Welcome to Anchors of Truth,
00:00:13.41\00:00:15.29
live from the
3ABN worship center,
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the Extravagant Love
series with Ty Gibson.
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Well good evening
and welcome to the
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auditorium here at
the 3ABN worship center
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and we are so happy
that each one of you
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could join with us.
It is a cold and rainy
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night here in Illinois.
And but there is warmth
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inside this auditorium
tonight and we believe
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that we're gonna be
blessed by the spirit of
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God just as we
were last evening.
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Last evening we
enjoyed so much, Pastor
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Ty Gibson's presentation
on Extravagant Love.
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He continues
that series tonight.
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Ty Gibson as most
of you know is the
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co-founder and he is
co-director and speaker
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of Light Bearers Ministries.
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And they have spread
the light of the Gospel
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all around the
world. In this series he's
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talking about how
much God loves us and last
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night I know that
he touched my heart
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as I felt more than
I had ever felt before
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that God really does love me.
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And you know my
friend I hope that you
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felt the very same thing
because God does love you.
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He cares about
you. He cares so much;
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He gave His son to die for you.
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And that is the greatest
gift that could have ever
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been given to this
world. Well tonight we're going
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to enjoy another presentation by
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Ty Gibson and
we're going to enjoy some
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music in just a
moment but just before we do
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I'd like for us to
bow our heads and have a
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word of prayer.
Our Father and our
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God we thank you
tonight that we can
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come to you in the
name of Jesus Christ,
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for you love this
world so much that you gave
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Jesus, your only begotten son,
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our Lord and our
savior, to come to this earth
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and to die for each one of us.
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Father, we pray
tonight that your Holy Spirit
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will come to each of us,
will speak to our hearts,
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will encourage
those who need courage
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tonight, and
will comfort those who
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mourn this evening.
Thank you Father for
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hearing us in Jesus
wonderful and powerful
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and loving name
Amen. Well before Pastor
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Gibson comes to
speak to us, we ask Pastor
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C.A. Murray to sing
for us and he is gonna sing
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the song "I'll Tell the World."
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I'll tell the world,
that I'm a Christian,
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I'm not ashamed,
His name to bear;
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I'll tell the world,
that I'm a Christian,
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I'll take Him with me anywhere.
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I'll tell the
world, how Jesus saved me,
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And how He gave
me a life brand new;
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And I know that
if you trust Him,
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That all He gave
me, He'll give to you.
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I'll tell the
world, that He's my Savior,
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No other one could love me so;
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My life, my all is His forever,
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And where He leads me I will go.
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I'll tell the
world, Jesus is coming
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And it maybe
near or far, far away
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But we've got to
live as if He is coming
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It could be tomorrow or today
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For when He
comes, and life is over,
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For those who love
Him there's more to be;
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Eyes have never
seen the wonders,
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That He's
preparing, for you and me
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Go tell the world,
that you're a Christian
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Don't be
ashamed, His name to bear
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Just tell the world,
that you are a Christian
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And take Him
with you everywhere.
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I'll tell the whole
world, how Jesus saved me
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And how He gave
me a life brand new
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And I know that if you trust Him
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That all He gave
me, He'll give to you.
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I'll tell the world,
that I'm a Christian,
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I'm not ashamed,
His name to bear;
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I'll tell the world,
that I'm a Christian,
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I'll take Him with me anywhere.
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I'll take Him with me anywhere.
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Thank you C.A, what a blessing.
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Good evening
everybody, good evening.
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I'm so happy you've
joined us again for this
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series of
presentations entitled,
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do you remember?
Extravagant Love.
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And this is the first
five part series in the larger
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series called Anchors of Truth.
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And so what we did
last night as we plunged the
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anchor as deep as
you can possibly go into
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Eternity Past. We spent our time
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together exploring the
fact that before creation
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before any human
beings existed, before
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angels existed, God
the Father, God the Son,
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and God the Holy
Spirit were involved in a
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beautiful love
relationship of self
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giving other centeredness.
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Living each one for
the others and how long did
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we discover last
night, how long had God
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existed in that Eternity Past?
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It's mind boggling
to think of it, how long
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has God existed?
Well did Paul say
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that God existed in
a non-time region of
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reality, right,
you remember that in
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chapter 1 verse 2 of
Titus. Where Paul says that
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God existed
before there was time.
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I mean there was no way we can
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comprehended it.
We can't understand
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the nature of
God, I mean what He is
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composed of in
nature, nor can we comprehend
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what it means for God
to have always existed,
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because we are
time-bound creatures, aren't we?
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We are confined to
time and all we know is
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succession and history
and one event following
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another but God created
time so therefore there's
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some sense in which He
must be outside of time.
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And we can't
really understand that,
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we can't understand
the nature of God and we
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can't understand what
it means for God to have
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always existed.
But I'll tell you what
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we can comprehend
the character of God
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we can comprehend
something of what goes
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on the divine thought
process, in the divine
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emotional process and
in the divine behavioral
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process, that's
what character is.
00:10:10.35\00:10:12.68
Character is composed
of thoughts and feelings
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and the behaviors that
flow out of our thoughts
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and feelings. We
can comprehend something
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of what God is
like another words?
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What kind of person
He is? And we all want to
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get to know people for who
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they really are, don't we?
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That's how
friendships are formed. Yes.
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Friendships are
developed by entering into
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relational
interaction, that relational
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interaction may begin at an
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acquaintance phase
right? This is the lady that you
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buy your
groceries from, you know her
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first name, you
know don't her last name.
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She's a pleasant
lady, she's an acquaintance.
00:10:54.19\00:10:57.01
But if the events in
your community somehow
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outside of the grocery
store were to bring you
00:11:00.72\00:11:03.63
into closer proximity
maybe at a dinner party
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or something.
You might move from
00:11:06.24\00:11:08.27
being an
acquaintance with her to being
00:11:08.28\00:11:10.59
a casual friend,
right? But then casual
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friendship can
develop beyond that if you
00:11:15.59\00:11:18.24
begin say for example playing
00:11:18.25\00:11:20.52
racquetball
together. You could develop a
00:11:20.53\00:11:24.03
more intimate
friendship and then if you
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happened to be
single and she happens to be
00:11:27.29\00:11:28.90
single and you propose to her,
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you could end up
being the most intimate of
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all friends, husband and wife.
00:11:33.66\00:11:37.32
Now the universe that
we live in, is a universe
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listen carefully now that
is defined by relationship.
00:11:42.28\00:11:48.47
In fact I would like
to suggest you as we begin
00:11:49.60\00:11:51.83
this evening that relationship
00:11:51.84\00:11:54.83
is the prime
reality. Relationship is the,
00:11:54.84\00:11:59.56
what everybody?
The prime reality.
00:11:59.57\00:12:03.03
It is the most basic
constituent of what it
00:12:03.56\00:12:07.06
means to be a
living, thinking, sentient,
00:12:07.07\00:12:11.31
feeling volitional creature.
00:12:11.59\00:12:13.63
Now we know this
intuitively because God
00:12:14.23\00:12:18.18
has put it in our
hearts to know this
00:12:18.19\00:12:20.56
but I wanna
demonstrate as we begin,
00:12:21.74\00:12:23.87
as we launch into
our message tonight just
00:12:23.88\00:12:26.32
how primary this thing
we call relationship is
00:12:26.33\00:12:30.66
to our, to our nature
as human beings and to
00:12:30.67\00:12:33.81
reality as a whole.
And I wanna do that by
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asking you to engage
with me in a simple but
00:12:37.21\00:12:40.05
very effective
psychological exercise.
