Well hello and we do welcome you
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to 3ABN's Fall Camp Meeting.
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We want to welcome all of our
viewers from around the world
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and those who are watching
on television, Internet,
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maybe on your iPad or
you're listening on the radio.
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We're so glad that you're
taking this time to be with us.
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Are we having a good time?
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Yes!
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I think last
night was incredible.
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I was just telling the group
here that the amazing thing
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is I feel sorry for
people who were just listening
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to David Asscherick on the
radio because they didn't get to
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watch him. And
isn't he fun to watch?
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He really is.
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And today he is
going to continue.
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He's speaking on
Christ and the Covenants.
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And he is going to be
today speaking - part two -
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of Christ and the Covenants.
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You know, when he was talking
last night about clearing
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the table, I had the
very same experience.
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God, when I accepted the
call to full-time ministry,
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God told me very clearly...
He impressed this thought
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upon my mind: to
forget what I thought I knew
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and come sit at His
feet and He would teach me.
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So I had to take
everything off the table
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and let God put things back on.
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And it was just an
amazing experience!
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And only David could
actually put that into words
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in the illustration he did.
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So any time you
think about a punk-rocking
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skateboarding kid
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that is handed a book
called The Great Controversy
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and from that book
to meet the awesome God
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you know how
awesome God is to change.
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The power of God's love
changed David Asscherick
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and now we're all
benefitting from that.
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So he will be speaking,
but before he comes to speak
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it's my joy to introduce one
of my fellow church members -
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a sister and a brother...
actually two of them -
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and that is Celestine Berry.
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She is going to be
singing a song called
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Remember Me, and her husband
Michael will be playing piano.
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Remember Me?
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I'm the One who
gave up everything
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for you.
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I'll never leave your side...
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Remember Me?
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The One who cares
for you no matter what
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you do.
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The One whose arms are here
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to give you rest
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The One who's
seen you at your worst
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and knows you best
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Your closest Friend
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Remember Me?
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When you smile you are the joy
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that's in My eyes
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You are the Father's pride
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Remember Me?
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Your sorrow and your happiness
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are Mine
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The grace I gave will always
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be enough
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For there will never be
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a greater love
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than My love for you
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Remember Me?
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Remember Me?
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as you take My broken body
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torn and bruised
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Let it give you life
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Remember Me?
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That this blood
you take to drink
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was shed for you
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Let its power and its mercy
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give you strength
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Let My endless cup be all
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you'll ever need...
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Remember
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Me...
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Remember Me...
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Remember
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Me.
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Amen.
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Good evening
everyone. Good evening.
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Great to be here at 3ABN
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Homecoming Fall 2013.
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That's a cool little intro
they do with the photo album.
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You like that?
Real homey. I like it.
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Makes me think of
Thanksgiving. Anybody else?
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Makes me hungry.
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Most things make me
hungry come to think of it.
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Have you had a
good day so far? Yes.
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Yeah, I've had
a really good day.
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I've learned when I come to
3ABN for just three or four days
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to stay up late and get up late
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because if I try to
get on this time schedule
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and then I go back home
my wife gets upset with me.
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She's like: "How come you don't
want to go to bed with me? "
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I'm like: "Well I'm
on that time table. "
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So this morning I slept in
to what looked like on my clock
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10 o'clock.
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I was like: "Oh, I'm
such a bad human being.
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I slept in till 10. " But
it's really only 8 o'clock
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where I'm from, so
that's not so bad, is it?
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I was up till 2
o'clock in the morning
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but it was really only midnight.
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OK, great. So we
are going to continue
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our series on the covenants
and we've got a lot of material
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to cover. So you've
got your Bibles, yeah?
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And I so appreciate
Shelley's introduction there
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because what Shelley said
happened to her with regards
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to clearing the table of...
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What did we call that
last night? The table of truth.
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With regard to
clearing the table of truth
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I'm going to suggest that that
should be an on-going exercise
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for every one of us.
That we should never become
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so complacent that we just think
we've got most of it figured out
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we pretty much know it and
there's just a few small details
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that we're yet
learning. No, no, no.
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The truth of the
matter is my persuasion is...
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is that many of us have mistaken
the forest for the trees.
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We have the cart
in front of the horse
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to use another analogy.
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We've sort of known the points
but many of us have missed
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THE POINT. And it's
critically important for us -
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and we're going to
continue to develop this -
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to have the point
right at the center.
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And we're going to get into that
but before we do, let's pray
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and then we'll get right
into the text of scripture.
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Let's pray together.
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Father in heaven, as has
been so beautifully sung:
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remember Me. And surely
this is the great challenge
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of our life to remember You
amidst the hustle and bustle
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and busyness and distractions
and the sensuality and secular
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nature of this world,
Father. It tugs at our hearts.
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I think of the old
hymn: Prone to wander, Lord,
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I feel it. Prone to
leave the God I love.
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Here's my
heart... O take and seal it
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for Your courts above.
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And Father, we
need to remember You.
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You've given us many
institutions to remember this
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central truth of who
You are and who Christ is
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and who we are by extension.
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And now as we open scripture
and seek to orient ourselves
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to this table of truth in a
proper way, in a Biblical way,
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the prayer of my heart, Father,
is that You would give me
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clarity as I teach.
That my mind would be clear.
00:10:07.92\00:10:10.21
That my language would
be the correct language
00:10:10.31\00:10:13.06
and vocabulary. And Father,
I pray that ears would be open
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to hear the words that are
spoken. But beyond that, Father,
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there's another, an extra-human
or super human dimension,
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and that is that we
need Your Spirit to be here
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to do what human ears and
human mouths could never do:
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come into this place...
but not just into the walls
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but into the walls of
our heart. Come into us.
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And take this message -
this single presentation,
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these presentations -
and tailor make them to every
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circumstance, every
situation. Just as Shelley said
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"this is how this applied to me"
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Father, every one of us
has an application here.
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And I am praying that the
Spirit would not only make the
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application but that we would
be open to the application.
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And so be with us
now as we open scripture.
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Send that Spirit to
guide us into all truth
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as Jesus promised.
00:11:01.09\00:11:02.62
And we're anticipating an
awesome time... a glorious
00:11:02.92\00:11:07.26
even a fun time with
You as we open the text.
00:11:07.47\00:11:10.27
In Jesus' name... Let
everyone say: "Amen. "
00:11:10.57\00:11:14.41
All right. Let's just
spend the briefest of moments
00:11:14.91\00:11:16.94
reviewing here. We are
talking about the table of...
00:11:17.14\00:11:19.97
truth. Very good.
00:11:20.28\00:11:21.58
And the truths that are on
there - at least the truths
00:11:21.78\00:11:24.22
with which we are concerned
in this particular series -
00:11:24.32\00:11:26.20
are not just any general truths
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but truths that have to
do with God, with the church,
00:11:28.23\00:11:30.52
with Christ.
Basically, religious truths.
00:11:30.72\00:11:32.30
The truth of Christianity;
the truth of scripture.
00:11:32.51\00:11:34.52
And many of us have been
believers for a long time.
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Some of us maybe
just for a short time.
00:11:38.46\00:11:39.80
And over our
cumulative religious experience
00:11:40.20\00:11:43.50
whether we were
raised in a Christian home
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and we bring our sort
of familial culture with us
00:11:45.85\00:11:48.07
or we are converts maybe
from another denomination
00:11:48.27\00:11:50.77
or even another religion.
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We bring a number of
things to the table of truth
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and we begin to put
them on the table of truth.
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But my suggestion is
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that we stand in danger of
placing things in just sort of a
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serendipitous and disorderly
way on the table of truth
00:12:02.79\00:12:06.42
so that we actually can
lose sight of the hierarchy
00:12:06.52\00:12:10.15
of truth. Lose sight
of the what did I say?
00:12:10.35\00:12:13.21
The hierarchy of
truth. Now notice that I'm not
00:12:13.52\00:12:15.30
suggesting here that
anything is unimportant.
00:12:15.40\00:12:17.78
Have I said that? Have I said:
"Oh these are unimportant? "
00:12:18.08\00:12:20.44
No, no, no. It's not that
certain things are important
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and other
things are unimportant.
00:12:23.81\00:12:25.12
It's that certain things
are essential and central
00:12:25.32\00:12:28.21
and other things
are also important.
00:12:28.41\00:12:30.21
Do you hear the difference?
00:12:30.71\00:12:31.74
It's not that
matters and that doesn't.
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It's that's what really matters
and this helps us to understand
00:12:33.76\00:12:36.83
why it matters so much.
00:12:37.03\00:12:38.08
We used the
illustration last night
00:12:38.28\00:12:39.70
of the sort of
doctrinal package of the Bible.
00:12:39.90\00:12:44.00
The doctrinal
package that we believe.
00:12:44.10\00:12:45.62
And we referred to those
things as what? Do you remember?
00:12:45.72\00:12:48.05
As lenses through which
we view the central truth
00:12:48.74\00:12:51.82
which is the truth
about who and what God is.
00:12:52.02\00:12:53.81
And we summarized that in
John's own three words there
00:12:54.01\00:12:57.29
in I John
chapter 4 verses 8 and 16
00:12:57.49\00:12:59.44
where he says:
"He that does not love
00:12:59.64\00:13:02.20
does not know God for... " What
three words? "For God is love. "
00:13:02.60\00:13:07.36
And I am suggesting that
we in this thought exercise
00:13:07.46\00:13:11.45
clear everything off the table
that we think we know is true.
00:13:12.53\00:13:15.99
And by the way, this is healthy.
It's a little scary, yeah?
00:13:16.19\00:13:18.47
I mean, let's be
honest. That's a little scary.
00:13:18.77\00:13:20.28
But it's healthy at times
to go back and to re-evaluate
00:13:20.58\00:13:24.07
everything that we think we know
00:13:24.27\00:13:26.97
and to do it in the right way.
00:13:27.17\00:13:29.01
In an orderly
way; in a textual way.
00:13:29.21\00:13:30.99
And I'm suggesting
that the first piece
00:13:31.29\00:13:33.50
and I'm not going to call it
a puzzle because that suggests
00:13:33.80\00:13:36.21
that it's something
that has to be put together
00:13:36.41\00:13:38.23
in a sort of
decoding sense. No, no, no.
00:13:38.33\00:13:40.26
I'm going to
say the first brick.
00:13:40.47\00:13:41.79
The first brick in the house,
the first brick in the edifice
00:13:41.99\00:13:44.83
of truth is the
central truth about who God is:
00:13:44.93\00:13:48.14
God... is... love.
