1 00:00:30,899 --> 00:00:34,619 That's one of my favorite songs that she sings. That's really, 2 00:00:34,619 --> 00:00:39,539 really good. You win your Bibles tonight. I'm going to start 3 00:00:39,539 --> 00:00:46,139 out a little different on the subject. Turn to Matthew 22. Turn 4 00:00:46,139 --> 00:00:59,749 to Matthew 22. Aren't you glad that he held us fast? And I'm so 5 00:00:59,749 --> 00:01:09,869 thankful. It's been a few. It's been actually almost four years 6 00:01:09,869 --> 00:01:14,389 since we preached specifically on the subject of the Trinity. So 7 00:01:14,389 --> 00:01:20,669 tonight we're going to do that. The tri unity of God, the very 8 00:01:20,669 --> 00:01:25,219 important doctrine. It is essential. It's an essential doctrine. 9 00:01:26,579 --> 00:01:30,379 If God was not, if Jesus was not God in the flesh, then we have 10 00:01:30,379 --> 00:01:36,539 no salvation. And so as we think about this, I want to go to 11 00:01:36,539 --> 00:01:43,339 this passage here in Matthew 22:41, where Jesus has just answered 12 00:01:43,339 --> 00:01:48,259 the question of some lawyers and the previous verses. What is 13 00:01:48,259 --> 00:01:51,899 the greatest commandment in the Bible? And Jesus answered them 14 00:01:51,899 --> 00:01:56,819 in verse. Look at, look at verse 36, Master, which is the great 15 00:01:56,819 --> 00:02:00,539 commandment in the law. And Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love 16 00:02:00,539 --> 00:02:03,739 the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with 17 00:02:03,739 --> 00:02:06,339 all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And 18 00:02:06,339 --> 00:02:10,019 the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 19 00:02:10,499 --> 00:02:15,539 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. So 20 00:02:15,539 --> 00:02:19,229 all 613 laws in the Old Testament, Jesus summarizes down 21 00:02:19,229 --> 00:02:22,789 to two. But really it's one. You can't have one without the other. 22 00:02:23,189 --> 00:02:26,309 Loving God and loving your fellow man as you love yourself go 23 00:02:26,309 --> 00:02:28,949 hand in hand. You love your fellow man as you love yourself. 24 00:02:29,269 --> 00:02:32,389 Then you have. You do love. You do love God with all your heart, 25 00:02:32,389 --> 00:02:35,149 soul and mind. Because essentially that's the only way that 26 00:02:35,149 --> 00:02:38,469 you can love your fellow man as you love yourself is by loving 27 00:02:38,469 --> 00:02:43,429 the Lord as he ought to be loved by you. And so, and then again 28 00:02:43,429 --> 00:02:47,539 in Matthew 7:12, Jesus does say, whatsoever you would that mentioned 29 00:02:47,539 --> 00:02:52,179 unto you, do ye even also to them. For this is all the law and 30 00:02:52,179 --> 00:02:55,819 the prophets. So he summarizes all the Old Testament laws down to 31 00:02:55,819 --> 00:02:59,099 one. And that's the golden rule. Do unto others as you have 32 00:02:59,099 --> 00:03:03,419 them do unto you. And then he, Paul summarizes it and says, that 33 00:03:03,419 --> 00:03:09,419 is the definition of love. Love is treating someone as you would 34 00:03:09,419 --> 00:03:12,869 want to be treated. It's selflessness. Selflessness. You come 35 00:03:12,869 --> 00:03:19,869 right down to it. Sin in all of its various forms is selfishness. 36 00:03:21,149 --> 00:03:27,189 Selfishness, the next question. And because this great 37 00:03:27,189 --> 00:03:30,989 crowd was assembled and there were Pharisees there, and again, 38 00:03:31,069 --> 00:03:37,229 lawyers and Sadducees, he asked a question of them. Verse 41. 39 00:03:37,309 --> 00:03:40,109 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 40 00:03:40,189 --> 00:03:44,809 saying, what think ye of Christ? What think ye of the Messiah? 41 00:03:45,529 --> 00:03:49,649 Whose son is he? And they say unto him, the Son of David. They 42 00:03:49,649 --> 00:03:54,169 know by prophecy that the Messiah would be of the lineage of 43 00:03:54,169 --> 00:03:58,609 David, of King David. They believe that the religious leaders 44 00:03:58,609 --> 00:04:03,929 believe that. Verse 43, he saith unto them, how then doth David 45 00:04:04,649 --> 00:04:08,289 in spirit, in other words, under the inspiration of the Holy 46 00:04:08,289 --> 00:04:14,269 Spirit, call him Lord, saying, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou 47 00:04:14,269 --> 00:04:19,269 on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool. If David, 48 00:04:19,269 --> 00:04:26,789 then call him Lord, how is he his Son? I love this. And no man 49 00:04:27,269 --> 00:04:32,149 was able to answer him a word and notice this. Neither durst any 50 00:04:32,149 --> 00:04:39,129 man from that day forth ask him any more questions. I mean, the 51 00:04:39,129 --> 00:04:42,969 Lord, of course, is all knowing. Jesus was all knowing. He 52 00:04:42,969 --> 00:04:46,089 asked this question and understanding, and knowing that the 53 00:04:46,089 --> 00:04:50,169 Pharisees would not be able to answer it, or at least didn't want 54 00:04:50,169 --> 00:04:55,649 to answer it. And so he shut their mouths, stopped their mouths, 55 00:04:55,889 --> 00:04:58,809 and they didn't ask. It's about a week before Jesus would go 56 00:04:58,809 --> 00:05:06,729 to the cross. So turn, if you would, to Psalm 110. Psalm 110. This 57 00:05:06,729 --> 00:05:13,569 is the verse that Jesus quotes, a psalm of David. Psalm 110. 