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is an amazing text you know I was talking to Curtis earlier and we both

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agreed that some sometimes in life and in general just God allowing us to be part of the church and then you know

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having to teach or preach his word sometimes we just don't feel worthy to the task and John chapter 1 is one of

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those places where at least I don't feel worthy because again we get to see

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things about Jesus here that it's hard for us to even fathom you know the

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pre-existence son a son of God we'll learn about in this chapter the Gospel

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of John is an amazing book though it's quite different than the other four Gospels isn't it alright are you guys

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familiar with the other for the other three Gospels I mean it's it is quite different than the other three the other

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three kind of lay out the history of of Jesus and his earthly ministry and they go through a lot of those details this

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thing is not wanting to stay on my ear but John doesn't do that John starts

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with Jesus as the pre-existent son of God and then it only deals with a very

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short few number of events in Jesus's life and then mainly focuses on the last

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week of Jesus's life before he went to the cross it's just an amazing book in

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and it isolates in on Jesus being God so

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think about that as we look through this it's one of the clearest statements in the whole Bible John chapter one that

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Jesus is definitively God that's a question that a lot of the world

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today isn't it is Jesus really got you know even even the even the Pharisees

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and others in the Bible questioned him as to whether he was calling himself God many times and in fact they ended up

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crucifying him for the very fact that he said he was God they understood him to be the great I am

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from the scripture and they were ready to kill him immediately and eventually put him on a cross yeah this statement

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here is amazing and we'll go through the text one of my one of my favorite Bible

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teachers who who went to be with the Lord a couple years ago back in 2018 chuck Missler I guess familiar with him

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some people know who he is some some don't but he is to make this statement all the time and and this is the way you

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should look at the Bible I really think this is a great statement for the Bible the Bible is an integrated message

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system from outside our time domain and this this passage right here

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will really help us see that the Bible from cover to cover is an integrated

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message system you realize that right we may have 66 individual books divided

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up into from the old in the New Testament but it all tells one complete

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narrative of redemption doesn't it from cover to cover every part of it speaks

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to Jesus in the work that he's doing in Redemption with us it's an amazing it's

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an amazing book and again I don't know why I can't keep this thing on but it's

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an amazing book and it has it has this effect of when you study the Old Testament you start to you start to see

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passages in the New Testament in a different light when you study the Old Testament you start to understand things

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that the New Testament says about the Old Testament it's like the new is built right on top of the old and there's

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purpose and all of it I don't know why this thing won't stay on sorry yeah let

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me try that I just moved the cord out of my jacket a little alright let's open with the word of Prayer and then let's

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get into this text I won't quit rambling

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Heavenly Father you are the great god of heaven the Great Creator God as we'll

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see in this text here you are the God who has not only given us salvation and

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provided that through your son Jesus through his blood freeing us from sin

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reconciling us with you and giving us peace with God the Father you've

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inspired the writers of the word of God to pen a 66 volume book a 66 book

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compendium we call it the Bible we call it Holy Scripture it's an amazing thing

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we have in our hands father don't allow us to take it for granted most of the

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world throughout most of history have not had this book all of it compiled and completed that they could just carry

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around in their hand or have on a computer or a or a cell phone it's an

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amazing privilege we've been offered and yet if we're honest about the society we

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live in God and you see it we may have one of the most biblically uneducated

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societies in all of history father help us allow us just preach preacher word to

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speak it forth to read it when we get up to read it before we go to bed to ponder

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it and think about it and understand the words and got to live lives that are

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holy because you've called us to holiness father you're wonderful thank

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you for each one you've sent today god bless this time and speak forth through your word we pray in the name of Jesus

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amen all right John chapter one so this

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is I am gonna preach just straight through verses 1 through 14 we're gonna

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read it together first then I'm gonna go back and preach just the individual

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verse sets here so the outlines going to be really simple to follow it it really is just a verse

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or verses all together as we go through so and I think they'll have it up on the

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board you'll see it as we go let's read verses 1 through 14 in the beginning was

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the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God he was in the beginning

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with God all things were made through him and without him nothing was made that was made

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in him was life and the life was the light of men and the light shines in the

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darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it there was a man sent from God whose name was John this man came

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for a witness to bear witness of the light that all through him might believe he was not that light but was sent to

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bear witness of that light that was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world he was in the

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world and the world was made through him and the world did not know him he came

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to his own and his own did not receive him but as many as received him to them

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he gave the right to become children of God to those who believed in his name

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who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man

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but of God and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the

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glory as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth and if

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you want to see if you say well we didn't see anything in there about Jesus

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because again I'm gonna speak all about Jesus now look down in verse 17 for the

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law was given through Moses but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ the

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word being spoken of here is Jesus so as long as we understand that we can

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understand what this passage is saying what it's trying to tell us and what

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it's trying to make us understand the very first point of the sermon here is verses 1 & 2 Jesus is the pre-existent

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God now what do I mean by that well look at

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the text when we read the first few words of this opening verse one text

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what does it say in the beginning now when you hear in the beginning which

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book of the Bible would you think to turn to Genesis 1:1 right we would

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immediately so let's let's do that just for a second I mean we're we're gonna come back to

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this in a minute as we get lower in the passage but this this linkage is

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important when you read that phrase in the beginning was the word the idea that

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the Holy Spirit through the Apostle John when he was writing this is for you to immediately think of the creation

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account and in the in the creation account just first one let's just read it in the beginning this is Genesis 1:1

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in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and that's the exact

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imagery you're supposed to have when you hear in the beginning was the word now

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equate in your mind and we're gonna discuss what that the word means or word

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means but equate in your mind anywhere where you see word here Jesus enters

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your mind Jesus is the word of God that

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should already have your mind racing or at least maybe some of the studies

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you've done or some of the things you've thought about but all the times you've heard the Word of God or thus says the

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Lord and the Old Testament that should all start hammering into your head in

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the beginning was the word hmm what is this word what is the word