00:13:48.24\00:13:50.66
And I just talked to Shelley
back stage and she told me
00:13:50.76\00:13:53.00
that's the very thing
she's going to be talking about
00:13:53.10\00:13:54.47
after lunch. So hopefully
- and I'm sure they will -
00:13:54.57\00:13:56.87
these two presentations should
dove together very nicely.
00:13:57.07\00:13:59.03
You with me on that?
00:13:59.23\00:14:00.31
And we just mentioned
a few passages yesterday
00:14:00.51\00:14:03.21
that basically the danger
that we are in is the danger
00:14:03.41\00:14:07.15
that's analogous to the danger
that the first century religious
00:14:07.25\00:14:10.56
leaders of Jesus' day were in.
00:14:10.66\00:14:12.36
And that is that we
could actually make the mistake
00:14:12.66\00:14:15.30
of thinking that the
point is all of the data
00:14:15.50\00:14:18.51
and miss the real point. And
that is that all of that data
00:14:19.32\00:14:22.76
is telling a story, and
the story is about how good
00:14:22.97\00:14:25.49
and how awesome God is.
00:14:25.59\00:14:26.75
Jesus said for example:
"You search the scriptures
00:14:26.95\00:14:30.44
because in them you
think you have eternal life. "
00:14:30.64\00:14:32.38
Let me just paraphrase
that: "You search the scriptures
00:14:32.48\00:14:34.31
because you think
that's the point. "
00:14:34.51\00:14:35.75
"But these are they
that... " Do you remember?
00:14:36.65\00:14:39.61
"These are they that... "
Yeah, they're telling a story.
00:14:39.81\00:14:42.81
Those words, those
sentences, those verses
00:14:43.01\00:14:44.49
they're telling a story
and the story is about...
00:14:44.59\00:14:47.72
Jesus said: "The
story is about Me. "
00:14:47.92\00:14:49.70
"The story is about Me. "
And we use the illustration...
00:14:50.56\00:14:53.01
We mention the illustration
that Paul uses where he says
00:14:53.11\00:14:55.77
in II Corinthians chapter
3 that even the Israelites
00:14:55.97\00:14:59.60
when they come to their own book
00:14:59.70\00:15:01.11
He says that a what
remains over their face?
00:15:01.31\00:15:03.66
A veil. But then he said that
veil is taken away in Christ.
00:15:03.96\00:15:08.24
When someone turns to the
Lord what ends up happening is
00:15:09.04\00:15:12.09
the New Testament writers -
all of them with the possible
00:15:12.29\00:15:16.11
exception of Luke - being Jews
00:15:16.21\00:15:18.15
they went back and they
read their own scriptures.
00:15:18.35\00:15:20.44
I want you to get this.
00:15:20.64\00:15:22.09
They went back and read their
own book, their own history,
00:15:22.30\00:15:24.90
their own forefathers' tales.
00:15:25.10\00:15:27.08
But they went back and
they read those stories
00:15:27.28\00:15:28.81
that they'd been hearing
from when they were very young
00:15:28.92\00:15:30.98
and they read them
with new eyes, right?
00:15:31.08\00:15:33.73
Because they put on the
glasses. "Wait a minute, this is
00:15:33.87\00:15:36.09
all about the Messiah, Jesus. "
00:15:36.19\00:15:37.70
And when they went
back and read their own book
00:15:37.90\00:15:40.32
they said: "Whoa! This book
is totally different than we'd
00:15:40.72\00:15:44.88
imagined. We've been paying
attention to the versification,
00:15:44.98\00:15:47.59
or the chapterization, or
the stories... or whatever
00:15:47.69\00:15:49.19
you want to say: to
the nuances, the details,
00:15:49.29\00:15:51.26
the minutia... but
all of that together
00:15:51.46\00:15:53.99
was telling a story. "
00:15:54.19\00:15:55.67
In fact, Paul says a
very interesting thing.
00:15:55.98\00:15:58.06
It's one of the most unusual
verses in Paul that is hard
00:15:58.66\00:16:01.95
to understand if you
don't understand his basic way
00:16:02.05\00:16:05.49
of coming to the
Christ... to Jesus.
00:16:05.69\00:16:07.85
He says in Galatians - I
think it's chapter 2, might be
00:16:07.95\00:16:10.27
chapter 3- he says
this very unusual thing.
00:16:10.37\00:16:12.37
He says: "For I through the law
00:16:12.58\00:16:16.36
died to the law. "
00:16:16.56\00:16:18.35
What in the
world does that mean?
00:16:19.37\00:16:22.03
Right? Some of us read
that and think: "Paul, are you?
00:16:22.33\00:16:25.17
That's double talk.
That's crazy speak. "
00:16:25.37\00:16:27.24
"I through the
law die to the law. "
00:16:27.44\00:16:29.77
Well actually it
makes very good sense
00:16:29.87\00:16:31.11
if we'll just
understand a couple things.
00:16:31.21\00:16:32.80
The first is that when
Paul spoke of the law -
00:16:33.01\00:16:36.22
and this is virtually
universally the case in the
00:16:36.42\00:16:38.93
New Testament - He was not
speaking of the 10 Commandments.
00:16:39.03\00:16:41.40
Right. That's
what we often think.
00:16:41.70\00:16:43.06
When we hear "the law, " many
of us as Seventh-day Adventists
00:16:43.26\00:16:46.27
or as Christians, we
hear "the law" and we think
00:16:46.47\00:16:48.28
"Oh, the 10 Commandments. "
00:16:48.39\00:16:49.43
Am I right or am I wrong?
00:16:49.63\00:16:50.69
And that's not an inappropriate
way to think about the word law
00:16:50.89\00:16:54.40
but it's not the Biblical
way to think about the word law.
00:16:54.50\00:16:56.57
When the New Testament -
as well as the Old - but when
00:16:56.87\00:16:59.00
the New Testament uses the
word law it's referring usually
00:16:59.10\00:17:02.39
to the five books of Moses
and can also generally just mean
00:17:02.59\00:17:05.57
the Old Testament. Right?
00:17:05.77\00:17:07.53
"To the law and to the prophets.
If they speak not according to
00:17:07.66\00:17:10.20
this word it means
there is no light in them. "
00:17:10.30\00:17:12.00
Jesus said:
"Verily I say unto you
00:17:12.20\00:17:13.63
not one jot or one tittle
00:17:13.93\00:17:15.74
will pass from the law
until all be fulfilled. "
00:17:15.94\00:17:18.63
In other words, He's
not just talking about
00:17:18.73\00:17:19.98
the Ten Commandments.
He's talking about the
00:17:20.08\00:17:21.30
Ten Commandments which
are a part of the bigger thing
00:17:21.40\00:17:24.56
that is the law... and
that's the Old Testament.
00:17:24.77\00:17:26.38
When Paul says
"I through the law
00:17:26.68\00:17:29.31
die to the law, "
here's what he's saying.
00:17:29.51\00:17:30.70
Watch this very
carefully. He says: "I went back
00:17:30.80\00:17:32.82
and read the Old Testament. "
00:17:32.92\00:17:34.07
"I went back and
read my own book.
00:17:35.20\00:17:37.44
I, through my
re-reading of the Old Testament,
00:17:37.64\00:17:40.72
through my
re-reading of the law,
00:17:40.92\00:17:42.45
I died to my old way of
thinking about this book
00:17:42.65\00:17:45.64
and I realized it's all
about Christ, and particularly
00:17:45.85\00:17:48.80
in the context of Galatians,
it's Christ and His fulfillment
00:17:48.90\00:17:52.01
of the covenant...
which is where we're going. "
00:17:52.21\00:17:53.63
Our basic point is this:
00:17:54.80\00:17:56.82
we're going to
take all the things off.
00:17:57.22\00:17:59.82
With the Jews of Jesus'
day - the Jewish leadership -
00:18:00.02\00:18:02.38
it was the actual
text of scripture itself
00:18:02.58\00:18:05.03
and a rigorous adherence to the
various rules and regulations
00:18:05.23\00:18:09.70
and later Rabbinical additions
to those rules and regulations.
00:18:09.90\00:18:12.48
With Seventh-day Adventists
and Christians it's more of a
00:18:12.68\00:18:15.32
doctrinal package. The
truth about the Sabbath.
00:18:15.42\00:18:18.85
The truth about the sanctuary.
00:18:18.88\00:18:20.06
The truth about
the state of the dead.
00:18:20.17\00:18:21.34
The truth, the
truth, the truth, the truth.
00:18:21.54\00:18:22.89
And we mentioned
just briefly last night
00:18:23.09\00:18:24.60
that there is a danger
in which we would think
00:18:24.80\00:18:28.22
that the message that
God has called us to preach
00:18:28.32\00:18:30.23
is a message to get people
believing the right thing.
00:18:30.43\00:18:32.57
Now, is that true?
00:18:32.77\00:18:33.94
It's "trueish.
" It's "trueish. "
00:18:34.34\00:18:36.39
But it's not just to
believe the right thing...
00:18:36.59\00:18:38.42
it's to believe
in the right person.
00:18:38.52\00:18:40.54
And the right person is
God as represented in Christ.
00:18:40.74\00:18:43.81
Do you feel that?
Yes or no? Awesome!
00:18:44.21\00:18:46.52
By the way, people say: "You
don't say yes or no any more. "
00:18:46.85\00:18:48.81
I just said it right there.
00:18:49.01\00:18:50.08
Now listen to this. This is one
of my favorite statements and
00:18:51.95\00:18:54.32
it's from a little book called
That I May Know Him p. 208.
00:18:54.52\00:18:57.02
Now listen to this.
00:18:57.22\00:18:58.27
It says: "The truth for this
time is broad in its outlines. "
00:18:59.66\00:19:04.21
The truth is?
Broad. So it's not narrow.
00:19:05.20\00:19:07.77
It's "broad in its outlines,
00:19:07.97\00:19:09.41
far reaching,
embracing many doctrines. "
00:19:09.61\00:19:13.43
Embracing many? Doctrines. OK.
00:19:13.73\00:19:16.13
So we're not diminishing
the importance of doctrine.
00:19:16.33\00:19:18.07
Now watch this: "But these doc-
trines are not detached items. "
00:19:18.27\00:19:22.91
Ooh. These doctrines
are not what? Detached.
00:19:23.14\00:19:25.71
OK, so let's
follow this through.
