Hebrews 4:11-16 - Living in the Excluded Middle

00:50:31
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdwTGifhUZg

Summary

TLDRIn today's gathering, the focus is on the Easter season and the importance of community groups and faith discussions. The speaker shares insights from Hebrews 4:11-16, emphasizing the necessity of maintaining faith even when faced with problems. The concept of the 'excluded middle' is introduced, illustrating how individuals often grapple with both belief and unbelief. The power of God's word is highlighted as a vital source of strength and understanding, and attendees are encouraged to approach God's throne for necessary mercy and grace to navigate their challenges and deepen their faith.

Takeaways

  • 🙏 Encourage participation in community groups.
  • 📖 Read and reflect on Hebrews 4:11-16.
  • ⛪ No Easter afternoon service—message will be recorded.
  • 💪 Seek to maintain faith during troubled times.
  • 🔍 Understand the concept of the 'excluded middle' between belief and unbelief.
  • 📜 Recognize the living power of God's word in our lives.
  • 🤲 Approach God's throne boldly for mercy and grace.
  • 🌱 Strive to deepen our faith amidst challenges.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The speaker welcomes everyone and discusses the significance of the forthcoming Easter season, encouraging participation in group meetings to foster community and faith sharing. They announce the changes in the Easter service, indicating that a recording will replace the usual afternoon gathering.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    A scripture from Hebrews is read, emphasizing the importance of striving to achieve faith and trust in God, while warning against disobedience by drawing parallels to the Israelites' lack of faith. The speaker highlights the power and accountability of God's word in our lives.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    The speaker recounts the story of Jesus' transfiguration and the confusion among His disciples when faced with the presence of arguments and struggles. They emphasize the need to focus on Jesus rather than on worldly troubles or distractions when faced with adversity.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    Continuing with the story from Mark, the speaker notes a man's altered faith due to struggles that arose while Jesus was away, illustrating the dangers of doubt creeping in during times of trouble, reminding the audience of the importance of unwavering faith amidst challenges.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    Jesus challenges the man’s faith by asking what he means by 'if you can,' and underscores that belief is crucial for miracles. The speaker warns against the dangers of doubt affecting our prayers and relationship with God.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:30:00

    The man responds to Jesus' challenge by admitting his mixed feelings of belief and unbelief, revealing the struggle many have when facing challenges and the need for divine help in overcoming doubt.

  • 00:30:00 - 00:35:00

    The speaker discusses the philosophical concept of the 'excluded middle,' indicating that believers often reside in a state where faith and doubt coexist, necessitating the importance of acknowledging both elements in their spiritual walk.

  • 00:35:00 - 00:40:00

    A metaphor is established in discussing the need for vigilance and urgency in faith, connecting the struggles of daily life (like driving) to the spiritual vigilance needed to maintain belief amidst distractions and troubles.

  • 00:40:00 - 00:45:00

    The speaker elaborates on the profound nature of God's word, describing it as living and effective, possessing the power to discern and impact our very souls, urging listeners to engage deeply with Scripture as a source of truth and clarity.

  • 00:45:00 - 00:50:31

    Finally, the speaker emphasizes the importance of humility and honesty before God, reminding listeners that faith can ebb and flow, but our responsibility is to seek God's mercy and grace in order to navigate the challenges of belief and unbelief in their lives.

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Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What scripture was read during the session?

    Hebrews 4:11-16 was read.

  • Are there any meeting groups mentioned?

    Yes, there are men's groups on Tuesdays and women's groups on Wednesdays.

  • Will there be an Easter afternoon service?

    No, there will not be an Easter afternoon service.

  • What does the message encourage regarding faith?

    The message encourages attendees to maintain faith despite encountering troubles.

  • What is the significance of the 'excluded middle' mentioned?

    The 'excluded middle' refers to the coexistence of faith and unbelief in people's lives.

  • What does the speaker emphasize about God's word?

    God's word is lively, powerful, and sharp, capable of revealing our innermost thoughts.

  • What should individuals do in the face of troubles?

    Individuals should seek mercy and grace from God to help overcome their troubles.

  • How does the sermon suggest we view our weaknesses?

    It encourages us to recognize our weaknesses and approach God's throne for grace.

