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As I said earlier, these
verses that we've read this morning

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are part of what we look at at Christmas.

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Yet they're so often left out
because many carol services end with

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the Magi departing, having
been told not to go back to Herod,

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but but to go home another way.

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And verses 1 to 12 of chapter
2, we're about not three kings, but

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two kings, King Herod and King
Jesus confronting us by asking us,

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which king are we going to serve?

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Are we going to serve King
Herod who represents everything in

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the world, who represents
selfish ambition, who represents

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corrupt power, who represents
self righteousness and self satisfaction?

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Are we going to trust in King
Jesus, the one who came to die for

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us so that we can know
salvation in him and in him alone?

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So that was the question that
we were confronted by last week.

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And as we look at the rest of
this chapter, we see another actor

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on the stage, one that isn't
walking around, but is using the

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situation for his purposes.

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And those purposes are not for
good and they will fail.

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But right at the start of
Jesus life, he faces the opposition

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of the evil one, setting the
path Christ must walk to the cross.

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30 years later.

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Through history there have
been despot leaders who have thought

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that by committing genocide
they will somehow remain or retain

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their power and authority.

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And there have been acts of
genocide through the Holocaust in

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Rwanda, currently in Sudan and
in the 70s, Cambodia.

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And that's just to name but a few.

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See, the idea behind someone
who begins to commit genocide is

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that they want to get rid of
their opponents so they don't have

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the power, hard to vote them out.

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So thereby this leader who
commits genocide can protect their

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position and your people or
the people who support them at the

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expense of another people group.

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And this is exactly what Herod
wanted, only on a more focused scale.

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So as we read this, we must
remember that Herod is executing

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his own people because of a
perceived threat of a new baby king.

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Now, just as the Magi had been
told in a dream not to return to

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Herod, so Joseph was now told
to flee from Bethlehem and go to

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Egypt.

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Joseph, Mary and Jesus were
becoming political refugees because

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they were being hunted by the authorities.

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And the reason that they are
to flee, the text says in verse 13,

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is because Herod is going to
search for the child to kill him.

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Now this was quite the shock
to this young family, having to leave

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quite literally in the middle
of the night and go to a foreign

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land for refuge.

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But they obeyed, as both
Joseph and Mary have done throughout

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this story, and they went to Egypt.

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Now Matthew does give us a bit
of information about how this plays

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out, because he tells us of
Herod's response, but he also tells

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us about when the family
finally return home.

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And in verse 15, Matthew
quotes to us an Old Testament prophet

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called Hosea.

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And In Hosea, chapter 11,
verse 1, he says where he stayed

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until the death of Herod.

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So was fulfilled what the Lord
had said through the prophet out

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of Egypt I call my son.

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That's the quote from Hosea 11
and verse 1 from verse 15 of Matthew

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2.

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So we know that their time in
Egypt will be limited until Herod

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dies.

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And history has his son
archelaus reigning for 10 years between

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4 BC and AD 6.

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So their stay in Egypt is not
for a long period of time.

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But regardless, Herod goes on
the attack to try and kill his perceived

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threat.

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Threat.

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And in verse 16 we're told of
his actions.

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When Herod realized that he
had been outwitted by the magi, he

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was furious.

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And he gave orders to kill all
the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity

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who were two years old and
under in accordance with the time

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he had learned from the magi.

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Now last week we saw that when
Herod heard about the birth of a

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king, he tried to make the
magi unwitting informants for him,

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asking them to fight, find the
child, to report the location, all

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under the guise so that Herod
would be able to go and worship him

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too.

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But when the angel revealed
Herod's true intent, the magi then

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took another route home,
leaving Herod frustrated.

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But he was still bent on
killing Jesus.

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And now we see this in the
actions that he undertakes, because

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it seems that Herod orders the
death of so many children, Bethlehem

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and the surrounding areas to
provide a ghastly margin of error

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as he seeks to kill his
imagined rival as he kills his own

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subjects.

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Now Bethlehem at this time had
a very modest population, so the

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death toll may have been quite low.