00:12:40.06\00:12:43.71
Now be careful because
I'm going to trick you,
00:12:44.36\00:12:46.37
so you need to
be paying attention
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to this exercise,
okay. And it goes something
00:12:48.34\00:12:51.41
like this, I want you
to imagine and this will be
00:12:51.42\00:12:53.99
difficult that I'm an extremely
00:12:54.00\00:12:56.51
wealthy individual.
So wealthy in fact that
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I could give you
literally anything you want.
00:13:00.43\00:13:05.15
But I'm going to put anything
00:13:05.16\00:13:06.71
you want in quote
marks. And so I'm feeling like
00:13:06.72\00:13:12.60
I'm in the best of
moods today and I just happen
00:13:12.61\00:13:16.24
to like you, the way
I like D for example.
00:13:16.25\00:13:19.54
I mean I really like D on
a very high level of like.
00:13:19.73\00:13:23.50
And so I'm
feeling pretty good today
00:13:23.87\00:13:25.56
and I say to you I
have the wealth to give you,
00:13:25.88\00:13:29.25
I mean I could give
you a lot and I really have
00:13:29.57\00:13:33.02
an excess of stuff
and so I'm gonna make you
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an offer, I would
like to give you something.
00:13:36.18\00:13:38.30
For starters I own a lot
of real estate and so I'm
00:13:38.85\00:13:41.99
gonna give you a
paradise tropical island.
00:13:42.00\00:13:45.94
You know there are
individuals in our world
00:13:46.95\00:13:48.55
who actually own
whole islands, in fact
00:13:48.56\00:13:51.47
down somewhere in
the vicinity of the
00:13:51.90\00:13:53.90
Caribbean,
they're dumping a lot of
00:13:53.91\00:13:55.49
material to create
islands so people can
00:13:55.50\00:13:58.98
buy them, people
buy islands and I just
00:13:58.99\00:14:03.14
happen to have a
number of them and I'm
00:14:03.15\00:14:04.75
going to begin my
offer, my gift by giving to you
00:14:04.76\00:14:11.01
a beautiful tropical
island, it's about the
00:14:11.43\00:14:13.73
size of Oahu and it
is beautiful and the
00:14:13.74\00:14:17.00
weather is always
just right except for the
00:14:17.01\00:14:20.12
tsunamis of course
but you can always go
00:14:20.13\00:14:22.51
inland to avoid them
and I'm gonna give you
00:14:22.52\00:14:25.28
this island, but not
only that I have built on this
00:14:25.29\00:14:29.85
tropical paradise
island I have built five
00:14:29.86\00:14:34.36
mansion level homes.
I mean these things are
00:14:35.15\00:14:39.66
luxurious, they are
extravagant lets say
00:14:39.67\00:14:42.78
and they're all yours
as a part of this gift,
00:14:44.10\00:14:46.71
as a part of this
island package but not just
00:14:46.72\00:14:49.84
these beautiful
houses, check this out I have
00:14:50.34\00:14:53.31
stocked these houses
each one of them with
00:14:53.44\00:14:56.61
all your favorite
things, your favorite books,
00:14:56.62\00:15:00.15
your favorite
music, your favorite movies
00:15:00.16\00:15:03.83
although I would
caution you there and
00:15:03.84\00:15:05.95
I have stocked
these houses with all your
00:15:06.29\00:15:09.45
favorite food which just happens
00:15:09.60\00:15:11.56
to be Ramen noodles.
Lifetime supply, all you
00:15:11.57\00:15:15.56
can eat in your
whole life time of these
00:15:15.57\00:15:19.07
Ramen noodles,
everything you like is
00:15:19.08\00:15:22.07
there in each house.
But I'm gonna sweeten
00:15:22.08\00:15:26.10
it up a little bit and
the deal is going to become
00:15:26.11\00:15:28.79
even better.
Because in each driveway
00:15:28.80\00:15:33.06
I have parked one of
the top five best driving
00:15:33.20\00:15:38.66
machines ever created.
There is a Ferrari in one
00:15:38.67\00:15:43.91
parking lot, in one
drive way, there is,
00:15:45.20\00:15:48.50
there has to be a
Harley- Davidson in one of them.
00:15:49.36\00:15:52.52
And whatever you
so choose probably the
00:15:53.80\00:15:56.69
1967 Corvette and
they're all there and it's
00:15:56.70\00:16:03.26
all for you and I am
just going to give it to you.
00:16:03.27\00:16:07.58
How many of you want
it? How many of you say
00:16:07.73\00:16:09.61
yes, sign me up, sign
it over, give it to me
00:16:09.62\00:16:12.53
I mean why would you
hesitate, you want it?
00:16:12.78\00:16:14.72
Yes or no? Yes,
of course, you do.
00:16:14.73\00:16:18.03
And then and then with
all your desire to posses
00:16:21.37\00:16:24.48
all these things even
if you are born again and
00:16:24.49\00:16:29.35
again and you're
just gonna sell it all and
00:16:29.36\00:16:31.58
give it to the
cause of the Gospel which
00:16:31.92\00:16:33.48
I would highly recommend if you
00:16:33.49\00:16:34.79
would have all that.
But there is just one
00:16:34.80\00:16:39.27
little tiny, maybe it's
not little, maybe it's not,
00:16:39.28\00:16:42.54
I don't know just one
little itsy bitsy fine print
00:16:42.55\00:16:47.85
bit of condition,
just one condition.
00:16:48.24\00:16:50.87
You have to go to
the island with all your
00:16:52.22\00:16:54.84
stuff that you love
and you have to stay there
00:16:54.85\00:16:59.81
for the rest of
your life absolutely
00:17:01.29\00:17:05.01
and utterly alone.
No email, no texting
00:17:06.13\00:17:13.07
which would be very
hard for some of you
00:17:13.08\00:17:14.87
because you are
addicted to texting
00:17:14.88\00:17:16.80
I know that because some of
00:17:17.52\00:17:18.52
you text me, please stop.
00:17:18.53\00:17:20.06
No texting, no email,
no phone just you and your
00:17:23.13\00:17:26.85
tropical paradise
with your finely crafted
00:17:27.39\00:17:31.70
driving machines and
your mansions and your
00:17:31.71\00:17:34.74
Top Ramen, just you
and your stuff, that's
00:17:34.75\00:17:38.21
the only condition, how many of
00:17:38.22\00:17:39.55
you still want the
deal? Absolutely nobody
00:17:39.56\00:17:46.59
except maybe a
few adolescent boys,
00:17:46.92\00:17:50.45
but once they get
through puberty they
00:17:50.46\00:17:52.10
don't even want
the deal anymore.
00:17:52.11\00:17:53.51
Here's the thing
you know somewhere
00:17:54.30\00:17:59.68
in your heart that
there is one thing that trumps
00:17:59.69\00:18:03.71
everything else, don't you?
00:18:03.72\00:18:06.31
You know if you stop
and think about it that
00:18:07.35\00:18:09.22
there is one reality
that is more primary than
00:18:09.23\00:18:13.37
any other, don't
you? And that reality is
00:18:13.38\00:18:18.78
relationships with
those you love and those who
00:18:19.85\00:18:24.34
love you, in fact,
the Bible would have us
00:18:24.35\00:18:27.33
believe that the
human being, the human being
00:18:27.34\00:18:30.89
that I am that
you are is literally
00:18:30.90\00:18:34.21
engineered for
love. Psychologically,
00:18:34.51\00:18:38.58
emotionally and even
yes even biologically
00:18:38.89\00:18:42.45
you and I, we are
designed for a constant
00:18:43.55\00:18:48.13
inflow and outflow of love.
00:18:48.14\00:18:52.81
We are made to
receive and to give.
00:18:54.15\00:18:59.21
That's really if you
stop and think about it,
00:19:00.15\00:19:02.31
that's really the
definition of what it
00:19:02.75\00:19:05.08
means to be human.
