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Hey, we are continuing our series
in the minor profits, and as we turn

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to the book of Joel this week, there
are some ad campaigns that need to be

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updated, uh, like this one for Marlboro.

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I believe it.

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No camels.

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Sorry.

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Uh, camel cigarettes back in
the 1950s, more doctors smoke

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camels than any other cigarette.

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Well, Lucky's was gonna take issue with
that because they responded and said,

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well, 20,679, it's important to, to not
round up or down on that one 20,679.

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Physicians say, Lucky's
are less irritating.

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It's toasted.

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I don't even know what that means.

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I don't, I don't even
know what that means.

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Um, needless to say, you're not gonna
find today, uh, these same advertisements.

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In fact, today, if you pick up a, a
package of cigarettes, what you're gonna

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find on the back is a warning from the
surgeon general, uh, the, the top doc

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in the entire nation that says, uh, we
don't recommend that you use these things.

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Uh, this is not good.

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You're not gonna find 20,000 physicians
saying that you need to smoke Lucky's,

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uh, because they're less irritating
and toasted, whatever that means.

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There's some messaging
that needs to be updated.

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There's other messaging that never
needs to be updated, and when it

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comes to the Bible, we find at
its core that the primary message

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that never needs to be updated.

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It's a message that
courses through the book.

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It's a message that we need
to have an answer to because

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it's a message that says this.

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It says this, God is holy, and you're not.

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I'm not.

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We're not.

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God's holiness his perfection, his
sinlessness, his being the standard

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and the epitome of what is, uh, the,
the unblemished level of perfect

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perfection and, and beauty in everything.

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He is the definition of
what it is to be holy.

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And the Bible says that we fall short as
Paul says, in Romans of that standard.

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And so we have to ask ourselves the
question, what do we do with that reality?

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That, that God is holy and I
am not, because His holiness

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requires that sin be dealt with.

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And if I am not holy because I am
a sinner, that means that my sin

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has to be dealt with in Joel's day.

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That meant that Israel's
sin had to be dealt with.

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In future generations, that's
that's gonna mean that their sin

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is gonna need to be dealt with.

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And we have to ask the question and answer
the question, what do we do with sin?

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Well, if you're here this morning
and you're a Christian, then you've

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found that answer that sin is dealt
with at the cross, that that sin was

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dealt with when Jesus Christ died on
the cross for your sin and in exchange

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gave you his perfect righteousness.

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Such that now in the eyes of God,
he does not just declare you not

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guilty, but he declares you innocent
with the righteousness of Jesus,

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so that when the standard remains,
you shall be holy for I am holy.

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And you say, well, I can't be holy when
it comes to your standing before God,

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Christ was holy on your behalf, and
you possess now his perfect holiness

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to have a relationship with God.

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But if all of us in this room, myself
included, are honest with ourselves,

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none of us still are sinless.

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In fact, the, the Christian life is
not about being sinless on this side of

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eternity because that's not possible.

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If you spend your life as a Christian
chasing a standard of sinlessness, you

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will be exhausted, you'll be tired,
you'll be shamed, you'll be condemned,

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and you will feel like you will never
measure up and you'll never have any

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confidence in security in Christ.

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But what do we do with our sin?

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'cause as Christians, we don't wanna be
complacent, we don't wanna be comfortable,

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we don't wanna grow familiar with it.

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We don't wanna.

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Think to ourselves, well, I mean Jesus
died for sin, so what does it matter?

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Let's go ahead and sin
Paul dealt with that too.

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Instead, what I'd like to suggest to
us this morning, and it's a message

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that I think we find in the book of
Joel, is this, as Christians, we need

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to hate sin, love God, and live ready.

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We need to hate sin,
love God, and live ready.

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The the book of Joel, the, the
key word in the book of Joel is

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gonna be the word repentance.

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And each of those three ideas of
hating sin, loving God, and, and living

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ready is going to have something to
do with our repentance as believers.

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But the book of Joel, just to, to set
the, the stage, uh, this outline has,

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has changed on the back of your, your
notes there from what it was last week,

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because originally I had Joel in the
seven hundreds, but after studying it

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this week, I moved him post exilic.

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I think he's after the exile on
the return and after the building

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of the second temple here.

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Um, and there's reasons that I
just don't have time to get into

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on that because of communion.

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But if you've got an itch on that,
come talk to me afterwards and I'll

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gladly info dump you on all of that.

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Uh, the reality is nobody is
fully certain on when Joel wrote.

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Uh, he is one of the most difficult of all
the prophets to pin down because we don't

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have Joel prophesied during the reigns of
such and such and such and such and such

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and such, which is speaking in tongues.

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There's, that's the only time
I'll ever speak in, speak

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in tongues, what I just did.

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Um, we don't have that.

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Right.

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And, and so, and, and even the events
recorded in the book, there's nothing

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historically that we can point to
and, and get a, a firm date based

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on what he references in the book.

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So it's, it's a lot of assumptions
and it's a lot of looking at internal

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evidence to draw conclusions.

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Uh, I, I believe he's,
he's around five 15.

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It's okay if he's not, if he wrote in
the seven hundreds, if he wrote in the

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five hundreds, his message is still
apropos, no matter when he wrote in

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the History of the Nation of Israel.

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Joel's target audience was the
Southern Kingdom was Judah.

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And so, uh, author Joel Date,
five 15 audience, uh, Judah, he,

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he wrote to this southern tribe.

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Uh, one of the reasons why I put it
post exilic is he doesn't reference the

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northern kingdom or any of those events
at all in the book, entire book of job.

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Uh, he refers to Judah the
Southern Kingdom as Israel, which

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would again be indicative of the
fact that he's writing later on.

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I told you I wasn't gonna info
dump you, so I'm gonna stop.

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But his audience he's writing to is
the Southern Kingdom there, Judah.

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And, and the theme of the book, like I
said earlier, is this theme, this idea

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of repentance, that we need to repent by
hating sin, loving God, and living ready.

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But let's look at the Book of
Job to draw that out for us.

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Look at chapter one, only three chapters
this week instead of 14, like last week.

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But still pray for my time management
here because we've got communion after

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service too, or after the, the message.

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Joel chapter one verses two through four.

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Uh, Joel chapter one is this.

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It says, hear this, you elders give
your all inhabitants of the land.

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Has such a thing happened in your
days or in the days of your fathers?

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Tell your children of it.

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Let your children tell their children
and their children to another generation.

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What the cutting locust left,
the swarming locust has eaten.

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What the swarming locust left.

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The hopping locust has eaten.

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What the hopping locust left,
the destroying locust has eaten.

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As we go through the book, we're gonna
see the book break down this way.

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Chapter one, as I just
read, is about the locust.

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We're gonna dive into
that in just a second.

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Chapter two is gonna be about repentance,
the call to repentance, and then

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chapter three is gonna be about the
impending judgment, the day of the Lord.

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Uh, so chapter one, locust chapter two,
repentance chapter three, judgment.

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But let's talk locus for a second.

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We're, we're not super familiar with
them, but we know these guys don't.

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We, you walk through a field during
the summertime in, in, in Texas, and

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they will attack you and their stealth.

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They come outta nowhere and you look very
foolish to everybody else driving by.

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When you're swatting at something
they can't see because the.

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The grasshoppers are attacking you.

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The locusts are very
similar to the grasshoppers.

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In fact, when they congregate together
the swarms, these, these grasshopper like

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insects become the, the locust plagues.

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And you, you're like, plague.

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That sounds like an ancient word.

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Uh, the most recent locust
plague that that made headlines

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at least was back in 2020.

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'cause why not?

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Everything else happened in 2020.

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Um, it just didn't get the same credit
'cause it wasn't, you know, COVID and

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there wasn't a shot for it either.

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I shouldn't have said that.

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I should not have said that.

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When we have two services, this is
why first service I'll say things I

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shouldn't, and second service I'll
say, I'll clean it all up anyways.

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Uh, back in Africa there was a, a
massive swarm of locusts and, and, and

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these locusts, when they reached swarm
stage 80 million plus per square mile.

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No, thanks.

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I'm out.

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No, I I don't want that.

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Um, 80 million plus per square
mile, and they each eat about

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two grams of vegetation a day.

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That means that when there's a swarm state
like this, that they're consuming the

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food of about 35,000 people every day.

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Y'all.

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This is why locusts are so devastating to
an agrarian culture like Ancient Israel.

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To farmers, to people that needed
their land, the people that

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needed to rely on their land.

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This is not the first
time we hear about locust.

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Back in Exodus chapter 10, the locusts
were one of the 10 plagues that that

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God sent against Pharaoh in Egypt.

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In Deuteronomy chapter 28, God
promised to send locusts in

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judgment for the sin of the people.

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That's what we're reading about
here in the book of Jewel.

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In Judges chapter six, they are used
metaphorically to describe the armies

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of the mediaite in the Amalekites.

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And in Revelation chapter nine, verses
three through 10, again, they're

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used there to describe the demons
that are gonna be released from the

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bottomless pit by the angel with
the key at the fifth trumpet blast.

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So aside from the occasional use
of there being food like John the

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Baptist who ate the locust in the
wilderness, uh, locust in the Bible

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never meant good things happening here.

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And so as we come here, we can assume
that when Joel, Joel is talking about

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Locust as the book opens up, that it's
not a good situation and it wasn't.

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In fact, the locusts in verses
five through seven of chapter

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one had demolished the vines and
destroyed the produce of the vine.

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Eschatological speaking wine is
associated with gladness and celebration

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and joy, and so here there's an an
indication that that had been taken

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away even from the people of Israel.

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The produce of the vine, the wine
had been dried up by the attack of

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the locust verses eight through 10.

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It had interrupted the
sacrificial offerings.

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They couldn't bring grain offerings
because they didn't have grain to offer.

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They couldn't bring the first
fruits because they didn't

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have the fruit to begin with.

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And so even their ability to worship the
Lord was hindered by this locust plague.