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But every loss is a tragedy.

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But Herod didn't care.

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He was retaining his power and
his authority and that's what was

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important to him.

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But behind the throne was
another agent at work.

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Yes, there was the protecting
hand of God on his son.

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But the agent that I'm talking
about is the evil one, the Satan,

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who was using Herod to try and
kill Jesus before the good news of

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the kingdom of God can be
proclaimed to all people.

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And verse 18 provides us with
another Old Testament prophecy to

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help us see how all this fits
with God's plan of salvation.

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Remember, Matthew is A Jew,
yes, he worked in the Roman civil

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service, but he's now writing
as a Christian with a strong Jewish

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background.

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So he's writing for the world
that he knows.

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And so to convince his fellow
Jews that Jesus is the Messiah, he

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quotes these prophecies to
convince them.

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So he's quoted Hosea, chapter 11.

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And now he quotes Jeremiah
chapter 31.

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And verse 15.

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A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning.

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Rachel weeping for her
children and refusing to be comforted

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because they are no more.

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Now, the context of Jeremiah
chapter 31 is that Rachel weeps for

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the children of Israel who
will die in exile.

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But as Matthew knows, Jeremiah
31 is also a passage that is filled

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with hope.

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And that begins in verse 16 of
Jeremiah 31.

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Because there we're told that
God loves his people with an everlasting

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love, so he will bring them
back from the land of the enemy and

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make a new covenant with them.

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And that's what the whole of
Jeremiah 31 tells us.

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And so if Matthew again
intends his readers to draw on the

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whole story of Scripture, he
is pointing to the fact that God

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will restore after this
sorrow, even as he restored Israel

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after the exile.

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Now, we don't know the extent
of Herod's genocide in Bethlehem,

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as Matthew quickly moves on to
Herod's own death.

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And the focus is now back on
Joseph, as an angel comes to him

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in a dream again.

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And he's told there in verse
20, to get up, take the child and

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his mother and go to the land
of Israel, for those who were trying

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to take the child's life are dead.

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Now, once again, Joseph does
precisely as the angel says.

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And notice how Joseph's action
repeats the angel's Command in verse

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21.

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Now, there is no detail.

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It's simply faithful obedience
to God and God's direction.

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But when he returns to Judea,
Joseph learns that Archelaus rules

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in his father's place.

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Now, Archelaus lacked his
father's skills, so the Romans gave

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him just a third of his
father's kingdom, and they actually

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deposed him by AD6.

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But he too was a violent ruler
in his day.

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And Joseph, after another
warning dream, decides to live in

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Nazareth in Galilee.

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And this information is key
because Matthew is then pointing

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to the fulfillment of a third
prophecy in verse 23, as Matthew

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records for us.

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And he went and lived in the
town called Nazareth.

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So was fulfilled what was said
through the prophets.

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He will be called a Nazarene.

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Now, this phrase, he will be
called a Nazarene, appears nowhere

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in the law or in the prophets.

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But it is a fulfillment
formula that has no quotation.

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So it does signify then that
this thought would appear in several

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scriptures.

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Nazarene probably means from Nazareth.

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And so Jesus may be a Nazarene
in that he heals from a town of no

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great consequence.

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Because if Jesus was known as
Jesus of Bethlehem, his name would

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have the the great aura of
coming from David's royal city filled

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with all of that messianic promise.

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But Jesus the Nazarene carries
meaning of contempt, reminding us

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that Jesus will be despised
and Rejected, as Isaiah 53, verse

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3 confirms, before he knows glory.

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I've discovered over the past
number of weeks, people have come

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to hear of what people from
Annalong are called gadgies, as you

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well know.

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And I have done my best to try
and explain that anyone who calls

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any of you a gadgee from
outside of Anna Long will face your

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contempt because you know that
it is a slur on your name.

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However, you also wear it as a
badge of honor.

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You're proud in it because you
stand firm.

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To call Jesus a Nazarene was a slur.

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To put it in other ways, it's
like calling a kilkeel person, calling

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an analong person a gadget.