And by contrast if we
00:19:05.09\00:19:12.27
realize that
relationships with others are a
00:19:12.79\00:19:16.72
primary to reality I
mean really when push
00:19:16.73\00:19:19.51
comes to shove, we
would not, we would
00:19:19.52\00:19:21.56
not take anything
this world has to offer
00:19:21.57\00:19:24.13
if it meant being
isolated from those
00:19:25.50\00:19:28.29
we love, would we?
I mean I would rather
00:19:28.30\00:19:32.83
live with my girlfriend,
also known as my wife
00:19:32.84\00:19:36.91
Sue in a dry arid
cave in New Mexico for the
00:19:36.92\00:19:45.31
rest of my life with
her then to spend the rest
00:19:45.32\00:19:49.10
of my life in a
penthouse suit with
00:19:49.11\00:19:53.37
everything I want at
my command without her.
00:19:53.38\00:19:56.94
Anybody
identify? Of course you do.
00:19:57.46\00:19:59.90
There's somebody
you love like that or
00:20:00.49\00:20:02.48
somebody at least
in your memory that you
00:20:02.49\00:20:04.40
love like that.
So, you understand what
00:20:04.41\00:20:07.29
I'm saying, you
understand you know
00:20:07.30\00:20:10.13
that you and I are
made for relationship.
00:20:10.55\00:20:15.21
Now having laid that
foundation this evening
00:20:15.71\00:20:18.79
what I would like to
do with you is explore the
00:20:19.80\00:20:23.32
next step in our
Extravagant Love series.
00:20:23.33\00:20:28.93
Now last night you
remember where we came from?
00:20:29.35\00:20:31.31
We suggested,
well actually scripture
00:20:31.91\00:20:34.34
suggested that
all of reality can be
00:20:34.35\00:20:37.70
comprehended as
being composed of two basic
00:20:37.71\00:20:40.52
parts, remember
Psalms 90 verse 2.
00:20:40.53\00:20:43.70
From everlasting to
everlasting you are God.
00:20:44.54\00:20:49.12
What is this from
to? From everlasting to
00:20:49.60\00:20:54.30
everlasting how did
we define it last night?
00:20:54.31\00:20:56.16
From eternity past
into the far reaches
00:20:56.59\00:20:59.80
of eternity
future. Now what we can't
00:20:59.81\00:21:02.58
comprehend eternity
past and what it would
00:21:02.59\00:21:04.82
mean for God to
have always existed,
00:21:04.83\00:21:06.97
this is
fascinating, we can somewhat
00:21:07.41\00:21:10.17
comprehend what
it would mean to live
00:21:10.18\00:21:12.00
forever and ever
and ever without end.
00:21:12.01\00:21:13.85
And if we so choose it
lies within the grace of
00:21:15.61\00:21:21.53
God to escort us
into eternity future where
00:21:21.54\00:21:27.03
we will literally
live from millions and
00:21:27.04\00:21:29.62
billions, yes trillions,
I mean Googleplex type
00:21:29.63\00:21:33.88
numbers beyond comprehension and
00:21:33.89\00:21:36.80
never ever age or
die. And we're going to
00:21:36.81\00:21:41.75
explore that in our
final part of this series
00:21:41.76\00:21:44.89
together called Eternity Future.
00:21:44.90\00:21:46.35
So let's not get ahead
of ourselves we're saying
00:21:46.36\00:21:49.64
that in eternity past
something was going on.
00:21:49.65\00:21:53.12
What was going on?
Well as we mentioned
00:21:54.34\00:21:56.89
and elaborated in
greater detail last night
00:21:57.54\00:22:00.61
what was going on
in eternity past is a
00:22:01.24\00:22:05.61
beautiful love relationship.
00:22:05.62\00:22:07.65
A relationship in
which God himself who is the
00:22:08.41\00:22:11.98
origin of what we
just discovered through our
00:22:11.99\00:22:15.28
little mental
exercise that we are relational
00:22:15.29\00:22:17.62
creatures, why are
we relational creatures
00:22:17.63\00:22:20.39
because God is
relational and we were
00:22:20.47\00:22:22.97
made in God's what?
Image. We're relational by
00:22:22.98\00:22:26.66
nature because God
is relational by nature
00:22:26.67\00:22:29.82
and we are made in his likeness.
00:22:29.83\00:22:31.39
So back there in the far
reaches of Eternity Past,
00:22:32.47\00:22:35.09
there's God, Father,
Son and Holy Spirit and this
00:22:36.30\00:22:39.81
beautiful relationship
of other centeredness and
00:22:39.82\00:22:42.76
self-givingness.
Now shift gears with me
00:22:42.77\00:22:48.50
and look at John
chapter 1, John chapter 1 in my
00:22:49.21\00:22:53.58
opinion is one of the
mountain tops of scripture.
00:22:54.69\00:22:58.54
It is one of
the pinnacles of God
00:22:59.29\00:23:03.98
communicating to
us who He is and what
00:23:03.99\00:23:07.72
He is all about? In
John chapter 1 we have
00:23:07.73\00:23:11.16
these words starting
with verse 1, look at it
00:23:11.17\00:23:13.54
with me, in the
beginning was the
00:23:13.55\00:23:15.61
word, now notice the
language carefully and
00:23:16.51\00:23:18.77
the Word was, what's that very,
00:23:18.78\00:23:21.93
very incidental almost
you don't even notice it,
00:23:22.12\00:23:25.26
you just go right
on by grammatically
00:23:25.27\00:23:27.42
what's that
word? With. With. Okay.
00:23:27.77\00:23:30.06
In the beginning
was the Word capital W,
00:23:30.37\00:23:32.61
who is this? This is
the pre-incarnate Christ.
00:23:32.62\00:23:36.82
This is before He had
the name Jesus Christ.
00:23:37.00\00:23:40.41
Okay. This Word,
this Word where was He
00:23:41.06\00:23:45.95
before He came to our world?
00:23:45.96\00:23:47.14
He was with God and
the Word, notice this,
00:23:47.15\00:23:53.26
was God, verse 2 He was
in the beginning with God.
00:23:53.68\00:24:01.16
Now just do a little
bit of editorial sculpting
00:24:01.99\00:24:04.47
here, take out
some of words with some
00:24:04.48\00:24:07.84
inserted ellipsis in
order to make a point.
00:24:07.85\00:24:10.65
I'm gonna read what's
in the text within quote
00:24:11.25\00:24:13.96
marks but just
taking out a few words in
00:24:13.97\00:24:16.06
order to make the
point. The scripture literally
00:24:16.07\00:24:18.10
says in the
beginning God was with God.
00:24:18.11\00:24:25.19
Yes, that's what it
says. There is some sense in
00:24:27.08\00:24:30.52
which there was a divine,
00:24:30.53\00:24:32.92
shall we say togetherness?
00:24:34.15\00:24:35.92
Right. God was with God,
00:24:36.79\00:24:39.46
God who was with God who?
00:24:39.47\00:24:41.12
Who was with who?
God the Son was with
00:24:42.87\00:24:47.77
God the Father, and
by logical extension with
00:24:48.19\00:24:52.77
other scriptures
pulled into the picture
00:24:52.78\00:24:54.92
God the Holy
Spirit. They were with one
00:24:54.93\00:24:57.79
another in eternity past before
00:24:57.80\00:25:01.58
Jesus came to this world.
00:25:01.59\00:25:02.93
Now when they were
with one another my
00:25:04.04\00:25:06.84
friends what does
the Bible teach us about
00:25:06.85\00:25:10.12
the nature in quality
of their relationship?
00:25:11.22\00:25:13.69
Well, for starters, I
want you to look at this
00:25:14.58\00:25:18.43
absolutely
astounding scripture in
00:25:18.61\00:25:21.59
chapter 42 of
Isaiah. Do you have a Bible?