00:19:25.91\00:19:27.40
The truth for this time
is broad, far reaching in its
00:19:27.60\00:19:30.73
outline,
embracing many doctrines.
00:19:30.83\00:19:33.54
"But these doctrines are
not... " What is it? Are not
00:19:33.64\00:19:36.31
"detached items"
Well what are they then?
00:19:36.61\00:19:39.20
"which mean little... "
00:19:39.40\00:19:40.78
They're not detached
items which mean little.
00:19:41.84\00:19:43.67
"they are united by golden
threads forming a complete
00:19:43.87\00:19:48.16
whole with Christ
as the living center. "
00:19:48.26\00:19:51.01
OK, now do not miss that.
00:19:51.99\00:19:54.23
What's actually being said
here is that if all we have
00:19:54.63\00:19:57.18
is the doctrine of the Sabbath,
00:19:57.28\00:19:58.58
the doctrine of
the state of the dead,
00:19:58.68\00:19:59.84
the doctrine of
the soon second coming,
00:20:00.04\00:20:01.45
the doctrine of
healthful living,
00:20:01.65\00:20:02.68
the doctrine of...
and they're detached
00:20:02.76\00:20:04.79
from those golden threads
that unite them to the center
00:20:04.99\00:20:07.41
which is Christ, it
says "they mean little. "
00:20:07.61\00:20:09.98
They mean what?
Little. Let me say it this way.
00:20:11.18\00:20:13.80
The Sabbath without Jesus is
just the truth about the day.
00:20:14.10\00:20:17.94
The sanctuary without Jesus...
00:20:18.83\00:20:20.45
I don't even know frankly
how you'd teach the sanctuary
00:20:20.55\00:20:22.37
without Jesus... That
would be a real effort to do so.
00:20:22.47\00:20:25.29
But people manage to do it.
00:20:25.32\00:20:27.28
They manage to talk
about every little detail
00:20:27.58\00:20:29.86
and measurement of every
little part of the sanctuary
00:20:30.06\00:20:32.96
and go into all the
architectural nuances
00:20:33.26\00:20:37.24
and idiosyncrasies, but
all of that is about Jesus.
00:20:37.34\00:20:40.75
"The truth for this time
is broad in its outline. "
00:20:42.58\00:20:45.06
Does it embrace many doctrines?
00:20:45.36\00:20:47.64
In fact it does. But
these doctrines are not detached
00:20:47.84\00:20:50.35
items - a little bit
here, a little bit here,
00:20:50.45\00:20:52.08
a little bit here,
a little bit here. No!
00:20:52.28\00:20:53.31
"They are united
by golden threads
00:20:53.48\00:20:55.94
with Christ as
the living center. "
00:20:56.14\00:20:57.93
Maybe think of a bicycle wheel.
00:20:58.03\00:21:00.32
Right? You can all
imagine a bicycle wheel here.
00:21:00.52\00:21:02.05
And you have the hub... and who
do you suppose the hub would be?
00:21:02.25\00:21:05.04
The hub would be Jesus.
00:21:05.35\00:21:06.65
And the spoke of the Sabbath
goes out and gives structure
00:21:06.85\00:21:10.39
to the whole. And the
spoke of the state of the dead,
00:21:10.49\00:21:12.39
and the spoke of
the soon second coming,
00:21:12.49\00:21:13.78
and the spoke of sola scriptura.
00:21:13.98\00:21:15.71
And all of these different
spokes go out, but they
00:21:15.91\00:21:17.65
find their meaning
and their significance,
00:21:17.85\00:21:19.42
their importance, precisely
to the degree that they illumine
00:21:19.62\00:21:22.35
the central truth and
support the central truth
00:21:22.55\00:21:25.41
that God is really awesome.
00:21:25.61\00:21:28.29
So far so good? OK. Now
that's a little bit of review.
00:21:28.69\00:21:31.52
That brings us
right up to speed.
00:21:31.62\00:21:32.67
Now with that in mind...
With that basic picture in mind
00:21:33.07\00:21:36.59
I would like to suggest that
that first thing that we put
00:21:36.89\00:21:40.26
right there on the
table that God is love
00:21:40.36\00:21:44.37
is several things.
First of all, it's normative
00:21:44.67\00:21:49.39
and second of all
it's non-negotiable.
00:21:49.59\00:21:51.52
OK. Let me unpack that.
00:21:51.72\00:21:52.76
Normative and non-negotiable.
00:21:53.59\00:21:55.12
When we say it's normative
that means that it becomes
00:21:56.01\00:21:59.33
the standard by which
everything else that gets its
00:21:59.43\00:22:02.17
place on the table is measured.
00:22:02.37\00:22:04.47
Makes sense? So let's
just take any other doctrine.
00:22:05.44\00:22:08.02
We've got a clear table with one
thing right in the middle of it
00:22:08.22\00:22:10.27
and that is the
central truth that God is love.
00:22:10.47\00:22:13.18
So now we're going to
bring any other truth and we're
00:22:13.39\00:22:14.99
going to set it on that table.
Say the truth of the Sabbath
00:22:15.09\00:22:17.64
or the truth of
the state of the dead.
00:22:17.84\00:22:18.88
Whatever any
doctrinal truth could be
00:22:18.98\00:22:20.95
we're going to
set it on that table.
00:22:21.15\00:22:22.40
We're going to ask the
question #1 Is this textual?
00:22:22.60\00:22:26.42
Is it Biblical?
And #2 How - if it is
00:22:26.62\00:22:29.96
textual and Biblical
- how does it illumine,
00:22:30.06\00:22:32.56
how does it make more glorious
and more grand and more awesome
00:22:32.76\00:22:36.05
our picture of who God is?
00:22:36.15\00:22:37.96
And if we see compatibility
- and not just compatibility
00:22:38.26\00:22:40.97
but complementarity.
Wow! Look! When we view
00:22:41.08\00:22:44.19
the character of
God, the goodness of God,
00:22:44.29\00:22:45.84
through the Sabbath,
through the soon second coming,
00:22:45.94\00:22:47.30
through the state of the dead
we see all of this relational
00:22:47.40\00:22:49.49
goodness well now understanding
these things correctly
00:22:49.59\00:22:53.19
as they were
intended to be understood.
00:22:53.29\00:22:54.56
But there are some doctrinal
teachings, there are some things
00:22:54.76\00:22:57.64
that people believe about
God or believe about the Bible
00:22:57.74\00:23:01.80
or about the church
or even about salvation
00:23:01.90\00:23:03.72
that frankly when you bring them
over and set them on the table
00:23:03.92\00:23:06.45
of truth there is a radical
incompatibility with the idea
00:23:06.55\00:23:11.51
that God is love
and this "truth. "
00:23:11.61\00:23:14.49
Let me give you one example.
00:23:14.89\00:23:16.24
This is an easy one.
This is the low-hanging fruit.
00:23:16.44\00:23:19.01
The idea that God
either causes or allows
00:23:19.21\00:23:23.74
sinners to suffer
eternal conscious torment
00:23:23.94\00:23:26.60
in the fires of hell.
00:23:26.70\00:23:28.05
That that somehow
is taught in scripture.
00:23:28.45\00:23:30.42
That that somehow
is part of God's plan.
00:23:30.53\00:23:32.70
So now me... and you...
we're faced with a dilemma.
00:23:33.01\00:23:37.08
We're faced with a what?
00:23:38.04\00:23:39.42
With a dilemma because
we have this central truth -
00:23:39.82\00:23:41.88
this normative
truth - that God is love
00:23:41.98\00:23:45.03
and now we have
this other claim to truth
00:23:45.23\00:23:47.25
that God allows the
immortal soul of humanity
00:23:47.45\00:23:51.85
to suffer eternal,
conscious, torturous experience
00:23:52.05\00:23:56.32
through all the
ages - unending ages -
00:23:56.52\00:23:59.04
and that is some
assumed to be or thought to be
00:23:59.07\00:24:03.70
compatible with the
truth that God is love.
00:24:03.80\00:24:05.24
Now I'm not going to spend
any time on that except to say
00:24:05.44\00:24:07.92
that in my humble opinion
00:24:08.12\00:24:10.56
I do not see how any reasonable,
rational, intelligent person
00:24:10.76\00:24:15.04
can see correspondence
between that truth
00:24:15.24\00:24:17.35
that God is love and this idea
that He allows sinners to suffer
00:24:17.55\00:24:20.37
eternal conscious torment.
00:24:20.47\00:24:21.68
These two things
are mutually exclusive
00:24:21.88\00:24:24.59
and now I'm faced with a choice.
00:24:24.69\00:24:25.94
I've got to take one off
the table because they're not
00:24:26.14\00:24:27.77
coherent, right? And
my point in saying that
00:24:27.87\00:24:31.19
it's not only normative but
God is love is non-negotiable
00:24:31.29\00:24:34.09
means that NEVER
comes off the table.
00:24:34.19\00:24:36.76
It never comes off the table.
00:24:37.84\00:24:39.69
So if I see an incompatibility
between something that I believe
00:24:39.89\00:24:43.19
or that others have
believed with this central truth
00:24:43.39\00:24:45.42
that God is love, God is
love never comes off the table.
00:24:45.52\00:24:48.93
Whatever the other
thing is that's incoherent or
00:24:49.03\00:24:51.09
incompatible with
this it always goes.
00:24:51.19\00:24:53.74
You with me?
00:24:54.71\00:24:55.95
So I've got to pick it
up; I've got to take it away.
00:24:56.16\00:24:58.12
And I full well recognize
and I respectfully recognize
00:24:58.76\00:25:02.04
that there are millions of
Christians, tens of millions
00:25:02.24\00:25:05.31
of Christians who
believe that there is somehow
00:25:05.51\00:25:08.03
a compatibility
between the goodness of God,
00:25:08.23\00:25:09.79
the love of God,
the munificence of God,
00:25:09.89\00:25:11.44
and this truth about
an eternal burning hell.
00:25:11.64\00:25:13.83
And I respectfully
but vigorously disagree.
00:25:13.93\00:25:17.24
You cannot affirm that
and that at the same time.
00:25:17.44\00:25:20.38
These are
mutually exclusive ideas.
