1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,528 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast, 2 00:00:03,624 --> 00:00:06,552 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,656 --> 00:00:09,672 My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,696 --> 00:00:10,728 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,904 --> 00:00:14,616 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,648 --> 00:00:16,300 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:17,528 Now, come along. 8 00:00:17,584 --> 00:00:21,700 Let's look into the Bible and see what God has for us here today. 9 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:26,200 All right, we're going to go ahead and get into our Bible study 10 00:00:26,240 --> 00:00:29,792 here this evening, and we're actually going to be looking at a 11 00:00:29,816 --> 00:00:32,448 handful of passages in scripture tonight. 12 00:00:32,624 --> 00:00:36,992 And we'll go ahead and kind of give you a little bit of a background 13 00:00:37,056 --> 00:00:39,056 on what we're going to be studying tonight. 14 00:00:39,168 --> 00:00:41,536 As I had mentioned last week, we're going to take the. 15 00:00:41,688 --> 00:00:44,720 The next few weeks up until the new year to talk about some words 16 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:47,152 that we can find in scripture and what they mean. 17 00:00:47,336 --> 00:00:50,736 Last week, we looked at three big words. 18 00:00:50,768 --> 00:00:55,402 We looked at justification, sanctum, our propitiation and sanctification. 19 00:00:55,546 --> 00:00:59,466 And we're not going to do as many tonight. 20 00:00:59,498 --> 00:00:59,706 We're. 21 00:00:59,738 --> 00:01:01,978 Instead of doing three, we're going to do two words, and we're 22 00:01:01,994 --> 00:01:04,378 going to do two words that are related to Christmas. 23 00:01:04,474 --> 00:01:07,082 And actually, we sang one of the words that we're going to be 24 00:01:07,106 --> 00:01:09,434 talking about here this evening in Angels from the Realms 25 00:01:09,482 --> 00:01:10,154 of Glory. 26 00:01:10,282 --> 00:01:12,218 And that word is messiah. 27 00:01:12,394 --> 00:01:15,882 And most of us are familiar with that term, and most of us have 28 00:01:15,906 --> 00:01:18,992 probably even at some point used that term. 29 00:01:19,146 --> 00:01:20,292 But what does that term mean? 30 00:01:20,316 --> 00:01:21,972 What does messiah mean? 31 00:01:22,156 --> 00:01:23,284 We're going to look at scripture. 32 00:01:23,332 --> 00:01:25,444 We're going to see what messiah means. 33 00:01:25,532 --> 00:01:29,092 Messiah actually comes from the Hebrew word, which means the 34 00:01:29,116 --> 00:01:33,332 anointed one or the chosen one, the Greek equivalent. 35 00:01:33,396 --> 00:01:33,572 Right. 36 00:01:33,596 --> 00:01:35,236 Because the New Testament's written in Greek. 37 00:01:35,268 --> 00:01:37,732 The Old Testament was written in Hebrew originally. 38 00:01:37,876 --> 00:01:40,548 So, see, so the Old Testament word would be messiah. 39 00:01:40,644 --> 00:01:44,164 The Greek word would be the word that we use, Christ. 40 00:01:44,252 --> 00:01:44,996 Jesus Christ. 41 00:01:45,068 --> 00:01:47,870 So Christ is not Jesus's last name. 42 00:01:47,910 --> 00:01:49,166 It's actually a title. 43 00:01:49,278 --> 00:01:50,046 He is the. 44 00:01:50,118 --> 00:01:52,750 The Messiah, the savior, the anointed one. 45 00:01:52,790 --> 00:01:56,798 Now, what is the significance of that phrase, anointed one? 46 00:01:56,854 --> 00:01:59,358 Well, the anointed one was a. 47 00:01:59,414 --> 00:02:03,454 A sign or a symbol for someone who was chosen to do something specific, 48 00:02:03,582 --> 00:02:05,902 someone who had a job, someone had a role. 49 00:02:06,086 --> 00:02:09,422 So there would be individuals in the Old Testament that were anointed 50 00:02:09,486 --> 00:02:11,030 for positions. 51 00:02:11,150 --> 00:02:12,410 There were prophets. 52 00:02:12,750 --> 00:02:13,862 They were anointed. 53 00:02:13,926 --> 00:02:17,382 Prophets were the ones that would speak forth the truth of God. 54 00:02:17,526 --> 00:02:20,454 There would be priests that would be anointed, and the priests 55 00:02:20,502 --> 00:02:21,270 were kind of the. 56 00:02:21,310 --> 00:02:23,590 The middlemen between God and man at that point. 57 00:02:23,630 --> 00:02:24,966 In time in the Old Testament. 58 00:02:25,078 --> 00:02:26,550 And then there was kings. 59 00:02:26,710 --> 00:02:28,406 Kings were anointed like David. 60 00:02:28,438 --> 00:02:30,902 You remember when David was anointed oil, he was anointed for 61 00:02:30,926 --> 00:02:32,726 that special call in his life. 62 00:02:32,878 --> 00:02:36,406 And so you had a prophet, priests and kings that were anointed 63 00:02:36,438 --> 00:02:37,604 in the Old Testament. 64 00:02:37,742 --> 00:02:40,568 And so they would have been selected for a specific use. 65 00:02:40,624 --> 00:02:44,424 Well, we know that when we see in the New Testament it says Messiah 66 00:02:44,472 --> 00:02:48,460 or Christ, it's talking about Jesus's specific job as the Savior. 67 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:51,864 And so in biblical terms, anointing someone with oil was a 68 00:02:51,872 --> 00:02:56,408 sign that God had consecrated them for a particular role. 69 00:02:56,544 --> 00:03:00,952 And so what we see when we see that word Messiah or Christ, they're 70 00:03:01,016 --> 00:03:02,056 essentially interchangeable. 71 00:03:02,088 --> 00:03:04,520 In the New Testament, when we see that word, we're seeing that 72 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:05,560 Jesus had a role. 73 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:06,612 Now what's his role? 74 00:03:06,736 --> 00:03:09,276 We know it's his role of being Savior. 75 00:03:09,468 --> 00:03:13,260 And it's interesting that the Bible actually says that Jesus is 76 00:03:13,300 --> 00:03:15,228 a prophet, priest, and king. 77 00:03:15,324 --> 00:03:17,740 And those are all the three roles in the Old Testament that would 78 00:03:17,780 --> 00:03:19,660 have had anointing. 79 00:03:19,820 --> 00:03:21,468 And so Jesus was the Messiah. 80 00:03:21,484 --> 00:03:24,156 We can see a few passages of scripture here. 81 00:03:24,308 --> 00:03:28,060 And we know that Jesus was Messiah, and we know that he is Messiah. 82 00:03:28,140 --> 00:03:30,012 And so let's look at a couple of passages. 83 00:03:30,076 --> 00:03:34,974 One I want you to see is in John, chapter four, John, chapter 84 00:03:35,022 --> 00:03:40,734 four, we're going to kind of pick a few different passages of 85 00:03:40,742 --> 00:03:43,930 scripture that deal with either that word Messiah or Christ. 86 00:03:44,550 --> 00:03:48,526 And we're going to see the significance of that to the narrative 87 00:03:48,558 --> 00:03:51,982 in the New Testament and also the significance of that in our own 88 00:03:52,006 --> 00:03:52,478 lives. 89 00:03:52,614 --> 00:03:55,022 Now, there are going to be some people in this world today that 90 00:03:55,046 --> 00:03:58,110 will accept Jesus as a historical figure. 91 00:03:58,270 --> 00:04:00,478 There are going to be some people in this world that will accept 92 00:04:00,534 --> 00:04:04,602 Jesus as a good man or even a religious figure, but they will not 93 00:04:04,626 --> 00:04:08,030 recognize Jesus as God or Messiah. 94 00:04:08,690 --> 00:04:09,098 Right? 95 00:04:09,154 --> 00:04:09,450 So we. 96 00:04:09,490 --> 00:04:10,090 We have. 97 00:04:10,210 --> 00:04:10,538 So. 98 00:04:10,594 --> 00:04:11,194 So the. 99 00:04:11,282 --> 00:04:14,026 The folks that live in Israel now, for the most part, the Jewish 100 00:04:14,058 --> 00:04:16,746 people do not recognize Jesus as Messiah. 101 00:04:16,778 --> 00:04:18,938 They recognize Jesus as a historical figure. 102 00:04:19,034 --> 00:04:20,362 They recognize Jesus as a. 103 00:04:20,386 --> 00:04:24,410 As a good man, a man that even possibly performed miracles. 104 00:04:24,490 --> 00:04:26,266 But they don't believe that he is God. 105 00:04:26,298 --> 00:04:27,930 They don't believe that he is the anointed one. 106 00:04:27,970 --> 00:04:29,710 They're still looking for that Messiah. 107 00:04:30,430 --> 00:04:34,422 Our folks in the Middle east and the folks around the world that 108 00:04:34,526 --> 00:04:39,270 practice the faith of Islam, the Muslims, they believe Jesus existed. 109 00:04:39,430 --> 00:04:41,398 They believe Jesus did miraculous works. 110 00:04:41,494 --> 00:04:44,278 They even believe Jesus is coming back again, but they don't 111 00:04:44,294 --> 00:04:45,862 believe that Jesus is Messiah. 