Welcome back, you
remember we've been pondering
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what Jesus meant when he said,
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"Come on unto Me and
take My yoke upon you,
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and I'll give you rest".
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Let's explore a little bit more
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about this yoke of Jesus.
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So let's be it
reminded one more time.
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Among the Jewish people,
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the metaphor of yoke was used
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for the observance of
the torah of the law, okay.
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So it's how I live
my life with God's law?
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Actually, Jesus
used that concept.
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Jesus--also the rest
of the New Testament,
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we heard that concept.
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Let's just see the two texts,
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the Book of Acts,
Chapter 15 verse 10.
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Oh, you're jumping right into
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the middle of the conflict? Yes.
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In the early church about
what should the converts do?
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How much should
they follow God's law?
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Acts Chapter 15-- Verse 10.
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"Now therefore
why do you test God,
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by putting a yoke on
the neck of the disciples,
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which neither our fathers
nor we were able to bear?
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So what was the yoke of that
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actually Peter and James
are referring here in the text?
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What was that yoke
actually Peter was talking?
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What was the yoke?
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Yoke was really
the Pharisaic system,
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trying to dissect the law of God
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and focus on so many details.
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Actually, they made such system
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that people could hardly
practice all those details.
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It was a heavy burden
put on their shoulder.
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Let's remember that
legalism is a problem
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of the misuse of the law.
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The law as we saw earlier,
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Jesus didn't come
to do away with it.
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Everything about to
do's and don'ts etc.
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So, the law is not put away.
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Jesus doesn't say
throw your yoke away.
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He says "I've a new
way for you to live".
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Let's go another
text, Galatians 5:1.
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Okay and we're
dealing Galatians deals
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with some of the same issues.
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The same
concept. The same concept.
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Galatians 5:1,
"Stand fast therefore
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in the liberty by which
Christ has made you free,
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and do not be entangled
again with the yoke of bondage."
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What was the
problem with Galatians?
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First they received the gospel
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and after that they went
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to that Pharisaic
system of the laws
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to get and Paul told
them you were in slavery
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and you're going now back
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putting that
yoke up on yourself,
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so it's clearly
the observance of the--
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Of the yoke of bondage.
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You're saying that
there is a radical difference
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between how Jesus
says we live our lives
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and how the religious
establishment at the time.
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Keep in mind here
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that actually Jesus
talks about My yoke.
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So there is My
yoke. What does it mean?
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There is also
somebody else's yoke.
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So Jesus here makes
contrast--makes contrast
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between the Pharisaic
observance of the law,
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the yoke of the
Pharisees that they try to put
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on the people and His own yoke
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and what was the
difference, Glenn?
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The Pharisaic law was
very heavy, oppressing yoke.
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The yoke that Jesus offered,
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the way how to observe
the law was very light,
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it was very
delightful, as David said
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"Your law is the
light to my soul."
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It's significant
that He doesn't say
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come just to the
yoke, He says come to Me.
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Come to Me. Come to Me.
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And this yoke is here connected
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with the word arrest.
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The word arrest,
it really a solution
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to the Sabbath
and this is exactly.
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You see the
problem is, when we started
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the Gospel of
Matthew, we always depend
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on the division of the
gospel in two Chapters.
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Matthew never divided
his gospel into Chapters.
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The chapters were
invented much, much later period
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that are very useful to
us, for our convenience.
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But the problem
is so many times,
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we don't make connection
between the previous chapter
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and the chapter that follows.
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Actually, this is exactly,
Glenn, what do we have--
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So you're hinting, we
need to see the connection--
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We've to see the connection
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because this text is
introduction to Chapter 12.
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Let me read the
end of Chapter 11.
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"For my yoke is easy,
and my burden is light."
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He has just talked about coming
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and finding rest for your
souls and then Chapter 12.
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"At that time, Jesus went
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through the
grainfields on the Sabbath.
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And what
happened text? All right.
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And his disciples were hungry,
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and began to pluck grains
of--heads of grain to eat.
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And when the Pharisees saw it,
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they said to him, look,
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your disciples are
doing what is not lawful
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to do on the Sabbath.
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But He said to
them have ye not read
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that David did
when he was hungry,
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he and those who were with him.
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How they entered
the House of the Lord
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and ate the showbread,
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which was not
lawful for him to eat,
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nor for those who were with him,
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but only for the priests?
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Or have you not read in the law,
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of the Sabbath the
priests in the temple
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profane the
Sabbath, and are blameless?
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Yet I say to you,
that in this place
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there is one
greater than the temple.
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But if you'd
known what this means,
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I desire mercy,
and not sacrifice,
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you would not have
condemned the guiltless.
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For the Sabbath--
for the Son of Man,
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this is the
point, for the Son of Man
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is the Lord even of the Sabbath.