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And then third, it had
ruin just the harvest.

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And so their food was in danger.

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Uh, in verses 11 through 12 there.

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This was what was
happening in job's or job.

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Joel, why I'm gonna do that
more than just this time?

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If I say job, just go, Joel, in
your mind, just auto replace Joel.

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This was what happening in Joel's day.

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And, and, and so as they're looking at
this, though, they're anticipating that

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something worse is coming back In Exodus
chapter 10, what followed the plague

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of locust was the plague of darkness
and then the death of the firstborn.

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In Deuteronomy 28, after God said, Hey,
I'm gonna send locust against you in

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judgment for breaking the mosaic covenant.

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Then after that came the, the exile
and more death and destruction.

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And so now that they're looking at the
locust here in Joel, chapter one, Joel

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and the rest of the people are concluding
that something else bad is coming.

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And that's where we go in verse 15.

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Look at the text there.

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It says, alas, for the day of the
Lord is near the day of the Lord is a

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day of destruction from the Almighty.

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It comes.

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He says is not food cut off from
before our eyes and joy and gladness

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from before the house of God, the
seed shrivels under the clouds.

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The storehouses are desolate.

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The granaries are torn down,
the grain has dried up.

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The beasts groan.

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00:11:21,584 --> 00:11:24,915
The herds of cattle are perplexed
because there's no pasture for them.

225
00:11:25,274 --> 00:11:28,514
Even the flocks of sheep
suffer, so even the animals

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00:11:28,574 --> 00:11:29,834
are suffering under this going.

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00:11:29,834 --> 00:11:31,754
This plague of locusts has been horrible.

228
00:11:32,580 --> 00:11:35,190
And Joel says to you, oh Lord,
I call for fire, has devoured

229
00:11:35,190 --> 00:11:36,360
the pastures of the wilderness.

230
00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:39,600
Flame has burned all the trees
of the field, even the beast of

231
00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:42,030
the field pant for you because
the water brooks are dried up.

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00:11:42,210 --> 00:11:44,580
Fire has devoured the
pastures of the wilderness.

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00:11:44,580 --> 00:11:49,740
So Joel is looking at a landscape of
complete and obliterate destruction in

234
00:11:49,740 --> 00:11:53,760
front of him, and he's saying, Lord, we
fear that not only is this what we're

235
00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:58,260
facing, but we fear that the day of the
Lord is upon us the day of the Lord.

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00:11:58,890 --> 00:12:00,540
That's gonna be a key
theme in the book of Joel.

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00:12:01,680 --> 00:12:06,719
The day of the Lord is often associated
in the Old Testament with that fear of

238
00:12:06,719 --> 00:12:11,249
eschatological judgment of God, where
God was gonna put an end to everything

239
00:12:11,249 --> 00:12:14,280
once and for all, where God's wrath
was gonna be poured out on his enemies.

240
00:12:15,150 --> 00:12:17,489
It's referenced also in Zephaniah.

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00:12:17,670 --> 00:12:22,199
Zephaniah one 14 through 15 says
this, the great day of the Lord

242
00:12:22,199 --> 00:12:24,660
is near, near and hastening fast.

243
00:12:24,660 --> 00:12:26,579
The sound of the day
of the Lord is bitter.

244
00:12:26,879 --> 00:12:30,089
The mighty man cries aloud
there a day of wrath.

245
00:12:30,150 --> 00:12:33,540
Is that day, a day of distress
and anguish, A day of ruin and

246
00:12:33,540 --> 00:12:38,910
devastation of darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and of darkness.

247
00:12:40,005 --> 00:12:42,795
We talk about a day, the day of
the Lord, but the day of the Lord

248
00:12:42,795 --> 00:12:44,565
is not really just a day at all.

249
00:12:44,565 --> 00:12:47,445
On the back of your page, if you can't see
this, you're gonna see this same chart.

250
00:12:48,165 --> 00:12:51,855
The the day of the Lord is actually
gonna be a period of time during

251
00:12:51,855 --> 00:12:55,605
which the wrath of God is gonna
be poured out upon his enemies.

252
00:12:55,785 --> 00:12:58,755
And we believe that the day of the
Lord is going to be begin with and be

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00:12:58,755 --> 00:13:01,035
inaugurated by the rapture of the church.

254
00:13:01,425 --> 00:13:04,425
That when Christ comes back for his
bride and takes believers to go and

255
00:13:04,425 --> 00:13:07,574
be with him, that kicks off what's
known as the tribulation period.

256
00:13:07,574 --> 00:13:10,425
This is the seven year period
sometimes called the time of Jacob's

257
00:13:10,425 --> 00:13:12,704
trouble, like Isaiah chapter 30.

258
00:13:13,425 --> 00:13:16,155
And during the seven year period,
this is when, if you ever read

259
00:13:16,155 --> 00:13:19,994
the Left Behind series with Kirk
Cameron in, in all that stuff, this

260
00:13:19,994 --> 00:13:21,555
is where all that is gonna go down.

261
00:13:22,170 --> 00:13:24,689
You're gonna have the rise of the
antichrist, you're gonna have the

262
00:13:24,689 --> 00:13:27,540
rise of the false prophet, you're
gonna have the treaty with Israel.

263
00:13:27,720 --> 00:13:29,700
You're gonna have then the,
the breaking of the treaty,

264
00:13:29,700 --> 00:13:31,080
the abomination of desolation.

265
00:13:31,350 --> 00:13:34,260
You're gonna have a time of great
turmoil and stress, all that.

266
00:13:34,260 --> 00:13:37,650
At the same time, God is pouring out
the judgments that we read about in the

267
00:13:37,650 --> 00:13:39,480
early stages of Revelation on the earth.

268
00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:40,260
During that time.

269
00:13:40,590 --> 00:13:45,120
The tribulation, a time period of God's
great wrath being poured out on the earth.

270
00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:47,189
That's gonna last for seven years.

271
00:13:47,189 --> 00:13:48,840
At the end of seven
years, God is gonna come.

272
00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:50,040
The second coming of Christ.

273
00:13:50,430 --> 00:13:53,400
At the second coming of Christ, the
antichrist is gonna be dispatched.

274
00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:55,020
The false prophet is gonna be dispatched.

275
00:13:55,290 --> 00:13:57,780
Satan is gonna be bound
for a thousand years.

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00:13:57,780 --> 00:13:59,459
That's known as the millennial
kingdom, and that's what

277
00:13:59,459 --> 00:14:00,540
you see next on your chart.

278
00:14:01,140 --> 00:14:03,390
During the millennial kingdom,
Christ will reign on earth.

279
00:14:03,390 --> 00:14:04,650
Satan will be prohibited.

280
00:14:04,650 --> 00:14:05,430
He will be limited.

281
00:14:05,430 --> 00:14:06,359
He will be bound.

282
00:14:06,689 --> 00:14:09,300
During this time, there's still
gonna be sin in the effects of sin.

283
00:14:09,300 --> 00:14:11,339
People are still gonna die
during the millennial kingdom.

284
00:14:11,579 --> 00:14:14,609
And so this is why this is still part
of the day of the Lord, although it's

285
00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:18,359
the, the, the intensity is gonna be
abated for a, a, a period of time.

286
00:14:19,380 --> 00:14:22,170
At the end of the thousand years though,
we come to the great white throne.

287
00:14:22,890 --> 00:14:25,650
The great white throne is the
culmination of the day of the Lord.

288
00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:29,010
The great white throne is the moment where
all of the unbelievers are brought before

289
00:14:29,010 --> 00:14:33,420
the judgment seat to have the books opened
in front of them and, and they will be

290
00:14:33,420 --> 00:14:37,290
judged based on what they have done, and
then cast into the lake of fire, which

291
00:14:37,290 --> 00:14:39,960
will be their place of eternal torment.

292
00:14:41,250 --> 00:14:43,949
This is what's referred
to as the Day of the Lord.

293
00:14:45,210 --> 00:14:48,780
Do you see why Joel was, was
frightened by the day of the Lord?

294
00:14:49,950 --> 00:14:52,260
He didn't have as much of a
detailed concept because he

295
00:14:52,260 --> 00:14:53,040
didn't have the New Testament.

296
00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:55,290
He didn't have the development of the
understanding of the rapture and things

297
00:14:55,290 --> 00:14:56,430
like this and the millennial kingdom.

298
00:14:56,790 --> 00:14:59,370
But still, Joel knew enough that the
day of the Lord was going to be the

299
00:14:59,370 --> 00:15:04,470
fullness of God's wrath being poured out
upon his enemies, and Joel was terrified

300
00:15:04,470 --> 00:15:08,760
that Israel was going to be part of the
enemies of God given their current states.

301
00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:13,110
The day of the Lord would include
the invasion of another army.

302
00:15:13,530 --> 00:15:14,459
And that's chapter two.

303
00:15:14,459 --> 00:15:19,920
The first 11 verses here, the day of the
Lord was going to bring another invasion.

304
00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:21,390
And we read about that in verse one.

305
00:15:21,390 --> 00:15:24,300
Blow a trumpet in Zion and sound
an alarm on my holy mountain.

306
00:15:24,569 --> 00:15:28,439
Let all the inhabitants of the land
tremble for the day of the Lord is coming.

307
00:15:28,650 --> 00:15:32,640
It's near a day of darkness in gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness.

308
00:15:32,879 --> 00:15:35,849
And then he goes on and he says, like
blackness, they're spread upon the

309
00:15:35,849 --> 00:15:37,650
mountains of great and powerful people.

310
00:15:38,069 --> 00:15:41,819
Their life has never been seen before,
nor will ever be again after them

311
00:15:41,819 --> 00:15:45,510
throughout the all the years of the
generations fire devours before them.

312
00:15:45,510 --> 00:15:47,010
And behind them, a flame burns.