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have you guys heard you know what the Greek word is here underlying the word

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or word it's the word lagos you've probably heard of logos bible software

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or log Bible Software well they're using that because of this word here it's the word

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Lagos so let me tell you a little bit about what that is and it's it's

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interesting this has a very deep historical understanding okay so in

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Greek philosophy this word describes a universal divine mind a divine reason

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and creative order but in Greek philosophy this mind is impersonal and

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to most philosophers unknowable so this is an impersonal unknowable mind Great

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Creator mind some of you might start thinking about a philosophy that's kind

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of popular today it isn't necessarily biblical but it you know it may start to

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take you down the path towards the God of the Bible but we call it intelligent design if you've heard of people talk

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about intelligent design that's a really popular buzzword today well the Greeks had a similar conception that there's

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definitely a first cause there is there's a divinity of some sort but

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again a lot of them aren't willing to admit that he's knowable that he's personal he's maybe not a God for

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everybody but there's definitely some creative force well this is the philosophical understanding of this word

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log-off's from a greek mind the interesting thing

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about this passage and what we're what we see is in what we've read already is the Holy Spirit takes this word Lagos

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and connects it immediately to the creator of the world from the scripture

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from John or from Genesis chapter 1 and it can and the Holy Spirit is connecting

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this word back to that creation event so we connect the Lagos the word to

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creation now let me ask you how many things were actually created during

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creation if you can you can remember the passage what what

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did God actually create in that first chapter that we didn't read of Genesis

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everything in the physical world right and I don't just mean physical world the earth I mean physical world the universe

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the entire universe God created the heavens and the earth the whole physical

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universe was created there so the

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greatness of Jesus ought to be starting to enter to your mind if you if you don't think of Jesus as being the

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Creator God will just wait this passage is going to hammer that home the first

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idea though that you get is this this divinity this divine mind the the

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origins of everything the first cause the creative force whatever you want to

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call it man this is annoying the first

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cause the creative force is Jesus the Word of God okay the other thing here

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and I've already said this but think about this too is the world often views God how many didn't think about how many

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times you've heard people say this as impersonal unknowable sure I believe

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there's a god I believe that I mean the creation tells me there's a God no one

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can create a tree but God no one can create the human body but God no one

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could have created the vastness of the heavens but God however I can't know him

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how many times have you heard somebody say that I mean you only even hear a

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person that calls themselves an agnostic they won't say that they're they don't

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believe in God what they'll say is is I can't be sure I don't know for sure that

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God is there I don't know that he's real yeah it seems to me that something created all of this but I can't know him

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the Bible doesn't leave us there does it John chapter one doesn't allow us to

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move there we see that God the Creator God is

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knowable he is personal and he's found

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in the person of Jesus does it shock anyone to hear that does it shock anyone

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to hear that Jesus is the Creator God

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it just depends on the line of theology you come out of again there are a lot of

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different takes on this if you hear different calls or different philosophical arguments on God or but

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the Bible makes this absolutely clear in John chapter one just hammers this home

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and locks the word or Jesus into the role of the Creator that should

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fascinate you if nothing else let me give you a couple more historical references here so there was a man named

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Herrick Cletus he's from 560 BC roughly the 500 BC timeframe will say he was he

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lived in Ephesus how many of you have heard of Ephesus there's a book in the Bible called Ephesus right or called

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Ephesians people in Ephesus well he this was this was before the New Testament

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this is way back you know around the time of Daniel as a matter of fact but anyway this guy's is a Greek guy from

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Ephesus he said he used this word this word lagos he used it in this way he

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said he said this was a fixed principle in a world of change a fixed principle

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in a world of change meaning that yes there's something there that's fixed and said there there's definitely a creator

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of sorts but again he didn't attribute this to the God of the Bible and in fact

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he may not have even known the Hebrew Bible I don't know there was no New Testament at that time but then the

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Stoics came along a little bit later and they used this world word at the word Lagos as the power that controlled and

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ordered the world so they could see that there is definitely power

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their creative power and there's an order to the world and to creation

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there's there's an actual order okay well as we move through history a little

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bit further there was a man named Philo have you ever heard of Philo he's a Jewish historian who lived in Alexandria

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Egypt okay about the first century BC roughly okay he said this he he used

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this connect this word in connection with Yahweh of the Old Testament the the

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Yahweh or Jehovah whichever way you want to pronounce God's name there people

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choose a different way of pronouncing it he used this word in connection with him

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as far as I know it's the it's the first time that it started to be happen as far

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as written works go as far as I could tell that's the first place that this was starting to be connected with the

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God of the Bible it's interesting I would imagine that you know if that's

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accurate if that is the first one that God was leading him that direction but

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then here in John John gets the opportunity through the Holy Spirit to

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connect this word to G to the Creator that we see in the book of Genesis at

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the beginning and the interesting thing that the Holy Spirit does here is he allows him to connect this in such a way

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with all of that Greek tradition already there all of Greek philosophy talking

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about the lagos this divine force this creative force but also Jewish thought Philo and others were starting to think

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this way that the creator of the world was this Lagos the Word of God not only

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that the Old Testament says the Word of God over and over and over but John gets

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the opportunity through the Holy Spirit to write this down and connect that word Lagos for the Greek mind and the Hebrew

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mind and pull it all into one and tie it right to Jesus that's amazing think

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about what God has done throughout history I'll give you another little tidbit that I told you that guy Heraclitus was from

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Ephesus well it is thought and again this isn't known for sure but in church

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history records IRA næss who is a was a was a disciple of Polycarp who was a

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direct disciple of John okay the guy who wrote this book so John's disciples

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Polycarp IRA næss was polycarp's disciple i Renea said in his writings

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that john wrote this book from ephesus so not only does God allow John to

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connect the Greek and Hebrew understanding in the mind to Jesus he does it from the very same place that

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the Greek seemingly started to think about the lagos as the divine creative