00:25:21.60\00:25:23.88
Look at Isaiah 42,
we're gonna study the Bible
00:25:23.89\00:25:26.77
this evening, we're drawing our
00:25:26.78\00:25:29.34
information from
the Holy Scripture,
00:25:29.35\00:25:31.39
so please if you
brought a Bible, look at it with
00:25:31.40\00:25:34.39
me, chapter 42, this
is gonna just blow your
00:25:34.40\00:25:37.67
mind in a really good
way. This is going to,
00:25:37.68\00:25:40.76
this is just going to
lift your heart and give you
00:25:41.10\00:25:43.99
a picture of
the character of God
00:25:44.19\00:25:46.23
that is just
absolutely stunning.
00:25:46.77\00:25:49.51
Notice this with
verse 1, the person who's
00:25:50.33\00:25:53.53
speaking is the
Father, God the Father is the
00:25:53.54\00:25:57.17
one articulating here,
so you keep that in mind
00:25:57.18\00:25:59.62
and God the Father
says behold that is
00:26:00.07\00:26:02.33
comprehend
understand about to tell you
00:26:02.34\00:26:04.90
something, sit up,
take notice, behold
00:26:04.91\00:26:07.96
my Servant,
capital S, who is this?
00:26:08.55\00:26:12.62
This is Jesus, this is
the coming Messiah. Okay.
00:26:14.06\00:26:18.01
Behold the Father
says, my Servant whom
00:26:18.32\00:26:22.17
I uphold, my elect
one in whom, notice this
00:26:22.18\00:26:27.98
language, in whom
my soul does what?
00:26:27.99\00:26:32.40
Delights. Isn't
this fascinating?
00:26:33.17\00:26:35.39
Here is God the
Father prophesying ahead of
00:26:35.82\00:26:40.46
time and telling us
that Messiah's coming,
00:26:40.47\00:26:44.31
your savior is about to
be born into this world,
00:26:44.93\00:26:47.08
He's going to come
and I wanna tell you who
00:26:47.09\00:26:49.54
He is to me. He
is the one in whom
00:26:49.55\00:26:54.85
my soul delights. What
an intimate picture huh?
00:26:56.05\00:27:01.35
What a beautiful
insight into how the Father
00:27:02.60\00:27:04.48
feels about the
Son, about how the Father
00:27:04.61\00:27:09.28
thinks about the Son.
I'll tell you the one that
00:27:09.44\00:27:15.23
I'm sending you
just want you to know
00:27:15.24\00:27:17.69
I love Him
deeply, I delight in Him,
00:27:19.54\00:27:23.67
there's something
beautiful between us
00:27:24.62\00:27:26.78
and I'm willing
to send Him for you.
00:27:29.24\00:27:33.63
Well notice this,
there's obviously some kind of
00:27:34.84\00:27:37.95
difficult and
painful ordeal coming up.
00:27:37.96\00:27:40.78
Because look at verse
6, the Father says I the
00:27:41.87\00:27:45.90
Lord have called
you, who is the you here?
00:27:45.91\00:27:48.41
The Messiah, the Son,
the one He is going to
00:27:50.22\00:27:53.18
send into the world I
the Lord the Father have
00:27:53.32\00:27:57.12
called you the son
in righteousness notice
00:27:57.13\00:27:59.65
this and I will,
say it loud with me,
00:27:59.66\00:28:02.89
hold your hand. I
will keep you and give
00:28:03.34\00:28:09.24
you as a covenant
to the people. What?
00:28:09.25\00:28:13.77
This is
something the Father says,
00:28:15.32\00:28:16.79
I'm sending into the
world, I'm sending to
00:28:17.00\00:28:18.80
you for your Salvation.
I'm sending you the one
00:28:18.81\00:28:21.94
in whom my soul
delights. And then the Father
00:28:22.03\00:28:25.75
turns to the Son
before the incarnation and He
00:28:25.76\00:28:29.77
converses with Him
and He says but Son I want
00:28:29.78\00:28:31.56
you to know that when
I send you into the world
00:28:31.57\00:28:33.64
to go through
this horrific ordeal.
00:28:33.65\00:28:36.83
I will hold your hand
through the experience.
00:28:38.47\00:28:43.93
This is the God of the
universe, this is the God
00:28:44.83\00:28:48.04
who speaks worlds into
existence, this the God
00:28:48.05\00:28:51.24
from whom radiates all
the energy of creation,
00:28:51.47\00:28:55.38
He is omnipotent, sovereign God.
00:28:55.39\00:28:59.67
Almighty God and He
communicates to us in
00:29:00.81\00:29:05.41
these tender relational terms.
00:29:05.42\00:29:08.80
I find delight in Him
and I will hold His hand.
00:29:10.67\00:29:15.63
Because when did
your hand need to be held?
00:29:15.81\00:29:18.82
When you're going
through something.
00:29:20.26\00:29:21.80
Jesus is going to
go through something,
00:29:23.80\00:29:25.81
now go with me over
to Zechariah, one of the
00:29:26.28\00:29:28.72
minor prophets Zechariah
it's kind of hard to find,
00:29:28.73\00:29:31.00
I just, I just and
I'm there, that was an
00:29:31.01\00:29:33.85
accident, I want you to
know that, I'm just there
00:29:33.86\00:29:36.45
didn't have a marker
or anything but it was
00:29:37.04\00:29:38.64
totally accidental
and I want you to notice
00:29:38.65\00:29:41.33
again a prophecy and
the one who is speaking
00:29:41.34\00:29:45.25
here is the Father
again. Who is speaking?
00:29:45.26\00:29:48.19
The Father. And He
speaking about the Son.
00:29:48.76\00:29:51.25
Who is He speaking
about? About the Son.
00:29:51.26\00:29:53.44
It's in verse 7. And
the Father is contemplating
00:29:53.64\00:29:57.02
the incarnation
again. It hasn't happened yet
00:29:57.03\00:30:02.04
when this is
being written by the
00:30:02.39\00:30:03.94
prophet
Zechariah where is Jesus?
00:30:03.95\00:30:06.09
He is with the Father in heaven.
00:30:07.39\00:30:08.93
How long has he
been there again?
00:30:09.92\00:30:11.16
For all Eternity
Past and so the whole
00:30:12.14\00:30:16.92
universe overhears
this. And the Father says,
00:30:16.93\00:30:21.27
Awake O sword,898
does that sound like a
00:30:21.70\00:30:25.14
pleasant thing or painful thing?
00:30:25.36\00:30:26.65
It's a painful thing a sword is,
00:30:27.50\00:30:29.24
what's a sword for?
It's for plunging and
00:30:29.61\00:30:32.71
twisting and
it's for taking life.
00:30:32.72\00:30:38.01
It's a painful
thing and in a metaphor,
00:30:39.05\00:30:42.40
in a symbol, the ordeal
that Jesus is about to go
00:30:43.15\00:30:47.12
through is a
sword. It is to be plunged
00:30:47.60\00:30:52.07
through His divine
heart and His life blood is to
00:30:52.08\00:30:56.41
be spilled for you and for me.
00:30:56.42\00:30:59.66
And the Father knows it.
And the Father politically
00:31:00.01\00:31:03.62
says to the universe,
the listening universe,
00:31:04.75\00:31:06.96
awake O sword, sword
of the divine justice.
00:31:06.97\00:31:11.39
Awake O sword
against my shepherd,
00:31:13.71\00:31:18.11
against the man who is my,
what does your version say?
00:31:19.46\00:31:23.79
My fellow, you have
the King James Version,
00:31:24.85\00:31:26.65
excellent, what's a
fellow? Someone with whom
00:31:26.66\00:31:29.27
you have
fellowship. My version New King
00:31:29.28\00:31:32.74
James says "Awake
O sword against my
00:31:32.75\00:31:34.78
shepherd, against the
man who is my companion."