112 00:04:46,006 --> 00:04:47,302 And so there's a distinction there. 113 00:04:47,326 --> 00:04:50,486 And there's importance for us to recognize that Jesus isn't just 114 00:04:50,638 --> 00:04:52,118 a historical figure. 115 00:04:52,214 --> 00:04:54,470 He's not just a good person, a good teacher. 116 00:04:54,550 --> 00:04:55,686 He is Messiah. 117 00:04:55,718 --> 00:04:56,702 He is Christ. 118 00:04:56,846 --> 00:05:00,414 And so in John chapter four, I'll give you a little bit of context 119 00:05:00,462 --> 00:05:00,670 here. 120 00:05:00,710 --> 00:05:04,542 Jesus is speaking to the woman at the well, the Samaritan woman 121 00:05:04,566 --> 00:05:05,070 at the well. 122 00:05:05,110 --> 00:05:07,502 And he's having this dialogue with her, and he's explaining to 123 00:05:07,526 --> 00:05:11,982 her living water, and he's talking to her about the way that 124 00:05:12,006 --> 00:05:13,646 she worships and all of that stuff. 125 00:05:13,678 --> 00:05:17,050 And then what we see here in verse number 20. 126 00:05:17,510 --> 00:05:20,730 Well, let's, let's look at verse number 24 right now. 127 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:26,088 Verse 24, Jesus is explaining to her what worship is. 128 00:05:26,144 --> 00:05:29,368 He says, God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship 129 00:05:29,384 --> 00:05:30,744 him in spirit and in truth. 130 00:05:30,792 --> 00:05:34,984 So he says there's, there's a good way to worship God in the spirit, 131 00:05:35,032 --> 00:05:37,176 but you have to also worship him with truth. 132 00:05:37,368 --> 00:05:41,192 And, and so there, there's that dual aspect of worshiping him. 133 00:05:41,296 --> 00:05:44,760 And then the woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah's cometh, 134 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:46,472 which is called Christ. 135 00:05:46,656 --> 00:05:50,340 When he has come, he will tell us all things, right? 136 00:05:50,380 --> 00:05:53,600 So she says, I know that Messiah is going to come. 137 00:05:54,540 --> 00:05:57,412 And we see that there's that reference to that word Christ, which 138 00:05:57,436 --> 00:05:58,388 is called Christ. 139 00:05:58,524 --> 00:06:01,604 And when he has come, he will tell us all things. 140 00:06:01,772 --> 00:06:04,932 And so she says, this Messiah is coming. 141 00:06:05,116 --> 00:06:07,060 He's going to tell us these truths about God. 142 00:06:07,140 --> 00:06:09,428 He's going to explain to us what it means to worship God. 143 00:06:09,524 --> 00:06:10,884 And verse 26. 144 00:06:11,052 --> 00:06:16,596 So if anyone says that Jesus doesn't claim to be God, doesn't 145 00:06:16,628 --> 00:06:19,502 claim to be Messiah, is contradicting Scripture, because 146 00:06:19,526 --> 00:06:24,414 what does the same verse 26, Jesus saith unto her, I, I that speak 147 00:06:24,462 --> 00:06:25,422 unto thee. 148 00:06:25,486 --> 00:06:26,330 Am he. 149 00:06:26,630 --> 00:06:29,966 So he recognizes here that, hey, I am the Messiah. 150 00:06:29,998 --> 00:06:32,046 You're looking for the Messiah, I'm right here. 151 00:06:32,198 --> 00:06:33,582 And so there's that instance there. 152 00:06:33,606 --> 00:06:38,014 We, we know that in Luke chapter four, there's another reference 153 00:06:38,062 --> 00:06:40,494 to Jesus being the Messiah. 154 00:06:40,622 --> 00:06:42,110 You could turn there with me if you'd like. 155 00:06:42,150 --> 00:06:45,832 I'm going to try to hit a few of these somewhat quickly, and then 156 00:06:45,856 --> 00:06:52,696 we're going to get to another term here In Luke chapter four, starting 157 00:06:52,728 --> 00:06:56,776 in verse 17, we, we know that in this passage of Scripture, Jesus 158 00:06:56,808 --> 00:06:58,328 is preaching in Nazareth. 159 00:06:58,504 --> 00:07:03,464 And in verse 17, he says, and there was delivered unto him the 160 00:07:03,472 --> 00:07:04,584 book of prophet Isaiah. 161 00:07:04,632 --> 00:07:07,336 So Isaiah, the book of Isaiah is brought to Jesus. 162 00:07:07,368 --> 00:07:09,912 And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it 163 00:07:09,936 --> 00:07:10,296 was written. 164 00:07:10,328 --> 00:07:14,098 The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me. 165 00:07:14,234 --> 00:07:14,866 There's that. 166 00:07:14,938 --> 00:07:16,194 There's that phrase anointed. 167 00:07:16,242 --> 00:07:19,842 So there's the reference to the anointing of God upon the Messiah. 168 00:07:19,986 --> 00:07:24,354 And so it says here, and he's quoting the book of Isaiah, the prophecy 169 00:07:24,402 --> 00:07:27,826 of the Messiah, he says, because he hath anointed me to preach 170 00:07:27,858 --> 00:07:30,866 the gospel to the poor, he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, 171 00:07:30,898 --> 00:07:34,226 to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight 172 00:07:34,258 --> 00:07:38,228 to the blind, and to set and set at liberty them that are bruised, 173 00:07:38,394 --> 00:07:42,100 to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 174 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:46,240 And he closed the book and he gave it again to the minister and 175 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:46,720 sat down. 176 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:49,488 And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened 177 00:07:49,504 --> 00:07:50,080 on him. 178 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:54,544 And he began to say unto them, this day, is this Scripture fulfilled 179 00:07:54,592 --> 00:07:55,700 in your ears? 180 00:07:56,120 --> 00:08:01,040 So Jesus reads the prophecy of this is the Messiah, and he says, 181 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:03,056 you're seeing it fulfilled right in front of you. 182 00:08:03,128 --> 00:08:05,664 And so Jesus referred to himself as Messiah. 183 00:08:05,712 --> 00:08:08,234 Jesus referred to himself as the Anointed One. 184 00:08:08,432 --> 00:08:12,886 And so that's an important understanding to have in our minds 185 00:08:12,918 --> 00:08:13,318 as well. 186 00:08:13,374 --> 00:08:18,230 Now, there were individuals that struggled with this one. 187 00:08:18,270 --> 00:08:23,334 Individual that struggled with this concept of Jesus being the Messiah 188 00:08:23,382 --> 00:08:24,486 was a guy named John. 189 00:08:24,558 --> 00:08:27,622 John the Baptist, you would say, I thought John was unwavering 190 00:08:27,686 --> 00:08:28,166 in his faith. 191 00:08:28,198 --> 00:08:30,182 Well, John was a great prophet. 192 00:08:30,326 --> 00:08:33,588 And we even know that Jesus said there was none other like him. 193 00:08:33,734 --> 00:08:38,392 But if you go To Matthew chapter 11, we know that in the midst 194 00:08:38,456 --> 00:08:43,608 of John the Baptist struggle there, when he was imprisoned, he, 195 00:08:43,664 --> 00:08:45,300 he's going to have a question. 196 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:48,696 He's going to have an opportunity to actually ask Jesus 197 00:08:48,728 --> 00:08:49,336 a question. 198 00:08:49,488 --> 00:08:54,152 And he actually sends people to him and it says, and when it came 199 00:08:54,176 --> 00:08:57,496 to pass versus verse one, when Jesus had made an end of the Commanding 200 00:08:57,528 --> 00:09:00,264 his 12 disciples, he departed fence to teach and to preach in the 201 00:09:00,272 --> 00:09:00,750 cities. 202 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:03,970 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent 203 00:09:04,010 --> 00:09:05,350 two of his disciples. 204 00:09:05,690 --> 00:09:10,066 So John sends two of his followers to Jesus and said unto 205 00:09:10,098 --> 00:09:14,802 him, art thou he that should come, or do we look for another meaning? 206 00:09:14,866 --> 00:09:17,714 Are you really the Messiah after all this, Are you really the 207 00:09:17,722 --> 00:09:18,482 Messiah? 208 00:09:18,626 --> 00:09:21,218 And Jesus answered and said unto them, go and show John again 209 00:09:21,274 --> 00:09:24,626 those things which you do hear and see. 210 00:09:24,778 --> 00:09:26,562 And then he goes on to explain the things that he does. 211 00:09:26,586 --> 00:09:28,370 The blind receive their sight and the lame walk. 212 00:09:28,410 --> 00:09:31,054 The lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hearing the dead are raised 213 00:09:31,102 --> 00:09:31,358 up. 214 00:09:31,414 --> 00:09:33,982 The poor have the gospel preached to them, and blessed is 215 00:09:34,006 --> 00:09:36,030 he whosoever shall not be offended in me. 216 00:09:36,150 --> 00:09:38,846 As they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning 217 00:09:38,878 --> 00:09:39,450 John. 218 00:09:40,070 --> 00:09:43,246 And then he goes on to talk more about John the Baptist there. 