Hello, I'm Mike Browning.
Welcome to Let God Speak.
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Have you ever wanted
to know and see God's face
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to stand in awe and
adoration before the Almighty?
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Well, as sinners,
we can't see God now,
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but we can know what
He's like in character.
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Now study the Bible
today, we'll explore that.
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So, folks, on our panel
today, we have Rod Butler,
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and we have his
daughter, Kaysie Butler.
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And as we've been discussing,
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this is the first
time on our program
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we've had a
father and daughter team.
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So thank you for
coming to share with us today.
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Welcome.
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Would invite everyone
to join with us in prayer
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before we open the Scripture.
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Father in heaven, we
thank You for the beautiful day
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that You've given us and
the life You have given us.
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And now we want to
look at the life of Jesus
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and I pray that
You will guide us
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by Your Holy Spirit
today in our discussion,
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we pray in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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Right, folks, we'll look,
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the fact is that
God has already given us
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quite an
amazing look at Himself.
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And He sent His Son Jesus
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to reveal what
God is really like.
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Now, I'd like us to
refer to a scripture
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in 2 Corinthians
4:6 to begin with today.
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2 Corinthians 4:6, which says,
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"For it is the God
who commanded light
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to shine out of darkness,
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who has shone in our
hearts to give the light
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of the knowledge,"
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and watch this,
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"the knowledge
of the glory of God
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in the face of Jesus Christ."
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This is a really
interesting verse,
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Rod, what is it saying to us?
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Well, it's saying to us, Mike,
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that we can indeed
know what God is like,
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if we observe what Jesus did,
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and how He acted in
His acts on the earth.
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There's another text
which I'd like to also read.
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That's in John 1:18.
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And it says, "No man
has seen God at any time.
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The only begotten Son,
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which is in the
bosom of the Father,
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He hath declared Him."
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So Jesus is able to
show what God is like
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as He's been there.
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He's been with Him. Okay.
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Thank you very much for that.
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That's a very
interesting insight.
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A lot of
scriptures talk about Jesus
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and who He actually was and is.
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Another one is in
Hebrews Chapter 1,
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and the first three
verses of Hebrews are very deep.
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I'm just going to read
verse 2 and 3 of Hebrews 1,
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which says,
talking about God Himself,
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and says, "He has
in these last days
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spoken to us by His Son,
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whom He has
appointed heir of all things,
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through whom also
He made the worlds, "
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which is very interesting.
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And then verse 3 says,
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"Who being the
brightness of His glory
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and the express
image of His person,
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and upholding all things
by the word of His power,
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when He had by
Himself purged our sins,
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He sat down at the right
hand of the Majesty on high."
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So, Kaysie, what does
it mean in verse 3 there
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where it talks
about the brightness
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of His glory or
reflection of His glory,
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what is He saying to us?
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Yeah.
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So when He's talking about
the reflection of His glory,
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we know from when you look
at Exodus Chapter 33 and 34,
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that God's glory is
actually His character.
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And so when we see here
that Christ is reflecting
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God's character,
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He is showing, you
know, what God is like,
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you know, that
He's holy, He's perfect,
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He's without sin and everything.
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Now, the
interesting thing is that,
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as sinful human beings
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we cannot actually see
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the fullness of God's character,
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it's too much for us.
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So when God sent Jesus,
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He actually made it
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so that Jesus sort of toned down
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the reflection
of God's character.
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So that was
something we could handle.
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And I like to think of
it like the, like the sun.
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So, you know, it's the
sun is too bright for us.
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We can't look directly at
it, it'll damage our eyes.
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But we can look
directly at the moon,
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which is reflecting
the light from the sun.
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And so it's, yeah,
it's a similar sort of thing
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in terms of Christ
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is showing the
character of God in a way
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that we can actually see
it, and it won't overwhelm us.
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You know, thank you
for that. That's lovely.
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I really appreciate that.
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Going back to verse 3 in
Hebrews Chapter 1 here, Rod.
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It also talks about
Jesus being the express image
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of God's person.
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What's He saying to us here?
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Well, I like,
there's another translation
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of that word the express image.
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I think the New Revised Standard
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says the exact imprint.
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And I think of an exact
imprint being a perfect copy,
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a perfect
facsimile, a perfect clone.
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And whilst it's
probably a crude analogy
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when you're referring to Jesus,
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but when we looked at Jesus,
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we see a perfect example of God,
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an exact imprint,
the express image.
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And we can have the
confidence as we look to Jesus
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that we are seeing God.
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Okay. Thank you for that.
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I appreciate that.
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I'm going to go
back to another scripture
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in 2 Corinthians.
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We looked in a moment ago
in Chapter 4 and verse earlier,
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we looked at verse 6.
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I want to go back to 4:4.
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So 2 Corinthians
4:4, which says this,
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"Whose minds the god
of this age has blinded,
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who do not believe,
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lest the light of the
gospel of the glory of Christ, "
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and talking about
the glory of Christ now,
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"Who is the image of
God, should shine on them."