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Subtitles
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  • 00:00:00
    well this afternoon uh welcome to you uh
  • 00:00:03
    online joining us we are in a great
  • 00:00:08
    season of uh Easter entering into the
  • 00:00:13
    six weeks before
  • 00:00:14
    Easter um and I just encourage you we're
  • 00:00:17
    still doing men's groups on Wednesday or
  • 00:00:20
    on Tuesday women's groups on Wednesday
  • 00:00:23
    and I encourage you to take advantage of
  • 00:00:25
    those meetings and attend those meetings
  • 00:00:28
    uh you just can't uh take it for granted
  • 00:00:32
    uh it's a special blessing a gift to all
  • 00:00:34
    of us to be able to meet together and to
  • 00:00:37
    share our faith together to pray
  • 00:00:39
    together and uh and and all the things
  • 00:00:41
    that the Lord wants to accomplish in us
  • 00:00:44
    so um that's what I have by way of
  • 00:00:46
    announcement also our Easter afternoon
  • 00:00:50
    service we're not going to have one here
  • 00:00:52
    in the afternoon we're not going to try
  • 00:00:54
    that okay so uh early Easter morning
  • 00:00:58
    Kathy and I are going to get up and
  • 00:00:59
    record uh the message online and then um
  • 00:01:03
    after that we can uh do the things we do
  • 00:01:06
    as Community of Faith as a family uh
  • 00:01:08
    we're free to uh partake in Easter in
  • 00:01:11
    the morning and uh and be done by the
  • 00:01:14
    afternoon okay okay so I'm going to read
  • 00:01:17
    a scripture this morning or this
  • 00:01:19
    afternoon I read one this morning but
  • 00:01:21
    I'm going to read it again this
  • 00:01:22
    afternoon uh from Hebrews chapter 4 and
  • 00:01:26
    uh it's verses 11- 16 so I'm going to
  • 00:01:29
    read out of the new living Living
  • 00:01:30
    Translation if you have a different
  • 00:01:32
    version just bear with it and we'll
  • 00:01:34
    unpack it after
  • 00:01:35
    that so let us do our best to enter that
  • 00:01:39
    rest if we disobey God as the people of
  • 00:01:42
    Israel did we will fall for the word of
  • 00:01:45
    God is alive and Powerful it is sharper
  • 00:01:48
    than the sharpest two-edged sword
  • 00:01:51
    cutting between Soul and Spirit between
  • 00:01:53
    joint and Marrow it exposes our
  • 00:01:55
    innermost thoughts and desires nothing
  • 00:01:58
    in all creation is hidden from God
  • 00:02:00
    everything is naked and exposed before
  • 00:02:03
    his eyes and he is the one to whom we
  • 00:02:06
    are accountable so then since we have a
  • 00:02:08
    great high priest who has entered Heaven
  • 00:02:12
    Jesus the son of God let us hold firmly
  • 00:02:15
    to what we believe this high priest of
  • 00:02:17
    ours understands our weakness for he he
  • 00:02:20
    has faced all of the same testings we do
  • 00:02:23
    yet he did not sin so let us come boldly
  • 00:02:27
    to the throne of our gracious God there
  • 00:02:30
    we will receive his mercy and we'll find
  • 00:02:33
    his grace to help us when we need it
  • 00:02:36
    most one more prayer please so father
  • 00:02:39
    you've blessed us with a lot of
  • 00:02:42
    understanding of your word and I know
  • 00:02:45
    that you expect a lot out of us and yet
  • 00:02:48
    Lord here we have this dilemma that that
  • 00:02:51
    overall we're not very productive we're
  • 00:02:52
    not very profitable servants we're kind
  • 00:02:54
    of like those in in Luke's gospel's
  • 00:02:57
    Parable where we we come in out of the
  • 00:02:59
    field and and uh we we think we've done
  • 00:03:02
    A Hard Day's Work and we throw up our
  • 00:03:04
    feet and we go oh now I want to be
  • 00:03:06
    served and we forget that we're Servants
  • 00:03:08
    of the most high God and that we should
  • 00:03:12
    serve and serve and serve until we drop
  • 00:03:14
    and then we should be humble and and uh
  • 00:03:17
    really acknowledge that any good thing
  • 00:03:19
    in our life comes from you so we are
  • 00:03:22
    those people Lord we are the people that
  • 00:03:24
    have a hard time with with a lot of the
  • 00:03:27
    humility that's required of us us and I
  • 00:03:30
    pray that you would be our God you would
  • 00:03:34
    be our high priest you would be merciful
  • 00:03:36
    to us you would call us and invite us
  • 00:03:39
    back to that gracious heavenly father
  • 00:03:42
    and that you would also forgive our sins
  • 00:03:44
    for truly they are many and I pray that
  • 00:03:47
    we could humbly live this life day by
  • 00:03:50
    day in the way that most pleases you so
  • 00:03:53
    give insight into your word yet again
  • 00:03:55
    Lord help us with understanding and
  • 00:03:58
    insight so that we can try to live it
  • 00:04:00
    again in jesus' name
  • 00:04:03
    amen so we have a detailed account in
  • 00:04:07
    Mark's Gospel of a man who is believing
  • 00:04:11
    in Jesus but he encounters troubles and
  • 00:04:15
    those troubles begin to alter his belief
  • 00:04:17
    in Christ this is exactly what we've
  • 00:04:20
    been looking at in Hebrews that we um uh
  • 00:04:23
    we we have this call to Faith and we
  • 00:04:28
    believe but then
  • 00:04:30
    uh as we started this section in chapter
  • 00:04:32
    3: 7 we hear his voice we want to
  • 00:04:35
    believe we're called to believe but we
  • 00:04:38
    also see troubles we're like the
  • 00:04:40
    children of Israel we we look into the
  • 00:04:42
    promised land and even when we see it
  • 00:04:44
    close and near and about to be fulfilled
  • 00:04:47
    we also see the Giants of the land we
  • 00:04:49
    see the trouble we see what it is that
  • 00:04:52
    will in uh prohibit us from partaking of
  • 00:04:55
    the promises of God and remember we've
  • 00:04:58
    been told that this this is not
  • 00:05:00
    acceptable to God he doesn't allow us to
  • 00:05:04
    mix belief with troubles and turn and
  • 00:05:08
    fear the troubles and begin to uh
  • 00:05:11
    acknowledge the troubles he wants us to
  • 00:05:14
    believe in the promises because we have
  • 00:05:16
    him with us and it is those promises
  • 00:05:19
    that he's going to fulfill our fears are
  • 00:05:21
    going to help us stumble and fulfill
  • 00:05:24
    what we are afraid of but uh so God
  • 00:05:27
    calls us scriptures call us to believe