58 00:05:13,809 --> 00:05:17,009 It is a psalm. We've covered this one before. It's about five 59 00:05:17,009 --> 00:05:21,569 years ago. We need to come back and hit it again too. But we'll 60 00:05:21,569 --> 00:05:28,769 do that at some point. Psalm 110. So the religious leaders acknowledged, 61 00:05:30,009 --> 00:05:34,249 and they in Christ's time did acknowledge and acknowledge that 62 00:05:34,249 --> 00:05:38,209 Psalm 110 is a messianic psalm, that it's talking about the 63 00:05:38,209 --> 00:05:43,329 future Messiah, that David, as he's writing, is prophesying concerning 64 00:05:43,329 --> 00:05:47,769 the Messiah. The religious leaders at that time believed that 65 00:05:47,769 --> 00:05:52,649 Psalm 110 was a messianic psalm. So look at it real quick. 66 00:05:52,729 --> 00:05:57,659 Psalm 110, verse 1 letter. The Lord said unto my Lord. Now who's 67 00:05:57,659 --> 00:06:03,499 writing King David, right? King David's writing this. If this 68 00:06:03,499 --> 00:06:07,779 was him talking about his Son, no king is going to call his son 69 00:06:07,779 --> 00:06:12,339 Lord. So he's not. I mean, this is very easily understood that 70 00:06:12,339 --> 00:06:17,979 this is not David talking about his Son. And again, this was 71 00:06:17,979 --> 00:06:20,779 acknowledged by the religious leaders of Jesus Day, that this was 72 00:06:20,779 --> 00:06:23,629 indeed talking about the future Messiah. And it is. It's a 73 00:06:23,629 --> 00:06:28,349 Masonic psalm. So listen again. The Lord said unto my Lord, 74 00:06:29,069 --> 00:06:34,509 sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. 75 00:06:35,389 --> 00:06:39,909 The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion. Rule thou 76 00:06:39,909 --> 00:06:43,829 in the midst of thine enemies, thy people shall be willingly. And 77 00:06:43,829 --> 00:06:47,589 it doesn't take long till you recognize and know this is talking 78 00:06:47,589 --> 00:06:55,079 about the future Messiah. And so what a verse it is. And Jesus 79 00:06:55,079 --> 00:07:01,679 uses this verse to confound the Pharisees and the religious leaders. 80 00:07:03,999 --> 00:07:08,639 So as we think about the triunity of God, it's important. 81 00:07:08,639 --> 00:07:11,359 Again, I know I make this quote a lot from AW Tozer, but it's 82 00:07:11,359 --> 00:07:15,049 one of my favorite quotes, if not maybe my favorite quote, that 83 00:07:15,049 --> 00:07:18,329 what comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important 84 00:07:18,329 --> 00:07:23,169 thing about you. As I think about Adam Biddle going into surgery 85 00:07:23,169 --> 00:07:28,649 tonight and Chris Biddle and Christy sitting there and as he's 86 00:07:28,649 --> 00:07:32,489 going through this surgery, what they think about God is the 87 00:07:32,489 --> 00:07:36,969 most important thing at that point, at that time. How big is your 88 00:07:36,969 --> 00:07:41,959 God? Do you have a proper view of who God is? Because again, we 89 00:07:41,959 --> 00:07:47,039 have a tendency to have a wrong view of God. It's by nature 90 00:07:47,039 --> 00:07:50,719 we have a tendency to have a wrong view of God. And we won't go 91 00:07:51,199 --> 00:07:55,239 in depth again about that. But understanding that God is not, you 92 00:07:55,239 --> 00:08:02,239 know, white haired, white man, you know, sitting on the porch in 93 00:08:02,239 --> 00:08:05,919 heaven, rocking in a rocking chair, that's not God. That's not 94 00:08:05,919 --> 00:08:11,699 who he is. God of the box that you've made him in and yet that you 95 00:08:11,699 --> 00:08:16,019 put him in is not the God of the Bible. And all of us have. There's 96 00:08:16,019 --> 00:08:18,939 not one of us in the room, including myself, that doesn't have 97 00:08:18,939 --> 00:08:26,299 some obscure or some tendency to think wrongly of who God is. But 98 00:08:26,379 --> 00:08:28,579 what's the most important thing about you is what you think 99 00:08:28,579 --> 00:08:32,779 about God. Because when you do face, whatever it may be, health 100 00:08:32,779 --> 00:08:37,699 problems, when you do face, financial, relational, whatever it 101 00:08:37,699 --> 00:08:47,099 may be, what you think about God is very, very important. An attribute 102 00:08:47,499 --> 00:08:52,659 of God is not part of God. They are the way he is. In other 103 00:08:52,659 --> 00:08:56,419 words, balance. One attribute of God is not important than the 104 00:08:56,419 --> 00:09:03,139 other. This is another quote. It's out of a book called the Pursuit 105 00:09:03,139 --> 00:09:07,509 of God by A.W. tozer. I believe we still have some. I know 106 00:09:07,509 --> 00:09:18,709 we did here recently of the. AW Tober's Tozer. Good night. AW 107 00:09:18,869 --> 00:09:22,829 Tozer's book on the knowledge of the holy is one of the best books 108 00:09:22,829 --> 00:09:25,789 you could ever read. And it's a small paperback. It wouldn't take 109 00:09:25,789 --> 00:09:29,509 you all that long. And it's on the attributes of God. And he's still. 