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You're all Nazarenes.

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But Jesus used it as something
that would fulfill what was the greatest

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promise that he would come from.

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The lowly Scripture may not
say exactly in prophecy Nazareth,

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but it comes from the lowly.

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He comes from the humble so
that indeed through his great power

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we would know salvation.

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Nazarene carries contempt with
it, but it reminds us that Jesus

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would be despised and rejected
before he knows glory.

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Now please don't run to your
kill keel friends and complain to

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them or tell them that one day
the glory will be yours.

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That's misunderstanding what
I've said.

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But do you see how names that
are slurs stick?

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And so it was for Jesus.

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Can anything good come out of Galilee?

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So the family of Joseph, Mary
and Jesus settled into Nazareth.

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And from Matthew's
perspective, he is being made ready

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for his ministry that will
begin some 25 years later.

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Because Matthew then takes us
straight to chapter three and to

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John the Baptist.

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He doesn't mention anything of
his childhood.

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But before we leave this
passage today, we must remind ourselves

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what else Scripture says about
Matthew 2.

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Because it does, Matthew
repeatedly links his gospel to prior

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scriptures.

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He delves deep into the Old Testament.

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So it's only right that we
look forward into Scripture and to

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what later scriptures has to
subtly say that links to this chapter

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Revelation chapter 12 and
verses 4 to 6 reimagines Herod's

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satanic attempt to slay Jesus,
the newborn king.

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And this is what we read there
in Revelation 12.

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His tail swept a third of the
stars out of the sky and flung them

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to the earth.

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The dragon stood in front of
the woman who was about to give birth

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so that he might devour her child.

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The moment it was born, she
gave birth to a son, a male child

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who will rule all the nations
with an iron scepter.

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And her child was snatched up
to God and to his throne.

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The woman fled into the desert
to a place prepared for her by God

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where she might be taken care
of for 1260 days.

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And so we have here in this
passage, now looking Back to Matthew

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2, the agent of evil displayed
to us in this account, this vision

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given to John, linking it back
to the early years of Jesus.

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And So, like Matthew 2,
Revelation shows evil's desire to

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destroy Christ, the newborn king.

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Because the vision presents
Satan's attempt to kill and the Lord's

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protection of the child.

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Jesus brought his kingdom with
him, and its arrival meant Satan's

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fall.

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So when Satan failed to kill
Jesus, he turned and he fought against

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heaven, but he failed again.

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And that's what we see in
Revelation 12:9 after the child is

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caught up to God's throne.

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We hear in Revelation 12:10,
now have come the salvation and the

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power and the kingdom of our
God and the authority of his Christ.

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For the accuser of our
brothers, who accuses them before

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our God day and night has been
hurled down.

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That's why the cry of heaven
is amen.

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It is finished.

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And what a wonderful finish it is.

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The accuser of our brothers,
the accuser of God's people, is cast

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down throughout Jesus life.

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Satan is rampant in trying to
tear him down, to quite literally

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devour him at the time of his
birth, to have the religious establishment

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against him and not accept him
as Messiah, thereby leading thousands

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to Christ.

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The devil is at work
throughout every page of the Gospel

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so that people will be pulled
away from the truth of Jesus.

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But of course, the devil will
never win.

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He will be devoured and Christ
will reign victorious.

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00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:36,120
And, you know, if we haven't
seen this before, well, then we must

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see it now, because Herod is
not the real actor in this story

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against Jesus.

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It is the Satan, the enemy of
God, who is at work to destroy the

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one who declares himself to be
the light of the world.

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For Satan, he was content to
have the Jews ignore the true law

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of God to create their own
laws and.

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And so they lulled themselves
away from the truth, but with God's

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seismic action of sending his
Son into the world.

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The Satan needed to take
action to draw humanity away from

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00:16:10,730 --> 00:16:13,050
God's covenant love and his
plan of salvation.

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And this is what he continues
to do.

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So please do not think that
any talk of the devil, the evil one

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or the Satan remains on the
pages of Scripture.