  • 00:05:30
    and not to faint and not to fall back
  • 00:05:33
    and so that's what we've been looking at
  • 00:05:35
    but in Mark chapter 9 there's this
  • 00:05:36
    there's this very enlightening
  • 00:05:39
    example Jesus has just been to uh the
  • 00:05:44
    the area of cesaria Philippi where he
  • 00:05:46
    has informed Peter that is it is indeed
  • 00:05:49
    the confession of faith that is that is
  • 00:05:52
    uh that is going to save us that that
  • 00:05:55
    Jesus is the Christ the son of the
  • 00:05:57
    Living God revealed to him by uh by the
  • 00:06:00
    father not by Flesh and Blood uh Jesus
  • 00:06:03
    has has just um told the disciples he's
  • 00:06:06
    going to turn his face now toward
  • 00:06:08
    Jerusalem and go and die a prophet's
  • 00:06:10
    death and they've tried to stop him
  • 00:06:12
    they've tried to say no no don't talk
  • 00:06:14
    like that don't talk with the insanity
  • 00:06:16
    of that and Jesus has rebuked them and
  • 00:06:19
    told them to not try and stop him from
  • 00:06:21
    going forward with the plan the plan is
  • 00:06:24
    underway Midway as it were and uh and
  • 00:06:27
    they are to allow him to go forward with
  • 00:06:29
    it then he prophesied uh that he would
  • 00:06:33
    uh that some were there with him who
  • 00:06:35
    would see the kingdom of God before one
  • 00:06:37
    week passed by and uh and indeed he took
  • 00:06:41
    Peter James and John they went up to the
  • 00:06:42
    Mount of transfiguration possibly Mount
  • 00:06:45
    Horeb for those of you who are
  • 00:06:47
    geographical biblical nuts and uh those
  • 00:06:50
    of you who aren't become one because
  • 00:06:51
    it's very interesting but um but but
  • 00:06:54
    Jesus Took uh uh Peter James and John up
  • 00:06:57
    on the Mount of transfiguration and was
  • 00:07:00
    transfigured before them the glory of
  • 00:07:02
    God Shone out through him Moses and
  • 00:07:05
    Elijah were there talking with him uh
  • 00:07:08
    Luke tells us they were talking about
  • 00:07:10
    the Exodus the road out from this life
  • 00:07:14
    that Jesus had entered into and now he
  • 00:07:17
    was going to leave and so uh the
  • 00:07:20
    disciples were overwhelmed they said oh
  • 00:07:22
    Lord Peter spoke and said Lord let us
  • 00:07:24
    build three Tabernacles here we'll have
  • 00:07:26
    this honorarium down through time 3,000
  • 00:07:29
    years years later people will be making
  • 00:07:31
    pilgrimages to come and honor you and
  • 00:07:33
    Moses and Elijah and then the voice from
  • 00:07:36
    Heaven stopped at all and said enough
  • 00:07:38
    this is my son just listen to him and uh
  • 00:07:41
    they they were smitten in the dirt with
  • 00:07:44
    with humility and they looked up and
  • 00:07:46
    they could see Jesus only exactly what
  • 00:07:48
    the father wanted see Jesus only don't
  • 00:07:51
    look at the Glorious powerful Miracles
  • 00:07:54
    and take your eyes off of Christ because
  • 00:07:57
    he's he's all that really matters so the
  • 00:07:59
    four of them I'm going to ask you later
  • 00:08:02
    who the four were okay come down off
  • 00:08:05
    Mount Horeb off the Mount of
  • 00:08:07
    transfiguration who were the
  • 00:08:11
    foures and Jesus very good all right
  • 00:08:15
    spot quizzes are order of the day today
  • 00:08:17
    so they all come down and as they're
  • 00:08:19
    heading down the mountain now it's it's
  • 00:08:21
    an amazing mountain I've actually been
  • 00:08:23
    there in the early 1990s where uh where
  • 00:08:26
    you can see how high they climbed for
  • 00:08:29
    the Transfiguration and and how high
  • 00:08:31
    they descended down as you're coming
  • 00:08:33
    down you can see the valley down below
  • 00:08:35
    and they saw a great crowd there and
  • 00:08:37
    they were arguing now I don't know how
  • 00:08:40
    you can see a crowd from uh descending
  • 00:08:44
    down a mountain and tell that they're
  • 00:08:45
    arguing well actually I do know just
  • 00:08:47
    think about it a second you know they're
  • 00:08:48
    wagging fingers at each other they're
  • 00:08:50
    shouting at each other they're standing
  • 00:08:52
    off they're some about one side some on
  • 00:08:54
    the other side and it's jesus' disciples
  • 00:08:56
    in the crowd and they're yelling at each
  • 00:08:58
    other they're fighting and so then they
  • 00:09:00
    somebody spots Jesus and Peter James and
  • 00:09:03
    John and go they're coming down they're
  • 00:09:04
    coming back and uh so the crowd's rush
  • 00:09:07
    to Jesus they're you know they forget
  • 00:09:09
    the argument they don't care about the
  • 00:09:10
    argument they they see the celebrity
  • 00:09:13
    they want Jesus so they rush to Jesus
  • 00:09:16
    and Jesus does not like you know he does
  • 00:09:19
    not indulge in their excitement of his
  • 00:09:22
    Fame what were you arguing about I saw
  • 00:09:26
    you arguing remember when Moses came
  • 00:09:28
    down off the mountain having talked with
  • 00:09:30
    God in the glory remember what happened
  • 00:09:32
    that the children of Israel had made a
  • 00:09:34
    golden calf and they were worshiping the
  • 00:09:36
    golden calf uh Moses took so long to
  • 00:09:39
    come back down they thought ah well we
  • 00:09:40
    need to get on with our lives and do
  • 00:09:42
    something else let's let's uh go to
  • 00:09:44
    Abram and get some leadership and and
  • 00:09:46
    Abram's like uh so so anyway you know
  • 00:09:50
    the story um so uh anyway they were
  • 00:09:54
    worshiping the golden calf and and uh
  • 00:09:57
    Aaron it was so uh
  • 00:10:00
    Moses throws the tablets down and breaks
  • 00:10:02
    them and they go well Aaron Aaron did
  • 00:10:04
    this he uh he did it and they go to
  • 00:10:07
    Aaron they go what happened how come
  • 00:10:09
    you're worshiping a golden calf and he
  • 00:10:10
    goes we just threw gold in the fire now
  • 00:10:12
    came a calf lying through his teeth the
  • 00:10:15
    whole Glory was just descended down into
  • 00:10:18
    humanness so Jesus and the disciples
  • 00:10:21
    come down from the mountain having seen
  • 00:10:23
    the glory and there's arguments going on
  • 00:10:26
    so Jesus says who who is it that started
  • 00:10:29
    this argument what are you arguing about