219 00:09:43,398 --> 00:09:43,710 But. 220 00:09:43,750 --> 00:09:45,982 But we do know that he sends them away with basically saying, 221 00:09:46,006 --> 00:09:47,950 hey, look what's right in front of you. 222 00:09:47,990 --> 00:09:49,370 The Messiah is here. 223 00:09:49,670 --> 00:09:53,454 And so obviously we know that John stayed faithful to the Lord. 224 00:09:53,502 --> 00:09:56,142 And then we also know there's a passage of Scripture in the Book 225 00:09:56,166 --> 00:09:58,650 of Matthew, Matthew, chapter 16. 226 00:10:00,070 --> 00:10:05,182 This is a popular passage of scripture when dealing with Peter 227 00:10:05,246 --> 00:10:07,182 and his profession of faith in Jesus. 228 00:10:07,326 --> 00:10:08,414 If you remember, they're. 229 00:10:08,462 --> 00:10:13,470 They're sitting there and Jesus is asking them, who do people 230 00:10:13,510 --> 00:10:14,430 say that I am? 231 00:10:14,550 --> 00:10:15,854 Their accessory of Philippi. 232 00:10:15,902 --> 00:10:17,438 I've talked about this quite a bit. 233 00:10:17,574 --> 00:10:20,974 He's standing there or sitting there before the. 234 00:10:21,142 --> 00:10:25,372 This place called the gates of Hell, which is this big cavern there 235 00:10:25,396 --> 00:10:27,884 in Caesarea that you can go to and you can see. 236 00:10:28,052 --> 00:10:31,980 And so Jesus basically says in verse 13, whom do men say that I, 237 00:10:32,020 --> 00:10:33,484 the Son of man am? 238 00:10:33,652 --> 00:10:37,036 And they said, some say that thou art John the Baptist, some Elias, 239 00:10:37,148 --> 00:10:39,324 others Jeremias or one of the prophets. 240 00:10:39,372 --> 00:10:42,092 And he said unto them, but whom say ye that I am? 241 00:10:42,276 --> 00:10:46,108 And so he says, what are people saying about me? 242 00:10:46,244 --> 00:10:47,964 Who do people say that I am? 243 00:10:48,132 --> 00:10:53,318 And they say, well, you know, prophet, good teacher, you know, 244 00:10:53,374 --> 00:10:56,086 someone maybe that's even reincarnated from the past. 245 00:10:56,238 --> 00:10:57,846 And he says, okay, that's great. 246 00:10:57,998 --> 00:10:59,142 What do you say about me? 247 00:10:59,166 --> 00:10:59,526 And that's. 248 00:10:59,558 --> 00:11:02,054 That's really a question that all of us have to answer, right? 249 00:11:02,142 --> 00:11:04,614 We can sit here all day and say what the world says about Jesus. 250 00:11:04,662 --> 00:11:08,294 We can sit here all day and know what a pastor feels about Jesus 251 00:11:08,422 --> 00:11:10,390 or what he believes about Jesus. 252 00:11:10,550 --> 00:11:13,142 But the true question that all of us have to come to grips with 253 00:11:13,166 --> 00:11:15,254 is, what do I say about Jesus? 254 00:11:15,302 --> 00:11:17,000 What do I believe about Jesus? 255 00:11:17,150 --> 00:11:17,460 And. 256 00:11:17,500 --> 00:11:21,332 And so Jesus says, okay, that's one thing. 257 00:11:21,356 --> 00:11:22,052 What do they say? 258 00:11:22,076 --> 00:11:23,076 But what do you say? 259 00:11:23,148 --> 00:11:27,924 And Simon Peter, verse 16, answered and said, thou art the Christ. 260 00:11:28,092 --> 00:11:30,308 That's that word Messiah or anointed one. 261 00:11:30,364 --> 00:11:32,116 Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 262 00:11:32,148 --> 00:11:35,316 And Jesus answered and said unto him, blessed art thou, Simon 263 00:11:35,348 --> 00:11:38,996 bar Jonah, for flesh and blood have not received, revealed it unto 264 00:11:39,028 --> 00:11:41,780 thee, but my Father, which is in heaven, which means this. 265 00:11:41,900 --> 00:11:43,588 You didn't come up with this on your own. 266 00:11:43,644 --> 00:11:44,252 You didn't. 267 00:11:44,356 --> 00:11:47,324 You didn't have faith, and you didn't work your way to this knowledge 268 00:11:47,372 --> 00:11:49,004 because the world rejects Jesus. 269 00:11:49,132 --> 00:11:51,676 So he says, you know, God, working in your heart through the 270 00:11:51,748 --> 00:11:54,520 conviction and the teaching of the Holy Spirit, brought you this. 271 00:11:54,900 --> 00:11:56,924 And he says that that came from my Father. 272 00:11:56,972 --> 00:11:59,676 And then he goes on to give him that wonderful statement about 273 00:11:59,748 --> 00:12:04,012 upon this rock, okay, this truth, I will build my church. 274 00:12:04,076 --> 00:12:05,468 Meaning not, not Peter. 275 00:12:05,564 --> 00:12:07,100 The church wasn't built on Peter's back. 276 00:12:07,140 --> 00:12:08,876 Peter wasn't the first pope. 277 00:12:08,988 --> 00:12:11,372 He's talking about the statement or the profession that 278 00:12:11,396 --> 00:12:12,444 Jesus is the Messiah. 279 00:12:12,492 --> 00:12:14,238 That's what he's going to build his church on. 280 00:12:14,364 --> 00:12:17,530 So it's an important statement for us to understand that Jesus is 281 00:12:17,570 --> 00:12:19,642 Messiah because that's what we're building ourselves upon right 282 00:12:19,666 --> 00:12:19,802 there. 283 00:12:19,826 --> 00:12:22,474 That's, that's what that's talking about there in verse 18, 284 00:12:22,642 --> 00:12:24,874 that thou art Peter Little rock. 285 00:12:25,002 --> 00:12:25,610 Okay? 286 00:12:25,690 --> 00:12:27,978 That, that's, that's a reference to a little stone. 287 00:12:28,074 --> 00:12:31,914 And then he says, upon this rock, bigger rock, foundation stone, 288 00:12:32,042 --> 00:12:33,962 that is what I will build my church on. 289 00:12:33,986 --> 00:12:37,194 And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 290 00:12:37,362 --> 00:12:40,602 And so the reference here is this reference to Jesus being the 291 00:12:40,626 --> 00:12:40,906 Christ. 292 00:12:40,978 --> 00:12:44,202 Jesus being the anointed one, Jesus being the only way. 293 00:12:44,306 --> 00:12:45,770 He is the one that's going to save us. 294 00:12:45,810 --> 00:12:51,290 Not some religion, not some work, not some sacrifice on our own 295 00:12:51,330 --> 00:12:53,642 part, not enough money given to the temple. 296 00:12:53,706 --> 00:12:56,122 He says the thing that is going to build the church, the thing 297 00:12:56,146 --> 00:12:58,842 that's going to build the kingdom of God, is the truth that 298 00:12:58,866 --> 00:13:00,154 Jesus Christ is the Messiah. 299 00:13:00,202 --> 00:13:01,210 That's what he's talking about there. 300 00:13:01,250 --> 00:13:03,466 So that's why it's so important for us to keep our eyes 301 00:13:03,498 --> 00:13:06,090 fixed on the truth of Jesus being the Messiah, because that means 302 00:13:06,130 --> 00:13:07,242 he is the only way. 303 00:13:07,346 --> 00:13:08,682 There's not multiple messiahs, though. 304 00:13:08,706 --> 00:13:09,882 There's a lot of false messiahs out there. 305 00:13:09,906 --> 00:13:13,896 There's been countless people over the centuries that have claimed 306 00:13:13,928 --> 00:13:14,616 to be Messiah. 307 00:13:14,648 --> 00:13:16,664 There's, there's people, no doubt today that are claiming to 308 00:13:16,672 --> 00:13:17,128 be Messiah. 309 00:13:17,144 --> 00:13:18,984 There was people shortly after Jesus. 310 00:13:19,112 --> 00:13:21,992 History books tell us that there were individuals within a few 311 00:13:22,016 --> 00:13:24,264 years of Jesus's death, burial and resurrection that claimed to 312 00:13:24,272 --> 00:13:25,288 be Messiah. 313 00:13:25,464 --> 00:13:27,576 So that's always going to happen, these false claims. 314 00:13:27,608 --> 00:13:28,712 But remember what Jesus said. 315 00:13:28,736 --> 00:13:32,184 Look at the proof, look at the evidence, look at the action. 316 00:13:32,352 --> 00:13:34,952 And, and so what we can see here is that Jesus is the only one 317 00:13:34,976 --> 00:13:40,150 that can claim role of Messiah and profess that and it be true. 318 00:13:41,050 --> 00:13:42,514 Many people rejected Jesus. 319 00:13:42,562 --> 00:13:44,610 We, we know that the people of his day rejected him. 320 00:13:44,650 --> 00:13:47,698 The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the whole Sanhedrin. 321 00:13:47,874 --> 00:13:50,530 Many people had doubts, many people questioned him, many people 322 00:13:50,570 --> 00:13:51,630 rejected him. 323 00:13:52,250 --> 00:13:54,594 But we know that Jesus is a prophet. 324 00:13:54,722 --> 00:13:56,914 And the fact that he preached the truth of God. 325 00:13:57,042 --> 00:13:57,426 He's. 326 00:13:57,458 --> 00:13:58,306 He's a priest. 327 00:13:58,418 --> 00:14:01,602 The Bible says that we have a high priest, Jesus is the connection 328 00:14:01,666 --> 00:14:02,728 between God and man. 329 00:14:02,834 --> 00:14:04,588 That's why we can have access to God. 330 00:14:04,684 --> 00:14:07,404 And we know that Jesus is king of kings and lord of lords. 