00:25:20.68\00:25:23.16
This is just a very simple
example of how this process
00:25:24.07\00:25:26.98
should work. We have the
central truth of who God is
00:25:27.09\00:25:29.61
revealed in Christ
and any other doctrine,
00:25:29.81\00:25:32.31
any other idea. Some new
fandangled interpretation
00:25:32.51\00:25:35.32
of prophecy. Some new
idea of the nature of God
00:25:35.43\00:25:39.15
or whatever it is... it
gets its place on the table
00:25:39.35\00:25:40.87
and then we do an analysis.
00:25:41.07\00:25:42.70
We do a what, everyone?
00:25:43.52\00:25:45.17
We do an analysis
and we ask the question:
00:25:45.48\00:25:47.25
Not only is there compatibility
but is there complementarity?
00:25:47.45\00:25:50.07
Does this make the great
truth of who and what God is
00:25:50.93\00:25:54.86
even clearer, more
beautiful, and more awesome?
00:25:55.06\00:25:57.60
If the answer to that question
is no, it's going off the table.
00:25:57.80\00:26:00.09
It doesn't have a
place on the table of truth.
00:26:00.72\00:26:04.69
So far so good?
00:26:05.70\00:26:06.73
OK, let's talk about
this idea that God is love.
00:26:07.11\00:26:09.05
I know that Shelley is going
to be picking up some of this
00:26:09.89\00:26:12.03
but we need to spend a
little bit of time on it.
00:26:12.13\00:26:13.24
First of all notice
that John DOES NOT say
00:26:13.44\00:26:16.16
God is loving.
00:26:16.36\00:26:17.97
All right. That would
be a rather modest claim
00:26:18.84\00:26:22.41
because you could say that
about me, you could say that
00:26:22.61\00:26:24.08
about you. David is loving.
00:26:24.18\00:26:25.54
My wife would
say "That's true. "
00:26:25.84\00:26:27.04
I'm not always loving but it
is true that I'm a loving person
00:26:27.07\00:26:29.75
generally. It can be said about
almost... probably every person
00:26:29.95\00:26:32.60
in this room. At various times
under certain circumstances
00:26:32.70\00:26:35.08
you could say "She is
loving; he is loving. "
00:26:35.28\00:26:37.00
So far so good? And
you'll find places in scripture
00:26:37.20\00:26:39.93
for example that will
say "God is powerful. "
00:26:40.03\00:26:42.77
"God is mighty;
God is merciful. "
00:26:43.07\00:26:46.25
"God is forgiving. "
00:26:46.45\00:26:47.93
But you will not find
any place in scripture
00:26:48.33\00:26:50.26
that I am aware that
says "God is power. "
00:26:50.36\00:26:52.56
"God is mercy. "
00:26:53.68\00:26:55.23
"God is forgiveness. "
00:26:55.43\00:26:57.41
"God is might. "
00:26:57.61\00:26:59.13
But what we do
find is this equivalence
00:26:59.33\00:27:01.47
that God is not merely loving
00:27:01.67\00:27:03.91
an adjective describing a
behavior or a characteristic
00:27:04.21\00:27:07.30
but John says God
is love... a noun.
00:27:07.50\00:27:12.46
It's a fundamental similarity.
00:27:13.44\00:27:16.54
He's giving us an equivalence.
00:27:16.74\00:27:18.17
A what word did I say?
00:27:18.90\00:27:20.09
He's giving us an equivalence,
00:27:20.49\00:27:22.02
and the equivalence is
that God is this thing.
00:27:22.22\00:27:24.73
Whatever this thing
is God is this thing.
00:27:25.03\00:27:28.41
Not merely that it's an
attribute or a characteristic
00:27:28.61\00:27:31.36
or who He is. No!
This is WHAT He is.
00:27:31.56\00:27:33.97
Now we've got to spend at
least a few moments on this.
00:27:34.88\00:27:37.27
How many of you either
were here or saw the series
00:27:37.40\00:27:39.91
that I preached on The Unknown
God? Right here. Right in this
00:27:40.11\00:27:43.70
very place. The Unknown God. OK.
00:27:43.80\00:27:45.26
We unpacked this to a
much greater degree than we're
00:27:45.36\00:27:48.42
going to be able to unpack now.
I think we spent 5 or 6 hours
00:27:48.53\00:27:50.95
unpacking what we're going
to do here in about 10 minutes.
00:27:51.15\00:27:52.89
OK? But here's the
short version of that.
00:27:53.19\00:27:56.33
The very short version. Maybe
we'll even do it in 5 minutes.
00:27:57.04\00:27:59.09
If God is love,
00:28:00.29\00:28:02.32
not merely as a
characteristic or an attribute
00:28:02.53\00:28:05.96
of his behavior - loving -
00:28:06.16\00:28:09.35
but God is love in
His essential nature
00:28:09.55\00:28:12.23
this raises the
question: "But what is love? "
00:28:12.53\00:28:14.86
Right? That statement "God
is love" will be meaningful
00:28:15.93\00:28:18.73
precisely to the degree that
we have a correct definition
00:28:18.83\00:28:20.81
of the word love. So far
so good? That makes sense.
00:28:20.91\00:28:22.49
And yet what we find in
scripture is that love is
00:28:22.90\00:28:26.62
unanimously and universally
described as other centeredness
00:28:26.72\00:28:32.25
and as giving one's self
for the benefit of the other.
00:28:32.46\00:28:36.29
For example John
chapter 15 verse 13.
00:28:36.59\00:28:38.76
Jesus says: "Greater
love has no man than this:
00:28:38.97\00:28:42.75
that a man would lay down
his life for his friends. "
00:28:42.95\00:28:45.87
That's the very
definition of love.
00:28:46.07\00:28:47.24
That he would give what
is naturally, natively his
00:28:47.55\00:28:50.62
to someone else.
00:28:50.72\00:28:51.81
Right? To my
loss and their gain.
00:28:52.11\00:28:54.98
Right? Paul, in the love
chapter where he goes through
00:28:55.90\00:28:58.59
I Corinthians 13 and says:
"Love is not; love does not;
00:28:58.79\00:29:00.93
love is not; love does not.
" Right in the middle of that
00:29:01.03\00:29:02.68
he says - this is verse 5:
"Love does not seek its own. "
00:29:02.79\00:29:07.60
Which means that love is
not primarily self-interested
00:29:09.27\00:29:12.48
or interested in
self-preservation.
00:29:12.68\00:29:14.65
Love is other centered.
Love is going out to others.
00:29:14.85\00:29:18.14
Love does not
seek its own desires,
00:29:18.34\00:29:20.41
its own hopes, its own
benefits, its own dreams.
00:29:20.51\00:29:22.88
Love is seeking the
hopes and dreams and benefits
00:29:23.08\00:29:25.85
and desires and
ambitions of others.
00:29:25.95\00:29:27.84
So far so good?
00:29:28.42\00:29:29.59
And the best-known verse
in all the Bible is John 3:16
00:29:29.79\00:29:32.67
that says: "For God so
loved the world that He... "
00:29:32.87\00:29:38.63
When you so love what do you do?
00:29:38.74\00:29:39.98
"He so loved the world that
He gave. " And that's the point.
00:29:40.08\00:29:43.25
That's what love does.
00:29:43.45\00:29:44.57
Open your Bibles just
quickly to Ephesians chapter 5.
00:29:44.77\00:29:46.72
Let me just give you
one last text on this idea
00:29:46.92\00:29:50.05
so that we can unpack
our central point here.
00:29:50.25\00:29:51.91
And that is going to be
about the essential plurality
00:29:52.69\00:29:55.90
that is God.
Ephesians chapter 5.
00:29:56.10\00:29:58.49
In Ephesians chapter 5...
The whole chapter is really
00:30:00.56\00:30:04.22
quite cool... You find Paul
saying walk in three things.
00:30:04.32\00:30:08.25
He says "walk in love;
walk in light; walk in wisdom. "
00:30:08.45\00:30:11.45
It's a really
cool sermon on its own.
00:30:11.65\00:30:13.63
"Walk in love, walk in
light; walk in wisdom. "
00:30:13.83\00:30:15.43
But the first thing that he says
in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 1
00:30:15.73\00:30:18.50
is he says "walk in love. "
00:30:18.60\00:30:20.17
Now let's just
take a look at that.
00:30:20.27\00:30:21.35
Ephesians chapter 5 verse 1
00:30:21.55\00:30:23.24
he says: "The
imitators of... " Who?
00:30:23.44\00:30:27.39
"The imitators of
God as dear children. "
00:30:27.59\00:30:30.99
This is a basic - you know
- pedagogical, developmental,
00:30:31.19\00:30:36.61
sociological truth: that
children imitate their parents.
00:30:36.81\00:30:39.50
Right. If you go talk to
my sons right now and say
00:30:39.80\00:30:41.83
"What do you love to
do? " They're going to say:
00:30:41.93\00:30:43.14
"We love going camping;
we love going backpacking;
00:30:43.24\00:30:44.91
we love going running;
we love going surfing. "
00:30:45.11\00:30:47.22
Why do you think
they love those things?
00:30:47.42\00:30:48.62
Because their dad
loves them, right?
00:30:49.02\00:30:50.59
They're into the
things their dad is into.
00:30:50.69\00:30:52.19
They like to dress how I dress;
they like to act how I act;
00:30:52.29\00:30:54.06
they like to eat how I eat.
00:30:54.16\00:30:55.42
Now my oldest - Landon - is
12, and he's a very mature 12.
00:30:55.52\00:30:59.55
He's just coming
into those pre-teen years.
00:30:59.75\00:31:02.03
In his mind he's
already a teenager.
00:31:02.13\00:31:03.66
And he's developing that
sense of his own identity,
00:31:04.50\00:31:08.74
right, where it's
like: "Dad's pretty cool
00:31:08.94\00:31:10.97
but I think this is also
cool. " And so we're in that
00:31:11.17\00:31:15.45
I wouldn't call it a tug-of-war
but that tension where -
00:31:15.65\00:31:18.10
and I'm encouraging it -
he's learning to be who he is.
00:31:18.20\00:31:21.14
None of us should want our
children just to exist just in
00:31:21.44\00:31:23.56
our own shadows and
be just parrots of us
00:31:23.66\00:31:26.30
or carbon copies of us.
00:31:26.50\00:31:27.57
We want to train them and
guide them and direct them,
00:31:27.77\00:31:30.21
but at the end of the
day we want them to become
00:31:30.31\00:31:32.47
their own human beings. Amen?
00:31:32.57\00:31:35.12
There's a beautiful
giftedness that God gives to us
00:31:35.36\00:31:37.96
in helping others to
become followers of God,
00:31:38.16\00:31:42.49
followers of Christ
and not merely parroters
00:31:42.69\00:31:44.65
of the thoughts
of their parents.