  • 00:10:31
    and in Mark 9:17 one of the men in the
  • 00:10:34
    crowd spoke up and said teacher I
  • 00:10:36
    brought my son so you could heal him
  • 00:10:38
    he's possessed by an evil spirit that
  • 00:10:41
    won't let him talk and whenever the
  • 00:10:42
    spirit seizes him and throws him
  • 00:10:44
    violently to the ground then he Foams at
  • 00:10:46
    the mouth and grinds his teeth and
  • 00:10:48
    becomes rigid so I asked your disciples
  • 00:10:51
    to cast out the evil spirit but they
  • 00:10:53
    couldn't do it and Jesus said you
  • 00:10:57
    faithless people how long must I be with
  • 00:11:01
    you so get the picture here Jesus left
  • 00:11:04
    them went up into the mountain with with
  • 00:11:06
    his three
  • 00:11:08
    disciples and the crowds come the man
  • 00:11:11
    comes for Jesus and the other disciples
  • 00:11:14
    who were there can't help the man this
  • 00:11:17
    is not the kingdom of God where only
  • 00:11:20
    Jesus can help the man this is not what
  • 00:11:24
    he planned there is no faith there there
  • 00:11:27
    is no faith among the disciples
  • 00:11:29
    uh the spirit seemed intense throwing
  • 00:11:32
    thrashing the boy uh couldn't do it so
  • 00:11:36
    the man's Faith now begins to alter this
  • 00:11:39
    is what we are warned against in Hebrews
  • 00:11:43
    the faith that the man had in Jesus
  • 00:11:45
    began to alter because he came and
  • 00:11:47
    troubles were still there the troubles
  • 00:11:49
    weren't dismissed uh Jesus wasn't there
  • 00:11:53
    but when he came back now it wasn't just
  • 00:11:55
    like the man's like phew here's Jesus
  • 00:11:57
    he'll straighten everything out it's
  • 00:11:59
    different now his faith has altered his
  • 00:12:01
    heart has hardened a little bit and
  • 00:12:04
    Jesus begins to question him how long
  • 00:12:07
    how long has this been happening oh
  • 00:12:09
    since he was a little boy an evil spirit
  • 00:12:12
    tries to kill him and then he says have
  • 00:12:14
    mercy on us notice now he includes
  • 00:12:17
    himself in the prayer have mercy on us
  • 00:12:19
    if you can and Jesus broils at that last
  • 00:12:23
    statement if you can the man didn't
  • 00:12:26
    bring his boy to Jesus starting out
  • 00:12:28
    going if you can hear him heal him he
  • 00:12:30
    brought him to Jesus to cast out the
  • 00:12:32
    spirit period he believed he could do it
  • 00:12:35
    he had Faith he could do it he traveled
  • 00:12:37
    over Countryside he traveled over
  • 00:12:40
    Wilderness with uh with great uh Peril
  • 00:12:44
    to have Jesus heal his son and he
  • 00:12:46
    believed he could cast out the demon but
  • 00:12:49
    now the encounter and the troubles that
  • 00:12:51
    came caused the man now to have this
  • 00:12:53
    other prayer if you can he he gives a uh
  • 00:12:57
    he Hedges his prayer with a bit you know
  • 00:13:00
    maybe you can't I can accept that if you
  • 00:13:02
    can't Jesus after all you were gone I
  • 00:13:04
    was here we were arguing and some of the
  • 00:13:07
    arguments have gotten through to me I
  • 00:13:09
    don't really know what to expect now but
  • 00:13:11
    the point for us is that he altered his
  • 00:13:15
    faith in Christ based on his troubles
  • 00:13:18
    Mark uh uh 9:23 Jesus said what do you
  • 00:13:21
    mean if I
  • 00:13:23
    can anything is possible if a person
  • 00:13:26
    believes have faith believe believe
  • 00:13:29
    today if you will hear his voice believe
  • 00:13:32
    that's what we've been looking at hear
  • 00:13:34
    his voice today and believe cuz in that
  • 00:13:37
    instant that you don't believe in that
  • 00:13:39
    instant you go ah come on come on there
  • 00:13:42
    must be some other explanation for this
  • 00:13:44
    or that or maybe the Lord was just doing
  • 00:13:46
    this other thing instead your heart
  • 00:13:49
    begins to harden we've been told and you
  • 00:13:52
    begin with a hardened heart to try and
  • 00:13:56
    understand uh what it is that's going on
  • 00:13:59
    and your heart's hardened and you begin
  • 00:14:00
    to wander off towards sin you don't sin
  • 00:14:04
    immediately but you you are on a road
  • 00:14:06
    you've hit a fork in the road and you've
  • 00:14:08
    taken the wrong Fork you've taken the
  • 00:14:10
    wrong direction you you're not believing
  • 00:14:12
    anymore so the believing is the key and
  • 00:14:15
    it's the function and we've been warned
  • 00:14:18
    this happens in an instant in your heart
  • 00:14:20
    it happens so fast in your heart that
  • 00:14:23
    you need to be able to stand in that
  • 00:14:26
    place of faith and not let the heart
  • 00:14:29
    begin to harden not let it begin to uh
  • 00:14:32
    uh have its rationale and have its
  • 00:14:34
    things uh
  • 00:14:36
    so as soon as Jesus says anything is
  • 00:14:40
    possible if a person believes the father
  • 00:14:42
    instantly cries out I do believe but
  • 00:14:46
    help me overcome my unbelief because now
  • 00:14:49
    unbelief has begun to creep in so he has
  • 00:14:52
    both belief and unbelief he has uh both
  • 00:14:57
    the faith that he needs but now he has
  • 00:15:00
    the hesitancy of unbelief he has taken a
  • 00:15:03
    fork in the road that's not right but he
  • 00:15:05
    still can see the other fork in the road
  • 00:15:07
    he can still see the other Road and this
  • 00:15:10
    is the reality of life this is the um
  • 00:15:14
    this is the place where the man faces
  • 00:15:17
    the trouble of Jesus not being there
  • 00:15:20
    asking the disciples to cast out the
  • 00:15:22
    demon but when they can't do it he now
  • 00:15:26
    has uh has a doubt factor a doubt Factor
  • 00:15:29
    has come into his heart and that doubt
  • 00:15:31
    fa Factor uh in influences his prayer
  • 00:15:34
    his discussion with Jesus if you can you
  • 00:15:37
    know you're talking to the Son of God
  • 00:15:39
    son of man who created the universe and
  • 00:15:41
    you're saying if you can if you can just
  • 00:15:43
    heal my boy um so the doubt Factor has
  • 00:15:46
    crept in and he does a good thing he
  • 00:15:51
    asks for Mercy he asks for himself he
  • 00:15:54
    has a partial uh prayer of faith uh and
  • 00:15:59
    that prayer of faith does not exactly
  • 00:16:01