331 00:14:07,452 --> 00:14:10,524 So he's the prophet, priest, and king, anointed Messiah. 332 00:14:10,572 --> 00:14:13,388 And so that's important for us to understand so that we don't allow 333 00:14:13,444 --> 00:14:16,140 ourselves to get caught up with all the fringe things that people 334 00:14:16,180 --> 00:14:16,956 think matter. 335 00:14:17,108 --> 00:14:19,772 Now, now, I don't say throughout tradition, traditions 336 00:14:19,836 --> 00:14:20,520 are good. 337 00:14:21,300 --> 00:14:22,012 There's nothing. 338 00:14:22,076 --> 00:14:24,444 And there's actually, believe it or not, there's actually a resurgence 339 00:14:24,492 --> 00:14:26,560 for people going back to Orthodoxy. 340 00:14:27,540 --> 00:14:30,200 The Greek Orthodox Church is growing these days. 341 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:33,416 Many of the churches that have a lot of church tradition, that lift 342 00:14:33,448 --> 00:14:35,432 up church tradition are growing these days because people 343 00:14:35,456 --> 00:14:36,920 are looking for some stability. 344 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:39,460 They're looking for someone to tell them what to believe. 345 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:41,320 Just tell me the list of what to believe. 346 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:42,120 Okay, and. 347 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:44,552 And they can go back and see the church fathers that say, well, 348 00:14:44,576 --> 00:14:46,552 if you just do xyz, you're going to be okay. 349 00:14:46,616 --> 00:14:49,384 And so there is a desire to go back to that. 350 00:14:49,552 --> 00:14:52,232 And what we have to do as Christians is say, hey, look, all 351 00:14:52,256 --> 00:14:54,104 those things in and of themselves aren't bad. 352 00:14:54,192 --> 00:14:56,242 Like, like a church tradition is not bad. 353 00:14:56,376 --> 00:15:01,054 But a church tradition lifted up higher than scripture is dangerous. 354 00:15:01,102 --> 00:15:03,410 It is wrong, it is heresy. 355 00:15:03,830 --> 00:15:04,830 So what we would. 356 00:15:04,870 --> 00:15:09,822 We would say with this is, basically, anything that becomes 357 00:15:09,886 --> 00:15:12,910 equal or greater than scripture, equal or greater than 358 00:15:12,950 --> 00:15:16,078 Jesus Christ has become something that's evil, has become 359 00:15:16,134 --> 00:15:17,326 something that's destructive. 360 00:15:17,438 --> 00:15:20,174 And so Jesus Christ being the Messiah means that nothing else saves 361 00:15:20,222 --> 00:15:20,862 us. 362 00:15:21,046 --> 00:15:23,230 And we could talk more and more about that. 363 00:15:23,270 --> 00:15:24,862 I could emphasize that more and more now. 364 00:15:24,886 --> 00:15:27,644 It's not to throw the baby out of the bathwater and say, hey, we 365 00:15:27,652 --> 00:15:29,212 should just live our lives the way we want to live it. 366 00:15:29,236 --> 00:15:29,420 There. 367 00:15:29,460 --> 00:15:32,652 There are elements within the church that we should follow. 368 00:15:32,836 --> 00:15:35,740 But what I would say that is, is that we have to be very, very 369 00:15:35,780 --> 00:15:39,196 cautious with putting man's ways equal to God's. 370 00:15:39,228 --> 00:15:40,732 And so that's what Jesus was explaining there. 371 00:15:40,756 --> 00:15:44,000 He says, upon this rock, upon this truth, I will build my church. 372 00:15:44,740 --> 00:15:47,612 And so, again, I'm not here to say that any denomination is better 373 00:15:47,636 --> 00:15:48,060 than the other. 374 00:15:48,100 --> 00:15:50,748 I think that the truth. 375 00:15:50,844 --> 00:15:52,956 Having a conversation with someone tonight, you know what saves 376 00:15:52,988 --> 00:15:55,836 someone is, is the truth of Jesus Christ, the gospel of Jesus 377 00:15:55,868 --> 00:15:56,060 Christ. 378 00:15:56,100 --> 00:15:57,208 That's what saves them. 379 00:15:57,364 --> 00:16:01,168 But we have to be very cautious on what is added to our 380 00:16:01,224 --> 00:16:01,744 faith. 381 00:16:01,872 --> 00:16:03,472 Very, very cautious about that. 382 00:16:03,576 --> 00:16:07,808 And, and I would say that in this case, the Messiah is. 383 00:16:07,864 --> 00:16:09,568 Is an important word to know when we do that. 384 00:16:09,624 --> 00:16:11,696 So how can Jesus be the Messiah. 385 00:16:11,728 --> 00:16:12,800 How can Jesus do that? 386 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:15,660 Well, we, we know that by offering himself for us. 387 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:19,664 But another term that I would like us to study here this evening 388 00:16:19,712 --> 00:16:21,120 is the term Emmanuel. 389 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:23,504 And most of you know that term, Emmanuel. 390 00:16:23,552 --> 00:16:25,642 It's a one that we sing about. 391 00:16:25,666 --> 00:16:26,362 Oh come O come. 392 00:16:26,386 --> 00:16:26,746 Emmanuel. 393 00:16:26,778 --> 00:16:28,202 That's another Christmas song. 394 00:16:28,346 --> 00:16:32,634 And I thought about that word and most of you know that word Emmanuel 395 00:16:32,682 --> 00:16:33,990 means God with us. 396 00:16:34,850 --> 00:16:38,026 And what does God with us mean? 397 00:16:38,098 --> 00:16:39,338 Well, we know. 398 00:16:39,474 --> 00:16:41,562 I'll show you in John chapter one. 399 00:16:41,746 --> 00:16:45,722 John chapter one gives us the best description of what Emmanuel 400 00:16:45,786 --> 00:16:46,890 means to us. 401 00:16:47,010 --> 00:16:50,626 And so if you have your Bibles turned there to John chapter one, 402 00:16:50,818 --> 00:16:54,754 classic passage of Scripture dealing with the incarnation of Jesus. 403 00:16:54,802 --> 00:16:57,714 And I know I wasn't going to give you a big theological term here 404 00:16:57,882 --> 00:17:00,594 this evening, but I had to at least give you one. 405 00:17:00,682 --> 00:17:02,034 The incarnation of Jesus. 406 00:17:02,082 --> 00:17:04,870 What is the incarnation of Jesus? 407 00:17:05,210 --> 00:17:07,590 That is Jesus coming in the flesh. 408 00:17:07,930 --> 00:17:10,658 Now a lot of people will say that's when Jesus started his life. 409 00:17:10,714 --> 00:17:14,546 Jesus started his life in the manger 2000 years ago. 410 00:17:14,618 --> 00:17:16,070 He was born in Bethlehem. 411 00:17:16,639 --> 00:17:19,479 All, not all true. 412 00:17:19,639 --> 00:17:21,111 Yes, he was born in Bethlehem. 413 00:17:21,175 --> 00:17:22,615 Yes, he was placed in a manger. 414 00:17:22,727 --> 00:17:23,655 Yes, he was a baby. 415 00:17:23,687 --> 00:17:24,567 Yes, he grew up. 416 00:17:24,623 --> 00:17:28,887 But Jesus pre existed the, the nativity scene. 417 00:17:29,063 --> 00:17:30,599 Jesus is eternal. 418 00:17:30,759 --> 00:17:34,295 But there is a biblical truth called the Incarnation. 419 00:17:34,487 --> 00:17:37,127 In Spanish, carne is, is meat, right? 420 00:17:37,183 --> 00:17:37,831 Steak. 421 00:17:37,975 --> 00:17:42,471 Carne in, in the original incarnation means in the flesh, in 422 00:17:42,495 --> 00:17:43,161 the meat. 423 00:17:43,295 --> 00:17:46,934 Jesus came in the flesh and that's him manifesting himself. 424 00:17:46,982 --> 00:17:49,766 Jesus is, is God with us. 425 00:17:49,838 --> 00:17:53,334 And so the name Emmanuel appears in the Bible only three times. 426 00:17:53,502 --> 00:17:57,606 We actually see it in the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 7. 427 00:17:57,758 --> 00:17:59,894 We see it in Isaiah chapter 8. 428 00:17:59,982 --> 00:18:03,942 And we see it in the Gospel of Matthew in Matthew chapter one, verse 429 00:18:04,006 --> 00:18:04,930 23. 430 00:18:05,870 --> 00:18:08,150 And so we'll see it there only those three times. 431 00:18:08,190 --> 00:18:12,846 But the description of Emmanuel is given to us in multiple 432 00:18:12,878 --> 00:18:13,262 places. 433 00:18:13,326 --> 00:18:16,302 And so if you look at John chapter one, look at verse 14 with 434 00:18:16,326 --> 00:18:19,870 me says in the Word now we know the Word is Jesus, right? 435 00:18:19,910 --> 00:18:20,766 The Word is Jesus. 436 00:18:20,798 --> 00:18:24,446 The, the Word Word is the word Logos. 437 00:18:24,558 --> 00:18:28,622 In the Greek, Logos means word, literally means word, but it 438 00:18:28,646 --> 00:18:29,966 means the, the. 439 00:18:30,038 --> 00:18:31,610 The beginning of everything. 440 00:18:31,910 --> 00:18:34,734 The, the not everything is wrapped up in this word. 441 00:18:34,782 --> 00:18:37,724 So the Greeks and the people of this timeframe would have understood 442 00:18:37,772 --> 00:18:40,236 Logos as the power that ran the world. 