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And we read verse 6 now
just remind us of those words,
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"It is God who commands
light to shine out of darkness."
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And it talks there
about the knowledge
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of the glory of God
also, which is interesting.
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So who is Jesus really?
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Who is this...
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What is this trying
to say to us, Kaysie?
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So Jesus was
someone who came from God.
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He actually is God, we
know that from Scripture.
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But it's interesting
what He says about Himself.
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If we have a look at John 6:46,
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it says that,
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"No man has seen the Father,
except He which is of God,
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He has seen the Father."
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So there's no
human being on earth
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who has ever seen God,
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except for Jesus
who came as a human.
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And because He is the only
one who is truly known God,
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He is the only one
who can truly show us
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what God is like.
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Yes, and we can rely
on His what He tells us,
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reveals to us.
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That's wonderful. Thank you.
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I noticed too in
Luke 10 now, Rod,
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and verse 22.
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We read this.
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Jesus Himself is
talking here, and He says,
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"All things have been
delivered to Me by My Father.
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No one knows who the
Son is except the Father,
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and who the Father
is except the Son, "
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which gives us some
idea of the closeness
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between the Father and Son.
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"And the one to
whom the Son wills
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to reveal Him."
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And that's really
interesting also, isn't it?
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What is this trying to
tell us, Rod, this is very deep.
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Well, it's saying
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that Jesus is
making it very clear
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that He is revealing God.
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And when, again,
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when we look at
the life of Christ,
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how He healed
people with disease,
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how He taught
people, He restored lives.
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Every act that Jesus did
which was an act of love,
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which was service for others.
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This is giving us
a glimpse of the way
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God the Father relates to us.
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And it's, again,
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an incredible insight
to the love that God has.
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Because when we
look at Jesus, we think,
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well, how could anybody do that?
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The love that
Jesus must have had
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or God the Father has that love?
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And, yeah, that
verse gives us an insight.
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Yes, it's a beautiful insight
into the character of God.
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Our God is a God of love
and mercy as you pointed out,
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and how wonderful
that God is like that.
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Anything else?
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Of course, just you
don't want to think about
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but it's not like that.
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He's the beautiful,
loving, merciful God
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that we find
projected in Jesus' life.
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All right.
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Thank you so
much, Rod, for that.
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So Jesus is
revealing the Father to us
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and, of course, to the world.
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In that context, I
want to read a scripture
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in Ephesians Chapter 5,
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and I'm going to read verse 1.
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Ephesians 5:1, very
simple little verse,
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And all it says is this,
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"Therefore be imitators
of God as dear children."
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Now He's addressing
fellow believers here,
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be imitators of God?
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So what do you think of
that as a command in a sense?
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Yeah, well, Jesus,
actually, when He was on earth,
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we've just been talking about
how He revealed the Father.
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But Jesus isn't
on earth anymore.
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So if God wants
the rest of the world,
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who's currently,
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the rest of the
people in the world
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who are here currently
to know what He is like,
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He has to have another
way of revealing Himself.
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And so,
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God actually wants to reveal
Himself through His followers.
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And it's
interesting if we have a look
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at Galatians 1:16.
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Paul is talking
here about himself,
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his own experience
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and how this is exactly
what God is doing through him.
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He says, "God called me
by His grace" in verse 15.
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And then 16 says, "to
reveal His Son in me."
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And so this is what
Paul's experience was that,
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you know, God was
going to be revealing
00:10:11.97\00:10:13.61
what Christ is like through Him.
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And it's a big
task for us to do.
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Yeah, yeah, that
we had that privilege.
00:10:19.51\00:10:21.95
To reveal God, imitate God?
00:10:21.98\00:10:24.29
And this is the original purpose
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that God had for us.
00:10:25.79\00:10:27.12
You know, in the beginning,
He made us in His image,
00:10:27.16\00:10:28.76
He wanted us to
exemplify His character.
00:10:28.79\00:10:32.36
Of course, that's
been messed up with sin.
00:10:32.39\00:10:34.83
But God still has
that purpose for us.
00:10:34.86\00:10:37.93
And through the grace of
God, it is possible for us.
00:10:37.97\00:10:40.44
And what I really like
about the verse read before
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in Ephesians 5:1, where it says,
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"To be imitators of
God as dear children."
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I like that
little bit at the end,
00:10:50.88\00:10:52.21
as dear children,
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because what do
children like to do?
00:10:53.62\00:10:55.15
They like to watch
and then copy, right?
00:10:55.18\00:10:58.12
And so, that's how
we can be like Christ,
00:10:58.15\00:11:01.16
if we watch what He does,
00:11:01.19\00:11:02.62
and how He lives and His Spirit,
00:11:02.66\00:11:04.83
and then copy that,
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then we can then
be able to exemplify
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what He's like in the world.