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Can I mention something else?
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We've the next event
that follows. What was that?
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The same case, Jesus
comes with the synagogue
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and there is there a sick man
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with paralyzed hand
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and the same Jesus
wants to heal that person
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and the Pharisees,
they criticize Him.
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So we've this connection
between rest and Sabbath.
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Now, we're gonna see
about His Sabbath keeping.
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Yeah, so
actually, these two events,
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they really are follow up
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on that concluding
text of Revelation 11
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to contrast in practical way,
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the yoke, the Jesus
offered to his disciples
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and the yoke of the Pharisees
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that was really heavy
based on the rules, on details.
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You know, that
actually really that law became
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a heavy burden to everybody
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who tried to practice that law.
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So the Sabbath-- the
way Jesus uses Sabbath
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and keeps the
Sabbath is a window
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which we're understanding. Now--
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You see the opening
word is at that time
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in the verse 11, at
that time and what time?
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The time when
Jesus made the statement
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"Take my yoke upon yourself".
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At that time,
this is what happened.
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So, Jesus tried to
teach people something.
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Now it was
Jesus regular practice
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of preaching and healing.
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We see some
Sabbath healings here,
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help us
understand the connection.
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Glenn, we've to
advertise something
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to emphasize something.
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When people read
the Gospel of Matthew,
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they had the
impression that Jesus tried
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to do away with the law.
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No, Jesus never intended that.
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Remember the
Sermon on the Mount,
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"I did not come
to abolish the law".
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There is no any discussion
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whether the law of God
should be observed or not.
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Here is what the question
of the validity of the Sabbath.
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Actually, Jesus tried
to affirm the Sabbath.
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He tried to make the
Sabbath to be a delight
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that holy day that
people can really enjoy
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and even if
there are some people
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who needed a special assistance,
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people who
needed a special help,
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special healing on the Sabbath,
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Jesus was willing to
do it on the Sabbath,
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to make that Sabbath
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very memorable to those people
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who had a special encounter
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with Jesus Christ
on that particular day.
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But often times, we know that
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He waited till the
evening, sun down after,
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but on some occasions.
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So these are very
intentional healings.
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See we're
dealing some Christians,
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they said, you
see Jesus tried to go
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away with the Sabbath.
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You see that's not the case.
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But there're some
people, they said, no,
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but on Sabbath, we can
do all kind of good works.
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No, Jesus did
not try to teach it.
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Glenn, can you open
the Gospel of Matthew?
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Which is actually
Chapter 8, is it verse 26?
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No, 16.
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Okay, 8:16? Yeah, Matthew 8:16.
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Matthew 8:16. You see.
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And we're finding more about
what the usual practice was.
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"When evening can
come, they brought to him
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many who were demon-possessed
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and he cast out
spirits with a word
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and he healed
all who were sick."
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So what we're Finding--?
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So, Jesus did not do
regular healing on the Sabbath.
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He did it during the week,
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but Jesus always made exception,
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people were the most important.
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There were some
special needs to restore
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somebody's health or
to help certain people.
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Jesus did it
even in the Sabbath,
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but this was not his
regular work that he did.
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It's a marvelous thing
to see God through Jesus.
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Healing lives
on the Sabbath day,
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He just--is that
compassion again?
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He didn't want people suffering.
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He saw people
suffering and wanted to heal
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and He's telling us
something about following Jesus,
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keeping the law, following God,
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is demonstrated
through His life.
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Actually, this is
what made now Pharisees
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to be even more
persistent and Jesus had to give
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that warning to them,
it's in verses 30 to 32.
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Verse 30 and 32? Yes. All right.
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As we read that it's
a powerful section here,
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Matthew Chapter 11,
verse-- No 12:30 to 32. Yes.
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"He who is not
with me is against me,
00:09:14.88\00:09:17.72
and he who does not
gather with me scatters abroad.
00:09:17.75\00:09:20.72
Therefore I say
to you, every sin
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and blasphemy will be forgiven,
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but the blasphemy
against the spirit
00:09:24.19\00:09:25.63
will not be forgiven then.
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Anyone who speaks a
word against the Son of Man
00:09:27.23\00:09:30.27
it will be forgiven
him, but whoever speaks
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against the Holy Spirit,
it will not be forgiven him,
00:09:32.63\00:09:35.57
either in this age
or in the age to come.
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"Ranko, many
times in my ministry
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and I'm sure you had it too,
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people come and say,
I think I've committed
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the unpardonable sin.
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We really need to
understand this passage.
00:09:44.61\00:09:46.72
So we've here the context.
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You see, this is--this
text follows what we just said,
00:09:48.62\00:09:52.35
the Pharisees
they'd such clear evidence
00:09:52.39\00:09:55.69
that what Jesus was
doing, it was coming from God.