443 00:18:40,388 --> 00:18:43,404 And so what John is saying here through the inspiration of the 444 00:18:43,412 --> 00:18:47,324 Holy Spirit is that, hey, the thing that runs the world is Jesus. 445 00:18:47,372 --> 00:18:49,036 Jesus is God, the Logos. 446 00:18:49,148 --> 00:18:53,100 And so the Word Jesus was made flesh and dwelt among us. 447 00:18:53,140 --> 00:18:56,876 And that Speaks of Jesus's personal relationship with these 448 00:18:56,948 --> 00:18:59,708 folks, speaks of Jesus personal relationship with us. 449 00:18:59,764 --> 00:19:02,172 And we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the 450 00:19:02,196 --> 00:19:03,404 Father, full of grace and truth. 451 00:19:03,452 --> 00:19:04,960 So this is describing Jesus. 452 00:19:05,590 --> 00:19:08,926 It goes on to go all the way down to verse 18 to describe this 453 00:19:09,078 --> 00:19:13,022 John, bear witness of him and cried, saying this was he who of 454 00:19:13,046 --> 00:19:13,838 whom I spake. 455 00:19:13,934 --> 00:19:17,198 He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was before 456 00:19:17,254 --> 00:19:17,470 me. 457 00:19:17,510 --> 00:19:20,190 Now this can get a little bit confusing. 458 00:19:20,350 --> 00:19:26,398 This is John the disciple, John the beloved, talking about John 459 00:19:26,454 --> 00:19:28,734 the Baptist ministering before Jesus. 460 00:19:28,782 --> 00:19:30,984 That's so I know there can be some confusion there. 461 00:19:31,102 --> 00:19:35,012 So John the Apostle John is talking about John the Baptist who 462 00:19:35,036 --> 00:19:37,060 came before and said, Jesus is better than me. 463 00:19:37,100 --> 00:19:38,724 Pick Jesus, don't pick me. 464 00:19:38,892 --> 00:19:42,772 And of his fullness have all we receive and grace. 465 00:19:42,836 --> 00:19:43,428 For grace. 466 00:19:43,524 --> 00:19:47,668 For the law was given by Moses, but the grace and truth came 467 00:19:47,724 --> 00:19:48,852 by Jesus Christ. 468 00:19:48,956 --> 00:19:50,660 No man has seen God at any time. 469 00:19:50,700 --> 00:19:54,020 The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he 470 00:19:54,060 --> 00:19:57,508 hath declared it, meaning Jesus was the way that people could 471 00:19:57,564 --> 00:19:59,080 experience and see God. 472 00:19:59,220 --> 00:20:01,072 And Bible says that very same thing. 473 00:20:01,096 --> 00:20:03,760 In John 14, Jesus says, I am the way, the truth and the life. 474 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:05,808 No man cometh unto the Father but by me. 475 00:20:05,944 --> 00:20:09,664 And so the Gospel of John, I believe, beautifully describes the 476 00:20:09,752 --> 00:20:11,808 incarnation Jesus in the flesh. 477 00:20:11,904 --> 00:20:12,820 Emmanuel. 478 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:16,352 Another passage of scripture that really just summarizes in one 479 00:20:16,376 --> 00:20:20,384 verse is First Timothy, chapter three, First Timothy, chapter 480 00:20:20,432 --> 00:20:22,860 three, verse six. 481 00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:30,450 If, if someone wants to argue the fact that really Jesus was believe 482 00:20:30,490 --> 00:20:33,234 it or not, I know this is getting kind of in the weeds when 483 00:20:33,242 --> 00:20:35,794 it comes to, to different philosophies out there. 484 00:20:35,882 --> 00:20:38,130 But there were these people called the Gnostics. 485 00:20:38,290 --> 00:20:44,338 And the Gnostics believed that Jesus really wasn't human, 100% man. 486 00:20:44,474 --> 00:20:47,714 They believed that it was just a, a figment of creation, that God 487 00:20:47,762 --> 00:20:50,802 created a figure in front of people and they saw him or he was 488 00:20:50,826 --> 00:20:51,896 an apparition. 489 00:20:52,058 --> 00:20:56,764 So, so there Paul and Timothy were fighting against this false 490 00:20:56,812 --> 00:20:57,212 teaching. 491 00:20:57,276 --> 00:21:00,700 So if anyone believes that Jesus is a created being of God or 492 00:21:00,740 --> 00:21:04,060 that he was just a spirit, we're going to see that. 493 00:21:04,100 --> 00:21:07,596 First Timothy, chapter 3, verse 16 says otherwise. 494 00:21:07,708 --> 00:21:13,340 So first Timothy 3:16 and says this and without controversy, great 495 00:21:13,380 --> 00:21:15,084 is the mystery of godliness. 496 00:21:15,212 --> 00:21:16,844 So, so this is, this is a big mystery. 497 00:21:16,892 --> 00:21:19,016 He says this is, this is hard for us to understand. 498 00:21:19,188 --> 00:21:21,296 Anytime you see the word mystery in the Bible, it doesn't 499 00:21:21,328 --> 00:21:24,208 mean like a murder mystery, like a movie that you're watching, 500 00:21:24,304 --> 00:21:26,592 but it just means like something that we were not able to 501 00:21:26,616 --> 00:21:30,000 apprehend in our own wisdom and was withheld from us for a long 502 00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:30,480 time. 503 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:34,592 And so the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the 504 00:21:34,616 --> 00:21:35,200 flesh. 505 00:21:35,360 --> 00:21:39,760 That's the Incarnation, justified in the spirit, seen of 506 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:44,576 angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, 507 00:21:44,728 --> 00:21:46,032 received up into glory. 508 00:21:46,096 --> 00:21:48,224 So this is describing Jesus's life. 509 00:21:48,312 --> 00:21:49,696 This is describing everything. 510 00:21:49,768 --> 00:21:55,456 And so what we can see here is that Jesus fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy 511 00:21:55,488 --> 00:21:59,152 all the way back from Isaiah 7, because he was literally God with 512 00:21:59,176 --> 00:21:59,360 us. 513 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:01,776 He was fully human, yet fully God. 514 00:22:01,888 --> 00:22:04,000 And so Christ came to live with his people. 515 00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:08,096 Christ preached the truth, and it says, preach even unto the Gentiles. 516 00:22:08,208 --> 00:22:11,280 And people believed him in the world, and he was received up into 517 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:11,632 glory. 518 00:22:11,696 --> 00:22:14,450 So that's a good summary of the Incarnation. 519 00:22:15,110 --> 00:22:19,182 Now, if I haven't lost you yet, there's another term that, if 520 00:22:19,206 --> 00:22:22,158 you're interested, this stuff might not interest you, but if someone's 521 00:22:22,174 --> 00:22:25,102 like, how can Jesus be 100% God and 100% man? 522 00:22:25,286 --> 00:22:27,118 We cannot explain that. 523 00:22:27,174 --> 00:22:29,054 We cannot explain that dynamic. 524 00:22:29,102 --> 00:22:30,894 But what we can say is there's a big term for. 525 00:22:30,902 --> 00:22:34,430 It's called the hypostatic union, which means Jesus isn't 50% 526 00:22:34,470 --> 00:22:35,982 man and 50% God. 527 00:22:36,126 --> 00:22:38,574 That's what they believe about, like, Zeus and all those, 528 00:22:38,662 --> 00:22:41,608 you know, Greek gods, that they're half and half, they're part 529 00:22:41,664 --> 00:22:43,256 human, and they got intermingled. 530 00:22:43,288 --> 00:22:45,608 That's not the proper teaching about Jesus. 531 00:22:45,704 --> 00:22:49,544 The proper teaching about Jesus is he's 100% God and 100% man. 532 00:22:49,632 --> 00:22:50,280 Explain that. 533 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:50,664 I can't. 534 00:22:50,712 --> 00:22:51,960 It's beyond my understanding. 535 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:54,456 It's the same thing of explaining the Trinity, okay? 536 00:22:54,488 --> 00:22:57,880 I can't explain it, but all I know is that it's three persons in 537 00:22:57,920 --> 00:22:58,792 one God, right? 538 00:22:58,816 --> 00:23:00,440 And so we have to take that by faith. 539 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:03,704 And so the element of Emmanuel is an element of faith. 540 00:23:03,832 --> 00:23:05,672 And so Emmanuel is our Savior. 541 00:23:05,816 --> 00:23:08,020 First Timothy, chapter one, verse 15. 542 00:23:08,500 --> 00:23:12,988 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ 543 00:23:13,044 --> 00:23:15,036 Jesus came into the world to save sinners. 544 00:23:15,148 --> 00:23:17,612 And then, as Paul says, of whom I am chief. 