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It's an amazing
privilege that we have.
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And, of course, this is
where the indwelling Holy Spirit
00:11:11.60\00:11:14.34
is so vital in our experience,
00:11:14.37\00:11:16.54
because it's going
to take a miracle for us
00:11:16.57\00:11:18.21
to be imitators of God,
00:11:18.24\00:11:19.57
but God is in the
business of that kind of miracle
00:11:19.61\00:11:21.78
which is great, isn't it?
00:11:21.81\00:11:23.14
It is.
00:11:23.18\00:11:26.05
Did you have
anything, Rod, to add to that?
00:11:26.08\00:11:28.15
Yeah, just picking up
on what Kaysie was saying.
00:11:28.18\00:11:31.79
In the King James, it says,
00:11:31.82\00:11:33.19
"Be followers,
00:11:33.22\00:11:34.56
be ye therefore
followers of God."
00:11:34.59\00:11:37.76
And as a follower,
00:11:37.79\00:11:39.19
we are to model our
life on the life of Jesus.
00:11:39.23\00:11:43.37
And one of the
things which Jesus had
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which was amazing in His life,
He had unaffected humility.
00:11:47.70\00:11:53.21
And when you
compare the life of Jesus
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to the life of the world,
00:11:56.21\00:11:57.91
as worldlings, if
I can use that term,
00:11:57.95\00:12:00.92
it's all about self.
00:12:00.95\00:12:02.28
It's all about
projecting ourselves
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and exalting ourselves.
00:12:03.69\00:12:05.02
Christ did exactly the opposite.
00:12:05.05\00:12:06.62
He humbled Himself.
00:12:06.65\00:12:08.42
I've just got some, I
bought some quotes here
00:12:08.46\00:12:10.53
from a book The Desire of Ages,
00:12:10.56\00:12:12.53
which deals with His
humility, just a few quotes.
00:12:12.56\00:12:15.96
Says, "He shunned display,
00:12:16.00\00:12:17.97
He did not strive
for worldly greatness
00:12:18.00\00:12:20.54
and even in the lowest
position He was content.
00:12:20.57\00:12:23.57
He did not
contend for His rights.
00:12:23.61\00:12:25.31
He weeded out
all vanity from life.
00:12:25.34\00:12:27.84
He took no measures
to bring himself into,"
00:12:27.88\00:12:29.84
notice, "His manners
were gentle and unassuming.
00:12:29.88\00:12:32.91
In that life, there
was no noisy disputation,
00:12:32.95\00:12:35.28
no ostentatious worship,
no act to gain applause.
00:12:35.32\00:12:39.22
He remained true
to the humble lot
00:12:39.25\00:12:40.96
He had accepted and so on."
00:12:40.99\00:12:42.96
Now, this is pretty
powerful because in my own,
00:12:42.99\00:12:45.59
you know, a natural
state, I don't think that way,
00:12:45.63\00:12:49.16
I want to project self.
00:12:49.20\00:12:51.27
But as be followers of Christ,
00:12:51.30\00:12:53.90
that means we have
to have that humility.
00:12:53.94\00:12:56.40
Yes.
00:12:56.44\00:12:57.77
And that's a
very powerful thing.
00:12:57.81\00:12:59.87
It is a very powerful thing.
00:12:59.91\00:13:01.24
And it's a very,
it's an amazing thing,
00:13:01.28\00:13:03.14
because it's so opposite.
00:13:03.18\00:13:04.68
He was Jesus, the
Almighty in humanity.
00:13:04.71\00:13:08.45
And He was taking
the humble lowest place.
00:13:08.48\00:13:11.55
It's interesting,
one of His followers,
00:13:11.59\00:13:12.99
John the Baptist
had that humility,
00:13:13.02\00:13:15.52
because He was being
pushed to be to project himself,
00:13:15.56\00:13:18.59
but he said, He must increase,
00:13:18.63\00:13:20.60
I must decrease in
referring to the work of Jesus,
00:13:20.63\00:13:23.53
which was at
that stage increasing.
00:13:23.57\00:13:25.73
So John was prepared
to take that back seat
00:13:25.77\00:13:28.64
to humble himself.
00:13:28.67\00:13:30.31
And again,
another example for us.
00:13:30.34\00:13:31.97
Yeah, it is
another example for us.
00:13:32.01\00:13:33.34
And that's in
John 3:30. Yeah, yeah.
00:13:33.38\00:13:36.41
And God Himself
was actually veiled
00:13:36.44\00:13:40.72
in the inscrutable
divinity of Christ.
00:13:40.75\00:13:45.49
And He, and He was,
00:13:45.52\00:13:46.96
and He was able to combine
that with visible humanity.
00:13:46.99\00:13:50.63
How did He do that?
00:13:50.66\00:13:52.66
Well, it's amazing
00:13:52.69\00:13:54.03
because the Bible's really bold.
00:13:54.06\00:13:56.46
I mean, Jesus was
the creator, He's God.