110 00:09:29,749 --> 00:09:32,189 That's still the number one book that I would read when it comes 111 00:09:32,189 --> 00:09:35,939 to the attributes of God. He also wrote a book called in the Pursuit 112 00:09:35,939 --> 00:09:40,539 of God. And in there he just again makes it very clear that we 113 00:09:40,539 --> 00:09:44,699 as Christians are supposed to want to know God. That wanting to 114 00:09:44,699 --> 00:09:49,498 know God is so important. Because if we are going to that our 115 00:09:49,498 --> 00:09:54,459 purpose is to be like him, to follow in the steps of Jesus, to 116 00:09:54,459 --> 00:09:58,459 be conformed to the image of Jesus, then we ought to know him 117 00:09:58,459 --> 00:10:01,759 more. And that's why Paul said, grow in the knowledge the Lord 118 00:10:01,759 --> 00:10:03,599 Jesus Christ. Grow in the grace and in the knowledge of the 119 00:10:03,599 --> 00:10:07,879 Lord Jesus Christ. And so we have received him, we have received 120 00:10:07,879 --> 00:10:14,759 the Lord. But do we hunger and thirst for God? Do you? David said, 121 00:10:14,759 --> 00:10:17,919 as the hart or as the deer panteth after the water brook, after 122 00:10:18,479 --> 00:10:22,079 the water brook the creek, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God. 123 00:10:22,159 --> 00:10:26,159 And I could go on and on of the Old Testament saints who yearned, 124 00:10:26,889 --> 00:10:31,769 who longed to know God more. And we as Christians, and I myself, 125 00:10:31,769 --> 00:10:37,049 need to be reminded that we ought to want to know God more again. 126 00:10:37,209 --> 00:10:41,769 Even Paul said that all things he counted but loss. But to what? 127 00:10:41,929 --> 00:10:49,649 Know Him. To know Him. The power of his resurrection. God is 128 00:10:49,649 --> 00:10:56,389 a person and can be studied. In other words, God desires a relationship 129 00:10:56,389 --> 00:11:03,069 with us. He desires for us to know him. And therefore we can grow 130 00:11:03,149 --> 00:11:07,629 in our relationship with Him. Right. The more you know your spouse, 131 00:11:08,029 --> 00:11:12,309 the more your relationship should grow. And so the more we know 132 00:11:12,309 --> 00:11:17,069 the Lord, our relationship should grow in that. And I did say 133 00:11:17,789 --> 00:11:22,769 should, said should, grow your spouse relationship. Some of y' all 134 00:11:22,769 --> 00:11:28,289 were laughing, so I wanted to. The Bible speaks about Moses hungering 135 00:11:28,289 --> 00:11:35,249 after the Lord. And he said to God, show me thy glory. And God granted 136 00:11:35,249 --> 00:11:40,289 that request and let him see his hinder parts. Just a glimpse 137 00:11:40,929 --> 00:11:43,889 of the glory of God. Because God told him, if any man sees God, 138 00:11:44,219 --> 00:11:48,379 he'll die. There's so much more there. In other words, in the 139 00:11:48,379 --> 00:11:53,579 Christian life, complacency is deadly. And we must desire to know 140 00:11:53,659 --> 00:12:00,659 the Lord more. If we do not desire to know the Lord more, he 141 00:12:00,659 --> 00:12:06,259 will not reveal Himself to us in a greater way. Right? In a greater 142 00:12:06,259 --> 00:12:11,009 way. He wants. A.W. tozer said this, that that is God wants to be 143 00:12:11,009 --> 00:12:16,409 wanted. He wants to be wanted. By the way, all of us have that in 144 00:12:16,409 --> 00:12:27,089 us too. Amen. Guys are quiet. This is consistent with church as 145 00:12:27,089 --> 00:12:30,969 well, but also personally. Just being busy about the programs 146 00:12:30,969 --> 00:12:35,369 and business of the Lord does not constitute longing for the Lord. 147 00:12:36,929 --> 00:12:44,689 In other words, a preacher can simply read his Bible to get sermons 148 00:12:44,689 --> 00:12:51,169 together and to do his job, and yet never grow closer to the 149 00:12:51,169 --> 00:12:57,009 Lord. Growing closer to the Lord and knowing him more is spending 150 00:12:57,809 --> 00:13:02,309 time with the Lord, spending and walking with him day even in 151 00:13:02,309 --> 00:13:09,989 and day out, spending personal time with him, activity and programs 152 00:13:09,989 --> 00:13:13,029 and business does not necessarily constitute longing. God 153 00:13:13,029 --> 00:13:18,549 reveals himself to his children and to Christians who are 154 00:13:18,549 --> 00:13:30,159 humble and simple just, who are contrite, who are humbled, who 155 00:13:30,159 --> 00:13:38,199 are, who bow low, by the way, so many times for us it's God and 156 00:13:39,079 --> 00:13:44,279 that prevents us from knowing Him. It's God and that prevents us 157 00:13:44,279 --> 00:13:48,399 from knowing Him. In other words, it's yeah, God and family 158 00:13:48,399 --> 00:13:54,169 or God and