313
00:15:47,010 --> 00:15:50,459
The land is like the Garden of
Eden before them, but behind them,

314
00:15:50,459 --> 00:15:54,030
after they come through a desolate
wilderness and nothing escapes them.

315
00:15:54,494 --> 00:15:57,584
Their appearance is like the appearance
of horses and like war horses,

316
00:15:57,584 --> 00:16:00,765
they run, and with the rumbling of
chairs, they leap on the tops of the

317
00:16:00,765 --> 00:16:04,574
mountains and like crackling a flame,
a fire devouring the stubble, like

318
00:16:04,574 --> 00:16:07,604
a powerful army drawn up for battle.

319
00:16:07,994 --> 00:16:09,135
Jump down to verse 11.

320
00:16:09,405 --> 00:16:11,055
The Lord utters his voice before.

321
00:16:11,055 --> 00:16:13,844
Notice these next two words, his army.

322
00:16:15,645 --> 00:16:19,635
This second invasion that we read about
here, the first invasion being the locust

323
00:16:19,635 --> 00:16:23,325
in chapter one, the second invasion being
this eschatological force in chapter two.

324
00:16:23,535 --> 00:16:28,545
Uh, this, I believe, is the eschatological
army of God coming in judgment

325
00:16:28,545 --> 00:16:31,755
against those that are opposed to him.

326
00:16:32,865 --> 00:16:34,995
And so as you read through the
book of Revelation, and I think

327
00:16:34,995 --> 00:16:37,995
that's why in Revelation chapter
nine, verses three through 10, uh,

328
00:16:38,025 --> 00:16:41,085
the part of the, the destructive
forces that God unleashes during the

329
00:16:41,085 --> 00:16:43,485
tribulation are compared to locusts.

330
00:16:43,485 --> 00:16:43,545
I.

331
00:16:44,070 --> 00:16:48,870
It's a callback to the book of Joel that,
that that illusion saying, this is the day

332
00:16:48,870 --> 00:16:50,160
of the Lord that Joel is talking about.

333
00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:54,839
And now Joel at this time thought it
might be coming upon his generation.

334
00:16:55,319 --> 00:16:56,490
And so he's frightened.

335
00:16:56,490 --> 00:16:59,069
So he's calling for fasting,
he's calling for repentance.

336
00:16:59,069 --> 00:17:02,355
He's calling for the people to
turn from their sin and, and,

337
00:17:02,355 --> 00:17:06,420
and see that's our theme for this
book is the theme of repentance.

338
00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:10,170
And that's not only the theme of the
book, but in so many ways should be much

339
00:17:10,170 --> 00:17:11,819
of the theme of our lives as believers.

340
00:17:13,065 --> 00:17:17,055
Uh, the moment that we are saved is a
moment of repentance whereby we turn

341
00:17:17,055 --> 00:17:21,555
from our sin and turn towards Jesus
and positionally we are re repenting.

342
00:17:21,555 --> 00:17:23,115
And that's a, a once in time moment.

343
00:17:23,115 --> 00:17:24,704
That's a once in time repentance.

344
00:17:25,605 --> 00:17:29,775
But then as the, the, the, the reformer
said, the, the whole life of the

345
00:17:29,775 --> 00:17:31,695
Christian is about repenting daily.

346
00:17:32,355 --> 00:17:32,595
Why?

347
00:17:32,595 --> 00:17:34,725
Because like I said
earlier, we all still sin.

348
00:17:35,730 --> 00:17:38,670
And so there's a need for us to,
to look at our sin and, and to turn

349
00:17:38,670 --> 00:17:39,870
from our sin, to repent from our sin.

350
00:17:40,379 --> 00:17:40,889
Why?

351
00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:43,920
Because what I want us to see in this
first chapter and a half of job is this.

352
00:17:44,100 --> 00:17:46,470
Sin brings God's wrath.

353
00:17:47,370 --> 00:17:48,510
It brings God's wrath.

354
00:17:48,690 --> 00:17:50,040
It brings God's judgment.

355
00:17:50,610 --> 00:17:54,270
And as as Christians, I know we sit
here this morning when we say Yes, but

356
00:17:54,270 --> 00:17:56,310
that was poured out on Jesus for me.

357
00:17:56,700 --> 00:17:57,870
And I would say yes in amen.

358
00:17:57,870 --> 00:18:01,770
But all the more reason for you to
repent from your sin on a daily basis.

359
00:18:02,925 --> 00:18:07,365
Because it's my sin and your sin
that put Christ on the cross just

360
00:18:07,365 --> 00:18:10,125
because that happened 2000 years
ago, doesn't lessen the impact of

361
00:18:10,125 --> 00:18:13,605
the, of the fact that the sin that we
commit is the sin that put him there.

362
00:18:14,925 --> 00:18:17,505
And that should not only cause us
to want to turn from our sin, but it

363
00:18:17,505 --> 00:18:20,535
should cause us to want to turn from
our sin as our first point this morning

364
00:18:20,535 --> 00:18:22,215
is gonna say, because we hate it.

365
00:18:22,905 --> 00:18:24,915
Turn from your sin by
cultivating a hatred for it.

366
00:18:26,535 --> 00:18:28,725
Turn from your, from your sin
by cultivating a hatred for it.

367
00:18:29,355 --> 00:18:33,945
Uh, my guess is when Joel and his
contemporaries experienced the plague of

368
00:18:33,945 --> 00:18:36,945
the locust and realized this was God's
judgment against them, that all of a

369
00:18:36,945 --> 00:18:40,965
sudden the Baals and the Asra and the
false Gods Molech and all these other

370
00:18:40,965 --> 00:18:45,405
false gods that they once went after
and, and looked at, at, they became

371
00:18:45,405 --> 00:18:49,155
distasteful and hideous in their eyes
because they experienced the result

372
00:18:49,155 --> 00:18:52,785
they experienced what the worship
of these false gods brought, which

373
00:18:52,785 --> 00:18:56,115
was the judgment of God and our sin.

374
00:18:56,355 --> 00:18:58,425
Church should cause us to have the same.

375
00:18:59,399 --> 00:19:00,269
The same response.

376
00:19:01,290 --> 00:19:02,340
We should hate our sin.

377
00:19:03,780 --> 00:19:06,840
But what's so hard is that we, we
love so much about our sin when we're

378
00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:08,159
really honest with ourselves, right?

379
00:19:08,999 --> 00:19:11,729
It's like me and Tillamook
chocolate peanut butter ice cream.

380
00:19:13,199 --> 00:19:15,300
There's no better chocolate
peanut butter ice cream out there.

381
00:19:15,300 --> 00:19:16,019
I will fight you.

382
00:19:16,019 --> 00:19:16,409
I won't.

383
00:19:16,409 --> 00:19:17,610
'cause I'm not supposed to be istic.

384
00:19:17,639 --> 00:19:19,050
That's a qualification for an elder.

385
00:19:19,469 --> 00:19:20,610
So I won't really fight you.

386
00:19:21,330 --> 00:19:22,769
Maybe I'll have somebody
else fight you over that.

387
00:19:23,715 --> 00:19:24,375
It's better.

388
00:19:24,435 --> 00:19:24,885
It's better.

389
00:19:24,885 --> 00:19:27,585
I don't care because, and don't
come at me with like, but have you

390
00:19:27,585 --> 00:19:28,395
tried the ones with the peanut?

391
00:19:28,515 --> 00:19:30,225
Don't put things in my ice cream.

392
00:19:30,705 --> 00:19:32,895
I don't, I don't need
to crunch my ice cream.

393
00:19:32,895 --> 00:19:34,755
I, I It's meant to be creamy.

394
00:19:34,755 --> 00:19:35,025
Right?

395
00:19:35,025 --> 00:19:37,185
And the peanut butter swirl
through the chocolate peanut

396
00:19:37,185 --> 00:19:38,865
butter ice cream is amazing.

397
00:19:39,135 --> 00:19:40,035
I love that.

398
00:19:40,035 --> 00:19:40,485
Ice cream.

399
00:19:40,485 --> 00:19:43,485
I don't love what it does to me
now that my metabolism hits at 40.

400
00:19:44,865 --> 00:19:45,255
Right?

401
00:19:45,555 --> 00:19:49,125
And, and so I'm, my affections
for that ice cream are waning.

402
00:19:49,905 --> 00:19:53,955
Because I, I, I don't want the
results of what it does when I sit

403
00:19:53,955 --> 00:19:56,804
down with the, the spoon in the tub
on the couch, and it's just mine.

404
00:19:59,355 --> 00:19:59,925
I don't like it.

405
00:20:00,885 --> 00:20:02,595
Or maybe you've had a, a TV show.

406
00:20:02,655 --> 00:20:05,504
You've had a, some, something
that you've watched for years, but

407
00:20:05,504 --> 00:20:08,355
recently you've realized that man,
that TV show has, has taken a turn.

408
00:20:08,715 --> 00:20:12,345
That is beginning to, to celebrate things
that you know, are not honoring to Christ.

409
00:20:12,345 --> 00:20:15,015
And, and they've introduced themes,
and they've introduced concepts and

410
00:20:15,015 --> 00:20:17,205
even some of the language of the, the
show has changed, and now all of a

411
00:20:17,205 --> 00:20:20,205
sudden you realize that that show is
negatively impacting your thought life

412
00:20:20,205 --> 00:20:22,935
and it's negatively impacting the words
that are coming out of your mouth.

413
00:20:22,935 --> 00:20:25,275
And, and you're looking out at your
sin and tracing it back to that, and

414
00:20:25,275 --> 00:20:28,004
you're going, okay, even though I really
enjoy this, man, I, I hate sinning.

415
00:20:30,615 --> 00:20:35,085
See church, one way we can grow in
our hatred for sin is by pulling the

416
00:20:35,085 --> 00:20:36,525
curtain back on temptation and sin.

417
00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:40,185
By, by, by pulling the curtain
back to see what it really

418
00:20:40,185 --> 00:20:41,655
is in its destructive nature.