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Paul tells us in Ephesians
chapter 6 and verse 12.

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For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against

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the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of

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this dark world, and against
the spiritual forces of evil in the

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heavenly realms.

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Because the devil is at work
today and he continues to be subtle

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in all that he does.

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He wants to distract us.

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00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:51,600
He wants to make us doubt the
power and authority of God and question

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the salvation that we can have
in Jesus.

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He is an agent who is always
at work, even today.

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And C.S.

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00:17:02,730 --> 00:17:08,290
Lewis, in his book entitled
the Screw tape letters from 1942,

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gives us a very clear picture
of what the active current work of

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the devil is in the Screwtape letters.

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Lewis presents the book as
intercepted post from hell.

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00:17:22,189 --> 00:17:27,309
Screwtape is a senior demon
and is an experienced administrator

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in what Lewis calls Hell's lower.

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00:17:30,229 --> 00:17:36,949
Archie Wormwood is his nephew,
a junior, often clumsy tempter who

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00:17:36,949 --> 00:17:41,229
is assigned to one ordinary
Englishman who they call the patient.

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00:17:41,869 --> 00:17:46,124
And so Screwtape writes the
letters advising his nephew Wormwood

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00:17:46,124 --> 00:17:50,370
of on how to keep the patient
away from God and how to deliver

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him to Satan.

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00:17:51,970 --> 00:17:55,730
So we read the Screwtape
letters as if someone has intercepted

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the post going from hell to
this demon.

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00:17:59,650 --> 00:18:04,610
Now, Screwtape is rarely
interested in spectacular wickedness.

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He prefers small, respectable,
almost invisible.

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00:18:10,290 --> 00:18:13,380
Drift away from the truth into darkness.

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00:18:14,260 --> 00:18:17,220
And the Screwtape letters are
divided into letters.

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00:18:17,780 --> 00:18:23,300
So in letter 12, Lewis writes,
Indeed, the safest road to hell is

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00:18:23,300 --> 00:18:29,780
the gradual one, the gentle
slope, soft underfoot, without sudden

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00:18:29,780 --> 00:18:34,980
turnings, without milestones,
without signpost.

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00:18:37,870 --> 00:18:42,910
I personally think this is a
wonderful description of how the

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00:18:42,910 --> 00:18:47,150
Satan works in our world today
and in our context.

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He isn't concerned about you
becoming an atheist or agnostic.

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He simply wants you to drift.

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00:19:00,270 --> 00:19:02,590
He wants you to pull away from Christ.

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00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:06,920
He wants you to get out of the
habit of meeting with his people

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00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:08,280
and worshiping him.

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00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:13,880
He wants you to make excuses
of why something else is more important.

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00:19:16,120 --> 00:19:21,560
He wants you to love the
things that are not eternal more

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00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:23,000
than eternity itself.

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00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:29,160
And before you know it, you're
further away from Christ than you

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00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:30,360
ever imagined.

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00:19:31,870 --> 00:19:37,990
Like the prowling lion that
Peter speaks of In 1 Peter 5:8, the

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00:19:37,990 --> 00:19:46,270
devil moves slowly, quietly
and decisively before he strikes.

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00:19:48,590 --> 00:19:53,630
So I ask you again, I wonder,
do you realize this is what is at

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00:19:53,630 --> 00:19:55,550
work in the world today?

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00:19:56,920 --> 00:20:00,640
If you think spiritual attacks
and the work of the devil are confined

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00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:05,760
to history or simply to the
pages of Scripture, then you are

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00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:06,440
mistaken.

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00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:10,840
There is a battle for your soul.

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00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:19,520
You have a gracious God who
invites you to trust in Jesus and

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to live for him alone.

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00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:26,200
But there is also a conniving,
dishonest and hate filled Satan that

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00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:30,420
wants to pull you away from
any interest in salvation and in

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00:20:30,420 --> 00:20:31,860
assurance of eternity.

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00:20:32,820 --> 00:20:38,820
Only one can win your soul and
in the end, only Christ will win.

