Welcome back friends
to our continuing study
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Books of the Book.
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We are in Hebrews Chapter
3, we had just focusing on
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the relational theme that
God has developing here for
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us through the Apostle
Paul in the book of Hebrews.
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We are looking at Christ
as the Master builder, who
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has promised to finish
the building project that He
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has begun in us.
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You know James we
left off in Chapter 3,
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verse 6, where it
just forthrightly says that
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Jesus is engaged
in a building project,
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He has a house.
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He is building it and
then Paul just said straight
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out, "whose house we are".
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We are His house.
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As we have noticed,
in the other scriptures,
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that we have
compared, this is again
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relational language.
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This is again a
language of intimacy.
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Jesus is desiring, the Father
is desiring, to be with us
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for all eternity, in
fellowship with Himself.
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I asked a group of
young people one time,
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where I was doing in a
week of prayer, I asked them
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if I were extremely wealthy,
and I hypothetically just
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put this question to you.
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I own the Hawaiian island,
of Kauai, and I have evacuated
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the island, I
have evicted everybody.
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I owned the whole thing.
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I purchased all the property,
and it is just the most
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beautiful place
in the whole world.
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It's a paradise, it got
mansions, it's got vehicles.
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It's got houses, it's got
roads and I am going to give
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it to you as a
gift, do you want it?
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And all the young
people said, Yeah! We want it!
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Of course we do.
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And then I said, but
there's one condition, and that
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is that you have to live
there in those mansions, on
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that island, in that paradise.
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You have to live there
all eternity, by yourself
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alone, never leave,
with no outside contact,
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with no e-mail, no
phone calls, and no visitors.
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Do you still want this
paradise, this mansion?
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And all of them, without
exception, while there were
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just a few very
materialistic boys, no girls,
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who said no way
we don't want it.
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The illustration was
simply to point out that if we
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stop and think about
it, we value relationships,
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even our human relationships
above material things.
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God is not merely interested
in building a house in
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order to give us a place
to exist for all eternity.
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He is providing a
place for us to have
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fellowship with Himself.
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He values relationship
more than anything else and the
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more that we come to know
Jesus and His great love for
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us, the more we will
value the relationship dimension
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of the plan of salvation.
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Absolutely, and
this house is a metaphor,
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this is not literal.
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We are not an inanimate
objects here, you know, it
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is very clear when you get
to verse 7, here in Hebrews 3,
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"wherefore the Holy Ghost
says today is you will hear
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His voice," verse 8,
"harden not your hearts".
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In other words, God
is seeking a response.
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He is soliciting us
to respond to His love.
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He is not forcing Himself
upon us, He is asking us to
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respond to what He
has accomplished for us.
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In fact, Hebrews 1,
Hebrews 2, God takes personal
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responsibility for our sins.
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He becomes a man,
divest Himself of His divinity,
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so that He could pay the
penalty, the just penalty
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that we deserve, so that
He can reveal fully His love
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His mercy and His justice.
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Now He is
soliciting our response.
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He is asking us to
receive the gift that He has
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bestowed upon us.
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That He has
purchased for us through,
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His Son Jesus Christ.
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Everything that we see in
the previous chapters so far,
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is Paul bringing home the
point of what Jesus has done
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for us, without us.
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He has accomplished, according
to Chapter 1, and verse 3.
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He has purged
our sins by Himself.
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Without our contributions,
without us in anyway giving
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to that salvation, He
achieved it by Himself.
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But now, now, the
Apostle Paul is saying okay,
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all of this has been
achieved for you this great
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salvation, and He is giving,
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He is issuing a warning.
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He said this is
serious business.
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God has done all of this
while all heaven poured out,
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in this one
gift of Jesus Christ.
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Now take this very seriously.
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Paul says and
participate, become partakers
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of the heavenly calling.
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Cooperate with God.
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Warning denotes respect.
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Warning denotes honor.