419
00:20:41,895 --> 00:20:44,625
Have y'all ever been, been hiking and
you've gone up to the mountains and,

420
00:20:44,625 --> 00:20:47,565
and you've been there and you're like,
okay, we're gonna go on this trail.

421
00:20:47,565 --> 00:20:50,985
And you come up to the trail and maybe
the trail is, is there and the outside

422
00:20:50,985 --> 00:20:55,395
of the trail, it's nice and wide and
it's flat, and maybe there's flowers and,

423
00:20:55,395 --> 00:20:57,465
and, and by the trail there's a sign.

424
00:20:57,465 --> 00:21:00,885
But imagine if that that sign is,
is broken and it's on the ground.

425
00:21:01,155 --> 00:21:04,004
And, and you don't really look at
the sign too closely as you set

426
00:21:04,004 --> 00:21:07,785
out on that trail, but what that
sign says is, Hey, be careful.

427
00:21:07,845 --> 00:21:10,004
This is one of the hardest
hikes that's here in the park.

428
00:21:10,665 --> 00:21:14,655
And, and if you read it and knew that
ahead of time, you would never walk

429
00:21:14,655 --> 00:21:16,335
on that flat trail to begin with.

430
00:21:16,785 --> 00:21:20,235
But when you come to that flat trail,
it just looks so good and inviting.

431
00:21:20,580 --> 00:21:22,980
And there's the flowers there, and
you're like, I can get some good

432
00:21:22,980 --> 00:21:25,950
pictures to put up on Instagram
later, and this is gonna be awesome.

433
00:21:25,955 --> 00:21:27,750
And, and it's gonna be
such a, a nice hike.

434
00:21:27,750 --> 00:21:30,840
And then you start on the hike
and then you realize, man, this

435
00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:32,520
is not what I, I signed up for.

436
00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:36,480
Because that trail leads you to
a precipitous climb and, and,

437
00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:38,100
and drop and then climb again.

438
00:21:38,100 --> 00:21:39,480
And, and it's just difficult.

439
00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:41,730
And you're fearing for your life
all of a sudden when you started

440
00:21:41,730 --> 00:21:43,080
out in a field of flowers.

441
00:21:44,100 --> 00:21:45,300
That's sin and temptation.

442
00:21:46,919 --> 00:21:49,590
When temptation first confronts us.

443
00:21:50,729 --> 00:21:53,100
It's the path with the flowers,
with the broken down sign.

444
00:21:54,120 --> 00:21:58,290
And unless we do the work church to, to
stop and read the sign and remember the

445
00:21:58,290 --> 00:22:02,760
dangers that are at the end of the path,
then we're gonna find ourselves regretting

446
00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:03,959
that we ever went down that path.

447
00:22:04,590 --> 00:22:06,870
One way for you to cultivate
a hatred for sin is by pulling

448
00:22:06,870 --> 00:22:08,040
the curtain back on temptation.

449
00:22:08,879 --> 00:22:10,469
Remember where the path leads.

450
00:22:10,469 --> 00:22:14,879
When you are tempted by the outset of the
path, remember that that path takes you

451
00:22:14,879 --> 00:22:16,770
somewhere that you never wanted to go.

452
00:22:17,625 --> 00:22:19,875
And that will help you fight
against the initial temptation.

453
00:22:20,055 --> 00:22:21,675
This is what Solomon
told his son, didn't he?

454
00:22:22,035 --> 00:22:22,845
Hey son.

455
00:22:23,025 --> 00:22:26,415
The, the lips of the forbidden
women woman, they drip honey, but

456
00:22:26,415 --> 00:22:29,145
they conceal poison her house.

457
00:22:29,205 --> 00:22:32,325
Man, the, the doorway looks inviting,
but it goes down to the grave.

458
00:22:32,770 --> 00:22:36,045
And so one way for us to
cultivate a hatred for sin is

459
00:22:36,225 --> 00:22:37,545
thinking about where sin leads.

460
00:22:37,695 --> 00:22:40,485
A second way we can cultivate a
hatred for sin is gonna involve

461
00:22:40,755 --> 00:22:42,615
anticipation and reflection.

462
00:22:44,085 --> 00:22:45,135
Anticipation and reflection.

463
00:22:45,135 --> 00:22:46,185
Let's start with reflection.

464
00:22:46,365 --> 00:22:49,395
One way for you to cultivate a hatred
for sin is at the end of every day to

465
00:22:49,395 --> 00:22:53,205
reflect on your day and to have a clean
slate with God before you go to bed.

466
00:22:54,405 --> 00:22:56,115
Say, Lord, I, I, I wanna lay out for you.

467
00:22:56,115 --> 00:22:57,795
I wanna, I, I wanna bear my soul.

468
00:22:57,795 --> 00:23:01,785
I wanna confess every sin that I'm
aware of, that I committed today, and

469
00:23:01,785 --> 00:23:03,585
ask for your forgiveness for that sin.

470
00:23:06,345 --> 00:23:07,665
The, the beauty of being.

471
00:23:08,159 --> 00:23:11,370
Free in Christ and having Christ as our
great high priest who intercedes for us.

472
00:23:11,610 --> 00:23:13,979
You don't have to go
to a priest to do that.

473
00:23:15,090 --> 00:23:16,020
In fact, you shouldn't.

474
00:23:17,159 --> 00:23:18,629
'cause you have a great high priest.

475
00:23:19,709 --> 00:23:23,939
You can go before the father at any point
in your day, at any time during your day.

476
00:23:23,939 --> 00:23:25,169
You don't have to wait
till the end of the day.

477
00:23:25,169 --> 00:23:27,300
I'm just saying at the end of
the day, it's a good time for

478
00:23:27,300 --> 00:23:28,560
you to stop down and, and grow.

479
00:23:29,220 --> 00:23:31,920
A little bit introspective and
say, God, I, I want to confess, I

480
00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:33,180
want to bear my soul before you.

481
00:23:33,180 --> 00:23:35,460
If we're gonna do that, we
have to pray with David.

482
00:23:35,460 --> 00:23:36,060
Lord, search me.

483
00:23:36,060 --> 00:23:38,160
Try me know me, see if there's
any grievous way in me.

484
00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:42,990
'cause I wanna get rid of it is a way
to keep short accounts with God, in

485
00:23:42,990 --> 00:23:45,750
other words, and you're gonna hate
your sin 'cause you're not gonna want

486
00:23:45,750 --> 00:23:46,980
long accounts at the end of the day.

487
00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:50,070
And so bear your soul with the
Lord at the end of each day.

488
00:23:50,070 --> 00:23:52,110
This is how the Apostle Paul,
by the way, could say that he is

489
00:23:52,290 --> 00:23:53,850
blameless in accordance with the law.

490
00:23:53,850 --> 00:23:54,840
Have you ever wondered about that?

491
00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:58,290
Paul wasn't saying that he was blameless
in the sense that he never sinned.

492
00:23:58,770 --> 00:24:00,959
But he was blameless in the sense
that he kept short accounts.

493
00:24:01,860 --> 00:24:04,830
Anytime that he sinned, he made sure
that he dealt with it before the Lord.

494
00:24:05,669 --> 00:24:09,060
This is the qualification of, of an
elder, which if you're in our, our men's

495
00:24:09,060 --> 00:24:11,219
Bible study, which I would encourage
you to do, is a qualification for

496
00:24:11,219 --> 00:24:14,399
any Godly man, and that is that we
would be men who are above reproach.

497
00:24:14,399 --> 00:24:15,629
This is being above reproach.

498
00:24:15,629 --> 00:24:18,990
It's not that you're sinless, but
you're keeping short accounts with God.

499
00:24:19,710 --> 00:24:21,210
It's one way we can
work on hating sin more.

500
00:24:21,210 --> 00:24:24,840
A second way to develop a
greater hatred for sin though is

501
00:24:24,900 --> 00:24:27,090
through this, this anticipation.

502
00:24:27,570 --> 00:24:30,570
And so if, if reflecting is
the lag measure, you guys know

503
00:24:30,570 --> 00:24:31,920
lag measures and lead measures.

504
00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:35,010
If your goal is, I wanna sin
less, I wanna be more godly.

505
00:24:35,130 --> 00:24:37,110
Reflecting at the end of the
day, that's a lag measure.

506
00:24:37,590 --> 00:24:39,060
You, you've already lived the day.

507
00:24:39,150 --> 00:24:42,420
So the lead measure is anticipating
planning at the beginning of your

508
00:24:42,420 --> 00:24:46,080
day saying, man, how can I avoid the
sin that I normally fall into today?

509
00:24:46,770 --> 00:24:48,270
Maybe it's your commute, right?

510
00:24:48,899 --> 00:24:51,179
May, maybe you drive home and,
and, and you're just tempted

511
00:24:51,179 --> 00:24:52,169
to get angry on the road.

512
00:24:52,169 --> 00:24:54,780
Or maybe it's your free time and
what you do with your free time.

513
00:24:55,290 --> 00:25:00,479
Listen, if, if you made it a goal to
say, I'm going to lose 20 pounds, then

514
00:25:00,479 --> 00:25:03,780
you're not just going to go to bed that
night and wake up in the morning and grab

515
00:25:03,780 --> 00:25:05,939
the tub of Tillamook chocolate peanut
butter ice cream and sit down on the

516
00:25:05,939 --> 00:25:07,679
couch and expect the pounds to melt off.

517
00:25:07,679 --> 00:25:08,009
Are you?

518
00:25:08,909 --> 00:25:10,139
No, that doesn't work.

519
00:25:10,139 --> 00:25:12,239
Believe me, I, I can
attest to you this morning.

520
00:25:12,239 --> 00:25:12,899
It doesn't work.

521
00:25:13,199 --> 00:25:14,790
You're gonna do what you're gonna plan.

522
00:25:15,195 --> 00:25:17,775
You're gonna say, okay, I gotta
change things, I gotta change my diet.