00:13:56.50\00:14:00.47
And yet, when He was,
00:14:00.50\00:14:02.34
He came to the earth
in an obscure country,
00:14:02.37\00:14:04.97
He lived in an
obscure little village
00:14:05.01\00:14:06.54
of Nazareth.
00:14:06.57\00:14:07.91
He was an itinerant
rabbi, He didn't own anything.
00:14:07.94\00:14:13.05
He called
Himself the Son of man.
00:14:13.08\00:14:14.85
He identified with
humanity so completely,
00:14:14.88\00:14:18.75
and didn't in any
way project Himself,
00:14:18.79\00:14:20.79
He veiled His
divinity by being so obscure.
00:14:20.82\00:14:25.53
And, you know,
we think to the time
00:14:25.56\00:14:27.30
where He fed the 5,000
00:14:27.33\00:14:29.60
they wanted to, they
wanted to crown Him King.
00:14:29.63\00:14:33.47
Well He immediately departed,
00:14:33.50\00:14:34.84
He did not want any
projection of Himself
00:14:34.87\00:14:37.61
other than His mission,
00:14:37.64\00:14:38.97
which was to
reach and save sinners.
00:14:39.01\00:14:41.18
So His divinity was
veiled by His humility
00:14:41.21\00:14:45.75
and staying out of
without projecting Himself.
00:14:45.78\00:14:48.72
Yeah, it couldn't
be hidden, could it?
00:14:48.75\00:14:50.65
And that's the
other interesting thing
00:14:50.69\00:14:52.15
about it.
00:14:52.19\00:14:54.29
John 1:14 makes an
interesting statement.
00:14:54.32\00:14:56.66
This is the
Apostle John writing,
00:14:56.69\00:14:58.79
Chapter 1 and verse 14,
00:14:58.83\00:15:01.30
talking about Jesus and
refers to Him as the Word,
00:15:01.33\00:15:03.90
the Word of God.
00:15:03.93\00:15:05.30
And it says, "The Word became
flesh and dwelt among us, "
00:15:05.33\00:15:08.17
that's what we've
just been talking about,
00:15:08.20\00:15:11.21
"and we beheld His glory,
00:15:11.24\00:15:13.21
the glory
00:15:13.24\00:15:14.58
as of the only
begotten of the Father,
00:15:14.61\00:15:16.91
full of grace, and truth."
00:15:16.95\00:15:20.02
Can you expand on
that for us, Kaysie?
00:15:20.05\00:15:21.88
What is that saying?
00:15:21.92\00:15:23.25
So it's saying
00:15:23.28\00:15:24.62
that if we would
want to understand
00:15:24.65\00:15:26.39
God's character,
that's what God's glory is.
00:15:26.42\00:15:28.69
And if we want to
get a true picture
00:15:28.72\00:15:30.59
of God's character,
00:15:30.63\00:15:32.16
we need to look at Christ
00:15:32.19\00:15:33.53
because He
reveals it in balance.
00:15:33.56\00:15:35.36
I mean, it talks
about Christ there
00:15:35.40\00:15:37.57
being full of grace and truth.
00:15:37.60\00:15:39.73
You know, it wasn't
that Jesus was all grace,
00:15:39.77\00:15:41.90
He came to reveal
the truth about God too.
00:15:41.94\00:15:44.67
And it wasn't that
He was showing all truth
00:15:44.71\00:15:46.31
and no grace either,
00:15:46.34\00:15:47.68
you know, it was a balance here.
00:15:47.71\00:15:49.04
So Christ is
revealing what God is like
00:15:49.08\00:15:51.31
in the fullness of His love,
00:15:51.35\00:15:52.91
at the same time, the
fullness of His holiness.
00:15:52.95\00:15:55.28
Yeah, that's
wonderful. Thank you.
00:15:55.32\00:15:57.39
And there's an
interesting question.
00:15:57.42\00:16:01.99
And we started off
today by talking about the,
00:16:02.02\00:16:05.76
how our desire
to see God's face.
00:16:05.79\00:16:08.80
And we've moved
into talking about
00:16:08.83\00:16:10.53
how He was
actually revealed to us
00:16:10.57\00:16:12.70
in Jesus, His Son,
00:16:12.73\00:16:14.67
but it's not unusual
00:16:14.70\00:16:16.20
that people
should feel that way.
00:16:16.24\00:16:17.87
In John 14:8,
00:16:17.91\00:16:20.88
Jesus is having a
discussion with His disciples,
00:16:20.91\00:16:23.55
and Philip comes
up with a question.
00:16:23.58\00:16:26.82
This is it, John
14:8, "Philip said to Jesus,
00:16:26.85\00:16:29.65
'Lord, show us the Father,
and it is sufficient for us."
00:16:29.68\00:16:36.26
What do you think
about that request, Rod?
00:16:36.29\00:16:39.73
Well, I feel sorry for Philip.