00:31:34.79\00:31:38.12
What's a
companion? Someone with whom
00:31:38.36\00:31:40.51
you have companionship.
Another version, the
00:31:40.52\00:31:45.18
New Century Version
says, the one who is my friend.
00:31:45.19\00:31:50.74
New International
version says the one
00:31:52.01\00:31:53.69
who is close to me.
So again what is the
00:31:53.70\00:31:57.86
Father contemplating
here? He's contemplating the
00:31:58.00\00:32:00.90
up and coming incarnation
of Jesus and the sacrifice
00:32:00.91\00:32:06.96
that will be made on our behalf.
00:32:06.97\00:32:08.39
And He thinks of
the son in these tender
00:32:08.75\00:32:12.13
relational terms. He
tells us ahead of time
00:32:12.14\00:32:16.49
the one who's
coming? He's the one who is
00:32:16.85\00:32:20.84
close to me. He is my
nearest, dearest friend.
00:32:20.85\00:32:24.87
He is the one who is
my most intimate relation.
00:32:25.02\00:32:32.19
Are you beginning,
'cause some of you are
00:32:33.22\00:32:34.96
going ahead in the
story, you're beginning
00:32:34.97\00:32:36.53
to sense the
palpable pain in the Father's
00:32:36.54\00:32:41.27
heart here. Are you
beginning to sense that
00:32:41.28\00:32:43.80
something grand and
glorious is about to be
00:32:44.30\00:32:47.69
done for you and
me but it will not be
00:32:47.70\00:32:50.41
without cost to
Him. Are you beginning to
00:32:50.42\00:32:55.93
sense it? We'll now go
back to John chapter 1.
00:32:55.94\00:32:59.13
And in John chapter
1 the Apostle tells us
00:33:00.76\00:33:05.92
who Jesus is and
where He came from?
00:33:07.96\00:33:11.88
He in verses 1 and 2
is the word who was God
00:33:13.47\00:33:18.11
had been God for
Eternity Past and was
00:33:18.68\00:33:21.96
with God, with the
Father. But look now down at
00:33:22.10\00:33:26.12
verse 18. No one
has seen God that is God
00:33:26.13\00:33:30.01
the Father at any
time the only begotten Son
00:33:30.02\00:33:34.34
who is where
everybody? In the bosom of the
00:33:36.01\00:33:39.99
Father He has declared Him.
00:33:40.00\00:33:41.68
What is this Bosom language?
00:33:41.94\00:33:43.59
I'm just, I'm just
demonstrating to you
00:33:44.60\00:33:47.03
repeatedly here that
if you have a Biblical
00:33:47.16\00:33:50.53
perspective, if
you allow the Biblical
00:33:50.54\00:33:53.44
language to have it's
weight and to register in
00:33:53.45\00:33:56.69
your mind, you will
develop a very intimate
00:33:56.70\00:33:59.57
picture of God.
What is the language that
00:33:59.58\00:34:03.62
the Holy Spirit
is inspiring these
00:34:04.32\00:34:06.49
prophets to employ?
It is the language of
00:34:06.50\00:34:09.28
relationship, it is
the language of delight,
00:34:09.29\00:34:11.96
it is the language of relational
00:34:12.18\00:34:14.11
integrity and faithfulness.
00:34:14.12\00:34:16.68
What is this bosom language?
00:34:18.01\00:34:19.34
It's obviously a
metaphor, it's a symbol,
00:34:19.35\00:34:21.96
anybody who was
alive and old enough to be
00:34:22.52\00:34:27.48
conscious in the
1940s and 50s would have
00:34:27.49\00:34:31.12
been familiar with a
terminology that was in
00:34:31.13\00:34:34.56
vogue at the time.
If two guys were close
00:34:34.57\00:34:39.51
friends they were bosom buddies,
00:34:39.52\00:34:42.55
now don't be
talking like that nowadays,
00:34:42.56\00:34:44.89
that you just don't
want any dude near your
00:34:44.90\00:34:46.95
bosom at all and we
don't use that kind of
00:34:46.96\00:34:49.99
language, okay.
We don't talk about
00:34:50.00\00:34:52.46
being bosom buddies
because that doesn't
00:34:52.47\00:34:55.24
sound right in our
modern culture but it
00:34:55.25\00:34:57.35
sounds right Biblically.
The Father is the one
00:34:57.36\00:35:02.17
who has a heart, the
bosom, a deep interior
00:35:03.39\00:35:09.41
of emotional
personhood. This is the Father's
00:35:10.47\00:35:14.11
bosom and who was
there? Jesus was there, before
00:35:14.72\00:35:18.74
He came into this
world. This is the Bible's way
00:35:18.75\00:35:20.89
of saying that Jesus
was in intimate close
00:35:20.90\00:35:25.73
relationship
with the Father before
00:35:25.74\00:35:29.28
He came into this
world. Now look back to verse
00:35:29.29\00:35:32.92
14, to verse 14 of John
chapter 1 and notice the
00:35:32.93\00:35:40.86
dramatic and I mean
dramatic I wish I had
00:35:40.87\00:35:45.14
stronger language
to employ, the dramatic
00:35:45.15\00:35:48.72
change that has occurred now.
00:35:49.05\00:35:51.15
Verse 14 and the word
that's the pre-incarnate
00:35:52.43\00:35:56.84
Christ, the word
became something.
00:35:56.85\00:36:00.06
What is the word became?
00:36:00.07\00:36:01.24
What does it mean to become?
00:36:01.42\00:36:02.87
It means to go
through some kind of change,
00:36:03.24\00:36:05.67
some kind of metamorphous,
right something there's
00:36:05.68\00:36:08.54
something going on
here, there's movement.
00:36:08.55\00:36:11.22
Now this movement
is occurring at a very
00:36:11.73\00:36:15.39
extraordinary
level. The word that is the
00:36:15.40\00:36:19.25
one who was with
God and was himself God.
00:36:19.26\00:36:22.92
The word became what everybody?
00:36:23.97\00:36:26.88
Flesh and dwelt among
us. Now the Greek here is
00:36:27.56\00:36:31.34
literally, the
word became flesh and
00:36:31.89\00:36:35.64
tabernacled among
us. You know what this
00:36:35.65\00:36:37.79
means to
tabernacle? In Biblical language
00:36:37.80\00:36:40.18
this basically
means that God came into
00:36:40.19\00:36:44.53
close proximity, he
pitched his tents in our midst.
00:36:44.54\00:36:49.86
Modern language we
might render this in one
00:36:50.65\00:36:52.74
Bible version does
render it this way,
00:36:52.75\00:36:54.96
God moved into the neighborhood.
00:36:55.89\00:36:57.42
That's the sense
that you get here. Okay.
00:36:58.55\00:37:00.61
God came out,
stepped out of Eternity Past
00:37:01.70\00:37:04.92
came right into our
immediate proximity.
00:37:04.93\00:37:08.75
Pitched His tent
right in our midst.
00:37:09.89\00:37:14.87
Now how did He do
this? He didn't pitch a
00:37:15.61\00:37:18.99
physical tent did
he? Well in a sense not a
00:37:19.17\00:37:22.43
physical tent made out of
canvas but a tent of flesh.
00:37:22.62\00:37:27.35
Right. He pitched His
tent, he tabernacled among us.
00:37:27.94\00:37:31.42
In other words
God took on a body.
00:37:31.58\00:37:35.29
He became a
member of the human race.