523
00:25:17,830 --> 00:25:19,155
I, I gotta get in the gym.

524
00:25:19,155 --> 00:25:22,245
I gotta exercise to see
that goal accomplished.

525
00:25:22,425 --> 00:25:25,755
Or maybe you're gonna even think, you
know, we're catering a lunch at work and,

526
00:25:25,755 --> 00:25:28,995
and in preparation for that, I know it's
gonna be high carb, how high cow food.

527
00:25:28,995 --> 00:25:32,265
So I'm gonna, I'm gonna pack a lunch
with me for work so that I don't put

528
00:25:32,265 --> 00:25:35,775
myself in the way of, of sin or put
myself in the way of, of bad food.

529
00:25:37,665 --> 00:25:39,555
Y y'all, if, let's go
back to your commute.

530
00:25:39,555 --> 00:25:42,315
If your commute causes you to
stumble on the way home, maybe what

531
00:25:42,315 --> 00:25:43,935
that means is you need to turn off.

532
00:25:44,205 --> 00:25:46,905
Your form of packing your lunch,
so to speak, is, is to turn off

533
00:25:47,205 --> 00:25:49,485
the political talk show host
that's just angry at everybody.

534
00:25:49,995 --> 00:25:53,235
Or to turn off the sports talk
guy who's angry at everybody or

535
00:25:53,235 --> 00:25:55,304
to turn off the crime podcast.

536
00:25:55,304 --> 00:25:58,995
That's just making you depressed about
how dark humanity is, and to turn

537
00:25:58,995 --> 00:26:04,215
on some praise music to turn on, an
audio Bible, to turn on some preaching

538
00:26:04,274 --> 00:26:08,235
in the car on your commute, or maybe
your pitfall is your free time.

539
00:26:09,030 --> 00:26:13,409
Maybe your packing your lunch is taking
Dave Ramsey's $0 budget approach.

540
00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:14,669
Do that with your time.

541
00:26:15,149 --> 00:26:18,689
Make every minute accountable,
figure out something to do with every

542
00:26:18,689 --> 00:26:21,929
single minute of your day so that
you're not left to your devices.

543
00:26:24,300 --> 00:26:25,979
That's a, a lead measure anticipating.

544
00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:29,189
Another lead measure though, as I
talked about at the beginning of

545
00:26:29,189 --> 00:26:33,090
this point, is to consider the cross
every single morning to remember what

546
00:26:33,090 --> 00:26:37,979
our sin cost every single morning
that it put Jesus on the cross that.

547
00:26:39,254 --> 00:26:41,745
More than anything should stir
our hatred for sin, which is part

548
00:26:41,745 --> 00:26:42,945
of our process of repentance.

549
00:26:44,295 --> 00:26:47,175
Well, the fact was for Joel's
o Audience, audience, that's

550
00:26:47,175 --> 00:26:49,635
the word for Joel's audience.

551
00:26:49,905 --> 00:26:51,254
Uh, the day the Lord had not yet come.

552
00:26:51,705 --> 00:26:52,995
And so there was still time to repent.

553
00:26:53,490 --> 00:26:55,770
That's where we go in
the rest of chapter two.

554
00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:59,070
Look at verse 12, yet even
now, declares the Lord.

555
00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:03,630
Return to me with all your heart, with
fasting and weeping in mourning and

556
00:27:03,630 --> 00:27:05,970
render your hearts and not your garments.

557
00:27:06,150 --> 00:27:11,250
Return to the Lord your God, for
he is gracious and merciful and

558
00:27:11,250 --> 00:27:16,590
slow to anger, abounding steadfast
love and he relents over disaster.

559
00:27:19,514 --> 00:27:24,284
Note the speaker in Joel two 12, yet
even now, declares the Lord is Yahweh.

560
00:27:25,485 --> 00:27:28,395
He's the one that wants the
repentance, but notice what kind

561
00:27:28,395 --> 00:27:29,475
of repentance that he wants here.

562
00:27:31,004 --> 00:27:34,784
Return to me with all your
heart, declares the Lord.

563
00:27:35,774 --> 00:27:38,129
Render your heart, not your garments.

564
00:27:39,429 --> 00:27:42,524
Time and time again in the Old Testament,
God looked at Israel and said, will you

565
00:27:42,524 --> 00:27:45,014
stop just going through the motions?

566
00:27:46,875 --> 00:27:50,145
So many times God would even say,
you know, I hate your feasts.

567
00:27:50,535 --> 00:27:53,115
I hate your sacrifices.

568
00:27:56,625 --> 00:27:59,115
Or in the New Testament, this
people honors me with their lips,

569
00:27:59,115 --> 00:28:01,065
but their heart is far from me.

570
00:28:02,595 --> 00:28:05,805
See, when God wants repentance
from us, just like he wanted with

571
00:28:05,805 --> 00:28:09,825
Israel, God wants a repentance
that's born not out of religiosity.

572
00:28:10,919 --> 00:28:14,070
He doesn't want you to just clean up
and look good and show up and and, and

573
00:28:14,070 --> 00:28:16,379
go through the motions once a week.

574
00:28:16,979 --> 00:28:18,389
He wants your heart.

575
00:28:18,659 --> 00:28:20,189
He wants a relationship with you.

576
00:28:21,300 --> 00:28:23,370
That's why Jesus died
on the cross for you.

577
00:28:24,899 --> 00:28:27,929
He doesn't want you to
appease him with lip service.

578
00:28:29,355 --> 00:28:31,905
He wants you devoted
to him from your heart.

579
00:28:31,905 --> 00:28:35,325
And so that's what he's calling for
from Israel and and Job, or Joel

580
00:28:35,325 --> 00:28:37,995
says the same things he says, render
your heart's, not your garments.

581
00:28:38,175 --> 00:28:40,305
God relents over disaster.

582
00:28:40,305 --> 00:28:42,765
In other words, there's time for us still.

583
00:28:44,025 --> 00:28:47,280
He goes on and he's gonna call in
chapter two for this national repentance,

584
00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:48,525
and he's calling for everybody.

585
00:28:49,035 --> 00:28:52,875
He says, even let the nursing
infants be brought, the newlyweds.

586
00:28:52,905 --> 00:28:54,465
Get the groom, get the bride.

587
00:28:54,465 --> 00:28:55,515
Bring them out here.

588
00:28:55,515 --> 00:28:56,565
Get them out of their honeymoon.

589
00:28:56,565 --> 00:28:58,335
We're all gonna repent before the Lord.

590
00:28:59,830 --> 00:29:00,885
It is a call on everybody.

591
00:29:00,885 --> 00:29:05,175
It's still a call on everybody,
and the Lord's response is one

592
00:29:05,175 --> 00:29:07,485
that is favorable to his people.

593
00:29:07,485 --> 00:29:09,585
It says in verse 18, then the
Lord became jealous for his

594
00:29:09,585 --> 00:29:10,875
land and had pity on his people.

595
00:29:11,865 --> 00:29:14,565
The Lord answered and said to his
people, behold, I'm sending you grain

596
00:29:14,565 --> 00:29:18,135
and wine and oil and you will be
satisfied, and I will no more make

597
00:29:18,135 --> 00:29:19,965
you a reproach among the nations.

598
00:29:20,265 --> 00:29:23,925
I will remove the northern northerner
far from you and drive him into

599
00:29:23,925 --> 00:29:26,895
parched and desolate land and his
vanguard into the eastern sea and

600
00:29:26,895 --> 00:29:28,485
his rear garden into the western sea.

601
00:29:28,755 --> 00:29:31,845
The stench and foul and
smell of him will rise for.

602
00:29:31,845 --> 00:29:34,245
He has done great things.

603
00:29:34,515 --> 00:29:36,705
Uh, Joel here is, is transitioning.

604
00:29:36,705 --> 00:29:37,125
God is.

605
00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:41,880
Into a, a mashup of what was gonna
happen in the short term for Joel

606
00:29:41,940 --> 00:29:45,210
and his contemporaries and the,
the future deliverance that God was

607
00:29:45,210 --> 00:29:46,350
gonna work for his people, Israel.

608
00:29:46,950 --> 00:29:48,690
And so in the short term, he's
talking about, I'm gonna get

609
00:29:48,690 --> 00:29:50,550
the, the, the locust outta here.

610
00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:53,940
Earlier in the book, he had talked about
the lo locust coming from the north.

611
00:29:53,940 --> 00:29:56,460
And so that's why he says, I'm gonna
drive the northerner far from you.

612
00:29:56,460 --> 00:29:59,640
So he's telling Joel your repentance.

613
00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:00,630
I've heard it, I've seen it.

614
00:30:00,630 --> 00:30:01,170
It's genuine.

615
00:30:01,170 --> 00:30:02,100
You've repented from your heart.

616
00:30:02,355 --> 00:30:04,695
I'll take him away, but then he's
gonna say, there's also gonna be

617
00:30:04,700 --> 00:30:06,315
a, a future repentance for Israel.

618
00:30:06,315 --> 00:30:09,885
That's going to result in me showing
favor and kindness to them as well.

619
00:30:10,095 --> 00:30:11,775
In fact, look at verses 28 through 32.

620
00:30:11,775 --> 00:30:13,215
These might sound familiar to us.

621
00:30:13,725 --> 00:30:18,525
It says, after it shall come to pass, that
I will pour out my spirit on all flesh.

622
00:30:19,065 --> 00:30:21,435
Your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy and your old

623
00:30:21,435 --> 00:30:23,930
men shall dream dreams and your
young men shall see visions.

624
00:30:24,570 --> 00:30:26,460
Even on the male and female servants.

625
00:30:26,460 --> 00:30:28,680
In those days, I will pour out my spirit.

626
00:30:28,980 --> 00:30:31,710
I will show wonders in the
heavens and on earth, blood

627
00:30:31,710 --> 00:30:33,600
and fire and columns of smoke.