00:16:39.76\00:16:44.27
In putting this in context,
00:16:44.30\00:16:46.40
this is actually in the
context of the Last Supper.
00:16:46.43\00:16:49.20
Christ is hours away
from the agony of Gethsemane
00:16:49.24\00:16:51.87
and, of course, the
crucifixion the next day.
00:16:51.91\00:16:54.91
And so, this is the
last major conversation
00:16:54.94\00:16:57.58
He's having with His disciples.
00:16:57.61\00:17:00.42
And they've been with
Him for over three years.
00:17:00.45\00:17:02.58
And Philip still
does not understand
00:17:02.62\00:17:05.69
that Jesus is
reflecting God the Father.
00:17:05.72\00:17:09.62
And I guess the
lesson there for me is that,
00:17:09.66\00:17:14.26
how long have I
known about Jesus?
00:17:14.30\00:17:16.77
And am I also prone to forget
00:17:16.80\00:17:21.17
that Jesus
reflects God the Father.
00:17:21.20\00:17:23.54
Philips response, whilst,
I guess embarrassing for him,
00:17:23.57\00:17:28.24
just shows his humanity.
00:17:28.28\00:17:29.61
He had a preconceived idea
00:17:29.64\00:17:31.18
about what
Christ should be doing,
00:17:31.21\00:17:33.15
which took his focus
off what God was doing,
00:17:33.18\00:17:37.62
what Jesus was doing to
reflect God's character.
00:17:37.65\00:17:40.46
So to know Jesus is to
know the Lord is to know, sorry,
00:17:40.49\00:17:44.36
is to know the Father,
00:17:44.39\00:17:45.73
and Philip didn't
understand at that stage.
00:17:45.76\00:17:48.70
Yeah.
00:17:48.73\00:17:50.07
And I thank you for that too.
00:17:50.10\00:17:52.57
It's true
00:17:52.60\00:17:53.94
eternity is not going to
be long enough to understand
00:17:53.97\00:17:55.84
and plumb the depths of
Jesus and God's character too.
00:17:55.87\00:17:59.71
So, but how closely do you think
00:17:59.74\00:18:01.44
we do know Jesus ourselves?
00:18:01.48\00:18:03.95
Yeah, well, it's
interesting what it says
00:18:03.98\00:18:05.91
that in 1 Corinthians 13:12.
00:18:05.95\00:18:10.35
It says that we see
through a mirror dimly.
00:18:10.39\00:18:13.52
So the best that we
can see of Christ here now
00:18:13.56\00:18:17.33
is really only a dim little bit
00:18:17.36\00:18:19.56
compared to what we
will see in His fullness
00:18:19.59\00:18:21.80
in all eternity when
we see Him face to face.
00:18:21.83\00:18:25.13
And, yeah, it's
always going to be,
00:18:25.17\00:18:26.90
it's like the sunrise,
00:18:26.94\00:18:28.27
it's, it comes upon us
slowly our understanding
00:18:28.30\00:18:31.84
and vision of
God and His character
00:18:31.87\00:18:34.21
as we can handle it.
00:18:34.24\00:18:35.68
And it will continue to grow
throughout eternity, It will.
00:18:35.71\00:18:38.15
And, of course,
reading the Scripture
00:18:38.18\00:18:39.51
and reading about Jesus' life
00:18:39.55\00:18:40.88
gives the Holy Spirit
opportunities to prompt us
00:18:40.92\00:18:43.55
to open our
understanding to things
00:18:43.59\00:18:45.05
that we've may
have missed before.
00:18:45.09\00:18:46.96
Now that's so
important to do that.
00:18:46.99\00:18:49.39
I wanna look now at Jesus
00:18:49.42\00:18:51.19
as the master
teacher of mankind now.
00:18:51.23\00:18:54.00
So we're moving
on little bit here.
00:18:54.03\00:18:56.73
He was reflecting
obviously the concerns
00:18:56.77\00:18:59.17
that God the Father has as well.
00:18:59.20\00:19:01.77
Question is, what
was His greatest concern,
00:19:01.80\00:19:05.07
particularly for His
followers and His people?
00:19:05.11\00:19:08.14
Rod, did you pick
anything up on that?
00:19:08.18\00:19:09.78
Well, again, if you
go to the Book of John,
00:19:09.81\00:19:13.75
and this is again, in context,
00:19:13.78\00:19:16.15
the Last Supper
00:19:16.18\00:19:18.02
in the very first
part of John Chapter 18.
00:19:18.05\00:19:21.09
They're walking
up into Gethsemane,
00:19:21.12\00:19:22.69
they're crossing
the brook Kidron.
00:19:22.72\00:19:24.99
And Jesus is having
this prayer in Chapter 17.
00:19:25.03\00:19:28.46
And in verses 20-23,
00:19:28.50\00:19:33.40
Jesus prays, is
praying by the way,
00:19:33.44\00:19:35.40
and Jesus says this.