00:31:44.75\00:31:46.75
Well anyway, Paul here uses this
basic sociological phenomenon
00:31:46.95\00:31:50.51
and he says:
"Therefore be imitators of God
00:31:50.71\00:31:53.37
as dear children. " And
for Paul, the moment he says
00:31:53.47\00:31:58.32
"be imitators of God" what's
the first thing that comes
00:31:58.42\00:32:01.66
to his mind in verse 2?
00:32:01.76\00:32:03.23
Yeah, he says: "and
walk in... " What? Love.
00:32:04.19\00:32:08.21
Now don't miss that.
For Paul it's automatic.
00:32:08.41\00:32:10.41
It's axiomatic.
00:32:10.61\00:32:11.89
If I say to you: "Imitate
God, " the very first thing
00:32:12.09\00:32:14.60
that I am going to
say is "walk in love
00:32:14.70\00:32:16.35
because God is... " The first
thing on our table of truth.
00:32:16.55\00:32:19.48
God is love. Therefore
be imitators of God as dear
00:32:19.68\00:32:22.23
children and walk in love...
" Now watch the rest of your
00:32:22.33\00:32:24.61
verse: "as Christ also
has loved us and given Himself
00:32:24.71\00:32:29.07
for us an offering
and a sacrifice to God
00:32:29.27\00:32:31.60
for a sweet-smelling aroma. "
00:32:31.70\00:32:33.12
He has loved us and
given Himself for us.
00:32:34.39\00:32:38.78
I want you to see
these as equivalences.
00:32:39.53\00:32:42.22
To really love is to give
yourself for someone else.
00:32:42.62\00:32:46.01
They are equal. To
love is to give yourself.
00:32:46.22\00:32:49.18
"Greater love hath no man
than this: that a man would
00:32:49.38\00:32:50.63
lay down his life... he would
give his life for his friends. "
00:32:50.73\00:32:52.62
John 3:16 "For
God so loved the world
00:32:52.72\00:32:54.71
that He gave His
only begotten Son. "
00:32:54.92\00:32:56.89
So to love is to give.
00:32:57.09\00:32:58.99
We cool everyone?
00:33:00.00\00:33:01.41
Now go to the same
chapter 5 and look at verse 25.
00:33:01.62\00:33:03.75
Ephesians chapter 5 verse 25.
00:33:04.15\00:33:05.81
Paul picks up the same
theme except now he uses it
00:33:06.21\00:33:08.69
in a different sociological
institution, theological
00:33:08.89\00:33:12.06
institution: marriage.
And he says in verse 25:
00:33:12.17\00:33:14.32
"Husbands... " What are
we going to do, husbands?
00:33:14.62\00:33:16.69
"Husbands: love your wives...
" Now watch this: "as Christ
00:33:16.89\00:33:20.02
also loved the church
00:33:20.22\00:33:21.85
and... " What did He
do? "and He gave Himself
00:33:22.05\00:33:26.10
for her. " And there
are other places by the way.
00:33:26.31\00:33:29.66
This is a phrase -
this phrase "gave Himself" -
00:33:29.86\00:33:32.23
that Paul can just... he
just can't get away from.
00:33:32.33\00:33:34.39
He uses it in Galatians
1; he uses it in Galatians 4;
00:33:34.59\00:33:36.81
he uses it in Titus 2; he
uses it here in Ephesians 5:1-2
00:33:36.91\00:33:40.95
and also verse 25:
"He gave Himself. "
00:33:41.05\00:33:43.85
"He gave Himself. " In
fact, you know one of these
00:33:44.05\00:33:45.62
verses by heart many of you:
Galatians chapter 2 verse 20.
00:33:45.72\00:33:47.78
"I am crucified with Christ.
00:33:47.88\00:33:49.34
Nevertheless I live yet not I
00:33:49.74\00:33:52.97
but Christ lives in
me. " Now listen to this:
00:33:53.17\00:33:55.48
"And the life which I now
live in the flesh I live by
00:33:55.69\00:33:57.87
the faithfulness
of the Son of God
00:33:58.07\00:33:59.90
who... " You know this part?
00:34:00.30\00:34:02.83
"who loved me and
gave Himself for me. "
00:34:03.03\00:34:08.54
So for Paul to
love is synonymous
00:34:08.74\00:34:11.54
with to give yourself.
00:34:11.74\00:34:13.66
And the Bible says
that God is what? Love.
00:34:13.86\00:34:18.35
This raises a huge question.
00:34:18.55\00:34:20.55
If love is the principle of put-
ting someone before one's self,
00:34:21.87\00:34:26.07
in order to have
love you must have others
00:34:28.60\00:34:31.66
to put before one's self.
00:34:31.86\00:34:33.62
And this is exactly what
scripture reveals about the
00:34:34.21\00:34:36.41
nature of God. It's marvelous!
00:34:36.51\00:34:38.02
It's what C. S. Lewis
calls "either the greatest truth
00:34:38.12\00:34:39.99
ever revealed or the
greatest farce ever invented. "
00:34:40.09\00:34:42.22
The God is not merely
a rigidly, numerically
00:34:43.03\00:34:47.10
singular entity.
00:34:47.31\00:34:49.00
Right? And there are whole
faith systems that believe this.
00:34:49.20\00:34:51.62
But the Christian faith
- orthodox Christianity -
00:34:51.92\00:34:54.53
says: "No... God
is a relationship.
00:34:54.73\00:34:57.82
God is a family. God is
a... " Listen carefully:
00:34:58.02\00:35:02.08
"God is a covenantal reality
00:35:02.28\00:35:04.98
where you have the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit
00:35:05.28\00:35:10.38
each of them possessing
personality and each of them
00:35:10.68\00:35:14.11
God but each of them
distinct from the other
00:35:14.32\00:35:18.23
so that the identity and
role of the Father is not
00:35:18.43\00:35:24.25
the same as the
identity and role of the Son. "
00:35:24.45\00:35:26.46
The Father
didn't die on the cross.
00:35:27.09\00:35:28.89
Yeah? But the Son did.
00:35:29.19\00:35:31.31
So the identity and
role of the Son is distinct
00:35:31.61\00:35:34.59
but complementary to
the role of the Father.
00:35:34.79\00:35:36.58
Yes? And so too
the role of the Spirit.
00:35:37.52\00:35:40.67
Did the Spirit die on the cross?
00:35:40.77\00:35:42.01
No. The Spirit has a
very specific and central role
00:35:42.41\00:35:46.29
in the plan of
salvation, but that role is not
00:35:46.49\00:35:48.36
identical with - it's
complementary with but not
00:35:48.56\00:35:50.50
identical with - the role
of the Son or of the Father.
00:35:50.60\00:35:53.75
And so what we see here
00:35:53.95\00:35:56.07
is that scripture
reveals that God is a mysterious
00:35:56.27\00:35:59.60
blending of three identities
00:36:00.86\00:36:05.23
and three missions
00:36:05.43\00:36:07.84
and yet one God. Here's a kind
of cool way to think about it.
00:36:08.05\00:36:11.89
I just heard this
yesterday in fact.
00:36:12.09\00:36:13.22
Somebody says: "Explain that. "
00:36:14.12\00:36:15.87
Well, first of all it's
inexplicable... but don't be
00:36:16.07\00:36:18.21
too bothered by that. Everything
about God is inexplicable.
00:36:18.24\00:36:21.78
OK? So we'll get to
that in just a second.
00:36:22.60\00:36:24.19
If you can explain to me
how you can have three candles
00:36:24.29\00:36:27.29
and one light in a room
00:36:27.49\00:36:29.48
then I can explain to you how
you can have three personalities
00:36:29.78\00:36:33.00
and one God in the Godhead.
00:36:33.10\00:36:35.04
Right? How many candles
are there in the room? Three.
00:36:36.12\00:36:39.06
How many lights are there? One.
00:36:39.26\00:36:40.80
You see, the room has
light, right? And so too
00:36:41.00\00:36:44.32
you have the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit.
00:36:44.52\00:36:46.86
And here in this divine
relationship the heart of the
00:36:46.96\00:36:49.73
Son is eternally going out
to the Father and the Spirit.
00:36:49.94\00:36:53.54
And the heart of the
Spirit is eternally going out
00:36:54.44\00:36:56.49
to the Father and the Son.
00:36:56.59\00:36:58.01
And the heart of the
Father is eternally going out
00:36:58.21\00:36:59.82
to the Son and the Spirit.
00:37:00.02\00:37:01.43
And so John could observe
that basic ontological reality
00:37:01.63\00:37:05.88
and other Bible
writers saw it as well
00:37:06.08\00:37:07.58
and he could say, in
three simple words he could
00:37:07.78\00:37:10.41
encapsulate this
enigmatic amazing truth.
00:37:10.51\00:37:13.06
He could say: "God is love. "
00:37:13.26\00:37:17.58
Incidentally and
not coincidentally
00:37:18.51\00:37:21.33
when God sets out to
make something in His image -
00:37:21.73\00:37:25.06
Genesis 1 and 2
00:37:25.26\00:37:26.32
"Come let Us make
man in Our image" -
00:37:26.52\00:37:30.64
what does God make in His image?
00:37:30.84\00:37:33.43
Yeah. He doesn't just
make males in His image.
00:37:35.86\00:37:38.66
Right? Neither does He
make just females in His image.
00:37:39.62\00:37:42.62
He makes a man,
He makes a woman,
00:37:43.02\00:37:45.26
and the first thing He
says to them is: "Be fruitful
00:37:45.36\00:37:47.48
and... " Multiply. In
other words "make another. "
00:37:47.58\00:37:49.71
And the thing then
that is in the fullest...
00:37:49.91\00:37:52.79
the thing that is in
the fullest image of God
00:37:53.19\00:37:55.82
the thing that is made in
God's image in the fullest
00:37:55.92\00:37:59.52
and most grand
and beautiful sense
00:37:59.62\00:38:01.45
is the family unit itself.
00:38:01.65\00:38:04.02
Which makes sense!
00:38:04.99\00:38:06.62
I've been married now
for 14 years and you've heard
00:38:07.40\00:38:10.55
the story before -
maybe you've lived the story -
00:38:10.65\00:38:12.40
that you...
marriage is not easy.