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force that's incredible to me this is over a period of over 600 years just

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based on the number I was giving you it's not incredible how God's hand moves

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across history and he'll even do things and times and places that relate to one another even though they're separated by

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a great gulf of time it's interesting to me well let's keep going in here because

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I don't want to spend all day on Lagos I think that's enough the next part of this says right in these same verses it

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says the Word was with God now I want

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you to think about that who's the word again Jesus so the Word

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was with God well what does it mean when was he with God in the beginning the

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passage already told us so Jesus in case you're struggling with Jesus the little

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baby born in Bethlehem you know around the turn of wind when we go from BC to

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AD in case you're struggling with that little baby being at the creation event

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that's what this book is trying to do for you here it's trying to make sure you understand that Jesus born as a

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little baby yeah that's when he incarnated it or became flesh and dwelt among us that's another part of the

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passage that was then but he already existed he was there the

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Word of God was with God before the foundations of the world were created

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now let me give you a little lesson on something to that I don't think is

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plainly obvious to us from the Bible in fact I've wrestled myself with this idea it's it's just a difficult concept and

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again none of us have or most of us some of you might I don't have a brain like

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Albert Einstein or these guys so Albert Einstein he kind of revealed through

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some of his math and some of his understanding of that math that time is a property of the human existence or

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human creation time is a property of that and you've hurt you hurt here in

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sci-fi all the time about time and space and people talking about maybe going into the future or back and how time and

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space are kind of intertwined together well well this whole idea of time being a property it is it's a it's a physical

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property of our existence the created order the created universe and you're

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like well why does that matter who cares because here's here's the connection to

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this the Word was with God in the beginning before time was created as

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part of our universe in our existence Jesus was already there so by definition

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and this is what this is why we took this much time to talk about this Jesus

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is eternal you see what I'm saying if

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you don't have time remember God is not subjected to time time is a created

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thing created as part of our universe our physical creation that God made time

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is a part of that so anyone outside of that or before that is eternal Jesus is

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eternal the eternal God and that's what I mean that isn't obvious from the text

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is it we often make those connections we don't sit a lot of time you and I probably

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around doing equations and formulas to try to you know assert a certain result

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we don't do that most of the time most of us so we don't understand that if you

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take time away if time isn't even there it isn't created yet and and whatever it

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is whoever it is in this case isn't subjected to time they by very

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definition are eternal so if you want to know why people say God is eternal this

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is why he exists before time has ever created time is a created property Jesus

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is eternal that to me that's amazing and

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wonderful scary to some extent because again I can't wrap my mind around it

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I don't understand what eternity is I don't understand how to relate to it we

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have been subjected to the linear nature of time starting at a place and going to

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another place you know B follows a C follows B you know a linear one two

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three I don't know how to deal in my human mind with eternity all I can tell

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you is that the facts are time is a created property and Jesus was not

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subjected to it that oughta that ought to also help as we move to the next

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thing the next part of this is the word was God

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is there any more plain statement in all the Bible to show you and to help you

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and I understand that Jesus is God why do so many people wrestle with the

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fact that Jesus is God when this says it plainly there's nothing ambiguous about

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that statement is there the word was God

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Jesus is God let me show you in the scripture here so in another spot John

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tells us why he writes the Gospel of John are you guys familiar with this John chapter 20 John chapter 20 starting

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in verse 30 he says this he says and truly Jesus did many other signs in the

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presence of his disciples which are not written in this book but these are written that you may believe that Jesus

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is the Christ the Son of God and that

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believing you may have life in his name John tells us exactly why the book of

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John was written and it was for this purpose that you and I might believe

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that Jesus is the Christ the word Christ in the New Testament that we see that's a Greek word Christos that means Messiah

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so when you see in the Old Testament this word Messiah the word Christ means

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Messiah so when we say Jesus Christ like it's a first and last name that's not

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really accurate how you should say that you should say Jesus the Christ Jesus

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the Messiah he is the Anointed One the savior of the world the one who is to

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come this anointed he was unnamed in the Old Testament so they referred to him all

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the time as the Anointed One that's Jesus and John wrote this book through

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the obviously the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that we might believe that

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he is the Messiah that he is the son of God and by very nature being a son of

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God that makes you God okay now I know

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you and I order that in a special order but listen to listen to another passage

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here Colossians 2 it says that this is Colossians 2 starting in verse 6 as you

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have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk in him rooted and built up

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in him and established in the faith as you have been taught abounding in it with Thanksgiving beware

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lest anyone cheat you through philosophy an empty deceit according to the

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tradition of men according to the basic principles of the world and not according to Christ for in him dwells

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all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and you are complete in him

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who is the head of all principality and power Jesus is the fullness of the

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Godhead in the form now what that says

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is Jesus has all of the power Jesus has

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all of the authority Jesus has all of the Equality and will we'll get to the

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the next verse it has all of the equality with God but in bodily form he

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becomes a man doesn't he he doesn't he doesn't give up any of his divinity by doing that that's the next verse we're

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gonna read he doesn't give away his divinity by becoming a man in fact it

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just adds to it see God the Father have any of you ever seen God the Father you

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ever seen him and the Bible tells us no one at any time has ever seen God and

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what it means is God the Father you can't see God the Father he is an invisible spirit you and I have no

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ability to see him we don't see spirits do we I won't go there yeah

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yeah sometimes you get illustrations that just you probably just shouldn't use when you're preaching so I won't use

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that but you can't see God the Father can you see the holy spirit who indwells

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you just think very practically have you ever seen if you're a believer a real

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converted believer you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you have you ever seen him not with your eyes you

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can't see a spirit you cannot see spirit but Jesus now I know you and I have

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never seen Jesus but we take John at face value because has Johnson Jesus

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absolutely John walked for over three years with Jesus on earth Jesus in a

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physical body John walked with him he has absolutely seen him with his eyes

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you and I if Jesus came down and manifested in front of us could see Jesus because he is the fullness of the