    cut it with Jesus but Jesus answers his
  • 00:16:05
    prayer in the affirmative and because
  • 00:16:07
    the man asks for help and mercy also and
  • 00:16:10
    help is
  • 00:16:11
    unbelief then he is helped and that's
  • 00:16:15
    what we want to cry today Lord help our
  • 00:16:18
    unbelief because our fickle Hearts if
  • 00:16:21
    we're going to be totally honest with
  • 00:16:23
    each other turn on a dime sometimes we
  • 00:16:26
    believe one second and then we lose our
  • 00:16:29
    focus and we we're turned toward
  • 00:16:30
    troubles and unbelief how are we ever
  • 00:16:33
    going to believe in the face of great
  • 00:16:35
    troubles much less little
  • 00:16:38
    troubles so like the great agitator
  • 00:16:42
    washer that real life tends to be we
  • 00:16:45
    need to mix the detergent of God's word
  • 00:16:49
    in with our troubles and find the
  • 00:16:52
    cleansing found at God's Throne that's
  • 00:16:55
    what today is going to be about we're
  • 00:16:57
    going to unravel this and and uh examine
  • 00:17:00
    one of the most famous scriptures uh but
  • 00:17:02
    we're going to do it carefully because
  • 00:17:05
    there's a reason to do it carefully
  • 00:17:07
    because we need to be humble okay so
  • 00:17:09
    first of all verse 11 do our best to
  • 00:17:12
    rest uh is really how you can remember
  • 00:17:15
    that um the there is a lot of uh
  • 00:17:20
    different translations here I don't like
  • 00:17:23
    do our best because it seems like we
  • 00:17:25
    could get a participation trophy at the
  • 00:17:27
    end you know which we're not going to
  • 00:17:29
    get you know I don't imagine the man
  • 00:17:30
    felt very good when Jesus said what do
  • 00:17:32
    you mean if you can you know I don't
  • 00:17:35
    imagine that man's like oh yeah I did my
  • 00:17:37
    best I don't think that's literally the
  • 00:17:40
    phrase is make every effort that's how
  • 00:17:43
    the NIV CSV n SRV that's RSV that's how
  • 00:17:49
    they translate it ESV has strived to
  • 00:17:52
    enter uh new King James says be diligent
  • 00:17:55
    to enter it means to to to be D diligent
  • 00:17:59
    and strive to enter that rest it's the
  • 00:18:02
    same as verse 7 of chapter 3 today if
  • 00:18:04
    you hear his voice enter in come in and
  • 00:18:08
    and there has to be an urgency and an
  • 00:18:11
    understanding of the situation you know
  • 00:18:13
    sometimes in my lacks of driving uh I'll
  • 00:18:16
    come up to situations where where my old
  • 00:18:19
    habits uh tend to tend to threaten my
  • 00:18:22
    good driving skills uh there are some
  • 00:18:24
    crosswalk situations where I'll check
  • 00:18:27
    everything I'll look I'll go to turn
  • 00:18:28
    right on red or whatever and I'll be
  • 00:18:30
    looking off to the left and I'll miss a
  • 00:18:33
    pedestrian in the crosswalk for crying
  • 00:18:36
    out loud though the most important thing
  • 00:18:38
    is there and fortunately uh my my
  • 00:18:42
    companion in this life Kathy will say
  • 00:18:44
    stop you know we've worked this out
  • 00:18:46
    through the years you know uh if you
  • 00:18:48
    don't say there's a pedestrian just say
  • 00:18:50
    stop give me that command there's an
  • 00:18:53
    urgency there that has to be there and
  • 00:18:56
    if the urgency is not there it's not
  • 00:18:57
    commensurate with the with the drama
  • 00:18:59
    with the danger and so that's what's
  • 00:19:02
    here so so make every effort strive to
  • 00:19:06
    enter in because if you
  • 00:19:08
    disobey you will fall now there's a
  • 00:19:12
    logic thing here that I want to open up
  • 00:19:14
    to you uh it's called The Law of the
  • 00:19:17
    excluded middle in
  • 00:19:18
    philosophy uh do our best to rest if we
  • 00:19:21
    disobey we'll will fall there's a middle
  • 00:19:24
    part there that's not spoken okay do our
  • 00:19:28
    best to Reston if we don't rest we don't
  • 00:19:30
    fall right away okay that's what we've
  • 00:19:32
    been learning what happens when we don't
  • 00:19:35
    rest is our hearts start to harden they
  • 00:19:39
    they start to sear if you will and then
  • 00:19:42
    we start to uh entertain sinful thoughts
  • 00:19:45
    of Disobedience disobedience is the
  • 00:19:48
    final step in that so we're supposed to
  • 00:19:51
    be resting and believing and inheriting
  • 00:19:53
    the promises and Watching God fulfill
  • 00:19:55
    our salvation but on the other hand our
  • 00:19:57
    troubles are making us doubt and fear
  • 00:20:00
    and look around go I wonder if this is
  • 00:20:02
    really going to happen and in the end we
  • 00:20:06
    end up disobeying we end up doing
  • 00:20:09
    something that displeases God that's
  • 00:20:11
    when we fall now what was it from for
  • 00:20:14
    the children of Israel and Kadesh barnea
  • 00:20:16
    looking into the promised land well they
  • 00:20:18
    had testimony okay Joshua and Caleb were
  • 00:20:21
    going oh man it's awesome let's go let's
  • 00:20:24
    be there we'd be there by Dawn let's
  • 00:20:26
    just go let's Charge of the Light
  • 00:20:28
    Brigade you know let's get in there and
  • 00:20:31
    the other spies the other 10 are going
  • 00:20:33
    oh there's big people there oh there's
  • 00:20:35
    Giants there I mean they're just they're
  • 00:20:37
    beefed out they they invented steroids
  • 00:20:39
    thousands of years before they happened
  • 00:20:41
    they're just buff you know they're just
  • 00:20:43
    going to crush everything and everybody
  • 00:20:45
    what are we going to do we can't do
  • 00:20:46
    anything about them okay so so they're
  • 00:20:49
    hearing this
  • 00:20:50
    testimony and they're and then they
  • 00:20:52
    start grumbling and remember we looked
  • 00:20:54
    at this it wasn't just that they had
  • 00:20:56
    troubles and doubts it's that those
  • 00:20:59
    troubles and doubts manifested
  • 00:21:01
    themselves they said let's go back to
  • 00:21:04
    Egypt let's appoint ourselves a leader
  • 00:21:06
    and get back there because we all like
  • 00:21:08
    leaks don't we and and so that was the
  • 00:21:11
    sinfulness that was the bailing on the
  • 00:21:14
    faith that God was fulfilling the
  • 00:21:16
    promises that was turn around and go
  • 00:21:18
    back and take another road that was the