00:38:12.61\00:38:16.04
I tell people all the
time: "It's easy to have a great
00:38:16.34\00:38:18.13
wedding, OK? It's a great
marriage that takes time. "
00:38:18.23\00:38:20.84
OK? You know, you get the point.
00:38:21.80\00:38:23.64
Anybody can pull
off a show for a day
00:38:23.84\00:38:26.33
but to live in close proximity
with another human being
00:38:26.53\00:38:30.84
and to give yourself to
them, to learn to forgive
00:38:30.94\00:38:33.85
and to be forgiven, to
trust and to be trusted...
00:38:33.95\00:38:37.05
this is no easy feat, is it?
00:38:37.45\00:38:40.16
Hardly. Marriage is
the great honing device,
00:38:40.36\00:38:45.03
the great sculpting
device that God has built in
00:38:45.23\00:38:48.60
to man's psychology
to teach us how to become
00:38:48.80\00:38:52.06
the people that we can
be when we're not so totally
00:38:52.16\00:38:55.12
focused on ourselves. Now
there's another human being
00:38:55.22\00:38:57.33
in your space, in
your bed, in your house,
00:38:57.53\00:39:00.62
in your car, in your
life, in your checking account.
00:39:00.82\00:39:03.22
And if you go into a marriage
and you think you're going to
00:39:03.42\00:39:06.31
preserve what's
yours and what's mine
00:39:06.41\00:39:08.53
and that's
yours and this is mine
00:39:08.74\00:39:09.78
you have conflict and
tension. And many marriages -
00:39:09.98\00:39:12.40
perhaps even most, sadly
- are characterized by this
00:39:12.60\00:39:15.07
kind of tension between
a protecting of what's mine
00:39:15.27\00:39:17.87
and an identification
of what's yours and mine.
00:39:18.07\00:39:20.50
But if you see marriage
as a whole different animal
00:39:20.70\00:39:23.35
not what can I get
and what can I keep
00:39:23.65\00:39:25.52
and this is mine and that's
yours... but what can I give?
00:39:25.62\00:39:27.56
How can I bless?
How can I forgive?
00:39:27.77\00:39:30.02
How can I be a
blessing? Now it's not easy.
00:39:30.22\00:39:31.98
Amen? But when both parties
are committed to the good
00:39:32.80\00:39:36.92
of the other...
Did you get that?
00:39:37.12\00:39:40.76
When both parties are committed
to the good of the other
00:39:41.06\00:39:43.47
they're actually both
committed to the same thing
00:39:43.67\00:39:45.72
and that's the good of us.
00:39:45.92\00:39:47.10
A marriage
creates a new reality.
00:39:47.98\00:39:51.48
There was you and there was me
00:39:51.68\00:39:53.04
and there's still you
and me but now there's an us.
00:39:53.24\00:39:55.43
And it's that "usness" that's
really in the image of God.
00:39:56.16\00:39:59.36
"Come let Us make
man in Our image. "
00:39:59.66\00:40:03.14
Us is the plural pronoun;
our is the plural possessive.
00:40:03.34\00:40:05.86
"Come let Us
make man in Our image.
00:40:06.07\00:40:08.55
Let them... " that's a plural...
"let them have dominion. "
00:40:08.75\00:40:13.78
Because only a them -
only a family, only a plural -
00:40:14.46\00:40:18.36
could represent a God who
is in His nature a plurality.
00:40:18.56\00:40:22.21
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
00:40:22.51\00:40:25.02
Incidentally, the Bible says
things like "Therefore the two"
00:40:25.22\00:40:29.97
speaking of the
man and the woman
00:40:30.21\00:40:31.62
"the two shall
become one flesh. "
00:40:31.82\00:40:35.54
But wait a minute: you
still have a man and a woman
00:40:35.84\00:40:37.64
but they are so unified
in purpose... And of course,
00:40:37.84\00:40:40.10
this is an unambiguous
reference to the sexual union
00:40:40.20\00:40:42.09
but it's more than that.
00:40:42.29\00:40:43.44
You have in the sexual
union a real communication
00:40:43.74\00:40:47.09
about how intimacy
works. When I am giving myself
00:40:47.29\00:40:49.83
totally to you and you are
giving yourself totally to me
00:40:50.03\00:40:52.00
in vulnerability, in
love, and in transparency
00:40:52.20\00:40:54.69
even though we are
two we are really one.
00:40:54.89\00:40:57.74
Can you say "Amen? "
00:40:58.44\00:40:59.63
It's absolutely beautiful...
which is why Satan has gone
00:40:59.83\00:41:02.31
to such great lengths
to pervert this beautiful
00:41:02.41\00:41:05.45
truth of humanity and of
scripture of the sexual union.
00:41:05.65\00:41:09.35
He has perverted it
because he hates it.
00:41:09.55\00:41:11.31
He hates it, but the
church needs to re-claim it
00:41:12.29\00:41:14.30
for the beautiful and
godly thing that it is. Amen.
00:41:14.50\00:41:17.18
People say: "Oh, don't
talk about sex in church.
00:41:17.41\00:41:19.12
Don't talk about that. "
00:41:19.32\00:41:20.56
I say church is the very
best place to hear about sex.
00:41:20.66\00:41:23.19
Where should we learn
about it? On the bathroom walls?
00:41:23.60\00:41:27.24
Is that the place that we
want to learn about the thing
00:41:28.45\00:41:30.30
that God has created
for our benefit and blessing
00:41:30.40\00:41:32.36
and for the
promulgation of our children?
00:41:32.56\00:41:34.30
I have people come to me and
say: "Oh pastor, I don't like
00:41:34.60\00:41:37.16
you talking about those things
from the front. My child...
00:41:37.26\00:41:39.12
I'm concerned about my child. "
00:41:39.32\00:41:40.52
I said: "Hey look. First
of all your child's thirteen
00:41:40.72\00:41:42.93
and they already know a lot
more than you think they know.
00:41:43.13\00:41:45.67
That's number one. Number two:
00:41:45.87\00:41:47.70
where would you rather
have your children learn
00:41:47.90\00:41:50.02
about the sexual relation
that God has created for the
00:41:50.12\00:41:52.23
benefit and blessing of mankind?
00:41:52.33\00:41:53.43
In a church from a
godly, Biblical perspective
00:41:53.63\00:41:56.77
or from their teenage friends
who have gotten access to some
00:41:56.97\00:42:00.02
pornographic material? Or worse
yet, on the bathroom wall? "
00:42:00.22\00:42:02.90
The church needs to
re-claim this territory
00:42:04.09\00:42:07.02
because of the beautiful
and awesome thing that it is.
00:42:07.22\00:42:10.23
I'm going to say one more word
on that and then I'm going to
00:42:10.33\00:42:11.40
get off of that.
The reason that God is
00:42:11.50\00:42:13.62
so death on pornography,
the reason that God is so death
00:42:13.72\00:42:16.73
on fornication, the reason that
God is so death on adultery -
00:42:16.83\00:42:19.53
listen carefully - is because
He's so up on the Biblical
00:42:19.73\00:42:23.33
and correct
manifestation of true sexuality.
00:42:23.44\00:42:25.61
He's down on that because
that's a perversion of the thing
00:42:26.75\00:42:29.47
He's so up on! But the church
historically has misread that.
00:42:29.57\00:42:32.93
We've thought: "Oh, the
sex thing is the wrong thing. "
00:42:32.96\00:42:35.66
No, no, no, no. The sex
thing is the right thing
00:42:35.96\00:42:38.11
when it's done in the
right way for the right reasons
00:42:38.31\00:42:40.92
between two people
who are mutually committed
00:42:41.12\00:42:43.34
to the others
benefit and blessing.
00:42:43.54\00:42:45.00
Amen. How
beautiful is that? Whew! OK!
00:42:45.30\00:42:47.82
That was a little side note.
You didn't plan that, did you?
00:42:48.02\00:42:49.54
Now here's the cool thing:
00:42:50.60\00:42:52.62
God makes a family in His image
00:42:53.38\00:42:56.03
to symbolize that
He Himself is a family.
00:42:56.23\00:42:58.19
No wonder Jesus - this
provocative, young Rabbi
00:42:58.29\00:43:02.93
in ancient Palestine -
can show up on the scene
00:43:03.03\00:43:05.02
and start saying things like
this: John chapter 10 verse 30.
00:43:05.23\00:43:07.72
"I and My Father are
One. " Well do the math.
00:43:08.02\00:43:12.51
"I... " that's one...
00:43:13.39\00:43:15.65
"and My
Father... " well that's two
00:43:15.85\00:43:18.16
Right? I and My Father.
Right? By any mathematical
00:43:18.66\00:43:21.87
construction and
is a conjunction.
00:43:21.97\00:43:23.85
"I and My
Father are... " not two
00:43:24.15\00:43:29.52
"We are One. " Let's
try John chapter 1 verse 1.
00:43:29.72\00:43:33.38
"In the beginning was the Word
00:43:33.59\00:43:36.06
and the Word was with God. "
00:43:36.36\00:43:38.06
OK, that means if
the Word is with God...
00:43:38.46\00:43:41.04
Here's the Word,
here's with, and here's God.
00:43:41.24\00:43:43.52
So it's one and... How
many entities do we have here?
00:43:43.72\00:43:46.83
"In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God... "
00:43:47.03\00:43:50.50
So there's one, two.
00:43:50.70\00:43:51.87
But then what John
says: "And the Word was God. "
00:43:52.07\00:43:55.65
That's just another
way of saying 1 + 1= 1.
00:43:55.75\00:43:58.26
Now Jesus then later develops
- and we don't have time
00:43:59.28\00:44:01.63
to get into this here -
but later in the gospel of John
00:44:01.73\00:44:03.88
particularly Jesus further
develops the identity of the
00:44:03.98\00:44:06.65
Spirit. And He says:
"Another Comforter will come. "
00:44:06.75\00:44:09.22
Right? And so what we end
up having is this beautiful
00:44:10.37\00:44:12.89
picture of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit
00:44:13.09\00:44:17.24
as a familial reality. But
not just as a familial reality.
00:44:17.44\00:44:21.12
Not just in the "God is
love" in some general sense.
00:44:21.32\00:44:23.70
But - and here's where we're
going with this over our time
00:44:23.90\00:44:26.30
together - God as a
covenant relationship.
00:44:26.40\00:44:30.68
Now we need to unpack that.
00:44:31.28\00:44:32.31
What do we mean by God
as a covenant relationship?
00:44:32.58\00:44:34.05
Well what we mean
is in a covenant...