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Godhead in bodily form and there's more to say about that but but I want you to

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hear that he is and that's Colossians you you've heard the reference there

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Jesus is also equal with God is what this means so if you think he's lesser

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let me read you a verse Philippians chapter 2 some of you probably knew this is where I was going to go Philippians 2

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is one of the most amazing passages in the Bible if you don't know it and understand what that passage says go

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read it write it down and spend a lot of time there listen to what this says let

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this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of

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God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no

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reputation taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men think how clear that is he he

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jesus did not think it robbery and that that word robbery is exactly what you'd

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expect it to mean it means going in and seizing something or stealing it taking it he didn't think it was

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it was something to be seized this equality with God it isn't something that he should just grasp on to and hold

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on to he willingly humbled himself you

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got to get that the passage says he didn't he didn't think that equality which he had he has I should say has he

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has equality with God the Father in every way power unity all of that he's

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equal with God the Father but he willingly humbles himself under the

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father and all throughout the New Testament we see him saying I do the will of my father that isn't because

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Jesus doesn't have the same divine power that the father has they're one in essence they're three in person you know

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this the Trinity the doctrine of the Trinity Jesus is equal with God in every way but

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he willingly humbles himself under God the Father for the mission that they

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have the purpose that they've come up with Redemption Jesus became willing

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that willing sacrifice not only just to pay for sin that's that's a major thing but also to be a pattern for all who

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would believe all who would follow he's a pattern for that but Jesus is God

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never forget that don't lessen Jesus in your mind to say God the Father is great

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but Jesus is lesser than no he's not lesser he does willingly submit himself

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to the will of the Father but he isn't lesser and in fact to you and I Jesus is

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the one who came and paid for sin we'll get to that he is God you've got to look

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at Jesus you when you see the Genesis the stuff back in Genesis and that's gonna drive us right into this next

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point let me show you a couple of features about that Genesis 1:1 text hold your place here but flip over to

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Genesis 1 chapter 1 and let's look at this again and I pulled my bookmark out

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sorry Genesis 1

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this says in English in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth

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now how many of you have studied this verse in Hebrew have any of you ever

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done the study in Hebrew on what this verse says okay if not let me give you a

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few pointers about what this says in the Hebrew the the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew that that's

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why this is important the original text of the Old Testament is Hebrew writing it's not English

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you guys probably knew that right yeah it's Hebrew all right in the beginning

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god this word God here there are several there are several words for God in the

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Old Testament we've talked about his name Yahweh or Jehovah the short form of

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that is yaa that's not what's in use here there's also the word el for God

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you're familiar with that right the word el that means God that's not used here either the word used here is Elohim

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Elohim and you might say okay so what well that I am ending at the end of a

38:47

Hebrew word anytime you hear a Hebrew word end and aim it means it's plural

38:54

does that fascinate you at all the word for God here in the actual Hebrew text

39:01

is plural however in the sentence structure it's used with a singular verb

39:11

the word itself is plural but it's used with a singular verb the word the verb

39:17

in Hebrew here for created is bara brace

39:23

sheep bara Elohim is what the Hebrew says that's that's actually what it says

39:28

great sheathe in the beginning but I created Elohim in the beginning God

39:34

created other languages by the way don't put word order the same as English just don't get confused by that but it's a

39:41

plural word with a singular verb because there is only one God but how does he

39:48

manifest him three persons and you got to know right

39:53

from the very creation account that word god I don't know why we do it the way we

39:59

do it in English I think I think mainly it's to keep the idea of multiple gods from being read here because if you said

40:07

gods in the plural people would get the idea okay there's a pantheon of gods or there's multiple there aren't multiple

40:13

gods there's one biblical God three persons but that word is plural

40:19

now flip go on down in the text I don't know if you have to turn the page like I do but go on down in the text read verse

40:25

26 look what it says then God said let us make man in our image according to

40:35

our likeness let them have dominion over the fish of the sea over the birds of the air and over the cattle over all the

40:42

earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth so how many people

40:47

are there how many people does it take to make in us more than one yeah you see

40:57

that the plurality is right in the text you and I don't have to guess about this stuff it's right there even in the

41:05

English translated plural there is a plurality with persons in the Godhead

41:12

creating okay I didn't know if you knew that or not but Jesus is right there in

41:20

the creation and in fact as we move on you're gonna see he is the very agent of

41:26

God doing the creating yeah exactly our

41:32

image that's what I mean us our it's plural plurality in the Godhead not that

41:38

there's multiple gods but God is three in person and they're all they're

41:44

creating but Jesus is the agent of creation let's keep going that's the

41:50

very next part you see how I can't make this stuff up guys my outline literally

41:56

is just the verses and that what I just explained to you rolls right in

42:02

to the verse 3 look what it says all things were made through him and without

42:08

him nothing was made that was made you see how easy it is for a preacher to do

42:14

this I mean this is the word of God preaches itself you just have to have a

42:21

willing dummy to stand up here and actually say it I don't need to make

42:26

neat philosophies or entertain you all I got to do is get up here and show you what the Word of God says that's what

42:35

expository preaching is anyway it isn't coming up here in rodney going oh let me

42:40

show you this great creative way that i parse the Word of God or I you know have my own ideas of new stuff new fancy no

42:48

expository preaching is just coming up here and telling you what this means and to the extent that I do that well you

42:56

ought to pay attention because it's not my word you're not sitting under Rodney

43:01

as some great instructor I'm not a great instructor you know that I mean listen

43:08

to how much problem I've had with this microphone and just how slow I get started into the sermon in the first

43:15

place this isn't about the person I'm not a great instructor but God's Word is

43:24

powerful and he will speak to you through it if you'll let him if you

43:29

harden your heart it's not gonna work but if you'll soften your heart and

43:35

listen to the Word of God he will transform your life okay all things were

43:42

made through him and without him nothing was made that was made this is exactly what I just told you