00:19:35.44\00:19:37.67
So this is clearly on His heart,
00:19:37.71\00:19:40.51
" That they all may be one,
00:19:40.54\00:19:42.04
as thou, Father, art
in me, and I in thee,
00:19:42.08\00:19:45.45
that they also may be one in us:
00:19:45.48\00:19:47.48
that the world may
believe that thou hast sent me.
00:19:47.52\00:19:50.95
And the glory
which thou gavest me
00:19:50.99\00:19:52.69
I have given them,
00:19:52.72\00:19:54.06
that they may be
one, even as we are one:
00:19:54.09\00:19:56.83
I in them, and thou in me,
00:19:56.86\00:19:58.79
and they may be
made perfect in one,
00:19:58.83\00:20:01.26
and that the world may
know that thou hast sent me,
00:20:01.30\00:20:03.97
and hast loved them,
as thou hast loved me."
00:20:04.00\00:20:06.74
Jesus concern was,
00:20:06.77\00:20:08.20
it was so
important for His disciples
00:20:08.24\00:20:11.24
to reflect
love, just like Jesus,
00:20:11.27\00:20:14.14
and the Father
had love that was,
00:20:14.18\00:20:16.71
though, so interconnected.
00:20:16.75\00:20:20.12
We had to have that
same love for Jesus.
00:20:20.15\00:20:22.08
Be imitators of God as
we talked about earlier.
00:20:22.12\00:20:23.99
Yes, yes.
00:20:24.02\00:20:25.35
And this was very
important to Christ
00:20:25.39\00:20:27.02
to get this message across.
00:20:27.06\00:20:28.62
And again, shortly
after this, it's all over.
00:20:28.66\00:20:32.86
There's no more big discourses
for Jesus for His disciples,
00:20:32.89\00:20:35.20
this is His parting
message to His disciples,
00:20:35.23\00:20:37.47
Thank you for picking that
up. That's a very good one.
00:20:37.50\00:20:39.93
Appreciate that.
00:20:39.97\00:20:41.34
I'm going to read from
Philippians Chapter 2 now.
00:20:41.37\00:20:44.71
And I'm going to
read there verse 3 and 4,
00:20:44.74\00:20:49.38
which talks
about our relationship
00:20:49.41\00:20:51.25
with one another,
00:20:51.28\00:20:53.42
building on what
you've just said.
00:20:53.45\00:20:55.48
"Let nothing be done
00:20:55.52\00:20:56.85
through selfish
ambition or conceit,
00:20:56.89\00:20:59.95
but in lowliness of mind,"
now this is humility here,
00:20:59.99\00:21:03.19
"let each esteem
others better than himself."
00:21:03.22\00:21:06.66
That's interesting.
00:21:06.70\00:21:08.03
And then verse 4,
00:21:08.06\00:21:09.40
"Let each of you look out
not only for his own interest,
00:21:09.43\00:21:12.30
but also for the
interest of others."
00:21:12.33\00:21:14.87
And it goes on to say,
"Let this mind be in you,
00:21:14.90\00:21:16.71
which was also in
Christ Jesus Himself."
00:21:16.74\00:21:19.87
So it's a lovely
picture that we have here.
00:21:19.91\00:21:23.98
Jesus Himself, of course,
00:21:24.01\00:21:25.35
did this stuff,
didn't He, Kaysie?
00:21:25.38\00:21:26.85
Yeah.
00:21:26.88\00:21:28.22
This is how Jesus
lived His life, as we,
00:21:28.25\00:21:30.75
and we are
encouraged to do the same again.
00:21:30.79\00:21:32.75
Most definitely. He left heaven.
00:21:32.79\00:21:35.22
You know, with
all the glory of that,
00:21:35.26\00:21:36.59
and the purity of the place
and the adoration of angels,
00:21:36.62\00:21:38.79
He left that and came to
this dark and dismal earth,
00:21:38.83\00:21:42.40
became a human, says
that in verse, verse 7,
00:21:42.43\00:21:46.70
"He was made in
the likeness of man,"
00:21:46.74\00:21:48.10
in Philippians 2.
00:21:48.14\00:21:49.47
And that was such a
humbling thing to do.
00:21:49.50\00:21:55.61
But He did that for us.
00:21:55.64\00:21:56.98
And so His focus was
on others and not Himself.
00:21:57.01\00:22:00.22
Taking on Himself humanity,
00:22:00.25\00:22:01.72
He became a
dependent human being
00:22:01.75\00:22:05.19
as we are for eternity.
00:22:05.22\00:22:07.89
There was no turning back.
00:22:07.92\00:22:09.32
He was a new person,
if you like, the God man,
00:22:09.36\00:22:12.23
Christ Jesus,
thank You for that.
00:22:12.26\00:22:14.13
Very beautiful.
00:22:14.16\00:22:15.80
So there's a
description here of humanity.