00:37:35.85\00:37:40.12
Are you with me so
far? Now this is astounding
00:37:40.50\00:37:44.17
This is not playacting,
God is not giving us a
00:37:44.93\00:37:47.77
charade, or a charade if you're
00:37:47.91\00:37:49.65
from over the
Atlanta. God is giving us here
00:37:49.66\00:37:54.67
an account of historic reality.
00:37:56.06\00:37:58.76
This actually
happened. Now there are some
00:37:59.83\00:38:01.74
schools of
theological thought I won't name
00:38:01.75\00:38:03.79
them specifically for
the sake of time, but there
00:38:03.80\00:38:06.29
are certain
Christian denominations who
00:38:06.30\00:38:09.17
basically say that
God is projecting an image
00:38:09.18\00:38:13.94
or an illusion here,
it didn't really happen,
00:38:13.95\00:38:16.37
how could God possibly do this?
00:38:16.38\00:38:18.24
God couldn't possibly
do this, if he wouldn't
00:38:18.25\00:38:20.20
condescend that far,
no, no, no. Yes, yes, yes.
00:38:20.21\00:38:23.19
God literally is telling
us His own personal history.
00:38:24.34\00:38:28.02
He's saying I want you
to tell, I want to tell you
00:38:29.67\00:38:31.92
that I became human
literally, concretely
00:38:32.47\00:38:38.15
actually that
God himself underwent
00:38:38.16\00:38:43.73
a transmigration if
you will, the word Trans
00:38:44.55\00:38:48.53
meaning to move, to
become, to travel, right.
00:38:48.54\00:38:51.68
A transmigration of
nature, He didn't just
00:38:52.00\00:38:55.29
moved geographically
from heaven to earth,
00:38:55.30\00:38:58.97
he moved in
nature. He became human,
00:38:59.88\00:39:06.49
now we know the
past history and we can
00:39:07.91\00:39:10.35
comprehend now that
one moment he was there.
00:39:10.36\00:39:13.62
And had always been
there, where is there?
00:39:14.17\00:39:16.58
In Eternity Past, in
the bosom of the Father,
00:39:16.95\00:39:19.61
in relationship with
the one who delighted in
00:39:20.27\00:39:23.64
Him, in this
beautiful relationship,
00:39:23.65\00:39:26.45
one moment He was
there and had always
00:39:26.92\00:39:29.38
being there. And the next moment
00:39:29.53\00:39:31.83
He vanished from all
heavenly sight and touch.
00:39:32.55\00:39:37.26
The angels were
astonished, where is he,
00:39:38.30\00:39:41.08
the one that we
have always known as our
00:39:41.09\00:39:44.28
commander throughout
all of our existence.
00:39:44.40\00:39:48.98
Where is he? Well
one moment He was there
00:39:49.78\00:39:52.95
and the next moment He vanished
00:39:52.96\00:39:56.02
and took on form in
the womb of a teenage girl
00:39:57.26\00:40:03.08
and stitch by
stitch, chromosome by
00:40:04.30\00:40:06.59
chromosome God
almighty began to be
00:40:06.60\00:40:10.61
reconstructed as a human being.
00:40:12.40\00:40:15.93
And the embryo grew
and the babe developed
00:40:16.71\00:40:20.07
and finally God
came into our world.
00:40:20.08\00:40:23.19
This is the
astounding announcement
00:40:23.72\00:40:25.59
of the Gospel. In
Matthew chapter 21
00:40:25.60\00:40:28.70
this is no kind of mediocre,
00:40:28.93\00:40:31.69
tepid
announcement. This is Emmanuel,
00:40:32.54\00:40:37.46
God with us. Or to
use the words of Paul in
00:40:38.11\00:40:44.28
First Timothy chapter
3 verse 16, Great is the
00:40:44.81\00:40:49.55
mystery of
Godliness, God likeness.
00:40:49.56\00:40:53.31
Great is the
mystery of God's character.
00:40:53.32\00:40:55.36
God became human.
Great is the mystery of
00:40:56.74\00:41:02.54
Godliness, God was manifesting
00:41:02.55\00:41:04.34
the flesh my friend. Now when He
00:41:04.35\00:41:07.78
was manifest in the flesh,
00:41:07.79\00:41:09.98
what we're comprehending
here to whatever degree
00:41:11.79\00:41:16.39
we can, what we're
comprehending here is
00:41:16.40\00:41:21.42
that the God head,
to use the language of
00:41:21.43\00:41:25.70
Paul in Romans chapter
1. The God head underwent
00:41:25.71\00:41:31.81
some kind of fracture
to use the words of an
00:41:32.18\00:41:37.07
extremely
insightful women author,
00:41:37.08\00:41:41.44
they underwent a
divine sundering.
00:41:42.97\00:41:46.73
Do you know what it
means to be sundered?
00:41:46.98\00:41:48.70
Means to be split
apart, to be fractured,
00:41:49.29\00:41:54.13
to be separated.
Now earlier in our time
00:41:54.14\00:41:57.33
together I pointed
out, we lead ourselves
00:41:57.34\00:42:00.91
through an exercise
in which we determined
00:42:00.92\00:42:02.90
that the most primary of
all realities, realities the
00:42:03.40\00:42:07.53
most important
and fundamental and
00:42:07.54\00:42:09.58
elemental of all
realities is relationship.
00:42:10.48\00:42:13.11
But on the other side of
that truth is the fact that
00:42:15.21\00:42:20.41
if relationship
connectedness is the
00:42:21.23\00:42:26.41
most primary of
all realities, then my
00:42:26.42\00:42:29.46
friends separation is the most
00:42:29.47\00:42:33.70
horrific of all realities.
And that's exactly the
00:42:33.71\00:42:39.45
language the Bible
uses to describe for you and
00:42:39.46\00:42:43.88
me the ultimate
destiny of the lost.
00:42:43.89\00:42:46.41
In chapter 20 of
Revelation, don't go
00:42:47.20\00:42:49.73
there for the sake of
time, the wicked of all
00:42:49.74\00:42:52.49
ages, the lost,
those who have not found
00:42:52.50\00:42:55.22
refuge and in Christ all
though refuge was granted.
00:42:56.23\00:42:59.05
They're described as
being resurrected and
00:43:01.22\00:43:03.82
they stand before the
Great White Throne and
00:43:03.83\00:43:06.96
the Bible describes
their physiological situation
00:43:06.97\00:43:10.68
and says, there was
found no place for them.
00:43:10.69\00:43:16.91
And so they fled from
the face of the one who
00:43:17.67\00:43:20.57
is seated on the
throne. They find in relation to
00:43:20.88\00:43:25.74
God, they find no
relational connection.
00:43:25.75\00:43:29.96
The whole universe
has no place for them.
00:43:31.47\00:43:34.62
They are out of
sync with the one
00:43:35.16\00:43:37.90
overarching
pervasive principle of life.
00:43:38.28\00:43:42.35
The law of life
for heaven and earth.
00:43:43.36\00:43:47.39
The law of
benevolence, the law of love.
00:43:47.82\00:43:50.02
They have no
harmony with the love of God
00:43:51.62\00:43:57.12
and so there is
no place for them.
00:43:57.82\00:44:01.56
They experience
utter and complete
00:44:01.86\00:44:04.75
separation from
the source of life.
00:44:04.76\00:44:07.55
Relational connectedness
is the prime reality
00:44:11.13\00:44:14.86
and separation from
all others and from God
00:44:14.87\00:44:21.07
is the most
horrific of all realities.
00:44:22.08\00:44:24.08
Now friends, this
is exactly what the God
00:44:25.33\00:44:30.84
head voluntarily
chose to endure to save
00:44:30.85\00:44:36.18
you and me. In the
incarnation, we are
00:44:37.32\00:44:43.70
witnessing a deep
fracture, a separation,
00:44:43.71\00:44:50.77
to use the words of
Jesus hanging on the
00:44:50.78\00:44:52.34
cross, a forsakenness.