43:47

Jesus is the one doing the creating there isn't anything that's being made

43:54

by God that Jesus is not involved with he is the one doing this that changes

44:03

things a little with Jesus doesn't it he's no longer just a baby in the manger this is the great god of heaven the

44:11

creator god when when the disciples were his presence I realized he was masking

44:19

or he had laid aside his glory according to Philippians chapter 2 he had kind of set it off but Jesus is the Great God of

44:28

heaven can you imagine what it would have been like to be in his presence and

44:33

I know he wasn't in all of his godly and heavenly glory but still he spoke like

44:39

no one ever spoke he taught the Word of God like no one that ever spoke or taught the Word of God ever he taught it

44:46

as one having the authority when he spoke he spoke with the authority of the one who wrote it the one who created

44:53

everything in existence you and I can't speak that way and as much as the Pope

44:59

wants to think he can in the Catholic Church he can't speak that way either

45:05

Jesus is the Creator God and when he speaks he speaks with the authority of

45:11

God because He is God listen to this

45:17

this is a Psalm 33 I was really hoping Mike was reading that this morning he

45:23

was close he got to 24 he just missed the turn no I'm estimating but Psalm 33 verse 6

45:29

by the word of the Lord and again that's the capital Lord I told you about in a previous sermon that is the name of God

45:37

by the word of Yahweh we should say the heavens were made and all the host of

45:44

them by the breath of his mouth everything you see the vastness of the

45:49

great heavens that's all a creation of Jesus that's all a creation of God

45:58

spectacular isn't it I hope you're feeling the reverence for Jesus and

46:05

again it makes me wonder I understand we love the the Bible stories about the

46:10

baby in the manger and the yeah I know we love that because again it really does talk about God coming down and

46:17

humble him so I get that but I wonder why we aren't spending more time

46:23

elevating Jesus as God why aren't we recognizing that Jesus

46:30

is God and we are to be humble servants of God Jesus did all this work very

46:37

humbly I get that but he is the Creator God and he deserves every bit of respect

46:45

and honor and faithful worship that you can give him because of who he is all

46:53

right let's keep going verse four again this thing writes itself in him was life

47:00

and the life was the light of men so since He is God since he is the

47:07

Creator God since he is the eternal God he's also the one think about this this

47:14

is what it says he is the one who gives life this is twofold for us you know

47:25

that God created you yes now he didn't form you and I from the clay of the

47:31

ground like he did Adam I get that but he did form us in our mother's womb if

47:36

you are here breathing you're a living being God created you Jesus created you

47:44

you are a created being by the hand of Jesus and the breath of life that we

47:50

watch him breathed into Adam in that early part of Genesis he gave us that

47:56

life if you're breathing you have that life because of Jesus because of the

48:01

Creator God now I'm not a racing racing God the Father or the Holy Spirit's part

48:07

in this please don't misunderstand I want you to be sure you understand that the text is saying the word did these

48:16

things Jesus is not apart from any of that he is the very Creator God and He

48:23

gives us life he not only gives us physical life but if you are a believer born-again he gives you spiritual life

48:30

and we're gonna see that as we go go on down but he is eternal he's the Creator

48:39

he has life within himself any of you remember

48:44

when he said that he had the power to lay down his life and to take it up again you know why he has the power to

48:50

do that because he's the life giver the human body that he put on that flesh he

48:57

had the power to lay that down when he was on the cross and he also three days later had the power to raise that life

49:04

back up again because he is the life Giver okay and every one of us who have life

49:11

have it because of him all right let's keep going now this next verse says and the light

49:18

shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it I've heard many

49:24

sermons on John chapter one and a lot of times the preacher and and and I think

49:30

in all in all you know good will and and I think I think they mean well when they do this they take this and they make the

49:38

light talked about in this like in this battle with the darkness in the verse

49:44

and and they you you see the word that's comprehend here in the English text I'm reading in in some of them you you have

49:51

a word that's that says overcome it's almost like there's this battle and that

49:57

darkness can't overcome the light okay I get that illustration and you and I get

50:04

that illustration when we turn a light on in a dark room what happens does the

50:09

darkness win or does the light win the light wins okay so I I get why they want to do that

50:15

illustration and that illustration in the Bible is in here but it usually is

50:20

that particular thought the reason or the thing that we most naturally

50:26

understand about that is is that good overcomes evil and when you use light in

50:32

the context of good versus evil that illustration makes perfect sense okay

50:38

but here I want you to think about this a little bit differently and not because again not because I'm trying to give you

50:44

my philosophy the New Testaments written in Greek and the word here that's that's

50:50

underlying this word comprehend is a Greek word it's it Scott Elam Bono

50:57

and I know that's meaningless to us but but that is what the word is in Greek and what it really means is to lay hold

51:05

of or to seize you can almost think of like a lion pouncing on a prey and

51:12

grabbing it and keeping it that idea it's to lay hold of it has two primary

51:21

usages in the Bible and so let me show you that it actually appears this this

51:27

specific word appears 14 times in the New Testament I actually want to read

51:33

all of them to you and you're like huh but pay attention there's a reason for it listen mark 918 says and wherever it

51:43

seizes him it throws him down okay I'm just gonna read the very short so you get the idea this is talking about a

51:49

demon coming on a person wherever it seizes him it throws him down so you get

51:55

the idea here of the demon possession seizing the person okay you get that

52:00

concept John 1:5 right here and the light shines in the darkness and the

52:05

darkness did not comprehend it that's a little bit different than the word comprehend to us is a little different

52:12

than the word sees isn't it but the idea is you're grasping the thought in your

52:17

mind you're seizing or understanding the idea okay that that's what you should

52:23

hear from that word comprehend you're getting it you're grasping it okay John

52:29

8 3 then the scribes and Pharisees brought him to a woman caught in adultery that word caught is Cottle

52:38

Ambon oh she was seized in the act of adultery you know police or the pharisees or