545 00:23:17,796 --> 00:23:23,068 And so the beauty of Emmanuel, the beauty of Jesus being with us, 546 00:23:23,124 --> 00:23:25,420 is that we have a personal God. 547 00:23:25,580 --> 00:23:29,180 I know that one of my favorite passages of scripture that I claim 548 00:23:29,300 --> 00:23:31,720 is a Hebrews, chapter 4, verse 15. 549 00:23:32,180 --> 00:23:34,988 It speaks of for we are not a high priest which cannot be touched 550 00:23:35,004 --> 00:23:37,100 with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points 551 00:23:37,140 --> 00:23:39,554 tempted, like as we are yet without, without sin. 552 00:23:39,732 --> 00:23:42,982 Let us therefore come boldly into the throne of grace that we 553 00:23:43,006 --> 00:23:45,526 may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 554 00:23:45,598 --> 00:23:49,414 So I know I mentioned this quite often, but this is one of the 555 00:23:49,422 --> 00:23:52,630 things that boggles my mind about God, and I am so excited about 556 00:23:52,670 --> 00:23:53,014 this. 557 00:23:53,102 --> 00:23:59,490 We have a God who is above us, beyond us, outside of time and space, 558 00:23:59,950 --> 00:24:03,490 all knowing, all powerful, all present. 559 00:24:03,950 --> 00:24:07,526 But yet we also have a God who wants to have that personal relationship 560 00:24:07,558 --> 00:24:08,300 with us. 561 00:24:08,470 --> 00:24:08,816 He's. 562 00:24:08,848 --> 00:24:09,280 He's. 563 00:24:09,360 --> 00:24:12,848 He's transcendent, which means we can't put him in a box. 564 00:24:12,944 --> 00:24:15,984 But he's also imminent in the fact that he's a personal, loving 565 00:24:16,032 --> 00:24:18,080 God who wants that personal walk with us. 566 00:24:18,120 --> 00:24:19,920 That's the unique element of our faith. 567 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:21,504 That's the unique element of Scripture. 568 00:24:21,552 --> 00:24:23,136 That's the unique element of Jesus. 569 00:24:23,248 --> 00:24:26,688 Emmanuel is an exciting element of who Jesus is. 570 00:24:26,824 --> 00:24:29,120 And that's why we see different names for Jesus, because 571 00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:32,448 that explains different aspects of who he is to us. 572 00:24:32,584 --> 00:24:36,412 So Messiah, he's the anointed one, Savior of the world, Emmanuel, 573 00:24:36,476 --> 00:24:37,580 He's God with us. 574 00:24:37,700 --> 00:24:40,828 And so when we hear these words, sometimes it's easy to throw 575 00:24:40,844 --> 00:24:41,148 it around. 576 00:24:41,204 --> 00:24:44,380 But I would want you to think about the theological, the Bible 577 00:24:44,460 --> 00:24:45,852 truth behind it. 578 00:24:46,036 --> 00:24:48,268 And, and these are important things for us to stand on. 579 00:24:48,324 --> 00:24:51,020 Because you would say, why do I need to know all these things? 580 00:24:51,060 --> 00:24:53,212 I just need to know Jesus died on the cross and he saved me from 581 00:24:53,236 --> 00:24:53,948 my sins. 582 00:24:54,124 --> 00:24:58,924 True, but what happens when people attack certain elements of 583 00:24:58,932 --> 00:24:59,324 our faith? 584 00:24:59,372 --> 00:25:01,378 And we might not know how to answer that. 585 00:25:01,564 --> 00:25:06,198 One of the major elements of a false religion, I would say the major 586 00:25:06,254 --> 00:25:09,702 element of a false religion is that they attack Jesus. 587 00:25:09,766 --> 00:25:11,318 They attack the deity of Christ. 588 00:25:11,374 --> 00:25:13,878 The Bible says that there will be other Christ preached. 589 00:25:14,054 --> 00:25:16,422 And so what will happen is the very first thing that if you want 590 00:25:16,446 --> 00:25:19,638 to check to see whether or not someone's a false teacher, the first 591 00:25:19,694 --> 00:25:23,574 check you do as you see what they teach about Jesus, does it align 592 00:25:23,622 --> 00:25:24,694 with the word of God? 593 00:25:24,822 --> 00:25:26,860 Is it biblical Jesus? 594 00:25:26,990 --> 00:25:30,544 If it is, then you take further steps to see what they say 595 00:25:30,552 --> 00:25:32,528 about scripture, they say about his Word. 596 00:25:32,624 --> 00:25:33,840 But the first step is, are. 597 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:34,992 Are they preaching Jesus? 598 00:25:35,056 --> 00:25:40,528 Because most of the world religions, most of the cults around 599 00:25:40,584 --> 00:25:42,064 the world are. 600 00:25:42,152 --> 00:25:44,736 They preach some element of Jesus. 601 00:25:44,928 --> 00:25:48,064 And so what I want you to do as a believer, what I want you to 602 00:25:48,072 --> 00:25:52,624 do as a Middletown Baptist Church member or attender or viewer 603 00:25:52,672 --> 00:25:57,024 online is, is to be able to discern false teaching from the truth 604 00:25:57,152 --> 00:25:58,864 and say, okay, this is the truth. 605 00:25:58,912 --> 00:26:00,000 This is false teaching. 606 00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:02,656 So one part of that is understanding what it means for Jesus 607 00:26:02,688 --> 00:26:03,648 to be Messiah. 608 00:26:03,744 --> 00:26:06,144 Another element of that would be what does it mean for Jesus to 609 00:26:06,152 --> 00:26:06,880 be Emmanuel? 610 00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:11,696 What does it mean for Jesus to be our Savior, to be God with us? 611 00:26:11,848 --> 00:26:14,320 And really what that means is that people are going to preach other 612 00:26:14,360 --> 00:26:15,376 Jesuses. 613 00:26:15,568 --> 00:26:18,620 And so our Emanuel is with us. 614 00:26:18,930 --> 00:26:20,618 And you say, well, he's not with me right now. 615 00:26:20,674 --> 00:26:21,658 I don't see him. 616 00:26:21,794 --> 00:26:30,150 Well, yes, he was in the flesh with Peter and John and Andrew, but 617 00:26:30,690 --> 00:26:33,130 he is with us today in, in a different way. 618 00:26:33,170 --> 00:26:33,418 He. 619 00:26:33,474 --> 00:26:36,682 He lives within us and the concept of the Spirit that, that 620 00:26:36,706 --> 00:26:37,658 indwells us. 621 00:26:37,794 --> 00:26:42,250 And so Jesus is with us after his resurrection from the dead and 622 00:26:42,290 --> 00:26:45,470 before Jesus returned to the Father, he made, he made a promise. 623 00:26:45,940 --> 00:26:47,068 I want you to see this. 624 00:26:47,124 --> 00:26:47,436 I. 625 00:26:47,508 --> 00:26:52,732 This is, this is really framing my viewpoint on everything 626 00:26:52,836 --> 00:26:55,196 that we should be doing within the church. 627 00:26:55,308 --> 00:26:56,540 Matthew chapter 28. 628 00:26:56,580 --> 00:26:58,012 Look, look at Matthew chapter 20. 629 00:26:58,116 --> 00:27:02,092 I will end with this unless I get on a sidetrack. 630 00:27:02,236 --> 00:27:03,292 But, but this will. 631 00:27:03,396 --> 00:27:05,000 Matthew, chapter 28. 632 00:27:05,380 --> 00:27:09,116 If we could, if we could phrase, if we could phrase or, or 633 00:27:09,188 --> 00:27:14,252 if we could put into one paragraph our goal as the church 634 00:27:14,396 --> 00:27:20,076 and our marching orders as the church, I think that the Great Commission 635 00:27:20,148 --> 00:27:21,228 would be the thing. 636 00:27:21,284 --> 00:27:21,596 Okay. 637 00:27:21,628 --> 00:27:23,964 There's really nowhere else in scripture that gives us a succinct 638 00:27:24,012 --> 00:27:25,484 list of what we should do. 639 00:27:25,572 --> 00:27:27,320 Matthew, chapter 28. 640 00:27:28,900 --> 00:27:32,000 At the very end, Jesus is about to ascend into heaven. 641 00:27:32,340 --> 00:27:34,200 And, and what does he say? 642 00:27:34,820 --> 00:27:38,310 Well, he says in Matthew, chapter 12, 28, verse 20. 643 00:27:38,430 --> 00:27:39,878 Or let's look at verse 18. 644 00:27:39,934 --> 00:27:42,422 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, all power is given 645 00:27:42,446 --> 00:27:43,850 unto me in heaven and earth. 646 00:27:44,270 --> 00:27:47,702 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name 647 00:27:47,726 --> 00:27:50,806 of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe 648 00:27:50,838 --> 00:27:52,150 whatsoever I've commanded you. 649 00:27:52,190 --> 00:27:58,054 And lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. 650 00:27:58,222 --> 00:28:01,926 So the Bible speaks of Jesus's presence with his church, Jesus. 651 00:28:02,038 --> 00:28:04,552 Jesus's presence with the believers. 652 00:28:04,686 --> 00:28:08,180 That's the indication that Jesus has not left us, even though 653 00:28:08,220 --> 00:28:10,720 physically he has for a time. 654 00:28:11,420 --> 00:28:14,308 And, and we know the beautiful picture, hopefully you understand 655 00:28:14,364 --> 00:28:15,988 the beautiful picture of the bridegroom. 656 00:28:16,084 --> 00:28:17,860 He's gone off to prepare a place for us. 657 00:28:17,900 --> 00:28:18,612 John 14. 