00:44:34.25\00:44:35.45
What's a covenant? What's
another word? What's a synonym?
00:44:35.65\00:44:36.99
An agreement.
Perfect... we'll use that.
00:44:37.84\00:44:39.29
An agreement. It means
that in an agreement I have
00:44:39.50\00:44:42.63
my role to do and
you have your role to do.
00:44:42.74\00:44:44.48
I'll perform my part;
you perform your part.
00:44:44.69\00:44:46.49
So far so good?
00:44:47.56\00:44:48.73
And let's just take
the marriage covenant.
00:44:49.03\00:44:50.89
Let's take the
marriage agreement.
00:44:50.99\00:44:52.10
Is the role of the man identical
with the role of the woman?
00:44:52.30\00:44:55.22
Is the role of the
woman identical with the role
00:44:55.42\00:44:57.30
of the man? No. And
the role of the children...
00:44:57.40\00:44:58.93
is that identical? No.
00:44:59.13\00:45:00.24
Every one has a complementary
and fundamentally important role
00:45:00.44\00:45:05.66
to play, but their
roles are not the same.
00:45:05.86\00:45:08.48
The goal is the same,
but the role isn't the same.
00:45:09.43\00:45:12.55
Oh I rhymed just for you.
00:45:12.75\00:45:13.91
The role is not the same
but the goal is the same.
00:45:14.31\00:45:18.98
The role of the father and
the husband is not the role
00:45:19.28\00:45:22.28
of the mother and the wife.
00:45:22.48\00:45:23.57
And the role of the child
is not the role of the father
00:45:23.77\00:45:26.99
or of the mother. And
so, too, with each of these
00:45:27.09\00:45:29.74
identities here so that if
the father and husband is true
00:45:29.94\00:45:34.00
to his role and his identity
00:45:34.11\00:45:36.63
and the wife is true to
her role and her identity
00:45:36.83\00:45:39.20
and the children are true to
their role and their identity
00:45:39.40\00:45:41.34
you have a beautiful agreement.
00:45:41.54\00:45:44.43
You have a beautiful...?
We're all on the same team
00:45:45.67\00:45:48.64
but our tasks are not identical.
00:45:48.95\00:45:51.03
There is some overlap, but our
tasks are slightly different.
00:45:51.23\00:45:54.38
They're not only compatible...
they're complementary...
00:45:54.59\00:45:56.67
and we now are a covenant.
00:45:56.87\00:46:00.15
I'm indebted to Skip MacCarty.
Anybody know Pastor MacCarty?
00:46:01.26\00:46:04.46
Yeah. Have you read his
book In Granite or Ingrained?
00:46:04.66\00:46:07.00
I tell you: I recommend
that book without reservation.
00:46:07.20\00:46:09.05
It should be in your library.
00:46:09.25\00:46:10.44
In Granite or Ingrained?
00:46:10.64\00:46:12.21
It's a fantastic
Biblical study on the covenants.
00:46:12.41\00:46:14.68
And I'm really indebted
to him for opening my eyes
00:46:15.09\00:46:19.41
to something that I sort
of knew but he articulated
00:46:19.61\00:46:21.84
in language that
was fresh for me.
00:46:22.04\00:46:23.81
He says the reason
that we find God relating
00:46:24.22\00:46:27.01
through all of
scripture in covenants -
00:46:27.31\00:46:29.53
and that's what we'll
talk about in our next session.
00:46:29.73\00:46:31.16
God makes a covenant with Adam.
00:46:31.36\00:46:33.31
God makes a covenant with Noah.
00:46:33.51\00:46:34.89
God makes a covenant with Abram.
00:46:35.09\00:46:36.68
God even makes a
covenant with Christ.
00:46:36.98\00:46:38.34
God establishes
all of these covenants.
00:46:38.54\00:46:40.90
Do you know why? Because
God Himself is covenantal
00:46:41.10\00:46:45.35
in His nature. That's
just another way of saying
00:46:45.45\00:46:50.16
He's relational so He works
on the basis of relationality.
00:46:50.36\00:46:54.09
The Bible says that Moses
spoke to God as with a friend.
00:46:55.07\00:46:59.24
Abraham was the
"friend of God. "
00:47:00.40\00:47:02.70
They had an
agreement; they had a covenant;
00:47:02.73\00:47:04.17
they had a relationship.
00:47:04.27\00:47:06.18
Now, in our final 10 minutes
here we've got to knock this
00:47:07.18\00:47:09.67
part out here. This is awesome.
00:47:09.77\00:47:11.28
When Jesus shows up to earth
00:47:11.68\00:47:13.94
He starts using all
this familial language.
00:47:14.79\00:47:17.25
In fact, on one occasion
the disciples overheard Jesus
00:47:17.55\00:47:20.32
praying. And they came. They
said: "Whoa, we love the way
00:47:20.52\00:47:23.33
You pray. We want
to pray like You pray.
00:47:23.43\00:47:26.26
You don't pray
like the Pharisees.
00:47:26.46\00:47:27.81
You don't pray like the
scribes; you don't pray like the
00:47:28.01\00:47:29.48
religious leaders.
There's a dry formalism
00:47:29.58\00:47:32.28
and ceremonialism
in the way they pray. "
00:47:32.49\00:47:33.92
Luke 11: "Teach us how
to pray like You pray. "
00:47:34.33\00:47:37.35
And I can just imagine
the heart of Jesus swelling
00:47:38.24\00:47:40.26
with pride and hope
when He thought: "Oh, I was
00:47:40.36\00:47:44.06
hoping you'd ask. Been waiting
for you to ask that one. "
00:47:44.16\00:47:46.80
And He said:
"OK, pray like this:
00:47:47.00\00:47:48.37
'Our Father. ' "
00:47:49.65\00:47:54.39
"Our Father which is in
heaven, hallowed be Thy name. "
00:47:54.69\00:47:57.96
Notice the very first thing
that Jesus teaches His disciples
00:47:58.26\00:48:01.66
in approaching God is to
approach Him in a relational
00:48:01.86\00:48:05.65
covenantal way: "Our Father. "
00:48:05.85\00:48:09.21
Not merely "Our
God" - which is a title
00:48:10.44\00:48:13.35
of someone who
occupies a place of Creatorship
00:48:13.55\00:48:17.53
and sovereignty in
the universe. No, no, no.
00:48:17.73\00:48:20.98
You approach God like this.
I mean God? God: ineffable,
00:48:22.04\00:48:26.26
eternal, omnipotent God?
You approach Him like this.
00:48:26.46\00:48:30.89
"Our Father. " And
notice even the language.
00:48:33.63\00:48:36.44
Not "My Father. " Ah,
that's far too selfish.
00:48:36.64\00:48:39.16
No, no. He's our Father.
00:48:40.03\00:48:41.53
Yes. Are you with me?
00:48:41.73\00:48:43.66
"Our Father
which art in heaven. "
00:48:43.86\00:48:46.02
And then the New Testament
is saturated with this familial
00:48:46.22\00:48:49.35
language. "Behold what manner
of love the Father has bestowed
00:48:49.45\00:48:53.83
upon us that we should
be called the sons of God. "
00:48:53.93\00:48:58.35
I John chapter 3 verse
1. John chapter 1 verse 12.
00:48:59.54\00:49:01.92
"to as many as
received Him... " The Christ...
00:49:02.12\00:49:04.17
"to them He gave the right
to be called the sons of God. "
00:49:04.37\00:49:09.38
And the whole New
Testament is just saturated
00:49:09.88\00:49:12.50
in this familial language,
this covenantal language.
00:49:12.70\00:49:15.79
Now here is the point, and
it is such a beautiful point.
00:49:15.99\00:49:19.21
Scripture and for those of you
that are Seventh-day Adventists
00:49:20.09\00:49:23.47
Ellen White uses this
idea of the family of God
00:49:23.68\00:49:27.22
in two senses. And
if we can nail this down
00:49:27.42\00:49:29.89
we are on track.
00:49:30.10\00:49:31.68
There is the sense in
which God is a family -
00:49:31.89\00:49:34.84
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -
00:49:35.04\00:49:36.26
who made a family in His image.
00:49:36.46\00:49:38.31
Can you say "Amen" to that?
00:49:38.51\00:49:39.73
This God is not merely
loving; this God is love.
00:49:39.93\00:49:42.42
But now watch what happens.
00:49:42.52\00:49:44.15
When God creates other things...
00:49:44.45\00:49:47.20
And let me just ask a question:
why would He do such a thing?
00:49:47.40\00:49:49.92
For love. Who said
that? That's exactly right!
00:49:50.99\00:49:53.10
He created them for love.
00:49:53.40\00:49:55.45
To love and be loved.
00:49:55.65\00:49:57.30
That's exactly right!
00:49:57.51\00:49:58.75
God said: "Hey, let's
share this thing that we've got.
00:49:59.05\00:50:01.69
Let's make man in Our image
00:50:01.90\00:50:03.90
and they will love
and they will love Us
00:50:04.10\00:50:05.48
and We will love them, and
they will create still others
00:50:05.68\00:50:07.50
who will love. And
it will just be this...
00:50:07.70\00:50:10.00
this ever-expanding, ongoing
matrix of other-centerdness. "
00:50:10.30\00:50:14.51
Whoo! Can you say "Amen? "
00:50:14.81\00:50:16.82
It's like the
reverse of our world.
00:50:17.13\00:50:18.81
Right? It's the
reverse of our world right now.
00:50:19.96\00:50:22.44
We're going to talk about
that. How did we end up here
00:50:22.74\00:50:24.17
when that was the plan?
Well we'll talk about that.
00:50:24.27\00:50:25.88
OK. So God makes this beautiful
thing, and the family of God
00:50:26.18\00:50:30.39
is used in these two senses:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
00:50:30.59\00:50:33.38
are the family of God. But
then all of those creatures
00:50:33.58\00:50:37.00
that are made in His
image become extensions of
00:50:37.20\00:50:41.02
God's family. Now...
check out Luke chapter 3.
00:50:41.23\00:50:44.59
Luke chapter 3.
00:50:44.89\00:50:46.18
Unlike Matthew who
begins his genealogy
00:50:47.21\00:50:50.76
all the way back...
no, only back to Abraham...
00:50:51.06\00:50:55.02
When Matthew does his
genealogy he basically does it
00:50:55.32\00:50:58.05
in 3 sets of 14.