52:43

whoever they caught them doing it okay they seized her in the act okay John 12

52:51

35 sorry no John 8 4 they said to him teacher this woman caught in adultery in

52:57

the very act so those are two verses back-to-back same word caught cattle Ambon Oh John 12 35 then jesus said to them a

53:06

little while longer the light is with you walk why you have the less darkness overtake you overtake is

53:13

caught alum bono don't let the darkness sees you and grasp you now when they saw

53:20

the boldness this is acts 4:13 I need to make the reference now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived

53:27

that they were uneducated and untrained men they marveled perceived they figured

53:34

it out they understood that Peter and John were were uneducated like me

53:40

uneducated acts 10:34 then Peter opened

53:46

his mouth and said this is acts 10:34 in truth I perceive that God shows no

53:53

partiality I perceive I understand I get it God shows no partiality and yes we're

54:02

rapidly we're on the last page of my notes how thankful are you acts 25 25

54:11

but when I found that he had committed nothing deserving of death and that he

54:16

himself had appealed to Augustus I decided to send him but when I found when I caught alum bono when I

54:23

understood I found that he had committed nothing deserving of death who made that

54:30

statement yeah Romans 9:30 what shall we say then that Gentiles who did not

54:36

pursue righteousness have attained to righteousness attained they haven't

54:42

attained or grasped righteousness yet the idea is that you know and you you

54:48

hear this many times in the New Testament from the Apostles and others you know they haven't attained yet they

54:54

haven't finished the race they haven't they haven't been perfected if you will well this word they haven't attained

55:00

they haven't grasped on to righteousness yet not the fullness of it all right

55:06

first Corinthians 9:24 do you not know that those who run in a race all run but

55:12

one receives the prize run in such a way that you may obtain it obtain grasp on

55:19

to the prize Ephesians 3:18 be able to comprehend with all the

55:25

saints what is the width and length and depth and height comprehend understand

55:31

understand the comprehension Philippians 3:12 not that I have already attained

55:37

where I'm already perfected but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which

55:43

Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me lay hold and that's the very definition

55:50

the best lexical definition if you look at the lexicon is to lay hold of all

55:56

right last one first Thessalonians 5:4 but you brethren are not in darkness so

56:03

that this day should overtake you over overtake you as a thief overtake this

56:11

day should never grasp on to you I don't

56:16

have time to preach an endtime sermon right now but the church waits for the great rapture of the church because

56:22

again we're not destined for wrath that day of the Lord should not grasp on to

56:30

you or overtake you as a thief do you

56:35

get the idea does the idea of this make more sense to you now that really what

56:42

this is saying and we'll see it as the verses continue is that Jesus when he

56:48

came he brought the light to the world the darkness they would not grasp on to

56:56

it the darkness would not comprehend it or could not comprehend him the world and

57:04

you know this is true the world does not understand Jesus the world does not

57:11

accept Jesus this verse really to me looks I mean the way that that Greek has

57:17

constructed it looks to me like what it's saying is Jesus came to the world as light and darkness wouldn't receive

57:25

or grasp on to it they wouldn't comprehend him they wouldn't grasp him

57:35

darkness doesn't grasp the truth does it it's and the reason I also prefer that

57:43

rendering of it is as we go through this you're gonna see that's exactly what some of these next verses say happens

57:50

with Jesus look at this verse 6 there

57:56

was a man sent from God whose name was John this man came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all through

58:03

him might believe he was not that light but was sent to bear witness of that light so this is this talking about you

58:11

know right John the Baptist that's right he's the forerunner of the Messiah during his first coming if you go to the

58:18

book of Malachi and you read Malachi chapter 3 you will read all about the

58:23

work and coming of John the Baptist right there it's a prophetic work Malachi is the last book in the Old

58:29

Testament as far as we know it's the he was the last prophet to write anything he's definitely the last prophet that's

58:36

recorded in the Old Testament now of course Jesus referred to John the Baptist is the last of these prophets

58:42

but I'm talking about written works Malachi chapter 3 discusses John the

58:47

Baptist in his work coming the interesting thing is Malachi 4 Malachi 4

58:53

is only six verses and it talks about a future 4runner and it calls him by name

59:00

Elijah and again it sure seems like that one is he is the pre the forerunner of

59:07

the Messiah for the second coming but chapter three is all about John the Baptist he pre-k missis preaching

59:16

repentance of sins but not repentance of sin to believe in him repentance of sins to trust in Jesus the one who would come

59:23

the one who is coming think about that Jesus or John the Baptist he claimed

59:31

himself not to be the light you see it there he knew he wasn't the Messiah

59:37

Jesus the coming one the one he was preaching about he is the coming one and

59:43

then verse nine that was the true light which was which light to every man coming into the world

59:51

think about this so we already talked about earlier Jesus is the life giver so

59:56

he does give life to every person who is alive but here the idea is is this is a

1:00:02

spiritual light this is a spiritual light and kind of like we just talked about in verse five the light that Jesus

1:00:10

desires to give to everyone is a spiritual light but darkness won't

1:00:16

receive that spiritual light only those who it's granted to by the Father can

1:00:22

receive that light Jesus is the true spiritual light listen to these verses

1:00:28

John 14:6 in the same book jesus said to him I am the way the truth and the life

1:00:35

no one comes to the Father except through me how many ways to God are

1:00:41

there exactly the Bible tells you this over and over again I love how this uses

1:00:48

the word true light does that hearken back to maybe the first sermon you heard

1:00:53

me preach the true vine there is only one and it doesn't matter where you go

1:01:00

in the Bible you will only find one Savior only one there's only one way to

1:01:06

have spiritual righteousness and that's through Jesus don't let anyone tell you

1:01:12

or try to convince you that God is universal and you can go be this or you

1:01:18

can be that or you can worship Him however you choose that's not what the

1:01:23

Bible says and if you believe that way you don't believe what the Bible teaches Jesus is the way truth in the life no