  • 00:21:21
    sin that was the problem okay so there's
  • 00:21:24
    a there's an excluded middle here U now
  • 00:21:27
    now the law of the excluded middle in
  • 00:21:29
    philosophy means that there's no middle
  • 00:21:32
    ground between being true and false
  • 00:21:34
    something's either true or false there's
  • 00:21:37
    no middle ground okay but that's not
  • 00:21:40
    true in in terms of our real life okay
  • 00:21:44
    and in the 1980s Western missionaries
  • 00:21:47
    discovered that uh they had a refusal to
  • 00:21:51
    acknowledge the fact that there was a
  • 00:21:54
    middle ground between the evidencebased
  • 00:21:57
    belief of Western religions and the
  • 00:22:01
    experiential based beliefs of all the
  • 00:22:03
    places they were going to the the the
  • 00:22:05
    religions in the world that they lived
  • 00:22:08
    in was non-scientific and so uh it
  • 00:22:12
    wasn't just uh uh belief it wasn't just
  • 00:22:16
    uh truth or falsehood okay and and so
  • 00:22:19
    this law the law of the excluded middle
  • 00:22:21
    now became just the excluded middle like
  • 00:22:24
    if you're going to be a missionary in
  • 00:22:25
    the 1980s of the last century you got to
  • 00:22:28
    understand that someone can say uh I
  • 00:22:31
    believe but I also don't believe some
  • 00:22:33
    things you know and I remember the the
  • 00:22:36
    shrin of of being on a missionary
  • 00:22:38
    journey in a in a tribe in the uh
  • 00:22:41
    Philippines the South Philippines of
  • 00:22:43
    menow and the Ros Mountains and the
  • 00:22:45
    tribal leader uh believing in Jesus and
  • 00:22:49
    the insistence of the tribal Elders that
  • 00:22:52
    the whole tribe now believes in Jesus
  • 00:22:54
    they're all Christian well what are you
  • 00:22:57
    talking about well whatever the tribe
  • 00:23:00
    whatever the tribal leader Chief
  • 00:23:01
    believes whatever the chieftain believes
  • 00:23:04
    that's what everybody else believes and
  • 00:23:06
    that was their view of reality that was
  • 00:23:08
    their view of life okay so the tribal
  • 00:23:11
    Chieftain had about 12 wives and I don't
  • 00:23:13
    know how many of the elders had they had
  • 00:23:15
    more than the chieftain had because they
  • 00:23:17
    were out there among the people and and
  • 00:23:20
    you know we're looking as missionaries
  • 00:23:21
    going God what do we do now you know the
  • 00:23:25
    tribe that now is Christian and they got
  • 00:23:27
    a multiplicity of WI everywhere okay so
  • 00:23:29
    our own absurdities are are like coming
  • 00:23:32
    back on us here uh you know now there is
  • 00:23:35
    a partial truth in the Bob Dylan song
  • 00:23:38
    remember the line from his song in the
  • 00:23:39
    saved album he says you either got faith
  • 00:23:42
    or
  • 00:23:43
    unbelief that's true you either have
  • 00:23:46
    faith or unbelief but you also can have
  • 00:23:49
    faith and unbelief that's the problem
  • 00:23:52
    that's the excluded middle ladies and
  • 00:23:55
    gentlemen we live in the excluded middle
  • 00:23:58
    we we live here in this place where we
  • 00:24:00
    have to deal with our faith that's less
  • 00:24:03
    than perfect with our ideals that are
  • 00:24:05
    very high and and very compelling and
  • 00:24:09
    our failure rate which is very high also
  • 00:24:12
    and our own self-judgment we live in
  • 00:24:14
    this Middle Ground where we believe but
  • 00:24:18
    we don't believe and so this is uh this
  • 00:24:22
    is what this text is all about so said
  • 00:24:27
    another way uh the non sequitor of the
  • 00:24:30
    excluded middle elephants have big ears
  • 00:24:33
    Socrates has big ears Socrates is an
  • 00:24:36
    elephant he's not an elephant okay and
  • 00:24:39
    we are not lost people we are being
  • 00:24:41
    saved but we are also people who are
  • 00:24:43
    prone to to very quickly turn on a dime
  • 00:24:47
    toward unbelief that we must deal with
  • 00:24:50
    we must face that and that's what the
  • 00:24:52
    energy in this text is trying to do so
  • 00:24:56
    uh first of all uh that let's uh just
  • 00:25:00
    make sure we understand the rest that
  • 00:25:03
    the the special rest the Sabbath rest
  • 00:25:05
    here just called rest that we are
  • 00:25:08
    supposed to opt for in all cases and
  • 00:25:12
    that rest is simply to see God's work in
  • 00:25:15
    hand in today and know that he's saving
  • 00:25:19
    us and leave it there don't entertain or
  • 00:25:23
    indulge the troubles don't uh run from
  • 00:25:27
    the troubles but face them down by the
  • 00:25:30
    fact that God is calling us to Salvation
  • 00:25:34
    and he is saving us and sometimes he is
  • 00:25:37
    very near completing that as he was with
  • 00:25:40
    the children of Israel very near their
  • 00:25:42
    salvation they just needed to enter in
  • 00:25:45
    that's the rest and when you're when
  • 00:25:46
    you're doing that you're resting in the
  • 00:25:48
    Lord right you're you're knowing hey I
  • 00:25:51
    don't I'm not very humble I don't have a
  • 00:25:53
    good temperament I don't obey a lot of
  • 00:25:56
    the things I want to obey but I'm being
  • 00:25:59
    saved and the Lord's delivering me from
  • 00:26:02
    myself that's rest when you can get in
  • 00:26:05
    that place and just say that's where I'm
  • 00:26:08
    staying that's where I'm standing that's
  • 00:26:10
    where I'm going to live my life in that
  • 00:26:12
    place of rest even in the excluded
  • 00:26:15
    middle I'm going to be at rest so verses
  • 00:26:18
    12 and 13 now tell us about the word of
  • 00:26:22
    God and don't go to your commentaries on
  • 00:26:25
    this because they've been all filtered
  • 00:26:26
    down and watered down this is halagos
  • 00:26:30
    this is the word of God this is the word
  • 00:26:32
    that became flesh and dwelt Among Us
  • 00:26:34
    this isn't the sayings of God it isn't
  • 00:26:37
    the Contemporary prophets who pretend to
  • 00:26:39
    speak for God some of the times this is
  • 00:26:43
    the word of God that he's talking about
  • 00:26:45
    and remember when we went through the uh
  • 00:26:48
    prison and Pastoral Epistles uh we saw
  • 00:26:51
    how uh all of the late Apostles
  • 00:26:55
    understood the word was going to become