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Because God is
not a God of force.
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He recognizes our
freedom and He is honoring us.
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He is recognizing that
we are beings that have
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freedom and choice and
He is honoring that choice.
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He is not going to
force us to comply.
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He believes I am sure, a
God of love, knows beyond a
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shadow of a doubt,
what would be best for us.
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Just like I know what
is best for my children.
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I want them to do
what I think is best,
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what I know is best,
as a mature adult and
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parent who loves them.
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But I can't
force that upon them.
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I need to honor and
respect their freedom and their
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choice, especially when
they get to a certain age,
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which my
children are getting to.
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By the way, your children's
are long past my children age.
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I mean, earlier you
mentioned that we've known each
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other since you
were 10 or 11 years old.
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I don't think so,
Ty, don't try that.
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You, you are a grandpa.
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That's right, that's right.
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With two lovely grandchildren.
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That's wonderful.
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Praise God. Praise God.
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And so we look at
this, we look at this analogy
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and we see here that
Paul leads right into an
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Old Testament illustration.
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He is talking about the
wandering in the wilderness.
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He's talking about how
God had to prove something.
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He had to prove the way that
He is, He promised them that
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they could have the promised
land, the heavenly Canaan.
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And they refuse to go in.
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They bought the majority
report of the 12 spies, ten
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of them said it's a land that
is impossible for us to conquer.
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We can't go in there and
they said we can't go in.
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So God said okay.
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You don't believe My
word that I can deliver that
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land to you, you're going
to wander in the wilderness
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for 40 years.
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They changed their mind, then.
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Then they decided, we can
go in, but you know God didn't
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not allow them, why?
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Because God had to
prove, not that He is right and
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they are wrong.
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Not that well I
punished you and I got to carry
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through with that punishment.
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But that His word trustworthy.
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When God says you are
going to wonder for 40 years,
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He followed through with
that, so they could at least
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come out of this
trusting His word.
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Not only is His word
trustworthy, but also
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His word is powerful.
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His word is the source of
power for the fulfilling of
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the promises that He makes.
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So these Israelites in
the wilderness, when the two
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spies that were faithful
came back, Joshua and Caleb
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and said, yes
there are giants there.
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but in God's power and
God's grace we are more than
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able to enter into this
Canaan, this promised land.
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The unfaithful
spies said No Way!
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I mean those giants are huge.
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We can not enter into
this land, we will be defeated.
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They were blind
to the power of God.
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They were blind to the
grace of God, with Joshua and
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Caleb were discerning.
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And so they give this bad
report, no way, we can't enter.
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God said, that's right
you are not going to enter.
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And then they
changed their minds and said
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wait a minute, wait a
minute, now we want to enter.
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And God said, no.
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You can't enter
because you need a mental
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and heart adjustment.
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You need to understand
that the only way that you can
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conquer these giants, the
only way that you can enter
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this promised land, is
by the enabling power of My
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grace pouring through
you, and until you understand
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that, you are
destined for defeat.
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They needed to learn
how to trust God's Word.
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Therefore God could
not just simply turn around
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because when God says you
are going to wander through
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the wilderness for 40
years, those were the words and
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there was power in those words,
and for Him to follow through
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and allow them to
wander for 40 years, would at
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least bring them
through that experience with a
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confidence and a trust.
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That's right.
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Future generations
confidence and trust.
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It's like my wife and I,
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we are dealing
with our children.
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And sometimes we
have to discipline them.
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And the worst thing we can
do is tell them that they're
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going to have a certain
discipline, then fail to follow
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through with that discipline
because, what do they do
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next time they hear us say
no, this is not going to happen.
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But they think if they
keep on asking, asking, asking,
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asking, they can finally
wear us down, that our word is
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not good, that we cannot
be trusted to follow through.
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If we can't trust God
for what He says, there is no
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way that we will ever be
able to have enough confidence
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enough faith to
going to the promised land.