00:09:55.72\00:09:59.73
The human being
could not perform
00:09:59.76\00:10:01.46
all those miracles. Yes.
00:10:01.50\00:10:02.86
But because Jesus did
not fit the tradition etc.,
00:10:02.90\00:10:06.43
those people tried
to humiliate Jesus.
00:10:06.47\00:10:09.40
Okay, to reject His work
00:10:09.44\00:10:12.24
and they made the statement
00:10:12.27\00:10:13.61
that what Jesus was doing,
00:10:13.64\00:10:14.98
it was actually
the work of Satan.
00:10:15.01\00:10:17.15
They suppressed
that influence of God
00:10:17.18\00:10:21.65
working on their
minds and in their lives.
00:10:21.68\00:10:24.65
They tried to silence that voice
00:10:24.69\00:10:27.62
of the Holy Spirit in that way
00:10:27.66\00:10:29.22
and Jesus gave them the warning.
00:10:29.26\00:10:31.26
Keep in mind, Jesus did not say
00:10:31.29\00:10:32.63
that they blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit.
00:10:32.66\00:10:34.63
He said keep in mind
when the person makes
00:10:34.66\00:10:37.17
the blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit.
00:10:37.20\00:10:40.50
Sin against God can be forgiven,
00:10:40.54\00:10:42.87
the sin against
Jesus can be forgiven,
00:10:42.90\00:10:45.17
but why the Holy Spirit?
00:10:45.21\00:10:46.54
Because the Holy
Spirit is the only person
00:10:46.57\00:10:51.75
and agent that can
make transforming impact
00:10:51.78\00:10:55.68
in our lives can
change human person
00:10:55.72\00:10:58.59
they equip us okay to live
00:10:58.62\00:11:00.79
that Godly life
that is pleasing to God.
00:11:00.82\00:11:03.49
And it's a dangerous
thing in our lives to alienate
00:11:03.53\00:11:06.93
the one who is
drawing us to God, yes.
00:11:06.96\00:11:09.53
Ranko, so many times
people are in despair.
00:11:09.56\00:11:14.97
Perhaps, you've had that
experience of just wondering,
00:11:15.00\00:11:17.64
I've done something terrible,
I've messed up in my life,
00:11:17.67\00:11:20.44
can God forgive me?
00:11:20.48\00:11:22.01
Have I gone too
far? Is it impossible?
00:11:22.04\00:11:24.55
What is Jesus saying to us?
00:11:24.58\00:11:25.98
Actually when we see
here about the Pharisees
00:11:26.01\00:11:28.45
from this time on,
00:11:28.48\00:11:30.45
they were sinking
deeper and deeper and deeper
00:11:30.49\00:11:33.25
really they were
breaking that connection
00:11:33.29\00:11:35.19
with the Holy
Spirit, resistance.
00:11:35.22\00:11:37.26
Yes, I would like now
to use these few moments
00:11:37.29\00:11:41.26
that are left to
tell the viewers.
00:11:41.30\00:11:44.10
If you feel that in your life
00:11:44.13\00:11:48.27
you've done
something against God
00:11:48.30\00:11:51.81
that you've broken
your relationship with God,
00:11:51.84\00:11:55.21
and you're
struggling spiritually,
00:11:55.24\00:11:56.85
maybe you cannot even sleep,
00:11:56.88\00:11:58.65
you're struggling emotionally,
00:11:58.68\00:12:00.75
and you ask yourself a question
00:12:00.78\00:12:02.65
how I really
committed that blasphemy
00:12:02.68\00:12:05.35
against God,
that unpardonable sin.
00:12:05.39\00:12:08.49
I just want to tell
you, the Bible makes me
00:12:08.52\00:12:11.43
very clear as long as the person
00:12:11.46\00:12:14.20
ask such
questions is the evidence
00:12:14.20\00:12:18.13
that the connection between you
00:12:18.17\00:12:20.50
and the Holy
Spirit is not broken.
00:12:20.54\00:12:22.34
It means that the Holy Spirit
00:12:22.37\00:12:23.77
is still working on your mind.
00:12:23.81\00:12:26.37
The Holy Spirit is still trying
00:12:26.41\00:12:28.81
to call you back to God.
00:12:28.84\00:12:31.01
When the person has
broken that relationship
00:12:31.05\00:12:33.85
with the Holy
Spirit and the Holy Spirit
00:12:33.88\00:12:35.78
abandoned that person,
that person does not feel
00:12:35.82\00:12:38.65
any, any feelings
to come back to God,
00:12:38.69\00:12:44.03
so there is still a
time to be with God.
00:12:44.06\00:12:47.23