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00:20:39,220 --> 00:20:42,100
For we will each bow the knee
before Him.

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00:20:42,420 --> 00:20:47,100
We will either bow the knee in
worship and blessed hope, or we will

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00:20:47,100 --> 00:20:51,860
bow the knee in fear of the
judgment that he will pass on our

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00:20:51,860 --> 00:20:52,260
sins.

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00:20:54,270 --> 00:20:55,230
Which will it be?

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00:20:57,230 --> 00:21:00,510
Will you come to the Savior
and trust in Him?

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00:21:01,390 --> 00:21:06,030
Or will you ignore the truth
and thereby condemn yourself to Satan

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00:21:06,110 --> 00:21:07,790
and eternal punishment?

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00:21:08,910 --> 00:21:13,950
Do you feel that there is a
drift in your life away from Christ?

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00:21:15,630 --> 00:21:19,710
Because if there is, then you
need to wake up and pay attention.

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00:21:19,710 --> 00:21:23,390
Because there is true hope
today and that hope is in Christ,

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00:21:23,630 --> 00:21:28,010
that you can trust him, that
he will save you from the evil one.

330
00:21:28,250 --> 00:21:32,250
That's why Jesus says, I am
the way, the truth and the life.

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00:21:32,570 --> 00:21:35,770
No one comes to the Father
except through Me.

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00:21:35,850 --> 00:21:39,850
There is only one way given to
all humanity by which we must be

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00:21:39,850 --> 00:21:40,330
saved.

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00:21:40,410 --> 00:21:43,770
And it is Jesus, and He will win.

335
00:21:45,690 --> 00:21:47,290
So why are you trying to fight Him?

336
00:21:48,650 --> 00:21:50,970
Why are you drifting away from Him?

337
00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:56,200
You see, for those who do know
Christ, I wonder, will you be on

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00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:56,800
your guard?

339
00:21:57,520 --> 00:21:59,840
Will you be on your guard
against this drift?

340
00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:03,360
Will you pay attention to the
subtleties of Satan, who will try

341
00:22:03,360 --> 00:22:06,280
and convince you that you
don't need to read your Bible, that

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00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:08,880
you don't need to pray, that
you don't need to attend church?

343
00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:12,080
Will you pay attention to him
when he says that to you?

344
00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:13,840
Because all of that is lies.

345
00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:18,600
You need to read your Bible,
you need to pray.

346
00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:22,200
And yes, you need to attend
worship because this is what God

347
00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:26,520
has given us as a haven each
week to come together where the world

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00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:27,240
is out there.

349
00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:30,840
But we as God's people unite
under Christ and worship Him.

350
00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:33,800
That's why it's important to
be here.

351
00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:40,840
Because it is faithful worship
and witness together of God.

352
00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:47,130
And trust me, there's no
excuse that can be made that justifies

353
00:22:47,930 --> 00:22:49,530
this time that we have together.

354
00:22:50,970 --> 00:22:56,610
It's only the devil tickling
our ears to say you really don't

355
00:22:56,610 --> 00:22:57,210
need to go.

356
00:22:57,770 --> 00:22:59,050
It will be okay.

357
00:23:00,250 --> 00:23:04,210
And before we know it, days,
weeks, months pass without reading

358
00:23:04,210 --> 00:23:06,010
our Bibles, praying or attending.

359
00:23:07,050 --> 00:23:14,260
And so we drift and Satan
thinks he has won.

360
00:23:16,820 --> 00:23:22,940
Please know that he is waging
war against your soul and he wants

361
00:23:22,940 --> 00:23:25,300
you to make shipwreck of your faith.

362
00:23:26,580 --> 00:23:30,940
But we have the wonderful
invitation of Jesus who says that

363
00:23:30,940 --> 00:23:35,940
we can come and find rest for
our weary souls in him and him alone

364
00:23:35,940 --> 00:23:39,610
because he, he is gentle and
humble in heart.

365
00:23:44,090 --> 00:23:47,770
The agent in the story of
Matthew 2 is the devil.