We are witnessing in
00:44:52.35\00:44:56.75
the incarnation this
most incredible of all
00:44:56.76\00:45:00.83
things imaginable
that the ones who had been
00:45:00.84\00:45:03.73
forever in intimate
relationship one with
00:45:03.87\00:45:08.45
another,
voluntarily chose to undergo a
00:45:08.46\00:45:13.54
severing one from another.
00:45:13.55\00:45:17.31
In the book Early
Writings if you have
00:45:17.66\00:45:19.01
access to that book
page 127, An angel is heard
00:45:19.02\00:45:25.82
to cry out, to
shout over the universe,
00:45:26.36\00:45:30.57
"think ye that the
Father gave up His dearly
00:45:31.59\00:45:35.63
beloved Son
without a struggle? No, no.
00:45:35.64\00:45:40.26
" Said the Angel.
"It was even a struggle
00:45:40.67\00:45:44.03
with the God of
heaven, whether to let a guilty
00:45:45.49\00:45:50.31
man perish or
to give His darling
00:45:50.32\00:45:57.71
son for our
salvation." Can you imagine God
00:45:58.19\00:46:04.98
engaged in a
struggle somehow I think we
00:46:05.52\00:46:10.18
tend to imagine
Him as impassible,
00:46:10.19\00:46:13.23
that is without passion,
00:46:13.36\00:46:14.42
without any sense of emotion.
00:46:15.17\00:46:18.29
How could God possibly struggle,
00:46:19.72\00:46:21.35
everything obviously
always goes His way, right?
00:46:21.63\00:46:23.81
Well on second
thought, everything doesn't
00:46:25.07\00:46:28.53
always go His way
because you and I in
00:46:28.54\00:46:31.09
the human race
rebelled against Him and that
00:46:31.10\00:46:33.64
certainly wasn't
His choice. It was ours.
00:46:33.78\00:46:36.71
But here's the glorious truth.
00:46:38.75\00:46:40.51
God so deeply, so
personally, so selflessly
00:46:42.02\00:46:46.37
loved you and I that
He was willing to undergo
00:46:46.38\00:46:52.34
this horrible, horrific
fracture of relationship
00:46:52.35\00:46:58.45
on our behalf. Now
in the Bible we get
00:46:58.46\00:47:02.52
a sense of this separation
00:47:03.19\00:47:05.84
in many different
places but in Genesis 15,
00:47:07.67\00:47:12.11
we have one of the
earliest, one of the
00:47:12.12\00:47:15.46
earliest windows of
understanding into what
00:47:15.65\00:47:20.01
would be involved
in the incarnation and
00:47:20.02\00:47:22.13
sacrifice of Christ.
All the way back with
00:47:22.14\00:47:25.49
Abraham, God communicated
through a process of
00:47:25.50\00:47:30.21
symbolism, through a process of
00:47:30.22\00:47:32.59
enacted metaphor.
Exactly what the God
00:47:32.75\00:47:36.88
head would have to endure.
00:47:36.89\00:47:37.98
God said in a vision
to Abraham in chapter 15
00:47:39.13\00:47:42.52
of Genesis,
Abraham, I want you to do
00:47:43.40\00:47:45.86
something, I want you
to get a few animals and
00:47:45.87\00:47:49.87
he names them. And I
want you to take those
00:47:49.88\00:47:53.33
animals and I want
you to sever them straight
00:47:53.34\00:47:57.63
down the middle in
half. And I want you to
00:47:57.64\00:48:01.56
lay each of the pieces
of these animal sacrifices
00:48:01.57\00:48:07.20
I want you to lay them
across from one another
00:48:07.21\00:48:09.05
forming a path
between the pieces.
00:48:09.18\00:48:13.12
And then Abraham
having obeyed the Lord
00:48:14.05\00:48:18.25
and having sacrificed
and severed the animals
00:48:19.12\00:48:22.46
in two, Abraham went
into vision and He saw
00:48:22.47\00:48:27.56
something like a,
like the King James version
00:48:27.57\00:48:30.87
I think it says like
an oven, another version
00:48:30.88\00:48:34.36
says like a torch,
like flaming fire of some
00:48:34.37\00:48:37.78
kind which is
associated through out scripture
00:48:37.79\00:48:40.22
with the presence
of God, you remember
00:48:40.23\00:48:41.80
that Moses
encountered the burning bush
00:48:41.81\00:48:45.56
and through out
the Bible God has
00:48:46.65\00:48:48.34
associated with
fire in this way.
00:48:48.35\00:48:50.11
Paul in Hebrews
went so far as to
00:48:51.62\00:48:53.22
say our God is a
what? Consuming fire.
00:48:53.23\00:48:56.75
So in vision Abraham
sees this fiery presence.
00:48:57.44\00:49:02.25
And what does
this fiery presence do?
00:49:03.66\00:49:05.60
This fiery
presence walks the gauntlet
00:49:06.01\00:49:10.54
between the severed pieces.
00:49:11.57\00:49:14.70
Abraham is not
called upon to pass through
00:49:15.92\00:49:18.01
the pieces, he can't
make the sacrifice for
00:49:18.02\00:49:21.69
the salvation of the human race.
00:49:21.70\00:49:23.29
No, Abraham
watches as God enacts this
00:49:25.03\00:49:28.32
parable and says in
so many words through
00:49:28.50\00:49:32.29
this metaphor
Abraham, I'm going to show you
00:49:32.51\00:49:36.24
what I will endure
to save you and the rest
00:49:36.25\00:49:40.08
of the human race.
Sever the animals and
00:49:40.09\00:49:42.60
I will pass between the pieces.
00:49:42.61\00:49:45.80
This goes into
ancient customs in which
00:49:46.15\00:49:49.64
covenants were made in this way.
00:49:49.80\00:49:52.12
In ancient times a
covenant formed not by
00:49:53.42\00:49:55.51
signing on the
dotted line, obviously that
00:49:55.67\00:49:58.15
doesn't work, our
culture has proved that.
00:49:58.16\00:50:00.31
But the way that covenants or
00:50:02.25\00:50:04.02
agreements were
entered into is the two
00:50:04.03\00:50:05.77
agreeing parties
would sever an animal,
00:50:05.78\00:50:08.25
sacrifice in half
and they would each pass
00:50:08.26\00:50:11.23
through the pieces
indicating through the
00:50:11.24\00:50:13.67
symbolism that
they were committing the
00:50:13.68\00:50:16.69
totality of
themselves to the agreement and
00:50:16.70\00:50:20.98
indicating in symbolism
that if they don't follow
00:50:20.99\00:50:23.59
through with their
end of the covenant
00:50:23.76\00:50:25.97
that they will be
severed, they will be cut
00:50:26.93\00:50:30.66
off, they will be
giving themselves in sacrifice
00:50:30.67\00:50:37.10
for not following
through. God is saying in so
00:50:37.50\00:50:39.47
many words, I'm
gonna make a covenant with
00:50:39.48\00:50:41.11
you, I'm going to
enter into a relational
00:50:41.12\00:50:43.90
agreement with you,
I'm going to promise to
00:50:44.79\00:50:47.65
give you myself as
a sacrifice for your
00:50:47.66\00:50:53.46
salvation and I'm
going to show you in the
00:50:53.47\00:50:56.38
symbolism Abraham
that God will endure
00:50:56.39\00:51:00.83
some kind of painful
fracture, some kind of
00:51:01.54\00:51:05.10
separation for
you. Now what form does
00:51:05.34\00:51:09.59
this take through out scripture?