job, or God. No, no priority is God. Everything else 159 00:13:54,169 --> 00:13:57,289 falls under that. My relationship with God is the most 160 00:13:57,289 --> 00:14:01,249 important thing in my life. Should be the most important thing 161 00:14:01,249 --> 00:14:07,849 in my life. Amen. My wife should be second. My kids should 162 00:14:07,849 --> 00:14:13,769 be third. My job should be fourth. Everything else falls down 163 00:14:13,769 --> 00:14:19,209 there somewhere. I'm thankful as a Christian, priorities never 164 00:14:19,209 --> 00:14:25,589 conflict. I was thinking about this today as I was studying something 165 00:14:25,589 --> 00:14:32,389 else. It amazes me again. I'm going to get on the hobby horse for 166 00:14:32,389 --> 00:14:37,509 a second. That we teach our kids that God should be first. And 167 00:14:37,509 --> 00:14:40,589 as we're raising our children, we teach them that God should be 168 00:14:40,589 --> 00:14:44,989 first. He should be first. He's the priority, number one. Amen. 169 00:14:46,359 --> 00:14:50,239 But then as they grow, we teach them, we teach them as they 170 00:14:50,239 --> 00:14:55,119 grow up and all of a sudden they enter that adolescence, they 171 00:14:55,119 --> 00:15:00,159 get around that 10, 11, 12 year old and they began to ask questions 172 00:15:00,159 --> 00:15:04,999 and they began to want to do things independently. And we want 173 00:15:04,999 --> 00:15:08,399 to raise our children to be independent. Amen. But we're seeing, 174 00:15:08,399 --> 00:15:11,919 we're suffering from that today in our society. You know, men 175 00:15:11,919 --> 00:15:14,399 still living in their parents basement when they're 30 years old. 176 00:15:15,119 --> 00:15:21,119 Yeah, there's a problem. But we gotta be careful as we're raising 177 00:15:21,119 --> 00:15:25,159 our kids that as they get older that we begin to lower the 178 00:15:25,159 --> 00:15:30,079 standards in order to just get along with our children. I don't 179 00:15:30,079 --> 00:15:37,209 get, doesn't even compute in my brain. God's number one. And if 180 00:15:37,209 --> 00:15:39,209 you're going to teach your children that God is number one, 181 00:15:39,209 --> 00:15:43,729 he's the priority, then you better live that out too. The first 182 00:15:43,729 --> 00:15:48,329 time they ask you. Well, you know, there's a baseball game on 183 00:15:48,329 --> 00:15:52,729 Saturday morning or Sunday morning and coach needs me. No, you're 184 00:15:52,729 --> 00:15:56,649 not playing on Sunday morning. Don't even have to ask me anymore. 185 00:15:56,729 --> 00:16:01,369 The rest of your life. Well, Sunday night's not as important, 186 00:16:01,369 --> 00:16:06,499 dad. Sunday night? No, never going to happen. Don't have to ask 187 00:16:06,499 --> 00:16:09,779 me ever again. For the rest of your life. Well, it's a rain out 188 00:16:09,779 --> 00:16:13,859 and they want to do a makeup game. Nope, don't have to Ask me 189 00:16:13,859 --> 00:16:18,659 the rest of your life, God is priority, which makes church priority. 190 00:16:18,978 --> 00:16:22,659 Church's priority over your sports, church is priority over your 191 00:16:22,659 --> 00:16:27,939 friends. Church's priority over. Amen. Oh, but Wednesday night, 192 00:16:27,939 --> 00:16:32,229 you know dad, that's not even in the Bible anywhere. Yeah, but 193 00:16:32,229 --> 00:16:39,669 that's when our church meets. Amen. Don't ask me again. Well, can 194 00:16:39,669 --> 00:16:41,989 I go to my friend's house Wednesday night or can I stay home 195 00:16:41,989 --> 00:16:45,789 and do homework on Wednesday night? I don't get that one either. 196 00:16:48,509 --> 00:16:55,069 Is God first or not? All my kids education and oh my goodness, 197 00:16:56,519 --> 00:17:00,999 come on. Well they just give them too much homework. Well phooey, 198 00:17:01,479 --> 00:17:05,079 let them get a zero then they're going to miss Wednesday night 199 00:17:05,719 --> 00:17:09,559 because why? Why? Because God's number should be priority. 200 00:17:09,879 --> 00:17:14,199 But secondly, and what's so important is this is you're teaching 201 00:17:14,199 --> 00:17:19,039 your kids that God is priority. And so if you kept saying 202 00:17:19,039 --> 00:17:21,959 it with your mouth when they were 0 to 1 year old, 2 year old, 203 00:17:21,959 --> 00:17:25,901 3 year old, 4 year old, 5 year old, 6 year old, 7 year old, 8, 10, 204 00:17:25,963 --> 00:17:28,319 11, but then when they become a little confrontational because 205 00:17:28,319 --> 00:17:32,239 now they got a little independence and we want that. I 206 00:17:32,239 --> 00:17:35,039 don't say we want them to be confrontational, but I'm saying we 207 00:17:35,039 --> 00:17:38,279 want them to try to be independent. Amen. All right, so 208 00:17:38,279 --> 00:17:41,439 then we begin to put boundaries. And so your boundaries 209 00:17:41,439 --> 00:17:46,079 ought to match your theology. Your boundaries should match the 210 00:17:46,079 --> 00:17:49,559 priority that's been set. Are your teenagers going to say you're 211 00:17:49,559 --> 00:17:55,959 a fake? And you wonder why they rebel as they continue to go 212 00:17:55,959 --> 00:18:02,319 forward. Man, my hobby horse tonight. But it's an illustration 213 00:18:03,119 --> 00:18:09,159 of how God should be number one, right? God's number one. And 214 00:18:09,159 --> 00:18:11,239 I always use sports as illustration. I've been doing that 215 00:18:11,239 --> 00:18:15,399 now for 30 years. And that's because we confronted it with our 216 00:18:15,399 --> 00:18:21,829 kids growing up. We never let our kids play. Not one time. Revival 217 00:18:21,829 --> 00:18:27,509 meeting, Bible conference. Well that's not regularly scheduled, 218 00:18:27,509 --> 00:18:31,589 dad. And our games are on Monday night. I don't care. Revival 219 00:18:31,589 --> 00:18:34,229 meeting going on. Church. And guess what's going to happen? You're 220 00:18:34,229 --> 00:18:39,349 going to miss your game. I'll give you one story and then I'll 221 00:18:39,349 --> 00:18:43,839 move on, I promise. And I'm gonna brag on my kids a little bit. 222 00:18:44,159 --> 00:18:47,759 He's not here. I'll brag on. The oldest one, Joshua never gets 223 00:18:47,759 --> 00:18:52,399 bragged on, so he always feels left out. He did play in a state 224 00:18:52,399 --> 00:18:57,159 game and one ran like 400 something yards and 9,000 touchdowns. 225 00:18:57,159 --> 00:19:01,959 And all my kids were good at sports. Caleb was especially good 226 00:19:01,959 --> 00:19:07,079 at baseball when he was little and played shortstop and he was a 227 00:19:07,079 --> 00:19:11,359 9 or 10 years old and was on a good team. They were going for a 228 00:19:11,359 --> 00:19:15,679 championship game, but on the lead up to that, they did win the 229 00:19:15,679 --> 00:19:18,479 championship that year. But in the lead up to that, they had a couple 230 00:19:18,479 --> 00:19:24,879 rain outs and the league, which was the HACCP Sports association, 231 00:19:25,759 --> 00:19:29,999 wanted to play a game on Sunday night. And we told the coach 232 00:19:29,999 --> 00:19:33,599 said, well, Kayla won't be there. Well, he's our shortstop, 233 00:19:33,599 --> 00:19:37,679 he's our best player. What are we gonna do? I said, well, talk to 234 00:19:37,679 --> 00:19:41,199 the league. Well, if we had it on Sunday afternoon, would you let 235 00:19:41,199 --> 00:19:44,679 him? I said, yeah, yeah, Sunday afternoon. As long as he don't 236 00:19:44,679 --> 00:19:51,239 miss church and the league moved the game, you know, so he could 237 00:19:51,239 --> 00:19:56,159 play. You know what if every parent stood up, said, my kid's not 238 00:19:56,159 --> 00:19:59,639 playing during church time, all the leagues wouldn't do it, right? 239 00:20:00,279 --> 00:20:07,139 Especially these. Anyway, I do need to move on. What time is it? 240 00:20:07,379 --> 00:20:17,219 7:30. All right. God first. God first. God and is what messes 241 00:20:17,219 --> 00:20:24,219 us up so many times. No, no, it's God first. God. Our all is Christ. 242 00:20:24,219 --> 00:20:29,269 Your all. He should be again. We should teach it to our kids and 243 00:20:29,269 --> 00:20:32,589 then we should practice it with our kids. That God is priority. 244 00:20:37,389 --> 00:20:41,549 The Levi's. The Levites did not receive any inheritance in the 245 00:20:41,549 --> 00:20:44,429 land of Canaan which we've been studying on Sunday morning. 246 00:20:45,869 --> 00:20:50,909 But the Bible says that God told the Levites that I am your inheritance. 247 00:20:52,599 --> 00:20:56,999 And if you look at the context and you look at the whole of is that 248 00:20:56,999 --> 00:21:03,919 the Levites received the best. They received an inheritance that 249 00:21:03,919 --> 00:21:12,399 could not be done away with. Amen. So have we. We mean to remember 250 00:21:12,399 --> 00:21:19,289 that we are priests. All right. God is triune. And I know 251 00:21:19,529 --> 00:21:22,929 again, the verse I just read and Psalm I'm going to get to in 252 00:21:22,929 --> 00:21:25,369 a moment, so just kind of stick with me. A lot of these verses 253 00:21:25,369 --> 00:21:30,809 you already know, but God is triune. Again, Trinity means tri. 254 00:21:30,809 --> 00:21:37,209 Three unity. Tri unity of God. He is three in one, three in one. 255 00:21:37,929 --> 00:21:41,889 He is three distinct persons. But he is one in essence or one in 256 00:21:41,889 --> 00:21:46,449 nature. He is not schizophrenic sometimes. Well, Jesus 257 00:21:46,449 --> 00:21:49,959 must have been schizophrenic at three. No, no. Tri unity of God. 258 00:21:53,479 --> 00:21:56,359 That which makes something what it is. In other words, his essence 259 00:21:56,359 --> 00:21:59,439 or that is his nature. And we'll describe it here in a moment. 