  • 00:26:57
    everything important to those who would
  • 00:27:00
    be Downstream in the faith who hadn't
  • 00:27:02
    personally firsthand experienced uh the
  • 00:27:06
    preaching of the early Apostles and so
  • 00:27:09
    they began to write remember uh uh
  • 00:27:13
    Paul's writings just just wrote one
  • 00:27:15
    thing after another in his imprisonment
  • 00:27:17
    and then even uh when he was on the Run
  • 00:27:20
    uh he wrote the Pastoral Epistles when
  • 00:27:22
    he knew he was going to die he visited
  • 00:27:23
    and he visited creit and he and he
  • 00:27:26
    implored them to go meet him and uh
  • 00:27:29
    because he was going to be uh heading
  • 00:27:32
    toward other places outward but he was
  • 00:27:34
    writing and bring the parchments he said
  • 00:27:37
    to the prison remember we saw Peter uh
  • 00:27:40
    writing and and making sure that even
  • 00:27:43
    the outermost parts of
  • 00:27:45
    civilization would begin to understand
  • 00:27:48
    what the teachings about Jesus were all
  • 00:27:49
    about so they wrote and they wrote and
  • 00:27:51
    they wrote they wrote the word of God
  • 00:27:54
    they wrote down the accounts of Jesus
  • 00:27:57
    life they wrote wrote down what he said
  • 00:27:59
    they wrote down the teaching of the
  • 00:28:00
    Apostles they wrote down what the church
  • 00:28:03
    believed in and what the church took as
  • 00:28:06
    gospel truth they wrote that into the
  • 00:28:08
    scriptures and John would finalize it
  • 00:28:11
    later in the Book of Revelation at the
  • 00:28:13
    end saying that's it there no more
  • 00:28:15
    Revelations no more writings anybody
  • 00:28:18
    that adds let all the curses fall on
  • 00:28:20
    them anybody that takes away let all the
  • 00:28:22
    curses fall on them anyway and so he
  • 00:28:25
    sealed up the the Cannon as it were the
  • 00:28:28
    the writings and uh about uh possibly 30
  • 00:28:33
    years from the time of the book of
  • 00:28:34
    Hebrews finalized it so the word of God
  • 00:28:39
    is what he is he is saying helps us
  • 00:28:44
    presented to us in the excluded middle
  • 00:28:47
    we have the word of God and he says a
  • 00:28:49
    bunch of things about it so if you and
  • 00:28:52
    let me just be sure about this so if
  • 00:28:54
    you're thinking I can't be perfect
  • 00:28:57
    before the lord I can't I can't see him
  • 00:29:00
    work and believe I'm saved I I have too
  • 00:29:03
    many issues in my life I have too many
  • 00:29:05
    moments of Doubt how can I this is what
  • 00:29:09
    he's answering this is life in the
  • 00:29:12
    excluded middle the word of God why
  • 00:29:15
    first of all he says it's living Zoe uh
  • 00:29:18
    present participle of of Zoe the word
  • 00:29:21
    Zoe for life that kind of life that
  • 00:29:23
    Jesus said he came to give I came to
  • 00:29:26
    give Zoe bios was here he came to give
  • 00:29:29
    zoee that special quality of life it's
  • 00:29:32
    not just physical biology it's not just
  • 00:29:35
    chronology through the ages of our
  • 00:29:38
    biology but it's spiritual life it's
  • 00:29:41
    life that elevates the human soul above
  • 00:29:45
    the corruption of the human soul and
  • 00:29:46
    into a grand place a glorious place in
  • 00:29:50
    fellowship with God uh and this is this
  • 00:29:54
    is how uh he he is wrapping up this
  • 00:29:57
    section that began in chapter 3: 7 if
  • 00:30:00
    you hear if you hear believe okay the
  • 00:30:04
    word of God you're going to hear from
  • 00:30:06
    God in the word in the scriptures and
  • 00:30:09
    let me just say Zoe it's alive it's
  • 00:30:14
    alive it's as alive today as you are and
  • 00:30:17
    if you're thinking well I'm pretty tired
  • 00:30:18
    of this time change thing but still
  • 00:30:20
    you're alive okay uh it's as alive as
  • 00:30:23
    you are and it's more so it is alive
  • 00:30:25
    it's sitting with waiting energy
  • 00:30:28
    to jump in this room okay that's what
  • 00:30:31
    that's how alive it is and that's the
  • 00:30:33
    second thing that said about it it's
  • 00:30:35
    energetic energo which is which is
  • 00:30:38
    translated differently but it literally
  • 00:30:39
    means effective and active and able to
  • 00:30:42
    bring about the things that wants to
  • 00:30:44
    it's just there the word of God it's
  • 00:30:47
    it's all sufficient it's energetic and I
  • 00:30:51
    know that sometimes we're reading the
  • 00:30:53
    Old Testament Bible readings we're going
  • 00:30:56
    oh my gosh this is like so this is
  • 00:30:58
    putting me to sleep or whatever you're
  • 00:31:01
    going there's no energy in this there's
  • 00:31:03
    no energy in you is what the problem is
  • 00:31:06
    okay there there is energy in it you may
  • 00:31:08
    have to dig a lot to get to the energy
  • 00:31:11
    but there's energy In this passage of
  • 00:31:13
    scripture and if you can't see it it's
  • 00:31:15
    really about you okay so the third thing
  • 00:31:19
    is is it's sharp it's more
  • 00:31:22
    sharp than all or any he would say
  • 00:31:25
    two-edged swords or daggers
  • 00:31:28
    now you know I've seen the Roman
  • 00:31:30
    centurions in the pictures and the
  • 00:31:32
    polished up uh scabbards or scabbers
  • 00:31:36
    that sounds like a scab but it's not
  • 00:31:38
    that okay all of the um uh all of the uh
  • 00:31:42
    great gladiator swords or whatever
  • 00:31:44
    that's not that's not what this is about
  • 00:31:46
    this is about the sharpest handheld
  • 00:31:49
    instrument you can you can possibly
  • 00:31:52
    imagine okay not too long ago I found a
  • 00:31:56
    knife in the street it it was called a
  • 00:31:59
    uh a blue a a blue steel knife and I had
  • 00:32:03
    no idea this was going on in our society
  • 00:32:06
    but uh so I didn't want to leave the uh
  • 00:32:08
    knife in the street because it looked
  • 00:32:09
    like a switchblade okay so I thought
  • 00:32:11
    well you know I'll serve my community
  • 00:32:13
    and take this knife okay so I took it
  • 00:32:15
    home looked it up on the internet
  • 00:32:17
    extremely expensive it was only you know
  • 00:32:21
    widely expanded it was only like seven
  • 00:32:23
    or eight inches long but it's made with
  • 00:32:26
    the very highest and finest of