00:51:09.60\00:51:11.54
Well we move
forward into Genesis 22 and
00:51:11.99\00:51:14.38
God takes Abraham
through another enacted
00:51:14.39\00:51:17.94
parable He says
Abraham, I want you to take your
00:51:17.95\00:51:20.15
son, your only son,
emphasis on your only
00:51:20.16\00:51:22.92
son Abraham, I want
you to feel what I feel,
00:51:23.35\00:51:27.41
so you can
communicated to the world.
00:51:28.20\00:51:30.13
Abraham take your
son, your only son and
00:51:31.14\00:51:33.04
sacrifice him on an
altar and Abraham follows
00:51:33.17\00:51:37.82
through and he feels
all the emotional anguish
00:51:37.83\00:51:40.78
of this separation from his son.
00:51:40.79\00:51:42.87
His hand is lifted,
his lips are quivering;
00:51:43.05\00:51:45.97
he begins to thrust
the knife only to have his
00:51:45.98\00:51:49.99
hands stopped and
for God to say no.
00:51:50.00\00:51:54.25
I'll provide the
sacrifice. You can't.
00:51:55.76\00:51:58.77
But now you know what
it feels like to be God.
00:52:00.06\00:52:03.89
Now you know
Abraham what it feels
00:52:04.65\00:52:06.79
like to be God.
Now you know and can
00:52:06.80\00:52:10.14
tell the world the
good news, the gospel,
00:52:10.15\00:52:13.61
the glad tidings,
the happy message that
00:52:13.62\00:52:16.83
God so loved the
world that He will give His
00:52:17.67\00:52:21.24
only begotten
son. So that anyone who
00:52:21.25\00:52:26.66
believes in this
beautiful self sacrificing
00:52:26.67\00:52:29.70
love of God will never perish
00:52:29.71\00:52:32.16
but have eternal
life. We fast forward in our
00:52:32.36\00:52:38.29
understanding of this
great sacrifice and we
00:52:38.30\00:52:42.98
come to the
practical implications of the
00:52:42.99\00:52:46.08
sacrifice in the New Testament.
00:52:46.09\00:52:47.75
When Jesus became human, Hebrews
00:52:48.52\00:52:51.30
chapter 2 tells us in
verse 9 that He did so,
00:52:51.31\00:52:55.83
He became human so
that He could taste
00:52:55.84\00:52:58.94
death for every human being.
00:52:59.36\00:53:02.42
Verse 9 of chapter 2 of Hebrews.
00:53:03.29\00:53:05.06
Then in verse 14 of
Hebrews of chapter 2
00:53:05.51\00:53:08.24
the Apostle Paul
builds a bridge in our
00:53:09.17\00:53:11.42
understanding between
the incarnation and the
00:53:11.43\00:53:13.69
cross and He says
that He would become flesh
00:53:13.70\00:53:18.57
and blood, he
would become like us,
00:53:19.02\00:53:23.90
so that through
death He might destroy him
00:53:24.46\00:53:28.39
who had the power of
death that is the devil.
00:53:28.40\00:53:31.30
So in Paul's understanding and
00:53:31.91\00:53:33.55
Paul's theology there
is a vital linkage between
00:53:33.56\00:53:37.86
the incarnation and
the cross my friends,
00:53:38.62\00:53:42.28
vital
connection. Well in chapter 2
00:53:43.37\00:53:47.52
of Hebrews, we get
the distinct feeling that
00:53:49.13\00:53:53.80
something
tremendous has occurred
00:53:53.81\00:53:58.16
to save human
race. That God came down
00:53:59.21\00:54:04.30
all the way down
my friends and became
00:54:04.77\00:54:06.61
human and then
Paul fills out our
00:54:06.62\00:54:09.77
understanding yet further in
00:54:09.78\00:54:12.79
chapter 2 of Philippians.
One of the most incredible
00:54:12.80\00:54:16.42
scriptures you
will ever read bar none,
00:54:16.43\00:54:18.24
you ought to commit
it to memory and after
00:54:18.25\00:54:20.12
that put it on paper
and put it with a magnet on
00:54:20.13\00:54:22.12
refrigerator and do
other things with it to
00:54:22.13\00:54:25.36
bring you into an
understanding of this
00:54:25.37\00:54:28.23
text, never
forget it, Paul says let
00:54:28.24\00:54:30.04
this mind be in you.
This disposition, this
00:54:30.05\00:54:33.65
character this way
of thinking and feeling,
00:54:33.66\00:54:35.75
let this mind be
in you, which was
00:54:36.25\00:54:38.89
also in Christ
Jesus. Now what kind of
00:54:38.90\00:54:41.63
mind was it? Who
being in very nature God.
00:54:41.64\00:54:45.96
Thought it not
something to be held on
00:54:46.64\00:54:50.02
to be equal with
God but made himself
00:54:50.03\00:54:52.51
New
International version nothing,
00:54:52.85\00:54:54.85
King James of
no reputation, made
00:54:55.17\00:54:58.04
himself nothing, so
that he could endure the
00:54:58.05\00:55:02.93
cross even the
death of the cross.
00:55:02.94\00:55:06.54
This is Paul's understanding.
00:55:06.72\00:55:08.23
The incarnation
this monumental severing
00:55:09.89\00:55:15.94
of the son from
the tribune God head,
00:55:17.11\00:55:19.96
this severing was the
precursor to the cross
00:55:21.93\00:55:25.25
where God's love
reaches it's zenith
00:55:26.82\00:55:29.30
level of expression.
The apex, the crescendo
00:55:29.31\00:55:34.07
my friends, the
climax, where as we're going to
00:55:34.08\00:55:37.59
talk about tomorrow
night God's love goes
00:55:37.60\00:55:40.37
off the charts,
it's immeasurable,
00:55:40.58\00:55:44.62
can't even begin to
fully comprehend it,
00:55:45.51\00:55:48.42
that's where we
go tomorrow night.
00:55:49.12\00:55:50.58
Well I have a friend
and we were at a table
00:55:52.24\00:55:57.83
together, just
eating I mean at least I was
00:55:57.84\00:56:00.67
eating; he was
just picking at his food
00:56:00.68\00:56:03.40
obviously no appetite.
I could feel the heaviness
00:56:03.41\00:56:07.19
and I knew something was wrong.
00:56:07.20\00:56:08.35
I looked across the
table and caught His eyes in
00:56:10.54\00:56:13.55
mine for a steady two seconds to
00:56:13.56\00:56:15.92
communicate with my
eyes. Hey, I don't know what
00:56:15.93\00:56:18.20
you're going through
but I'm here for you.
00:56:18.21\00:56:21.07
I gave Him permission
and he blurred it out.
00:56:22.32\00:56:25.74
Ty, Katy is leaving
me. A wave of nausea came
00:56:26.59\00:56:32.52
over me, I could hardly bear it.
00:56:32.53\00:56:34.05
My friend was
enduring this fractured
00:56:35.12\00:56:37.25
relationship, he said
Ty, the ache is so deep
00:56:37.26\00:56:41.87
because I so want her
back. And I said I know,
00:56:42.00\00:56:48.34
it wasn't even my experience
00:56:50.59\00:56:51.83
and I could feel
it. And my friends,
00:56:51.84\00:56:54.95
there was a sense in
which an ache like that
00:56:54.96\00:56:59.12
hangs over our world.
A hurt like that hangs
00:57:00.68\00:57:04.85
over you and over
me. And in Christ God is
00:57:04.86\00:57:09.34
saying, it hurts to
be separated from you
00:57:09.35\00:57:12.30
and I so want you
back. Father in heaven,
00:57:12.31\00:57:19.49
thank you for your great
love manifested in Christ,
00:57:21.52\00:57:24.25
brought up and close personal in
00:57:25.24\00:57:27.05
his incarnation,
in Jesus name. Amen.
00:57:27.06\00:57:32.50