260 00:21:59,439 --> 00:22:02,519 But there is no good illustration of the triunity of God. 261 00:22:03,479 --> 00:22:09,079 Everyone you use does not fit perfectly. Whether you use an egg, 262 00:22:10,119 --> 00:22:15,769 the shell, the white and the yolk still doesn't capture it. You 263 00:22:15,769 --> 00:22:20,529 can use H2O. H2O comes in three forms, but yet it's still H2O. 264 00:22:20,689 --> 00:22:23,329 You can use a football, which is a great illustration. No, it's 265 00:22:23,329 --> 00:22:27,009 not. Still not. You have the leather, the bladder and the air 266 00:22:27,329 --> 00:22:33,489 again. All of those maybe help us to try to conceive in our finite 267 00:22:33,489 --> 00:22:38,449 brains what God really is in his tri unity. But none of it comes 268 00:22:38,449 --> 00:22:44,539 close to really capturing the tri unity of God. He is one, in essence, 269 00:22:44,939 --> 00:22:47,979 all three persons of the Godhead, all the summation of the 270 00:22:47,979 --> 00:22:51,339 divine attributes of God. In other words, all three of the tri 271 00:22:51,339 --> 00:22:56,139 unity of God contain all the attributes of God. Sometimes we kind 272 00:22:56,139 --> 00:22:59,139 of think, well, the Holy Spirit is this and the God is that, 273 00:22:59,139 --> 00:23:03,459 and Jesus is this. Well, again, they're. And I'll cover that 274 00:23:03,459 --> 00:23:08,709 in a moment. What they do for us is different, but the attributes 275 00:23:08,709 --> 00:23:15,749 are the same. In other words, God is undivided. It is important 276 00:23:15,749 --> 00:23:22,149 that we think of God as Trinity, as in unity, neither confounding 277 00:23:22,149 --> 00:23:27,349 the person nor dividing the substance. He is truly three in one. 278 00:23:30,229 --> 00:23:40,679 And that incomprehensible. It's incomprehensible. It is absolutely 279 00:23:40,679 --> 00:23:44,239 the first doctrine that the cults attack. Mormons do not believe 280 00:23:44,239 --> 00:23:49,199 in the triunity of God and therefore they preach a false gospel. 281 00:23:50,959 --> 00:23:53,199 Jehovah Witnesses do not believe in the Trinity, therefore 282 00:23:53,199 --> 00:23:58,319 they preach a false gospel. If you rely upon the Mormons or the 283 00:23:58,319 --> 00:24:00,789 Jehovah Witnesses and, and what they preach to get you to heaven 284 00:24:00,789 --> 00:24:03,349 is not going to get you there because they don't believe in the 285 00:24:03,349 --> 00:24:06,669 same Jesus we believe in, by the way. Let me say that in a different 286 00:24:06,669 --> 00:24:10,389 way, they don't believe in the same Jesus. The Bible teaches they 287 00:24:10,389 --> 00:24:16,669 preach a different Jesus, they teach a different Jesus. Lot of good 288 00:24:16,669 --> 00:24:23,349 people in the Mormon Church, they are pulled there. The magnetism 289 00:24:23,349 --> 00:24:26,789 of the Mormon Church is basically based upon their teaching 290 00:24:26,789 --> 00:24:30,269 on the family. They are good at teaching on the family and they 291 00:24:30,269 --> 00:24:36,429 draw people that way. But their gospel is a false gospel. They 292 00:24:36,429 --> 00:24:45,869 are a cult. Our sincerest effort to grasp the incomprehensible 293 00:24:46,109 --> 00:24:51,209 mystery of the Trinity must remain forever futile. AW Tozer said, 294 00:24:53,039 --> 00:25:00,999 just get over it. You're never going to truly comprehend it. It's 295 00:25:00,999 --> 00:25:05,839 just not going to happen. Human reason cannot fathom the Trinity, 296 00:25:05,839 --> 00:25:12,799 nor can logic explain it. We are finite. God is infinite. So faith 297 00:25:13,279 --> 00:25:16,919 plays an important role. You say preacher, why do you believe 298 00:25:16,919 --> 00:25:20,609 in the Trinity? I believe in it because the Bible teaches it and 299 00:25:20,609 --> 00:25:23,049 well, you can't explain it. Doesn't matter. The Bible teaches 300 00:25:23,049 --> 00:25:29,649 it and therefore I accept it by faith. Even though I can't completely 301 00:25:30,129 --> 00:25:46,139 explain it or understand it. Amen. God made this universe. And 302 00:25:46,539 --> 00:25:53,619 yet we have lost the awe of the complexity and the enormity of 303 00:25:53,619 --> 00:25:58,459 the universe. I'll never forget the first time going to the 304 00:25:58,459 --> 00:26:05,259 Grand Canyon. I had seen pictures of the Grand Canyon. I had 305 00:26:05,739 --> 00:26:10,379 witnessed, you know, video of the Grand Canyon even in school or 306 00:26:10,459 --> 00:26:14,989 some there, some sometime thereafter. We went to the. Oh, the 307 00:26:14,989 --> 00:26:18,189 museum where they have the. What is it? The movie where you feel 308 00:26:18,189 --> 00:26:21,309 like you're inside of it. Yeah, I'm at whatever Omni theater 309 00:26:21,309 --> 00:26:24,149 back in the day and they did one that was the Grand Canyon with 310 00:26:24,149 --> 00:26:29,349 the airplane, you know, it's pretty cool. And I had seen all movies 311 00:26:29,349 --> 00:26:32,629 and documentaries of the Grand Canyon. Y' all know where I'm going. 312 00:26:33,029 --> 00:26:38,669 When I got there, the pictures did not do it justice. The movies 313 00:26:38,669 --> 00:26:41,389 did not do it justice, the documentaries didn't do it justice. 