00:22:15.83\00:22:18.70
And is it possible for
us to be like that, Rod,
00:22:18.73\00:22:21.34
I mean can we?
00:22:21.37\00:22:22.70
Can we have
this kind of humanity
00:22:22.74\00:22:24.54
where we esteem
others better than ourselves?
00:22:24.57\00:22:29.48
Well, in our own
strength, probably no, no.
00:22:29.51\00:22:33.58
But, yes, as we behold Christ,
00:22:33.62\00:22:37.92
and as we meditate on Him
00:22:37.95\00:22:40.86
and the Holy Spirit performs,
a miracle in our heart,
00:22:40.89\00:22:45.09
yes, we can be like Christ.
00:22:45.13\00:22:47.10
Yes, we can be
imitators of His humility.
00:22:47.13\00:22:49.93
In our own strength, it's no.
00:22:49.96\00:22:51.30
It's all to do
with the Holy Spirit
00:22:51.33\00:22:52.67
living in us.
00:22:52.70\00:22:54.04
And I just like to
bring another verse,
00:22:54.07\00:22:57.21
if I refer to 2
Corinthians 3:18.
00:22:57.24\00:23:02.98
It says, "But we all,
00:23:03.01\00:23:04.98
with open face
beholding as in a glass
00:23:05.01\00:23:06.85
the glory of the Lord."
00:23:06.88\00:23:08.22
Now, I'm reading
from the King James,
00:23:08.25\00:23:09.72
that word glass
is really mirror.
00:23:09.75\00:23:12.15
"So behold we're all
with an open face beholding
00:23:12.19\00:23:14.52
as in a mirror,
00:23:14.56\00:23:15.89
the glory of
the Lord are changed
00:23:15.92\00:23:17.93
into the same image,
00:23:17.96\00:23:19.36
from glory to glory,
00:23:19.39\00:23:21.00
even as by the
Spirit of the Lord."
00:23:21.03\00:23:23.40
So as we behold Christ,
00:23:23.43\00:23:25.53
and the Spirit works
in us, we are changed.
00:23:25.57\00:23:27.80
We can imitate,
00:23:27.84\00:23:29.40
we can overcome
through the power
00:23:29.44\00:23:31.14
of the Holy
Spirit dwelling in us.
00:23:31.17\00:23:32.87
Now, thank you for that.
00:23:32.91\00:23:35.81
Moving along, and we're running,
00:23:35.84\00:23:37.18
sort of running out of
time, I'm gonna hurry today.
00:23:37.21\00:23:39.31
I want to read a scripture.
It's in Matthew 20:25.
00:23:39.35\00:23:44.25
Matthew 20:25.
00:23:44.29\00:23:46.22
Jesus is talking
and He's talking about
00:23:46.25\00:23:48.36
how His followers should lead.
00:23:48.39\00:23:51.63
And it's very
interesting what he said,
00:23:51.66\00:23:53.73
"He called the
disciples to Himself and said,
00:23:53.76\00:23:57.00
'You know that the
rulers of the Gentiles
00:23:57.03\00:23:59.43
lord it over them,
00:23:59.47\00:24:01.27
and those who are great
exercise authority over them.
00:24:01.30\00:24:05.17
Yet it shall
not be so among you,
00:24:05.21\00:24:07.51
but whoever desires to
become great among you,
00:24:07.54\00:24:10.31
let him be your servant."
00:24:10.35\00:24:11.68
Now that sounds like a
contradiction in terms,
00:24:11.71\00:24:13.48
but let's go on.
00:24:13.52\00:24:15.05
"And whoever desires
to be first among you,
00:24:15.08\00:24:17.32
let him be your slave,
00:24:17.35\00:24:19.79
just as the Son of Man
did not come to be served,
00:24:19.82\00:24:22.76
but to serve,
00:24:22.79\00:24:24.19
and to give His
life a ransom for many."
00:24:24.23\00:24:26.49
And this is an
insight into God's character.
00:24:26.53\00:24:28.96
That is quite
incredible, isn't it?
00:24:29.00\00:24:30.77
What do you think
about that, Kaysie?
00:24:30.80\00:24:32.63
Well, it's totally the opposite
of how we normally think.
00:24:32.67\00:24:36.04
It is, isn't it? Yes.
00:24:36.07\00:24:38.21
Like in terms of
greatness in how we think of it
00:24:38.24\00:24:40.28
in the world sense.
00:24:40.31\00:24:41.64
We think that if you're great,
00:24:41.68\00:24:43.85
there's going to be
more people who serve you.
00:24:43.88\00:24:46.18
But Christ's way of
greatness is no, you're great.
00:24:46.21\00:24:50.39
That means you
actually serve more.
00:24:50.42\00:24:52.55
Totally flipped around.
00:24:52.59\00:24:54.32
And this is really showing us
00:24:54.36\00:24:57.43
how that God's ways
are different to ours.