658 00:28:18,716 --> 00:28:19,828 He's coming again. 659 00:28:19,964 --> 00:28:23,880 This is just a short amount of time for him, but when he returns, 660 00:28:24,540 --> 00:28:26,532 it will be the consummation of all this. 661 00:28:26,556 --> 00:28:29,076 But our relationship with him is as real as it ever has been. 662 00:28:29,148 --> 00:28:31,252 His Lord, I'm with you always, even to the end of the world. 663 00:28:31,276 --> 00:28:33,840 It makes me think about Hebrew, chapter 13, verse 5. 664 00:28:34,580 --> 00:28:36,300 I will never leave you nor forsake you. 665 00:28:36,340 --> 00:28:37,180 He's with us. 666 00:28:37,300 --> 00:28:38,700 And so. 667 00:28:38,820 --> 00:28:39,692 So nothing. 668 00:28:39,836 --> 00:28:41,852 And again, Romans, chapter 8. 669 00:28:42,036 --> 00:28:44,124 Nothing can separate us from the love of God. 670 00:28:44,252 --> 00:28:44,988 So what. 671 00:28:45,124 --> 00:28:48,860 What theological truths can we take from just that word, Emmanuel? 672 00:28:49,020 --> 00:28:51,084 God's ultimate presence with us. 673 00:28:51,252 --> 00:28:51,772 His. 674 00:28:51,876 --> 00:28:55,040 His love for us, his incarnation. 675 00:28:55,460 --> 00:28:57,468 You could even look into the Trinity with that. 676 00:28:57,524 --> 00:29:00,270 You could talk about how Jesus fits into of that. 677 00:29:00,310 --> 00:29:01,710 That picture of the Trinity. 678 00:29:01,790 --> 00:29:03,534 God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. 679 00:29:03,582 --> 00:29:06,782 So you can see how just in one word that appears three times in 680 00:29:06,806 --> 00:29:10,254 Scripture, you can dig deep and you can find all these theological 681 00:29:10,302 --> 00:29:13,918 truths just in the profession that Jesus is God with us. 682 00:29:14,054 --> 00:29:17,742 You can understand all those things with those references to Messiah. 683 00:29:17,886 --> 00:29:24,270 And so the Bible is full of wonderful words that we can take 684 00:29:24,310 --> 00:29:27,022 with us and that we can grow in, that we can understand him more 685 00:29:27,046 --> 00:29:27,770 and more. 686 00:29:28,270 --> 00:29:32,742 And I think that we should do all the more in our own study to 687 00:29:32,766 --> 00:29:35,014 see these biblical names for Jesus. 688 00:29:35,062 --> 00:29:35,318 Right? 689 00:29:35,374 --> 00:29:37,270 That's a whole other study for another day. 690 00:29:37,310 --> 00:29:38,530 I won't go into that. 691 00:29:39,230 --> 00:29:42,038 But, you know, there are awesome names from the Old Testament 692 00:29:42,054 --> 00:29:45,670 and the New that we can look at, and we can say, wow, look at 693 00:29:45,710 --> 00:29:47,014 the character of God. 694 00:29:47,062 --> 00:29:49,254 Look at his attributes through these names. 695 00:29:49,382 --> 00:29:52,374 Jehovah, Jireh, the one who provides. 696 00:29:52,422 --> 00:29:53,542 And the list goes on and on. 697 00:29:53,566 --> 00:29:55,926 And so God gives us these names of. 698 00:29:55,998 --> 00:29:59,942 Of in scripture so that we can study them, so that we can know him 699 00:30:00,046 --> 00:30:00,998 and so that we can. 700 00:30:01,054 --> 00:30:02,758 We can grow in these areas. 701 00:30:02,814 --> 00:30:09,510 And so if you hear those two words this Christmas, Messiah, Emmanuel, 702 00:30:09,590 --> 00:30:09,878 now. 703 00:30:09,934 --> 00:30:13,302 Now you have a better grip on what they mean and what the implication 704 00:30:13,366 --> 00:30:15,170 is to those things. 705 00:30:15,470 --> 00:30:18,806 So, you know, I will say that there. 706 00:30:18,878 --> 00:30:23,182 There is an opportunity within the Christmas season to hear a lot 707 00:30:23,206 --> 00:30:27,998 of different people's opinions on things, whether it be world politics. 708 00:30:28,094 --> 00:30:31,502 Maybe you're around your house and your family's coming in town. 709 00:30:31,526 --> 00:30:31,710 You. 710 00:30:31,750 --> 00:30:33,102 I mean, what do they say? 711 00:30:33,126 --> 00:30:35,166 The two things you're not supposed to talk about at a dinner 712 00:30:35,198 --> 00:30:37,086 table is religion and politics. 713 00:30:37,198 --> 00:30:39,486 Unfortunately, usually my table is full of that. 714 00:30:39,638 --> 00:30:40,846 That's what we talk about. 715 00:30:40,998 --> 00:30:42,542 So I don't think we have to be afraid of those things. 716 00:30:42,566 --> 00:30:44,190 But what I will say is, is when. 717 00:30:44,230 --> 00:30:45,850 When you talk about the word of. 718 00:30:46,390 --> 00:30:49,822 Talk about the word of God differently than you talk about politics. 719 00:30:49,886 --> 00:30:51,050 Okay, I'm just going to. 720 00:30:51,190 --> 00:30:53,922 I'm going to step out on the ledge and try to challenge you just 721 00:30:53,946 --> 00:30:55,346 a little bit here this evening. 722 00:30:55,538 --> 00:30:58,178 Politics is something that we can certainly have an opinion on. 723 00:30:58,234 --> 00:31:01,026 And I'm not here to tell you not to have an opinion on something. 724 00:31:01,098 --> 00:31:01,938 Okay? 725 00:31:02,114 --> 00:31:08,034 But when we stand on religion, we're Talking about the word of God. 726 00:31:08,082 --> 00:31:08,930 That's our faith. 727 00:31:09,010 --> 00:31:10,550 We stand on the word of God. 728 00:31:10,890 --> 00:31:12,450 We're not shaken on that. 729 00:31:12,570 --> 00:31:14,546 That's not something that we compromise on. 730 00:31:14,698 --> 00:31:16,660 The truth of God speaks for itself. 731 00:31:16,810 --> 00:31:18,940 We are just the mouthpieces for that. 732 00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:23,440 And what we can say is that there isn't something that we can, 733 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:27,300 you know, bend on when it comes to Scripture. 734 00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:30,976 And, you know, who knows what's going to happen in 2025. 735 00:31:31,128 --> 00:31:35,700 There are people today that are claiming to be Messiah. 736 00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:39,360 And the more and more we look at that, the more and more we see 737 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:44,506 that people, people gravitate to people, people gravitate to strong 738 00:31:44,578 --> 00:31:44,954 figures. 739 00:31:45,002 --> 00:31:46,710 It's happened throughout all of history. 740 00:31:47,410 --> 00:31:51,818 You often wonder how these, what we call cults pop up and thousands 741 00:31:51,834 --> 00:31:54,458 of people start following people and they talk them into doing 742 00:31:54,514 --> 00:31:55,194 whatever. 743 00:31:55,322 --> 00:32:00,794 It's because we are, as human beings, attracted to worship. 744 00:32:00,842 --> 00:32:02,954 We are attracted to something that we like. 745 00:32:03,042 --> 00:32:05,274 We are attracted to things that we think we need. 746 00:32:05,362 --> 00:32:09,282 And so therefore, when someone tells us what we think we need or 747 00:32:09,306 --> 00:32:12,114 what we want, it's very easy for us to attach ourselves to that 748 00:32:12,122 --> 00:32:14,418 and then be swayed by false teaching. 749 00:32:14,594 --> 00:32:16,562 And so the Bible says, don't you know. 750 00:32:16,666 --> 00:32:18,434 And again, I'm going on a tangent here. 751 00:32:18,442 --> 00:32:21,538 But what I will say is that in these times when we. 752 00:32:21,594 --> 00:32:24,978 There is confusion in this world and now we don't know what's 753 00:32:24,994 --> 00:32:26,258 true and what's not true. 754 00:32:26,434 --> 00:32:30,130 You know, you could watch a video online and you could see somebody 755 00:32:30,210 --> 00:32:33,410 saying something out of their face, but it's not them saying it. 756 00:32:33,450 --> 00:32:34,248 It's very weird. 757 00:32:34,294 --> 00:32:36,180 Live in very deceptive times. 758 00:32:36,300 --> 00:32:39,732 And what I would say is match it up to Scripture. 759 00:32:39,796 --> 00:32:40,884 Match it up to Scripture. 760 00:32:40,932 --> 00:32:44,436 Don't allow yourself to be swayed, because what's being fed 761 00:32:44,508 --> 00:32:47,556 to you, whether it be through a teaching or through an action, 762 00:32:47,628 --> 00:32:49,636 is something that we want to see. 763 00:32:49,788 --> 00:32:54,852 And that's why I had a fellow I was discipling not too long ago, 764 00:32:54,876 --> 00:32:59,252 and he says, how could Jesus's own people reject him? 765 00:32:59,436 --> 00:33:02,542 He was standing right in front of them, working out miracles in 766 00:33:02,566 --> 00:33:03,214 front of them. 767 00:33:03,302 --> 00:33:04,366 He never sinned. 