00:50:58.25\00:51:00.55
He says: "there were 14
generations from Abraham to
00:51:00.85\00:51:02.46
David; 14 generations from
David to the carrying away of
00:51:02.66\00:51:04.53
the captivity in Babylon;
and 14 generations from that
00:51:04.63\00:51:06.87
to the Messiah... which, by
the way, is very significant
00:51:07.07\00:51:09.34
because three
fourteens is six sixes.
00:51:09.54\00:51:14.42
Right? Or six
sevens. So you have a 7, a 7,
00:51:14.62\00:51:17.45
a 7, a 7, a 7, and a 7.
00:51:17.65\00:51:19.10
And if you know
anything about the Old Testament
00:51:19.30\00:51:21.20
what is the 7th seven called?
00:51:21.40\00:51:24.25
Called the jubilee.
00:51:24.65\00:51:26.60
Right? And Jesus shows up...
Matthew purposely constructs
00:51:27.10\00:51:30.21
his gospel this way.
Jesus IS the jubilee.
00:51:30.41\00:51:33.46
You have a 14, a 14, and a 14
00:51:33.66\00:51:36.06
which is just Matthew's
way of saying a 7, a 7,
00:51:36.36\00:51:38.08
a 7, a 7, a 7, and a
7... and it ends with Him
00:51:38.11\00:51:41.08
who introduces the jubilee.
00:51:41.28\00:51:42.71
No wonder Jesus in Luke
chapter 4 when He went into
00:51:42.81\00:51:45.08
the synagogue He
said: "I am anointed by God
00:51:45.19\00:51:48.14
to set at
liberty the captives. "
00:51:48.34\00:51:50.07
That's jubilee language.
00:51:50.28\00:51:51.56
Oh I wish I had
time to develop that
00:51:51.96\00:51:54.08
and then to go into Daniel
chapter 9 with the 70 times 7.
00:51:54.28\00:51:56.89
It's amazing. We
don't have time for that.
00:51:58.18\00:51:59.75
That's another Camp
Meeting for another day.
00:52:00.25\00:52:02.41
OK? Are you with me? Or it's
for your own personal study.
00:52:02.81\00:52:05.74
Yeah? OK. But what Luke does
00:52:05.94\00:52:07.76
instead of just going back to
Abraham, Luke goes back to Adam.
00:52:07.96\00:52:10.89
Which by the way, this
is one of the many reasons
00:52:11.73\00:52:14.45
why we think that
Luke was likely a Gentile.
00:52:14.55\00:52:15.96
He is purposely bringing
it back not just to Abraham
00:52:16.16\00:52:19.33
which would have been a very
appropriate beginning for the
00:52:19.53\00:52:20.93
Jews... he goes all the way
back to Adam, which would have
00:52:21.04\00:52:23.51
been a very appropriate
beginning not just for Jews
00:52:23.61\00:52:25.44
but for Gentiles as well.
00:52:25.64\00:52:27.71
Look at this. Luke chapter
3. We'll pick it up in verse 35.
00:52:27.91\00:52:30.82
Luke 3:35.
00:52:31.02\00:52:32.26
"The son of
Serug, the son of Reu,
00:52:33.19\00:52:34.82
the son of
Peleg, the son of Eber,
00:52:35.02\00:52:36.15
the son of
Shelah, the son of Cainan,
00:52:36.25\00:52:39.00
the son of
Arphaxad, the son of Shem,
00:52:39.10\00:52:40.44
the son of Noah,
the son of Lamech,
00:52:40.54\00:52:41.58
the son of
Methuselah, the son of Enoch,
00:52:41.88\00:52:44.58
the son of Jared,
the son of Mahalalel,
00:52:44.78\00:52:46.02
the son of
Kenan, the son of Enosh,
00:52:46.12\00:52:47.39
the son of Seth,
the son of Adam... "
00:52:47.50\00:52:48.91
What are the next four words?
00:52:49.01\00:52:50.14
Whoa!
00:52:51.69\00:52:56.18
The son of who? God!
00:52:56.48\00:52:58.50
Adam is the son of God.
00:52:59.30\00:53:01.53
So what would that make Eve?
00:53:02.54\00:53:04.85
That would make Eve the
daughter of God. Exactly.
00:53:06.09\00:53:08.08
And so what you have here is
the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
00:53:08.38\00:53:12.11
making their son and
their daughter and then saying
00:53:12.31\00:53:15.43
"You guys make others and
there'll be this ever-increasing
00:53:15.63\00:53:18.19
ever-expanding matrix of love. "
00:53:18.39\00:53:20.68
Now watch this: the
family of God is ever growing,
00:53:20.88\00:53:24.44
ever expanding,
but ever connected.
00:53:24.64\00:53:27.23
Whoo! Can you say "Amen? "
00:53:28.19\00:53:30.56
Those of you that have
grandkids: I'm told that
00:53:30.86\00:53:32.47
grandkids are even
better than your own kids.
00:53:32.57\00:53:34.09
I can't wait to find out.
00:53:36.00\00:53:37.62
Some day... just not too soon.
00:53:37.82\00:53:39.01
Right?
00:53:39.21\00:53:40.60
The Bible says: "Blessed
is the man that has his quiver
00:53:42.28\00:53:44.53
full of them. "
00:53:44.73\00:53:46.27
Right? That there's just
this joy in this expansion
00:53:46.57\00:53:49.09
of the family of God.
00:53:49.19\00:53:52.02
Now check this out. There
are two primary figures that are
00:53:53.00\00:53:56.12
called the son
of God in scripture.
00:53:56.22\00:53:58.28
Two primary historical figures.
00:53:58.58\00:54:00.33
One we just mentioned is Adam.
00:54:01.55\00:54:03.09
Adam is the son of God.
00:54:03.40\00:54:05.59
You know who the
other one is? Old Testament.
00:54:06.67\00:54:08.37
Israel. When Moses
shows up at the burning bush
00:54:10.65\00:54:13.58
there and God
says: "Go tell Pharaoh
00:54:13.78\00:54:18.47
to let My people
go. Israel - My son -
00:54:18.67\00:54:23.00
My firstborn. "
00:54:23.20\00:54:25.33
So Moses' job is to go
and to announce to Pharaoh
00:54:26.37\00:54:30.15
"Let God's son go! "
00:54:30.46\00:54:33.71
And so here you
have this amazing truth:
00:54:34.75\00:54:36.75
that there are two
primary entities. Number one:
00:54:36.95\00:54:39.46
and number two in the Old
Testament that are referred to
00:54:40.06\00:54:43.38
as the son of God.
Adam is the son of God;
00:54:43.48\00:54:47.33
Israel is the son of God;
00:54:47.53\00:54:49.67
and when Jesus shows up
all of the New Testament
00:54:49.87\00:54:52.57
writers paint this
picture. Watch this.
00:54:52.67\00:54:54.56
This is how we're
going to close. We're set.
00:54:54.76\00:54:56.45
The New Testament
writers paint a picture
00:54:58.36\00:55:00.54
where Jesus is the true Adam.
00:55:00.84\00:55:05.48
He's the new
representative of humanity.
00:55:06.68\00:55:09.03
What would that make Him?
00:55:09.23\00:55:10.61
That would make
Him the Son of God.
00:55:11.54\00:55:13.00
But He's also the new Israel.
00:55:13.30\00:55:16.76
Where they have been
unfaithful He has been faithful.
00:55:17.06\00:55:19.48
What would that make
Him? That would make Him the
00:55:19.78\00:55:21.17
Son of God. And now
we begin to understand
00:55:22.33\00:55:23.88
these are not terms that
are just tossed to and fro.
00:55:23.98\00:55:27.91
No. A very specific term
is being communicated here.
00:55:28.11\00:55:30.83
When the Bible says
Jesus is the Son of God
00:55:31.07\00:55:32.86
it is tapping in to
that early truth about Adam
00:55:33.07\00:55:37.36
as a son of God. And Jesus
comes as the new representative
00:55:37.56\00:55:40.75
of humanity. And it's
tapping in to that truth
00:55:40.85\00:55:43.21
that Israel was
God's son. And Jesus comes
00:55:43.41\00:55:46.96
as the new Adam
and the new Israel
00:55:47.16\00:55:49.17
because that family that
had been created to expand
00:55:49.37\00:55:53.61
and to grow - and this is where
scripture takes a marvelous
00:55:53.82\00:55:59.07
turn... a terrible
turn, a tragic turn -
00:55:59.17\00:56:01.10
that unity, that connectivity,
00:56:01.30\00:56:03.79
that covenant... broken.
00:56:03.99\00:56:08.03
In fact, you can summarize
the Bible in three words.
00:56:09.25\00:56:11.05
Creation, conflict, covenant.
00:56:11.15\00:56:16.37
That's the Bible in
three words right there.
00:56:16.67\00:56:18.26
Creation, conflict, covenant.
00:56:18.66\00:56:20.21
And what we see is this
ever-expanding family that
00:56:20.61\00:56:23.15
God has created, that He's
created to reflect His image
00:56:23.25\00:56:26.74
and to reflect His character
and to reflect His nature
00:56:26.94\00:56:29.22
that that
covenantal reality is broken.
00:56:29.42\00:56:33.42
And do you know how it's broken?
00:56:33.66\00:56:34.75
It's broken the way
that any covenant's broken:
00:56:35.05\00:56:36.72
by self-seeking.
00:56:36.92\00:56:38.28
Start looking out for myself.
00:56:39.54\00:56:41.06
And in the greatest
of ironies and tragedies
00:56:42.09\00:56:44.65
it's broken because the
insinuation and the accusation
00:56:44.95\00:56:48.01
is that God's really
looking out for Himself.
00:56:48.21\00:56:50.82
"He's not looking out
for you or anybody else,
00:56:51.89\00:56:53.94
and don't you make
a mistake about that"
00:56:54.14\00:56:55.78
the serpent said to
the woman at the tree.
00:56:55.98\00:56:57.53
"God is looking out for God. "
00:56:57.84\00:57:00.26
And that's where we'll pick
up in our next presentation.
00:57:00.56\00:57:02.83
The covenant has been formed
00:57:03.23\00:57:05.41
and now we are ready for that
covenant - sadly, tragically,
00:57:05.61\00:57:08.69
and yet textually
- to be what? Broken.
00:57:08.99\00:57:12.68
But I've got good
news: before it's over
00:57:12.79\00:57:14.24
we'll put Humpty
Dumpty back together. Amen?
00:57:14.44\00:57:17.00