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James, I think it
is incredible that
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God is inviting trust.
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That God wants us to
trust Him as the basis of this
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relationship, because let's
face it, God is omnipotent,
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He is all-powerful.
00:08:14.55\00:08:15.55
And if He wanted to, He
could just force our actions,
00:08:15.58\00:08:18.82
force our behavior.
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But God is aiming for
something more, and that's why
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the issue here, or the central
point that Paul is making
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in these initial
verses, is that God is focused
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on the heart.
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He says you are my
house, I want to inhabit you.
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I want to build you, I
want to make you a habitation
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for the Holy Spirit.
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But don't harden your
heart, become sensitive
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and open to me.
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Allow Me access, I
want access, but you need
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to open the door.
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And then it goes on
here, in this context and talks
00:08:45.99\00:08:49.19
about God's wrath.
00:08:49.23\00:08:50.25
Now friends, we need to
understand that God's wrath is
00:08:50.28\00:08:53.29
different than man's wrath.
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When I am dealing with
my children, and they do
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something that they
need discipline for, and then
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they are sorry, or they repent.
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I want to, in every way,
and I'm sure all of us do as
00:09:00.99\00:09:04.22
parents we want to be merciful.
00:09:04.25\00:09:06.43
We want to change our
decisions, but then we realized
00:09:06.46\00:09:10.06
wait a minute.
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If I change, if I compromise
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my decision here, I may
undermine the stability and
00:09:13.51\00:09:17.21
the trust that my
children are going to have in my
00:09:17.24\00:09:19.06
word in the future.
00:09:19.09\00:09:20.06
So sometimes we have to
follow through discipline, even
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though our hearts
desire is that we ought not to
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allow this to happen.
Sometimes we have to allow the
00:09:27.97\00:09:29.92
consequences to come
and that is how God's Word
00:09:29.95\00:09:32.55
defines His wrath,
God's wrath is not arbitrary.
00:09:32.58\00:09:36.35
It's not like man's
wrath God's wrath releases.
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God's wrath allows us to taste
consequences and many times
00:09:39.89\00:09:45.04
man's wrath places, in other
words, it's arbitrary wrath
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that in a sense, kind of
imposes, imposes, that's the
00:09:49.89\00:09:52.97
word I'm looking for, imposes.
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Where God's wrath releases.
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Man's wrath is vindictive.
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God's wrath is consequential
and will we look at that,
00:09:58.41\00:10:02.17
we parallel that we recognize
that behind God's wrath,
00:10:02.20\00:10:04.86
is this struggle to let
us go to the consequences we
00:10:04.89\00:10:11.36
chosen, but this principle
of honoring our free choice.
00:10:11.39\00:10:15.47
Yeah, it's amazing!
00:10:15.50\00:10:17.07
In Hosea, God is contemplating
what He is going through
00:10:17.10\00:10:22.50
with His hardhearted people.
00:10:22.53\00:10:24.39
He has this pleading,
aching tone in His wrath.
00:10:24.42\00:10:29.01
He says I am angry, and
then He expresses that anger in
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words like these, He
says, "how can I give you up,
00:10:32.56\00:10:35.48
My heart churns
within me with sympathy,
00:10:35.51\00:10:38.90
I don't want you to be lost.
00:10:38.93\00:10:41.46
I don't want you to be injured.
00:10:41.49\00:10:42.98
I don't watch to be hurt,
but you've really given Me
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no choice in this matter.
00:10:45.21\00:10:47.42
I have no options left
because of the choice that
00:10:47.45\00:10:50.86
that you're being
completely set in is not
00:10:50.89\00:10:54.64
a choice that I
can make for you."
00:10:54.67\00:10:55.96
Look at these verses
Ty,in the context of what you
00:10:55.99\00:10:58.36
just talked about.
00:10:58.40\00:10:59.37
Hebrews 3 verses 9, 10,
and 11, let's just read them.