628
00:30:33,870 --> 00:30:37,140
The sun shall be turned to darkness,
the moon to blood before the great

629
00:30:37,140 --> 00:30:39,780
and awesome day of the Lord comes.

630
00:30:40,140 --> 00:30:43,140
And it shall come to pass that everyone
who calls on the name of the Lord shall be

631
00:30:43,140 --> 00:30:45,570
saved for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem.

632
00:30:45,570 --> 00:30:48,150
There shall be those who
escape, as the Lord has said.

633
00:30:48,150 --> 00:30:51,990
And among the survivors shall
be those whom the Lord calls.

634
00:30:52,710 --> 00:30:54,570
This may sound familiar to you
because you're thinking about

635
00:30:54,570 --> 00:30:55,830
Peter in Acts chapter two.

636
00:30:56,490 --> 00:30:59,010
Peter quotes this and applies it
to the day of Pentecost when the

637
00:30:59,220 --> 00:31:02,340
spirit was poured out upon the, the
apostles there in the upper room.

638
00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:07,860
Now, I think that Peter believed that
this was going to be the full fulfillment

639
00:31:07,860 --> 00:31:11,850
of Joel two, and in Acts chapter one,
verse six, you remember the disciples

640
00:31:11,850 --> 00:31:15,240
came to Jesus and said, all right, Jesus,
it's time to set up the kingdom right.

641
00:31:16,035 --> 00:31:17,625
And Jesus said, no, not yet.

642
00:31:17,805 --> 00:31:20,175
It's not for you to know the day or
the hour, but you'll receive power when

643
00:31:20,175 --> 00:31:23,535
the Spirit has come upon you and you're
gonna be my witnesses and Jerusalem

644
00:31:23,535 --> 00:31:25,215
and Judea and to the ends of the earth.

645
00:31:26,205 --> 00:31:28,935
And so they went and did that for a
few days, but Peter's still Peter,

646
00:31:29,535 --> 00:31:31,785
so I think Peter's like, great,
we've been doing this for a few

647
00:31:31,785 --> 00:31:33,345
days now it's time for the kingdom.

648
00:31:34,125 --> 00:31:36,525
And so he's watching the Holy
Spirit being poured out like this.

649
00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:39,689
He's like, man, this reminds
me of, of, of, of Joel two.

650
00:31:39,689 --> 00:31:42,840
So in his sermon, he quotes
Joel two and says, it's, it's

651
00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:44,010
what's happening right now.

652
00:31:44,159 --> 00:31:48,450
And Peter wasn't entirely wrong, he just
wasn't entirely right in saying that

653
00:31:48,450 --> 00:31:50,730
it was fully completed at that point.

654
00:31:51,330 --> 00:31:53,399
This is what we know is already not yet.

655
00:31:53,850 --> 00:31:57,330
And so the, the day of Pentecost,
this was, uh, a, a foretaste of

656
00:31:57,330 --> 00:31:58,679
what God was ultimately gonna do.

657
00:31:58,679 --> 00:31:58,950
In the end.

658
00:31:58,950 --> 00:31:59,939
You say, well, how do we know that?

659
00:32:00,210 --> 00:32:02,220
Because the rest of these signs.

660
00:32:02,715 --> 00:32:06,675
Here in Acts or in Joel chapter
two didn't happen in concurrence

661
00:32:06,675 --> 00:32:10,124
with the day of Pentecost the moon,
turning the blood and the clouds

662
00:32:10,124 --> 00:32:11,354
and the darkness and the judgment.

663
00:32:11,504 --> 00:32:12,975
That didn't happen at Pentecost.

664
00:32:13,094 --> 00:32:16,544
And so Peter's right to look back and
say, this is a partial fulfillment

665
00:32:16,544 --> 00:32:20,955
of Joel two, but there's also another
future fulfillment that is, is

666
00:32:20,985 --> 00:32:23,114
in view here in Joel chapter two.

667
00:32:23,354 --> 00:32:26,550
That is going to happen still for the
people of God and the people of Israel.

668
00:32:29,639 --> 00:32:30,120
Listen, y'all.

669
00:32:30,180 --> 00:32:32,550
God wanted his people
to repent in Joel's day.

670
00:32:32,580 --> 00:32:36,090
He's gonna want them to repent
in the future and some will.

671
00:32:37,110 --> 00:32:39,690
Those that call upon the name of the
Lord, those are the ones in the future

672
00:32:40,290 --> 00:32:41,850
after we are taken to be with the Lord.

673
00:32:41,850 --> 00:32:43,409
Those are the ones that
the Lord is gonna seal.

674
00:32:43,710 --> 00:32:47,760
Those are the ones that, that the Lord is,
is going to, to, to pardon and forgive.

675
00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:49,530
Those are the ones that
Zechariah is gonna talk about.

676
00:32:49,649 --> 00:32:52,379
They're gonna look on him whom they
pierce, and they're gonna mourn for him

677
00:32:53,340 --> 00:32:54,899
that future day of repentance for Israel.

678
00:32:54,899 --> 00:32:55,620
That's yet future.

679
00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:58,440
Here's the thing, y'all, God still
wants us to repent today too.

680
00:32:59,190 --> 00:33:03,630
Same way, not through
religiosity, but from the heart.

681
00:33:04,170 --> 00:33:05,970
Point number two this morning
is this, turn from your sin

682
00:33:05,970 --> 00:33:07,290
by cultivating a love for God.

683
00:33:08,670 --> 00:33:12,660
Turn from your sin by cultivating
a love for God, not just a hatred

684
00:33:12,660 --> 00:33:14,790
for sin, but a love for God.

685
00:33:14,790 --> 00:33:16,170
And I would even go so far as to say this.

686
00:33:16,170 --> 00:33:20,850
If all you have is a hatred for
sin, then you will just find another

687
00:33:20,850 --> 00:33:21,960
sin that you love a little bit.

688
00:33:22,350 --> 00:33:25,710
More, you'll find another sin that
you hate a little bit less, that will

689
00:33:25,710 --> 00:33:29,730
become your pet sin, and it'll be okay
because it's not as bad as this sin is.

690
00:33:30,510 --> 00:33:31,950
And you'll think, yeah, I hate my sin.

691
00:33:31,950 --> 00:33:33,510
I hate this horrible sin over here.

692
00:33:33,780 --> 00:33:37,500
I hate adultery, but I, I'm
okay with this over here.

693
00:33:38,045 --> 00:33:42,180
And so we have to not just hate our
sin, but we've gotta love God more.

694
00:33:43,620 --> 00:33:44,910
We've gotta repent with all of our heart.

695
00:33:44,910 --> 00:33:46,920
We've gotta render our hearts
and not just our garments.

696
00:33:49,605 --> 00:33:52,095
One of the consequences of our sin
that should bother us the most y'all,

697
00:33:52,095 --> 00:33:55,635
is the interruption that it creates
in our relationship with Jesus.

698
00:33:57,285 --> 00:33:59,204
Not a severing, an interruption.

699
00:34:02,175 --> 00:34:03,254
You're safe in Christ.

700
00:34:03,254 --> 00:34:04,454
You're secure in Christ.

701
00:34:04,454 --> 00:34:06,945
You're sealed with the
promised Holy Spirit, but your

702
00:34:06,945 --> 00:34:10,125
relationship, your intimacy can
be interrupted through your sin.

703
00:34:10,425 --> 00:34:11,715
Here's what this might look like for you.

704
00:34:12,645 --> 00:34:15,284
Sin can cool your passions
for Jesus and the Lord.

705
00:34:16,170 --> 00:34:19,020
You've got unconfessed unrepentant sin
in your heart, man, you, you're less

706
00:34:19,020 --> 00:34:21,330
prone to want to be around God's people.

707
00:34:21,330 --> 00:34:22,530
You're less prone to
wanna show up at church.

708
00:34:22,530 --> 00:34:24,000
You're less prone to wanna pray.

709
00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:27,179
You're less prone to wanna open your
Bible because you've got this weight,

710
00:34:27,210 --> 00:34:30,030
this baggage that's a burden to you.

711
00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:35,975
Sin can also discourage your pursuit
of Jesus and I, I, I don't, I

712
00:34:35,975 --> 00:34:39,300
don't really want to grow because
I don't feel like I'm worthy of it.

713
00:34:41,429 --> 00:34:42,870
Sin tempers your boldness.

714
00:34:44,085 --> 00:34:47,594
Convictions that you have about the Bible,
maybe you're less vocal about them because

715
00:34:47,594 --> 00:34:49,695
you know the hypocrisy in your life.

716
00:34:49,844 --> 00:34:53,985
You've got this pocket of unconfessed
unrepentant sin in your life over here,

717
00:34:53,985 --> 00:34:58,875
and so you're less bold about speaking out
for Jesus and in defense of Jesus because

718
00:34:58,875 --> 00:35:02,685
you know that there's this hypocrisy
and you just don't wanna step into that.

719
00:35:04,155 --> 00:35:06,135
Sin also hinders your prayers.

720
00:35:07,545 --> 00:35:09,825
Peter speaks to husbands and
says, husbands live with your

721
00:35:09,825 --> 00:35:11,175
wives in an understanding manner.

722
00:35:11,175 --> 00:35:12,975
He says, if you don't, your
prayers are gonna be hindered.

723
00:35:14,100 --> 00:35:17,400
If you've got unconfessed unrepentant
sin in your life, it's going to hamper

724
00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:18,960
the effectiveness of your prayers.

725
00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:25,770
Sin unconfessed unrepentant also
promotes self-loathing in condemnation.

726
00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:30,990
You are gonna struggle and battle
with that and and you are gonna

727
00:35:30,990 --> 00:35:34,050
disbelieve Romans eight, one,
which says there's no condemnation

728
00:35:34,050 --> 00:35:35,460
anymore for those in Christ Jesus.

729
00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:38,880
When you've got unconfessed unrepentant
sin in your life, that's a hard

730
00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:40,440
truth to hold onto and believe.