1:01:31

man comes to the Father except through him that's it one true light you want

1:01:37

spiritual light in your life Jesus is the only way to get it faith in Jesus

1:01:44

that is it acts 4:12 nor is there salvation in any other for there is no

1:01:51

other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved and I know

1:01:58

that I know that memory verse I keep wanting to say it in the James because that's how I memorized it

1:02:04

there's no other name under heaven given among men in the earthly realm under men

1:02:11

under heaven given among men so there's no other name where you can be saved except Jesus don't be convinced that

1:02:20

there are there are a lot of people teaching this nonsense out there and they're leading a lot of people astray

1:02:27

can you imagine standing before God on Judgment Day and having to answer for all the people you led astray because

1:02:34

you didn't get this point right that Jesus is the only way of salvation if

1:02:40

you stood there and said well like some of these health and wealth gospel

1:02:45

preachers that you see on the TV who never preached about sin they barely ever talk about the power of Christ's

1:02:51

work in their lives they only talk about what they can get from God and every time you hear them questioned or pushed

1:02:58

on the issue of is Jesus the only way to God what do they do well I can't say

1:03:04

that I you know I just can't say that like I don't know that that's between them and God don't listen to that

1:03:13

nonsense the Bible is absolutely clear on this point Jesus is the only Savior

1:03:20

he's the only one who brings light into the world those songs we sing light of the world came down into darkness I mean

1:03:27

we loved those songs that's because they talked about Jesus he is the light don't

1:03:34

be don't be washed away by universalism and that stuff there aren't many ways to God the path

1:03:41

is narrow Jesus said it himself it's narrow and the fact is he's the gatekeeper

1:03:47

he's the gate in fact we have that idiom in the scripture he's the door of the sheepfold any sheep who get in there go

1:03:54

through him that's it he's the vine you know we've talked about all these the

1:03:59

loaf the one bread I mean the spiritual building I mean he's all of these idioms

1:04:04

he's the body you know he's the head of the body man I you know I could preach on that

1:04:13

let's go to verse 10 he was in the world and the world was made through him there

1:04:19

you go very clear statement you don't even have to have me say it again the world was made through him and the world

1:04:25

did not know him do you see what I'm saying you see what I see why that reflection and check verse 5 makes so

1:04:32

much sense the world didn't know him

1:04:37

verse 11 he came to his own and his own did not receive him what does it mean

1:04:44

Jesus went to the Jews Jesus came as a Jewish man he was born as an Israelite a

1:04:52

Jew a Jewish he lived a life amongst the Jews how many times do you think he

1:04:59

shared the truth of himself in the truth of salvation how many times do you think he went and preached and taught it says

1:05:06

he was constantly in the temple preaching and teaching and you see in the Gospels he traveled all over preaching and teaching he would get in a

1:05:13

boat push himself off shore because the crowds were so large he would have to get off shore to get a little bit of

1:05:19

room to breathe so he could preach to crowds of thousands and thousands and thousands these were Jewish people

1:05:26

primarily Jesus didn't go to the Gentiles initially you remember that right there were a couple times he dealt

1:05:33

with some Gentiles in his ministry but mostly he came and he preached and he taught and he lived amongst and he

1:05:40

showed many wonders and signs and miracles to the Jews and what they do

1:05:46

what's it say we can go read lots of text to prove this if you want to in the Bible he came

1:05:52

to his own and his own did not receive him by and large the Jewish people the

1:06:01

Israelites they rejected Jesus now of course not all of them there was a

1:06:07

handful we know of disciples we know of some other brothers you know see in the book of Acts there are some that come to

1:06:13

faith but most Jewish people rejected

1:06:18

Jesus and today praise the Lord there is a greater contingent of Jews coming to

1:06:23

the faith right as we near the end time and the Lord's return there are Jews coming back but even today if we were to

1:06:31

go to a poll of all Israelites all Jewish people most of them do not believe Jesus is the Messiah they do not

1:06:41

believe he is the savior of the world he came to his own and they did not receive

1:06:46

him but look at the next verse but as

1:06:51

many as received him to them he gave the right to become children of God to those

1:06:58

who believed in his name who were born not of blood nor of the will of the

1:07:03

flesh nor of the will of man but of God

1:07:08

everyone who believes in the name of Jesus will be saved

1:07:14

that's another verse isn't it if you believe in the Lord Jesus you will be

1:07:19

saved this is all about faith and belief everyone who believes is saved look at

1:07:29

look what it says though to be saved like this isn't about mental belief is

1:07:36

it it's not about a head knowledge it's not about a head knowledge it's also not

1:07:41

about a water baptism because look what it says it says who were born not of

1:07:48

blood so that's your physical birth when you're born from your mother it's bloody many of you been in those

1:07:54

rooms and or had children you know that's a bloody mess in there it's bloody nor of the will of the flesh

1:08:00

this has nothing to do with you and I this isn't a fleshly thing this isn't a

1:08:07

mental thing it's not a physical thing nor of the will of man it's not even

1:08:13

about you and I picking and choosing to believe this is a work of God to change

1:08:19

our hearts but of God God changes a

1:08:24

person God changes the heart in people we can't do this work how many people

1:08:32

reject God outright because they can't gret wrap their heads around him they can't wrap their heads around Jesus and

1:08:39

the work that he why come as a man why God left heaven to come as a man and come down here to die

1:08:45

on a cross why most people can't grasp this but God can change a heart God can

1:08:54

call people and convince people of the truth and their lives will be transformed as many as receive him he

1:09:05

gives the right to be called the children or become the children of God you know all those songs and stories

1:09:12

that we sing about and we think about sitting at God's table in heaven around

1:09:17

you know with the family of God sitting there with God actually in our presence or the coming kingdom where we're