00:10:59.38\00:11:02.74
"When your fathers tempted,
me proved me, and saw my works
00:11:02.77\00:11:07.02
for 40 years; wherefore I
was grieved with that generation
00:11:07.05\00:11:09.80
said that they always erred
in their heart and they have
00:11:09.83\00:11:13.07
not known my ways, so I
swore my wrath, they shall not
00:11:13.10\00:11:17.68
enter into my rest."
00:11:17.71\00:11:19.62
There's three key phrases
here, they proved me, they
00:11:19.65\00:11:23.66
didn't know My ways,
and there is My wrath.
00:11:23.69\00:11:25.91
What God is doing for 40
years, He is proving that His
00:11:25.94\00:11:30.21
ways are consistent.
00:11:30.24\00:11:32.24
They are
trustworthy, He can be trusted.
00:11:32.27\00:11:34.03
His wrath is allowing us
to reap the consequences of
00:11:34.06\00:11:37.21
our choices so that we
can prove that His ways are
00:11:37.24\00:11:39.80
the best ways.
00:11:39.83\00:11:40.80
His work can be
trusted and therefore through
00:11:40.81\00:11:43.36
confidence in His word
His power can be released
00:11:43.39\00:11:46.05
and seen in our lives.
00:11:46.08\00:11:47.07
Now James perhaps the
final point, we can make in the
00:11:47.10\00:11:49.51
time that we have left is
that Paul clearly draws our
00:11:49.54\00:11:52.98
attention to the rebellion
of Israel in the wilderness.
00:11:53.01\00:11:57.73
And there, according to
the account of that rebellion
00:11:57.76\00:12:00.72
in the Old Testament.
00:12:00.75\00:12:02.05
In Exodus, there is
clearly a key misunderstanding
00:12:02.08\00:12:06.84
that set them up for this
failure, and this rebellion.
00:12:06.87\00:12:09.81
These people in the wilderness,
they encountered God,
00:12:09.84\00:12:15.38
and then they turned
to Moses and said Moses,
00:12:15.41\00:12:18.83
we are not in any way,
prepared or interested in
00:12:18.86\00:12:24.60
God speaking
directly to us and having a
00:12:24.63\00:12:27.69
relationship with God.
00:12:27.72\00:12:28.73
Moses you speak to us.
00:12:28.76\00:12:30.57
You tell us what God says, but
00:12:30.60\00:12:32.57
never let God talk to us again.
00:12:32.60\00:12:34.19
They wanted to obey
God's law without entering
00:12:34.22\00:12:38.36
into a relationship with Him.
00:12:38.39\00:12:40.00
Yes, they wanted Moses
to be the one to go between.
00:12:40.03\00:12:42.94
You know, what is really
interesting and powerful Ty, is
00:12:42.97\00:12:45.28
when you look at their
rebellion in the light of
00:12:45.31\00:12:47.94
Moses' experience, you find that
00:12:47.97\00:12:49.81
God's wrath
even came upon Moses.
00:12:49.84\00:12:51.89
He died in the wilderness,
and yet the heart of God
00:12:51.92\00:12:54.74
is revealed here, Moses
had this relationship with God.
00:12:54.77\00:12:57.28
And Moses eventually was
resurrected and is in heaven.
00:12:57.31\00:13:00.64
And that's the hope that
we have friends, that in the
00:13:00.67\00:13:03.62
heart of God, in spite of
our rebellion, and in spite of
00:13:03.65\00:13:06.13
our turning from Him.
00:13:06.16\00:13:07.15
In the heart of God, He
wants us to be there with Him.
00:13:07.18\00:13:09.52
He will do everything
He can to make sure that
00:13:09.55\00:13:12.16
He finishes the
work He has begun in us.
00:13:12.19\00:13:14.03
We are not finishers, but
Jesus Christ is the Finisher.
00:13:14.06\00:13:18.02