731
00:35:41,580 --> 00:35:42,480
Unconfessed un repentance.

732
00:35:42,480 --> 00:35:44,280
Sin also grows insecurity in your life.

733
00:35:45,390 --> 00:35:47,340
You're gonna struggle
to feel close to Jesus.

734
00:35:47,340 --> 00:35:49,740
You're gonna struggle to feel secure
in your relationship with him.

735
00:35:49,740 --> 00:35:51,450
You're gonna have doubts
about your eternity.

736
00:35:51,450 --> 00:35:54,150
You're gonna have questions about
whether or not you're really saved.

737
00:35:55,980 --> 00:35:58,410
Because the weight of the
unconfessed unrepentant sin,

738
00:35:58,980 --> 00:36:00,990
it also quenches the spirit.

739
00:36:02,010 --> 00:36:05,850
You'll be less sensitive to the spirit's
leading in your life, less sensitive

740
00:36:05,850 --> 00:36:07,650
to the spirit's prompting in your life.

741
00:36:09,375 --> 00:36:11,355
And perhaps the most
dangerous is unconfessed.

742
00:36:11,355 --> 00:36:12,675
Unrepentant sin can harden the heart.

743
00:36:16,755 --> 00:36:20,895
These are the reasons why we should feel
the godly grief that Paul talks about

744
00:36:20,895 --> 00:36:25,245
in Second Corinthians chapter seven,
and connects it with true repentance.

745
00:36:27,795 --> 00:36:31,395
And y'all, I want you to see this morning
that all of this can be undone by coming

746
00:36:31,395 --> 00:36:32,955
to Jesus in confession, repentance.

747
00:36:36,075 --> 00:36:37,455
And that's the beauty of the gospel.

748
00:36:39,555 --> 00:36:40,725
That's the beauty of the gospel.

749
00:36:40,905 --> 00:36:44,475
Don't come to me and say, pastor, what
do I have to do to earn forgiveness?

750
00:36:46,755 --> 00:36:47,355
You don't,

751
00:36:49,755 --> 00:36:52,005
I, I, I mentioned going to
the priest in confession.

752
00:36:52,035 --> 00:36:53,385
Lemme just pile on while I'm at it.

753
00:36:54,855 --> 00:36:58,395
The, the concept of penance
is completely antigo.

754
00:37:01,665 --> 00:37:03,045
To say you have to go and pray.

755
00:37:03,045 --> 00:37:06,855
So many Hail Marys, you have to go
and, and do these things, denies

756
00:37:06,855 --> 00:37:10,065
the sufficiency of Jesus Christ
and the fullness of Jesus Christ.

757
00:37:10,065 --> 00:37:11,895
Death on the cross, on your behalf.

758
00:37:15,015 --> 00:37:17,265
Yo, that's why purgatory
doesn't exist either.

759
00:37:18,405 --> 00:37:21,645
Either your sins all paid for by
Jesus, or it's not paid for at all.

760
00:37:23,700 --> 00:37:27,540
And if you come in faith and repentance
and put your trust in Jesus Christ

761
00:37:27,540 --> 00:37:30,660
as your Lord and Savior, that's why
I tell you this morning that all of

762
00:37:30,660 --> 00:37:32,580
this stuff can go away like that.

763
00:37:32,670 --> 00:37:36,330
If you'll just confess your sin,
bring it to the light, and repentance

764
00:37:36,330 --> 00:37:37,590
say, God, I, I wanna be done with it.

765
00:37:37,590 --> 00:37:38,100
I'm sorry.

766
00:37:39,570 --> 00:37:40,980
You say That's so easy.

767
00:37:41,070 --> 00:37:41,970
Exactly.

768
00:37:42,180 --> 00:37:47,550
And yet it's so insanely hard
because our flesh keeps us back

769
00:37:47,550 --> 00:37:49,020
and says, but he doesn't want you.

770
00:37:51,180 --> 00:37:54,240
Your flesh keeps you back and says,
but you've re, you've confessed this

771
00:37:54,240 --> 00:37:58,980
so many times before your flesh keeps
you back and says, yeah, but, but

772
00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:01,050
you're just gonna go back to it again.

773
00:38:02,370 --> 00:38:04,230
Those are lies from the enemy.

774
00:38:06,810 --> 00:38:09,330
Your flesh keeps you back and says,
you gotta clean yourself up before

775
00:38:09,330 --> 00:38:13,710
you come back before Jesus, y'all,
if you didn't have to clean yourself

776
00:38:13,710 --> 00:38:16,230
up before he came after you to begin
with, you don't have to clean yourself

777
00:38:16,230 --> 00:38:17,400
up before you go back before him.

778
00:38:19,680 --> 00:38:21,570
And so repent from your
sin because you love him.

779
00:38:21,570 --> 00:38:22,260
Because of that,

780
00:38:24,360 --> 00:38:26,850
you're not gonna find that
offered anywhere else.

781
00:38:28,830 --> 00:38:30,990
That kind of love, that kind
of grace, that kind of mercy.

782
00:38:32,100 --> 00:38:34,140
It's not gonna be found anywhere else.

783
00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:36,600
And if you're an unbeliever here
and you've never come to him

784
00:38:36,600 --> 00:38:38,730
this morning, look, the offer is
the same for you this morning.

785
00:38:38,940 --> 00:38:40,230
Come to Jesus this morning.

786
00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:42,270
Confess everything, bring it to the light.

787
00:38:42,360 --> 00:38:45,330
Repent from your sin and say, I'm,
I'm, I'm here to surrender my life

788
00:38:45,330 --> 00:38:48,330
to the one that died on the cross
from my sin and rose from the dead

789
00:38:48,450 --> 00:38:49,650
so that I'll live with him forever.

790
00:38:49,770 --> 00:38:51,150
I want Jesus this morning.

791
00:38:54,120 --> 00:38:56,130
Isaiah 55 verses six and seven.

792
00:38:56,640 --> 00:38:58,260
Seek the Lord while he may be found.

793
00:38:59,910 --> 00:39:01,350
Call upon him while he is near.

794
00:39:01,860 --> 00:39:04,590
Let the wicked forsake his way and
the unrighteous man his thoughts.

795
00:39:04,740 --> 00:39:09,120
Let him return to the Lord that he
may have compassion on him and to our

796
00:39:09,120 --> 00:39:12,240
God for he will abundantly pardon.

797
00:39:13,800 --> 00:39:16,680
That is the call on every
single one of us this morning.

798
00:39:17,520 --> 00:39:21,210
Christian, you've got sin in your life
because you've been resisting, you've

799
00:39:21,210 --> 00:39:25,230
been drifting, you've been neglecting
your walk with Christ for a little while.

800
00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:27,600
Isaiah 55, Jesus is saying.

801
00:39:28,185 --> 00:39:30,765
Seek me 'cause I can be found by you.

802
00:39:31,905 --> 00:39:32,745
Come to me, confess.

803
00:39:32,745 --> 00:39:33,825
'cause I will abundantly pardon?

804
00:39:36,795 --> 00:39:39,615
Church repentance is an expression
of our love for God and it's fueled

805
00:39:39,615 --> 00:39:43,935
by our love for God, our desire for
closeness and intimacy with him.

806
00:39:44,865 --> 00:39:46,695
For those who are repent,
God will show himself to be a

807
00:39:46,695 --> 00:39:47,955
God who arelen over disaster.

808
00:39:47,955 --> 00:39:49,185
But for those who refuse to repent.

809
00:39:49,995 --> 00:39:52,425
There's a different future in
view, and that's our final section.

810
00:39:52,425 --> 00:39:56,650
Look down at Joel chapter three, verses
nine through 14, chapter three, verse

811
00:39:56,715 --> 00:39:58,185
nine through 14 is the judgment of God.

812
00:39:58,185 --> 00:39:59,265
And here's the day of the Lord.

813
00:39:59,445 --> 00:40:00,855
Proclaim this among the nations.

814
00:40:00,855 --> 00:40:03,705
Joel says in verse nine,
consecrate yourself for war.

815
00:40:03,825 --> 00:40:05,175
Stir up the mighty men.

816
00:40:05,265 --> 00:40:07,695
Let all the men of war drawn
near, let them come up.

817
00:40:07,875 --> 00:40:11,145
Beat your plow shares into swords,
and your pruning hooks into spears.

818
00:40:11,355 --> 00:40:13,635
Let the weak say, I am a warrior.

819
00:40:13,635 --> 00:40:14,415
Look at verse 12.

820
00:40:14,775 --> 00:40:18,465
Let the nation stir themselves up and
come to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.

821
00:40:18,735 --> 00:40:22,275
For there I will sit to judge
all the surrounding nations.

822
00:40:23,475 --> 00:40:27,225
The seam to, for us is, is one of
judgment and it's the one of the, the

823
00:40:27,225 --> 00:40:28,545
culmination of the day of the Lord.

824
00:40:29,055 --> 00:40:33,105
And, and, and this is the invitation
of the nations, all of the enemies of

825
00:40:33,105 --> 00:40:37,065
God to come against God with everything
they've got in our modern vernacular.

826
00:40:37,065 --> 00:40:41,055
Rather than beating the, the,
the pruning hooks into to spears,

827
00:40:41,295 --> 00:40:42,615
he might say, bring your nukes.

828
00:40:43,230 --> 00:40:46,860
Bring your drones, bring all
you've got against me, and let's

829
00:40:46,860 --> 00:40:49,140
meet in the value of Jehoshaphat
because we've got business to do.

830
00:40:49,860 --> 00:40:52,440
You look in the back of your Bible
at your maps for the value of

831
00:40:52,440 --> 00:40:53,580
Jehoshaphat, you're not gonna find it.

832
00:40:54,360 --> 00:40:56,190
Um, we don't know exactly
where this is gonna be.

833
00:40:56,580 --> 00:40:59,850
Some have said this is when Jesus
returns to the Mount of Olives, Zechariah

834
00:40:59,850 --> 00:41:03,240
talks about that mountain is gonna
be split with the return of Christ.