00:24:57.46\00:24:59.36
And even the Scripture
record has a divine origin
00:24:59.39\00:25:03.16
because it's just so contrary
to how we would normally work.
00:25:03.20\00:25:06.90
And as we have
this attitude also,
00:25:06.94\00:25:09.37
it contributes to us
being able to be united
00:25:09.40\00:25:11.34
with one another.
00:25:11.37\00:25:12.71
Thank you for that.
00:25:12.74\00:25:14.08
Now, look, I'm
going to get to do
00:25:14.11\00:25:15.44
a fast forward here.
00:25:15.48\00:25:17.25
And I'm going to read
from Colossians Chapter 1.
00:25:17.28\00:25:21.12
And I want to
read a scripture here
00:25:21.15\00:25:24.69
that is very interesting.
00:25:24.72\00:25:26.82
Colossians 1:20.
00:25:26.86\00:25:30.63
And I'm going to come
back to you, Rod, on this one.
00:25:30.66\00:25:33.66
Colossians 1:20.
00:25:33.70\00:25:35.70
Here, Jesus, I'm sorry,
00:25:35.73\00:25:37.80
Paul is writing about Jesus
00:25:37.83\00:25:40.04
reconciling all
things to himself that says,
00:25:40.07\00:25:43.97
"Whether things on
earth or things in heaven,"
00:25:44.01\00:25:46.07
this has a
universal application,
00:25:46.11\00:25:49.21
Jesus' death on
the cross for us,
00:25:49.24\00:25:51.91
"having made peace
00:25:51.95\00:25:53.28
through the
blood of His cross, "
00:25:53.31\00:25:54.88
achieved all that.
00:25:54.92\00:25:56.52
And then still
reading on, verse 21,
00:25:56.55\00:25:59.15
"And you, who
once were alienated
00:25:59.19\00:26:01.19
and enemies in your
mind by wicked works,
00:26:01.22\00:26:04.36
yet now He has reconciled
in the body of His flesh
00:26:04.39\00:26:08.56
through death, to
present you holy, blameless,
00:26:08.60\00:26:11.80
and above
reproach in His sight."
00:26:11.83\00:26:14.84
Now, what is
unique about the way
00:26:14.87\00:26:17.87
God reconciles His
enemies to Himself?
00:26:17.91\00:26:21.54
He describes the
lost as enemies of His.
00:26:21.58\00:26:24.81
Well, God's
approach was, He's innocent,
00:26:24.85\00:26:28.48
but He'll take the blame
00:26:28.52\00:26:30.39
or
responsibility for the guilty.
00:26:30.42\00:26:32.22
Yes.
00:26:32.25\00:26:33.59
And that's a
powerful, powerful thing.
00:26:33.62\00:26:36.29
It's amazing, isn't it?
00:26:36.32\00:26:37.66
For us, we weren't
in our natural state
00:26:37.69\00:26:39.26
won't do that.
00:26:39.29\00:26:40.63
But Christ did that for us.
00:26:40.66\00:26:43.67
We were away from Him.
00:26:43.70\00:26:45.03
We were, yeah, we
were away, we were lost.
00:26:45.07\00:26:48.77
And He took care of us.
00:26:48.80\00:26:50.14
He took our sin,
00:26:50.17\00:26:51.51
and bore that and He
paid the price for it.
00:26:51.54\00:26:53.27
And there's the model for
us to follow in our lives.
00:26:53.31\00:26:56.24
So we're very
grateful to have that.
00:26:56.28\00:26:58.65
Well, folks, we're
going to have to wind up
00:26:58.68\00:27:00.32
our discussion right there.
00:27:00.35\00:27:01.68
Thank you very much
for joining with us today.
00:27:01.72\00:27:04.72
Certainly,
developing a likeness to Jesus
00:27:04.75\00:27:07.72
is the greatest goal
of true education in life.
00:27:07.76\00:27:11.69
And this will flow over
into our treatment of people,
00:27:11.73\00:27:14.86
our care of the needy.
00:27:14.90\00:27:16.77
And the influence of a life
00:27:16.80\00:27:18.53
that is lived in
union with Jesus,
00:27:18.57\00:27:20.40
folks, will tell His story.
00:27:20.44\00:27:23.00
And the impression made
00:27:23.04\00:27:24.37
on the hearts
of people around us
00:27:24.41\00:27:25.91
will last into
eternity as a result of that.
00:27:25.94\00:27:29.84
Well, we're glad you
tuned in to Let God Speak today.
00:27:29.88\00:27:32.71
You can watch this
or any past programs
00:27:32.75\00:27:35.05
on our website,
3abnaustralia.org.au.
00:27:35.08\00:27:39.09
Teachers' notes can
be downloaded there.
00:27:39.12\00:27:41.49
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00:27:41.52\00:27:44.46
And we'd like you
to join us next time.
00:27:44.49\00:27:46.56
God bless.
00:27:46.59\00:27:47.93