768 00:33:04,398 --> 00:33:06,222 How could they have rejected him? 769 00:33:06,406 --> 00:33:09,822 And, and the truth is, is that he wasn't presenting to them what 770 00:33:09,846 --> 00:33:11,130 they wanted to hear. 771 00:33:11,430 --> 00:33:14,382 He wasn't doing the things that they, that they thought that 772 00:33:14,406 --> 00:33:15,450 he should do. 773 00:33:15,910 --> 00:33:17,054 At first they liked it. 774 00:33:17,062 --> 00:33:19,330 They liked when he gave them bread. 775 00:33:20,070 --> 00:33:23,614 They liked when he multiplied their food and healed them. 776 00:33:23,702 --> 00:33:27,884 But when Jesus fed the 5,000, very shortly after, he said, all 777 00:33:27,892 --> 00:33:30,508 right, now you gotta eat of my flesh and drink of my blood. 778 00:33:30,524 --> 00:33:31,436 And they're like, what? 779 00:33:31,588 --> 00:33:32,668 And they knew what that meant. 780 00:33:32,684 --> 00:33:34,764 That meant to identify with him in his suffering. 781 00:33:34,812 --> 00:33:36,636 And they were like, ah, you're. 782 00:33:36,668 --> 00:33:37,564 You're a victor. 783 00:33:37,692 --> 00:33:38,636 You're supposed to be our. 784 00:33:38,708 --> 00:33:39,676 Think of that word, Messiah. 785 00:33:39,708 --> 00:33:41,740 The Anointed One for their minds in. 786 00:33:41,780 --> 00:33:44,956 In Israel, the anointed One was the one that was going to overthrow 787 00:33:45,148 --> 00:33:45,756 Rome. 788 00:33:45,868 --> 00:33:46,396 All right? 789 00:33:46,468 --> 00:33:49,260 When Jesus didn't overthrow Rome the way that they wanted him 790 00:33:49,300 --> 00:33:50,892 to, they turned on him. 791 00:33:50,996 --> 00:33:53,618 And so that's why they rejected him, because, number one, 792 00:33:53,724 --> 00:33:56,050 he wasn't what they expected. 793 00:33:56,350 --> 00:33:59,622 And number two, he wasn't giving them what they wanted. 794 00:33:59,766 --> 00:34:02,902 And number three, essentially, he was calling them out for the things 795 00:34:02,926 --> 00:34:03,926 that they did love. 796 00:34:04,078 --> 00:34:04,770 Right? 797 00:34:05,310 --> 00:34:09,126 The week before he went to the cross, he went into the temple. 798 00:34:09,158 --> 00:34:10,406 We studied this in the book of Luke. 799 00:34:10,438 --> 00:34:13,062 And he was like, hey, you guys shouldn't be making money off of 800 00:34:13,086 --> 00:34:13,718 people for. 801 00:34:13,774 --> 00:34:14,694 For your religion. 802 00:34:14,742 --> 00:34:17,478 So he flipped the tables and. 803 00:34:17,534 --> 00:34:20,242 And Jesus did that for the right reason, and they didn't like 804 00:34:20,266 --> 00:34:20,642 that. 805 00:34:20,746 --> 00:34:22,178 And there were people against him. 806 00:34:22,234 --> 00:34:24,510 So what I would say today is don't miss. 807 00:34:26,170 --> 00:34:28,514 And I want you to understand what I'm saying by this. 808 00:34:28,602 --> 00:34:32,178 And I don't want to go too far off, but don't miss Jesus when he's 809 00:34:32,194 --> 00:34:36,018 standing right in front of you, don't get distracted by other 810 00:34:36,074 --> 00:34:41,442 things that our eyes want to see what we desire in our hearts 811 00:34:41,586 --> 00:34:43,042 when it comes to the flesh. 812 00:34:43,186 --> 00:34:46,188 And that's the importance of. 813 00:34:46,244 --> 00:34:48,172 Of this world and is my job is. 814 00:34:48,196 --> 00:34:50,960 That is my job is to try to direct you to the truth. 815 00:34:51,940 --> 00:34:54,028 I can't tell you what this year is going to bring. 816 00:34:54,164 --> 00:34:58,240 I don't know why all these drones are flying around, if anyone's. 817 00:34:58,900 --> 00:34:59,452 But. 818 00:34:59,556 --> 00:35:02,124 But all I can tell you is that Jesus is the answer. 819 00:35:02,172 --> 00:35:03,884 Jesus is King of Kings, Lord of Lords. 820 00:35:03,932 --> 00:35:04,764 Jesus is Emmanuel. 821 00:35:04,812 --> 00:35:05,820 Jesus is Messiah. 822 00:35:05,900 --> 00:35:08,044 And if we keep looking at him, we won't fail. 823 00:35:08,132 --> 00:35:09,276 We cannot fail. 824 00:35:09,428 --> 00:35:11,628 He is with us in this time, in this world. 825 00:35:11,684 --> 00:35:12,336 All right? 826 00:35:12,468 --> 00:35:15,048 So I hope that that was in some ways encouraging for you. 827 00:35:15,184 --> 00:35:18,232 If you're interested in studying these words, you're like, 828 00:35:18,256 --> 00:35:18,824 oh, man, that's. 829 00:35:18,872 --> 00:35:19,688 That's kind of cool. 830 00:35:19,784 --> 00:35:23,528 Um, we do a Word of the Week podcast every single week. 831 00:35:23,664 --> 00:35:26,264 I promise you, they're way shorter than my sermons. 832 00:35:26,312 --> 00:35:27,224 They're 15 minutes. 833 00:35:27,272 --> 00:35:28,696 Exactly 15 minutes. 834 00:35:28,728 --> 00:35:32,392 And so if you have 15 minutes in your week and you want to do me 835 00:35:32,416 --> 00:35:35,112 a favor by watching or listening right now, it's not on 836 00:35:35,136 --> 00:35:35,368 video. 837 00:35:35,424 --> 00:35:36,232 It's just listening. 838 00:35:36,296 --> 00:35:37,960 You want to listen to that 15 minutes, we. 839 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:41,672 We've got at least like 24, 25, almost a half a year for you 840 00:35:41,696 --> 00:35:43,416 to go through and listen to these words of the week. 841 00:35:43,488 --> 00:35:45,656 And it's very similar to what we talked about here this evening, 842 00:35:45,688 --> 00:35:47,380 but like on a more condensed level. 843 00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:49,816 So we're actually going through a study on gifts. 844 00:35:49,848 --> 00:35:53,288 Since this was the month of gifts, we are going to be each week 845 00:35:53,344 --> 00:35:56,500 breaking down starting starting today. 846 00:35:56,960 --> 00:35:59,560 I recorded it earlier, but starting today, we're breaking down 847 00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:02,104 all of the spiritual gifts that are listed in Romans chapter 848 00:36:02,152 --> 00:36:02,792 12. 849 00:36:02,976 --> 00:36:06,008 Now, it's essentially you guys are going to get a little piece of 850 00:36:06,064 --> 00:36:07,032 what Sunday morning is about. 851 00:36:07,056 --> 00:36:09,336 Sunday morning is going to be about all the gifts kind of condensed 852 00:36:09,368 --> 00:36:10,716 into to one sermon. 853 00:36:10,808 --> 00:36:13,284 But if you want to get a more detailed look at each one of those 854 00:36:13,372 --> 00:36:15,700 gifts, we're breaking down each one each week. 855 00:36:15,740 --> 00:36:18,164 So this past week we talked about the gift of prophecy. 856 00:36:18,292 --> 00:36:22,452 Next week we're going to talk about the gift of service or ministry, 857 00:36:22,516 --> 00:36:23,732 as the King James says. 858 00:36:23,836 --> 00:36:26,900 And so if you're interested in spiritual gifts or you're interested 859 00:36:26,980 --> 00:36:30,916 in identifying your spiritual gift or growing in your spiritual 860 00:36:30,948 --> 00:36:33,284 gift, I would encourage you to be here for the next two Sundays 861 00:36:33,332 --> 00:36:35,012 or follow along on the podcast. 862 00:36:35,156 --> 00:36:36,916 Because for the next two Sundays we're going to be talking 863 00:36:36,948 --> 00:36:40,572 about those Romans 12 spiritual gifts and how you have 864 00:36:40,596 --> 00:36:41,724 received the gift of salvation. 865 00:36:41,772 --> 00:36:44,348 You received the gift of, of the spiritual gift, and now it's 866 00:36:44,364 --> 00:36:45,840 your job to give that gift. 867 00:36:46,260 --> 00:36:48,492 Because, like, it would be unfair for us to keep those things 868 00:36:48,516 --> 00:36:49,676 and hoard them to ourselves. 869 00:36:49,788 --> 00:36:52,840 So just a little shameless plug there for that. 870 00:36:53,700 --> 00:36:56,332 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 871 00:36:56,396 --> 00:36:57,084 podcast. 872 00:36:57,212 --> 00:36:59,880 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 873 00:37:00,180 --> 00:37:01,292 If you would like to find out. 874 00:37:01,316 --> 00:37:03,612 More information about our church or this sermon, you can find 875 00:37:03,636 --> 00:37:07,934 us at Middletown Baptist Church church.org or find us on Facebook 876 00:37:08,022 --> 00:37:09,090 or YouTube. 877 00:37:09,510 --> 00:37:14,734 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaro, Middletown BaptistChurch.com 878 00:37:14,902 --> 00:37:18,478 if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow 879 00:37:18,534 --> 00:37:21,570 along for future podcast and updates. 880 00:37:21,910 --> 00:37:23,022 Thank you so much. 881 00:37:23,126 --> 00:37:24,014 God bless. 882 00:37:24,142 --> 00:37:25,190 Have a wonderful day.