314 00:26:41,949 --> 00:26:48,549 I honestly felt it was fake. Standing there on the precipice, 315 00:26:48,549 --> 00:26:52,509 you know, looking out at the Grand Canyon, I said that is not 316 00:26:52,509 --> 00:26:59,429 real. Doesn't look real. And you have to go see it. It's the same 317 00:26:59,429 --> 00:27:03,769 thing with sequoia tree. I just blows me away that there is 318 00:27:03,769 --> 00:27:08,809 a tree that looks like it came out of Jurassic park. That truly 319 00:27:08,809 --> 00:27:16,769 exists. It's amazing. It looks fake, doesn't look real. God's creation 320 00:27:16,769 --> 00:27:24,449 is amazing. So many times we. We lose the grandeur of it, the amazement. 321 00:27:24,609 --> 00:27:33,419 We no longer amazed at it. And we do the same with God. We're not 322 00:27:33,419 --> 00:27:41,939 careful. Familiarity is tough. Preachers especially, we become too 323 00:27:41,939 --> 00:27:44,459 familiar. Lots of illustrations I give for that one. 324 00:27:47,979 --> 00:27:55,149 God is amazing. And yes, it's hard to believe some, some things 325 00:27:55,149 --> 00:27:58,709 or to at least to understand them. But man, we accept them by 326 00:27:58,709 --> 00:28:05,429 faith because the Bible teaches them. Bible doctrine is again 327 00:28:05,429 --> 00:28:09,549 fundamental to the Christian faith. The triunity of God. God is 328 00:28:09,549 --> 00:28:13,269 our heavenly Father. Christ is our elder brother, the Holy Spirit 329 00:28:13,269 --> 00:28:17,429 there as comforter and guide and teacher again benefiting us. 330 00:28:20,799 --> 00:28:23,599 All have the same attributes, but all three play a different role. 331 00:28:23,599 --> 00:28:29,999 If you would all equal. A little boy by the ocean was pouring 332 00:28:29,999 --> 00:28:34,159 water into a little hole. A man asked him the question, what 333 00:28:34,159 --> 00:28:37,159 are you doing? And the little boy said, I'm trying to put the ocean 334 00:28:37,159 --> 00:28:42,679 into this little hole. We can appreciate the ocean if you've been 335 00:28:42,679 --> 00:28:48,779 there. Man, you talk about immense and just vast. Get on a cruise 336 00:28:48,779 --> 00:28:53,179 ship, just get out in the middle of nowhere, our airplane and 337 00:28:53,179 --> 00:28:58,099 see it from the sky. We can appreciate the immenseness of the 338 00:28:58,099 --> 00:29:07,299 ocean. We can be awed by it, we can enjoy it. But we can't even 339 00:29:07,299 --> 00:29:12,819 come close to exhausting the immenseness or the mystery of it. 340 00:29:13,979 --> 00:29:20,659 Most of the ocean still hasn't been explored by human beings. There 341 00:29:20,659 --> 00:29:32,579 may very well be a mechelodon there. Who knows. What a mighty God 342 00:29:32,579 --> 00:29:39,699 we serve. In Psalm 110 that we just read again, Jesus asked the 343 00:29:39,699 --> 00:29:45,169 question to the religious leaders and he's doing so to honestly 344 00:29:45,169 --> 00:29:49,849 to shut their mouths. It wasn't that they didn't know the 345 00:29:49,849 --> 00:29:54,969 information. It was they rejected the Messiah on purpose. 346 00:29:57,769 --> 00:30:07,089 They were jealous of him. They wanted him killed and they rejected 347 00:30:07,089 --> 00:30:11,469 him again. As we look at Psalm 110, it says, the Lord said unto 348 00:30:11,469 --> 00:30:15,949 my Lord. Again, the word here, the Hebrew word is Jehovah, said 349 00:30:15,949 --> 00:30:21,389 unto Adonai, it's a father speaking to the Son. But here it's 350 00:30:21,389 --> 00:30:33,989 God speaking to his son. Again, Jesus alludes to this verse. 351 00:30:37,069 --> 00:30:43,269 David was king again. He would not address his son as Lord. This 352 00:30:43,269 --> 00:30:48,709 is a Masonic song. Because of the context, we know that is the 353 00:30:48,709 --> 00:30:51,709 case, we're not going to read it. The primary point that Christ 354 00:30:51,789 --> 00:30:56,469 was making was that David's son must have been also God for David 355 00:30:56,469 --> 00:31:04,879 to have addressed him as his Lord God. And as Jesus expresses 356 00:31:04,879 --> 00:31:07,279 this to the Pharisees, they would have understood what he said 357 00:31:07,279 --> 00:31:11,399 because unlike us, they knew the Hebrew words and what they meant 358 00:31:12,519 --> 00:31:16,639 and that he was claiming the Messiah is God. David is saying that 359 00:31:16,639 --> 00:31:25,359 the Messiah is God. And so Jesus confronts him with that. It's 360 00:31:25,359 --> 00:31:29,369 one thing for me to go through and quote all the normal scriptures 361 00:31:29,369 --> 00:31:33,809 we quote concerning Jesus Christ being God in the beginning, 362 00:31:33,809 --> 00:31:36,529 you know, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 363 00:31:36,529 --> 00:31:39,209 and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God, right? 