1:09:24

welling in the kingdom with God that's because of this he's actually making you

1:09:31

his child through your belief your faith you're becoming an actual child of God

1:09:39

now I know the world always says well we're all children of God no you're all

1:09:45

created by God yes he is the Creator God and has created everyone that exists no

1:09:51

question absolutely but you're not all his children and if and I'm sorry I

1:09:58

didn't mean that to say like you personally weren't what I mean is not everyone in the world are the children

1:10:06

of God they just aren't they don't love him they don't serve Him they don't follow

1:10:11

him they don't keep his Commandments and if you don't do that you're not if he hasn't transformed your heart

1:10:18

through this spiritual regeneration you're not his child I know that too

1:10:24

because if you were if you're an unbeliever and you can walk in sinfulness and not feel the chastisement

1:10:31

and the weight of God's wrath on you the I shouldn't say wrath the chest heisman the punishment of God on you for your

1:10:38

sin to correct you and discipline you you're not his if you can walk and open

1:10:46

sin against God and continually just do that and do that and be unfaithful to everything he's told you to do

1:10:53

you're not his child he doesn't treat you like a father son he treats as you

1:10:58

treat you like a judge and a criminal and all you have waiting for you on

1:11:04

Judgment Day is wrath of God judgment pick you up throw you into hell but

1:11:13

those who believe those who trust they're the children of God and he

1:11:18

doesn't deal with us any longer in Wrath there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus no more condemnation for

1:11:28

those who are in Christ Jesus you will never deal with God again as judge if you're his he deals with you in a family

1:11:35

relationship you're his child and yes he will correct your bad behavior but it's

1:11:41

not judgment he doesn't pick you up and throw you into hell and he never will that's a big big difference all right

1:11:49

let's do this last verse and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we

1:11:55

beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth

1:12:00

and again we've talked about it so much at this point it almost seems like old news doesn't it Jesus the Word of God

1:12:08

the pre-existent God the one who Philippians chapter 2 talks about

1:12:13

putting on the flesh of mankind - coming down to the earth he put on the flesh

1:12:20

God put on flesh the Creator God puts on

1:12:27

the flesh of his creation man folks you

1:12:33

tell me one other religion one other faith or cult or any type of philosophy

1:12:39

or anything that has that happening in it you would never find such a thing in

1:12:46

a false religion because false religions are all built up on self or demonic things no demon is ever going to go put

1:12:54

themselves on the cross to save you no cult is ever going to lower

1:13:00

themselves and debase themselves for your victory Christ is the

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only one who's ever done this that ought to ring in your ears the truth of what

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this says we serve and we worship the only God willing to pay for sin and to

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reconcile the bad relationships with this creation himself no other religion

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faith cult philosophy offers that God is

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the only one who has done that Jesus is the only one who's done that the word

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became flesh the great LA Goss the divine mind the creative force the order

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in creation all of those philosophical ideas bound up in Jesus he is the

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personal loving caring sacrificing God

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who humbled himself so much to fix these bad and broken relationships folks you

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and I are sinners you you know the Gospel message while we were yet sinners

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Christ died for us he didn't even do that after we had

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fixed the relationship because guess what you and I can't fix it we don't

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have enough spiritual clout to fix it do we were broken we're sinners so God made

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a way he fixed it he sent His Son Jesus went to that cross and he died on that

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cross shedding his blood to pay for our sin he covers the sin of all who will

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believe and he makes them righteous and he makes them justified in heaven God

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the Father no longer looks at those of us who are truly converted believers as

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enemies were no longer enemies we are children of God and it was done because

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God did it we could go look at if you look at the rest of this verse we beheld

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his glory this is John I think just being very frank you remember during jesus's earthly

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ministry there was a period where they they went up on a mountain and Jesus was transfigured before them there were

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three men who witnessed that Transfiguration right John was one of

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them Jesus was transfigured and glorified right in front of them on that mountain

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those references are Matthew 17 1 through 8 mark 9 1 through 8 if you want

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to see him it's in the two of the Gospels we won't read it now for time but then also Jesus was filled with

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grace and truth so we already know the truth part right he's the Word of God he

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was a sinless man he came not to destroy the law but to fulfill it he came to

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fulfill all the things written in the law the prophets and the Psalms about him if you remember he's absolute truth

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he is the Word of God made flesh this written book we have he was his word and

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his breath that caused this to be written he's in every way truth and he's

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the true way to God in the grace part God extends his grace to you through his

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son and the sacrificial work that Jesus did so that you might be saved that's

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the grace of God he offers to us that

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great sacrifice of his son and the blood that he spilled to reconcile our

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relationship with him and to save us and offer us promises that are hard to even

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imagine brother Dan sang about some of those in a song those streets of gold

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that heavenly City you know calls it a mansion in the song that's ok I imagined

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the dwelling places in heaven will be like mansions I mean I imagine they'll

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be better than anything we can imagine here so mansion is probably a fine word

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but there are great promises laid up for those who will trust Jesus and will believe but you won't have those

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promises unless you submit yourself to the will of God and believe in Jesus repent of your sin

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and believe that's all we can do folks you'll never fix your own relationship

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with God if you're trying or you think you can get this right you're wrong only

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God can do this work and he's done it already he's paid for sin already you just have

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to trust him believe let's close with the word of Prayer father thank you so

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much again for your word we are truly humbled under the mighty works of Jesus

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we are humbled under the creative power this is the dynamic power of God to

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create and to sustain to give life and sustain life and then father to offer

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spiritual light and life to men and he gave this opportunity through his own

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blood by shedding it to pay for sin father thank you so much Heavenly Father

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speak to every heart here if they're already a believer have them bolster their faith have them bolster their

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commitment to you in the body of Christ have them bolster the the very

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foundation of why they're saved and why they have so much hope commit themselves

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to serving you giving their lives for you father we know the Lord Jesus will

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return he's gonna break through the sky one day and he's gonna call his church up to be with him 1st Thessalonians 4:13

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218 he will take his church so God make us ready help us be faithful

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people thank you again for these people and I ask that you bless them walk with

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us and keep us we pray in the name of Jesus