835
00:41:03,390 --> 00:41:05,370
Some have said that's going
to create this valley.

836
00:41:06,630 --> 00:41:08,280
We're not sure exactly
where it's gonna be.

837
00:41:08,280 --> 00:41:10,800
The point is not that, the point
is what Jehoshaphat means, and

838
00:41:10,800 --> 00:41:12,270
jehoshaphat means the Lord.

839
00:41:12,675 --> 00:41:13,545
Judges.

840
00:41:14,655 --> 00:41:19,665
This final battle, this final conflict
between God and his enemies is, is not

841
00:41:19,665 --> 00:41:21,795
gonna be a, a very exciting battle.

842
00:41:21,855 --> 00:41:25,935
It's, it's one sided, not a single shot
will be fired from the enemies of God.

843
00:41:25,935 --> 00:41:27,705
The book of Revelation
makes that abundantly clear.

844
00:41:27,705 --> 00:41:27,765
I.

845
00:41:28,665 --> 00:41:29,535
This is the end.

846
00:41:29,535 --> 00:41:31,785
This is when there is no
more chance for repentance.

847
00:41:31,785 --> 00:41:35,355
This is the description that
is picked up there in verse 13.

848
00:41:35,355 --> 00:41:36,855
Put in the sickle for the harvest is ripe.

849
00:41:36,855 --> 00:41:38,385
Go in and tread the wine.

850
00:41:38,385 --> 00:41:39,495
Press is full.

851
00:41:39,555 --> 00:41:42,435
The VATS overflow for their evil is great.

852
00:41:43,545 --> 00:41:46,155
In the book of Revelation,
John sees a similar scene.

853
00:41:47,295 --> 00:41:50,505
It says in verse 18 of chapter 14 in
Revelation, and another angel came

854
00:41:50,505 --> 00:41:53,055
out from the altar, and angel has
authority over the fire, and he called

855
00:41:53,055 --> 00:41:56,235
with a loud voice to the one who had
the sharp sickle put in your sickle

856
00:41:56,235 --> 00:41:59,775
and gather the clusters from the vine
of the earth for its grapes are ripe.

857
00:42:00,405 --> 00:42:03,705
So the angel swung his sickle across
the earth and gathered the grape harvest

858
00:42:03,705 --> 00:42:07,545
of the earth and threw it into the
great wine press of the wrath of God.

859
00:42:07,755 --> 00:42:12,045
And the wine press was trodden outside
the city and blood flowed from the

860
00:42:12,045 --> 00:42:15,255
wine press as high as a horse's bridle.

861
00:42:16,035 --> 00:42:20,475
In Revelation 19, Jesus has depicted
the returning Jesus, the second

862
00:42:20,475 --> 00:42:24,195
coming Jesus with the, the name
King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

863
00:42:24,225 --> 00:42:28,725
And it says His robe was dipped in
blood and it's the blood of the nations.

864
00:42:30,675 --> 00:42:31,995
This is the day of the Lord.

865
00:42:34,245 --> 00:42:36,975
You say that's terrifying.

866
00:42:37,785 --> 00:42:38,415
It is.

867
00:42:40,185 --> 00:42:42,465
But if you're in Christ, not for you.

868
00:42:45,015 --> 00:42:46,755
If you're here this morning and
you're not a Christian, this should

869
00:42:46,755 --> 00:42:49,575
terrify you, in fact, out of love.

870
00:42:49,575 --> 00:42:55,815
I pray that it does, because I want you to
do everything that you possibly can do to

871
00:42:55,815 --> 00:42:59,055
be reconciled to God, and what that means
is putting your trust in Jesus Christ as

872
00:42:59,055 --> 00:43:02,475
your Lord and Savior, that he died on the
cross for the forgiveness of your sins.

873
00:43:02,475 --> 00:43:04,545
Then he rose from the dead so that
you can live with him forever.

874
00:43:05,265 --> 00:43:08,985
If you'll have that transaction with
God, then you don't have to fear the

875
00:43:08,985 --> 00:43:11,715
day of the Lord either Christian.

876
00:43:12,570 --> 00:43:15,630
This isn't a day of fear because you're
not gonna be in the Valley of Jehoshaphat,

877
00:43:17,490 --> 00:43:19,020
you're not here, you're somewhere else.

878
00:43:20,365 --> 00:43:24,720
And, and that should make us exceedingly
joyful, exceedingly grateful because

879
00:43:24,840 --> 00:43:28,020
the wrath of God poured out in the
valley of Jehoshaphat, as I was talking

880
00:43:28,020 --> 00:43:32,160
about a minute ago, was poured out
for you and me on Jesus on the cross.

881
00:43:33,390 --> 00:43:35,250
So that means there's none left for us.

882
00:43:35,670 --> 00:43:39,240
Which means eternity is not something
that we dread, but something that we long

883
00:43:39,240 --> 00:43:43,470
for Finally this morning turned from sin
by cultivating a hunger for eternity.

884
00:43:44,910 --> 00:43:46,200
A hunger for eternity.

885
00:43:48,900 --> 00:43:51,660
There's another day coming when we will
appear before a judgment seat church,

886
00:43:51,660 --> 00:43:55,740
but that judgment seat is the point
that we will receive the eternal reward.

887
00:43:56,670 --> 00:43:58,710
God will reward you for your faithfulness.

888
00:43:58,800 --> 00:44:02,250
And, and that's why what we
do today, that's why battling

889
00:44:02,250 --> 00:44:03,810
sin matters to us today.

890
00:44:03,990 --> 00:44:06,210
There's something to
the line from Gladiator.

891
00:44:06,360 --> 00:44:08,820
What you do echoes in eternity.

892
00:44:09,990 --> 00:44:10,860
It does.

893
00:44:11,760 --> 00:44:12,690
It does.

894
00:44:13,590 --> 00:44:16,320
And a big part of that boils down
to how you fight and battle sin.

895
00:44:17,160 --> 00:44:20,580
Be motivated to repent from sin
because the more we put sin off,

896
00:44:20,580 --> 00:44:23,130
the more eternal reward we're gonna
find in the presence of the Lord.

897
00:44:25,095 --> 00:44:28,635
And you say, is it okay to to,
to, to be motivated by rewards?

898
00:44:28,845 --> 00:44:33,765
Paul was first Timothy
four, second Timothy four.

899
00:44:33,855 --> 00:44:34,635
Second Timothy four.

900
00:44:34,635 --> 00:44:35,115
Yes.

901
00:44:35,445 --> 00:44:35,895
Yes.

902
00:44:35,925 --> 00:44:37,665
One of the Timothy's, chapter four.

903
00:44:37,695 --> 00:44:38,385
I know that much.

904
00:44:39,705 --> 00:44:40,905
When he said, I'm being
poured out as a drink.

905
00:44:40,965 --> 00:44:43,065
Second Timothy four, I'm being
poured out as a drink offering.

906
00:44:44,025 --> 00:44:46,905
He said, and I, and now I'm,
I'm, I'm longing for, for death.

907
00:44:46,905 --> 00:44:47,205
Why?

908
00:44:47,355 --> 00:44:50,295
Because I know that the, the
crown of righteousness awaits me.

909
00:44:51,585 --> 00:44:54,405
And the, the, the Lord himself is gonna
award it to me, and not only to me,

910
00:44:54,405 --> 00:44:57,975
but all, all who love his coming are
going to receive the crown from him.

911
00:44:59,325 --> 00:45:03,615
Church, if you love the coming of Jesus,
Jesus is gonna crown you on that day.

912
00:45:05,025 --> 00:45:07,275
I, I want you to close your eyes
and just picture for a minute.

913
00:45:07,335 --> 00:45:11,955
Hearing that moment when Jesus says,
well done, good and faithful servants.

914
00:45:14,055 --> 00:45:15,945
And he steps aside and
says, enter into the joy.

915
00:45:18,030 --> 00:45:21,420
And, and you step into eternity
and the realization of, I'm here.

916
00:45:24,060 --> 00:45:24,600
I'm here.

917
00:45:27,390 --> 00:45:29,010
No more fear of not making it.

918
00:45:30,180 --> 00:45:31,020
No more anxiety.

919
00:45:32,790 --> 00:45:33,750
No more questions.

920
00:45:33,750 --> 00:45:34,440
No more shame.

921
00:45:34,440 --> 00:45:35,250
No more guilt.

922
00:45:39,780 --> 00:45:40,980
No more carrying the weight.

923
00:45:41,455 --> 00:45:43,410
No more sin.

924
00:45:45,915 --> 00:45:47,115
Think about that moment.

925
00:45:49,575 --> 00:45:54,735
That should be further motivation for
us to say to sin, get outta my life.

926
00:46:00,795 --> 00:46:03,975
That moment, hearing well done good
and hateful, faithful servant is

927
00:46:03,975 --> 00:46:07,515
only going to be possible because
what we're about to celebrate now

928
00:46:07,515 --> 00:46:08,805
is we conclude our time together.

929
00:46:10,665 --> 00:46:13,695
It's only possible because again,
that wrath of the day of the Lord.

930
00:46:15,300 --> 00:46:23,430
Was poured out for us on Jesus,
Jesus' death for you and for me.

931
00:46:24,870 --> 00:46:26,040
Satisfied that route.

932
00:46:26,910 --> 00:46:34,290
And it's this lord's table, communion
that commemorates that act and reminds us

933
00:46:34,920 --> 00:46:38,190
that now we look forward to an eternity
where we don't have to fear, but we can

934
00:46:38,190 --> 00:46:39,360
rejoice in the presence of the Lord.

935
00:46:39,360 --> 00:46:41,785
So take these elements,
meditate, think about.

936
00:46:42,510 --> 00:46:45,030
Your relationship with Christ and
then I'll come back up and we'll

937
00:46:45,030 --> 00:46:46,020
take them together in a moment.