364 00:31:39,929 --> 00:31:42,808 All things were made by him. John, chapter one, verse one through 365 00:31:42,808 --> 00:31:47,609 three makes it very clear that the word capital W O R D is God. 366 00:31:48,729 --> 00:31:55,499 So John the Apostle taught that Jesus Christ was God in the 367 00:31:55,499 --> 00:32:00,099 flesh. Jesus said himself, if you've seen me, you've seen God. 368 00:32:00,659 --> 00:32:05,059 And you could go on and on and on. Again we quote Timothy that says, 369 00:32:05,059 --> 00:32:07,459 great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the 370 00:32:07,459 --> 00:32:13,459 flesh. In the same chapter, John chapter one in verse 14, again 371 00:32:13,459 --> 00:32:18,059 being the expression of his glory, God in the flesh. Hebrews 372 00:32:18,059 --> 00:32:22,709 chapter 1, verses 1 through 3 again refers to Jesus as God in the 373 00:32:22,709 --> 00:32:29,589 flesh. And on and on and on. As we come to the Christmas season, 374 00:32:30,469 --> 00:32:34,149 we need to be reminded that Jesus Christ was indeed God in the 375 00:32:34,149 --> 00:32:41,189 flesh. That when he was born that it was again Mary, who was the 376 00:32:41,189 --> 00:32:46,599 receiver of the Holy Spirit, who placed the that part into her 377 00:32:46,599 --> 00:32:59,719 womb. God in the flesh. Why did he have to be God in order not 378 00:32:59,719 --> 00:33:03,919 to have a sinful nature? Because if he was born of Joseph, 379 00:33:04,399 --> 00:33:09,839 he would have been born with a sinful nature, born of the Holy Spirit 380 00:33:10,319 --> 00:33:20,679 with life from above. Right? Jesus Christ did not lay aside his 381 00:33:20,679 --> 00:33:24,159 Deity when he was here on earth. And we've given you there. 382 00:33:24,159 --> 00:33:28,959 And It's John chapter 3 and verse 13 where he refers to Himself 383 00:33:29,599 --> 00:33:32,839 here on earth and in heaven at the same time. Jesus Christ refers 384 00:33:32,839 --> 00:33:37,119 to himself here and there. In other words, he was still omnipresent 385 00:33:37,119 --> 00:33:46,379 even as he had a body. He was God in the flesh. Somebody said it 386 00:33:46,379 --> 00:33:49,819 this way. Let's not let what we can't know keep us from what we 387 00:33:49,819 --> 00:33:55,219 can know. Be careful not to stumble over the teachings of the 388 00:33:55,219 --> 00:33:58,899 Trinity. Be careful when you're talking to someone you know, 389 00:33:58,899 --> 00:34:02,859 Unitarian, again, a Mormon, a Jehovah Witness, and realize that 390 00:34:03,419 --> 00:34:08,069 again they deny the Trinity and so denying the Trinity, they 391 00:34:08,069 --> 00:34:11,109 deny that again that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. And 392 00:34:11,109 --> 00:34:19,309 therefore they preach a false gospel. Godhead is active in unity, 393 00:34:19,469 --> 00:34:22,389 in creation. In other words, it was the Godhood who was active 394 00:34:22,389 --> 00:34:27,109 in creation, creating what we have here today. The universe, the 395 00:34:27,109 --> 00:34:32,179 sun, the moon, the stars. Jesus Christ being the one out front, 396 00:34:32,259 --> 00:34:36,579 who I believe it was Christ's voice who said, let there be light. 397 00:34:36,979 --> 00:34:46,059 I believe it was the incarnation of Jesus Christ. In prayer, 398 00:34:46,059 --> 00:34:49,059 we must not just. We are not just coming to God, but we're coming 399 00:34:49,059 --> 00:34:53,579 to our Heavenly Father. We're coming to our Heavenly Father by 400 00:34:53,579 --> 00:34:57,189 way of adoption. We've been born again. Amen. We're coming to 401 00:34:57,189 --> 00:35:01,509 our Heavenly Father when we pray by way of our elder brother 402 00:35:01,509 --> 00:35:05,829 Jesus who's the mediator. And we're doing so in the power of the 403 00:35:05,829 --> 00:35:09,989 Holy Spirit. Aren't you thankful for the Holy Spirit that 404 00:35:09,989 --> 00:35:14,589 enables us gives us words we cannot utter. God the Father is not 405 00:35:14,589 --> 00:35:17,709 God the Son and God the Son is not God the Spirit. However, all 406 00:35:17,709 --> 00:35:23,669 are fully equal, equally God and exist in a unity of being, subordinate 407 00:35:23,669 --> 00:35:29,449 in roles, but not in essence, all equal. Somebody said it this 408 00:35:29,449 --> 00:35:32,969 way. Try to explain the Trinity fully and you will lose your 409 00:35:32,969 --> 00:35:39,569 mind. But try to deny it and you'll lose your soul. Amen. Amen. 410 00:35:39,569 --> 00:35:44,529 Let's all stand. We have a verse invitation tonight. The application 411 00:35:45,409 --> 00:35:51,449 Again we think about God as God in the flesh. The tri unity of 412 00:35:51,449 --> 00:35:58,339 God, God our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ our elder brother and 413 00:35:58,339 --> 00:36:03,219 the Holy Spirit who is our comforter, guide and strength. What 414 00:36:03,219 --> 00:36:06,819 a blessing and what a mighty God we serve. Heavenly Father. Lord, 415 00:36:06,819 --> 00:36:09,099 we do thank you for your love, your grace and your mercy that's 416 00:36:09,099 --> 00:36:12,419 been given to us. Lord, may you continue to work in our hearts. 417 00:36:12,419 --> 00:36:16,259 And Lord, help us to long for you. God, help us to want to know 418 00:36:16,259 --> 00:36:19,539 you more. And Lord, help us to walk with you daily. In Jesus name, 419 00:36:19,539 --> 00:36:20,139 amen.