366
00:23:48,810 --> 00:23:53,930
And Revelation chapter 12
confirms that for us he is active

367
00:23:54,170 --> 00:23:59,970
and he is at work today and he
is waging war against you so that

368
00:23:59,970 --> 00:24:05,290
you will stay away from
Christ, that you will drift off rather

369
00:24:05,290 --> 00:24:08,090
than love Christ more dearly
and deeply each day.

370
00:24:09,290 --> 00:24:13,050
So if you feel the drift, come
back to Jesus.

371
00:24:14,330 --> 00:24:17,050
Join us here morning and
evening on a Sunday.

372
00:24:17,850 --> 00:24:21,650
Come to Christianity explored
if you need that re centering of

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00:24:21,650 --> 00:24:23,610
what faith is on a Wednesday night.

374
00:24:23,690 --> 00:24:26,530
Yes, we're starting week
three, but it's still time to come

375
00:24:26,530 --> 00:24:28,490
and look at the truths of
Mark's Gospel.

376
00:24:30,420 --> 00:24:35,940
If you sense that you need
more of Christ now, then go to him

377
00:24:36,740 --> 00:24:41,700
by picking up your Bible, by
talking to him in prayer, and by

378
00:24:41,700 --> 00:24:46,020
being encouraged by his people
all around you so that indeed we

379
00:24:46,020 --> 00:24:51,300
will know true peace and rest
in him and in him alone.

380
00:24:55,550 --> 00:24:58,590
Turns out that as we read this
section of the Christmas story, it's

381
00:24:58,590 --> 00:25:02,830
not as plain and simple and
nice as we think it to be.

382
00:25:04,030 --> 00:25:07,790
As we come back to it in a few
weeks time, we actually will not

383
00:25:07,790 --> 00:25:09,230
be coming back to it until November.

384
00:25:09,470 --> 00:25:12,710
But whenever we come back to
it in November, we begin the life

385
00:25:12,710 --> 00:25:13,790
ministry of Jesus.

386
00:25:15,470 --> 00:25:19,790
And yet, how much more will we
see the devil tempting the devil,

387
00:25:19,790 --> 00:25:22,000
threatening the devil at work.

388
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:25,960
And so our warning call this
morning is to pay attention to this

389
00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:30,880
agent who is still at work
today to come back from the drift

390
00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:35,120
and anchor firm in Christ and
in him alone.

391
00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:36,480
Let's pray.

392
00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:41,040
Our Father God, we thank you
that your word challenges us because

393
00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:42,800
it knows what is best for us.

394
00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:47,160
So Lord, if we are drifting,
help us to come back to Christ.

395
00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:49,040
Help us to know how to come
back to Christ.

396
00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:53,820
Help us to call out to friends
around us to help us back.

397
00:25:55,100 --> 00:25:58,460
For Lord, there's nothing more
important than knowing Christ fully.

398
00:25:59,740 --> 00:26:00,540
So help us.

399
00:26:00,940 --> 00:26:05,860
We pray, but also confront us
with the reality of Satan, that he

400
00:26:05,860 --> 00:26:06,540
is at work.

401
00:26:07,180 --> 00:26:09,820
That he is at work in our
homes, he's work in our community.

402
00:26:09,820 --> 00:26:13,700
He's at work right across this
world to make us more focused on

403
00:26:13,700 --> 00:26:14,700
things that don't matter.

404
00:26:16,060 --> 00:26:20,810
So help us Lord, to know
Christ and Him alone, to stay focused

405
00:26:20,810 --> 00:26:25,530
and true and to walk this path
until the end where we will have

406
00:26:25,530 --> 00:26:29,130
complete confidence that
indeed our knees will bow not in

407
00:26:29,130 --> 00:26:33,090
fear, but in worship of the
One who has saved our souls.

408
00:26:33,650 --> 00:26:35,330
And we ask it in Jesus name.

409
00:26:35,890 --> 00:26:36,530
Amen.

410
00:26:44,860 --> 00:26:51,630
Sam.