  • 00:32:29
    craftsmanship the steel in it is just
  • 00:32:31
    like is just purified steel it's like
  • 00:32:34
    there's a cult in America about blue
  • 00:32:36
    steel knives the owner I I read this
  • 00:32:40
    this biography about the owner he
  • 00:32:42
    carries around a knife in every pocket
  • 00:32:45
    and place that you can carry a knife in
  • 00:32:47
    case he's attacked okay he's got these
  • 00:32:50
    knives that will just come out open up
  • 00:32:51
    and and he can plunge them forward
  • 00:32:53
    they're just like attack knives now he's
  • 00:32:56
    like this is all I got to defend myself
  • 00:32:58
    you know I'm a business owner whatever
  • 00:33:00
    but the cult following is
  • 00:33:03
    ginormous and I had no idea this was
  • 00:33:05
    going on but this is the type of weapon
  • 00:33:09
    and use that's being said about God's
  • 00:33:13
    word here only it's for God's use and
  • 00:33:18
    this is where I want to really make a
  • 00:33:20
    point with you today the word of God is
  • 00:33:22
    not living and powerful and and more
  • 00:33:25
    sharp than two-edged sword when you're
  • 00:33:28
    speaking the word you are not like that
  • 00:33:31
    okay it doesn't make you alive it
  • 00:33:33
    doesn't make you powerful it doesn't
  • 00:33:35
    make you sharper than a two-edged sword
  • 00:33:38
    despite your imagination despite
  • 00:33:40
    pictures you know you can have an artist
  • 00:33:42
    draw a I remember a picture in the 60s
  • 00:33:46
    of of a of a blade coming out of the
  • 00:33:48
    mouth you know and was supposed to be a
  • 00:33:50
    sharp two-edged sword okay the word of
  • 00:33:52
    God are these things not not you with
  • 00:33:56
    the word of God the word of God on its
  • 00:33:58
    own are these things and that means that
  • 00:34:02
    when you read the word and you're
  • 00:34:04
    thinking you know what if I could get
  • 00:34:05
    through this Bible reading program this
  • 00:34:07
    year I'll be one of the Bible readers
  • 00:34:09
    okay I'll be able to tell myself I'm a
  • 00:34:11
    Bible reader man okay you you pick that
  • 00:34:15
    thing up and it's like blue steel knife
  • 00:34:18
    coming at you okay it might cut you
  • 00:34:21
    coming or going it might cut you when
  • 00:34:23
    you're reading it or later on when
  • 00:34:25
    you're thinking about uhoh look at that
  • 00:34:28
    look at what's in me okay it's God's
  • 00:34:31
    weapon designed to get at something in
  • 00:34:34
    you and what he's supposed to get at is
  • 00:34:37
    is told we're told that it's able to
  • 00:34:39
    penetrate all the way through to Soul
  • 00:34:42
    and Spirit okay all the owners of Blue
  • 00:34:47
    Steel knives in America do not pretend
  • 00:34:50
    to think that when they stab somebody
  • 00:34:52
    with a knife it's going to stab their
  • 00:34:54
    Soul and Spirit okay they just know
  • 00:34:56
    better they know they don't want to stab
  • 00:34:58
    the sto in the spirit they just want to
  • 00:35:00
    cut arteries and all the other stuff we
  • 00:35:02
    don't want to talk about here okay God
  • 00:35:04
    wants your soul in your spirit he's
  • 00:35:07
    after that his knife cuts that his knife
  • 00:35:10
    penetrates so much so that it cuts that
  • 00:35:13
    our mental life think that way think of
  • 00:35:16
    what you think is hidden from anybody
  • 00:35:18
    else unless you talk about it okay God
  • 00:35:20
    will penetrate it with his weapon and
  • 00:35:23
    furthermore not only that but it guts
  • 00:35:26
    through to Bone and Marrow which is a
  • 00:35:28
    way of saying even a basic structure of
  • 00:35:32
    your life God can cut it that with his
  • 00:35:35
    word he can get through to your basic
  • 00:35:38
    you know I get up I'm strong I lift
  • 00:35:40
    weights uh you know I take vitamins I've
  • 00:35:43
    got uh strength Untold in me okay even
  • 00:35:47
    that God's word can come after and
  • 00:35:50
    penetrate that because you know the
  • 00:35:53
    thing about strength is there's always
  • 00:35:55
    somebody stronger right there's always
  • 00:35:57
    there's always something that will
  • 00:35:59
    demonstrate how you're not really all
  • 00:36:01
    that strong after all and you know God's
  • 00:36:05
    word does that okay so um the final
  • 00:36:09
    thing is that it's a critical judge of
  • 00:36:12
    you and your inmost thoughts and your
  • 00:36:15
    thinking literally the thinking of your
  • 00:36:18
    heart now the thinking of your heart was
  • 00:36:20
    an interesting phrase it literally means
  • 00:36:23
    your moral understanding your heart can
  • 00:36:26
    think well that's okay you know I I'm
  • 00:36:29
    supposed to eat fish on Friday but that
  • 00:36:32
    was just a religion and so I don't feel
  • 00:36:34
    like fish today I want to have a big old
  • 00:36:36
    steak okay so your heart's reasoning
  • 00:36:40
    there's nothing morally wrong with
  • 00:36:41
    eating fish okay you've you've made a
  • 00:36:44
    moral decision okay one of the uh the
  • 00:36:48
    frightening things about uh the last era
  • 00:36:51
    that we've gone through was the uh
  • 00:36:55
    belief that we're all Sinners and and
  • 00:36:57
    men can do whatever whatever all men do
  • 00:37:01
    and it's okay CU we all do that and we
  • 00:37:04
    encountered that U mentality at men's
  • 00:37:07
    group U six years ago when there was
  • 00:37:10
    this tremendous political debate over
  • 00:37:13
    over uh behaviors and stuff whether
  • 00:37:15
    behaviors mattered behaviors matter okay
  • 00:37:19
    God can you know it was it were people
  • 00:37:22
    celebrating in the face of God because
  • 00:37:25
    they had broken into uh the the uh
  • 00:37:28
    broken beyond the the safe walls of
  • 00:37:30
    Israel and they were celebrating and and
  • 00:37:33
    God just wrote on the wall he said Meeny
  • 00:37:35
    Meenie you pars and you teackle you know
  • 00:37:37
    this day your life is over your life is
  • 00:37:40
    gone uh and and God's word can speak
  • 00:37:44
    even to our basic health he can he can
  • 00:37:47
    tell us your Health's gone you thought
  • 00:37:49
    you were Invincible your Health's gone
  • 00:37:52
    and even to the basic structure of our
  • 00:37:55
    life the word of God can pen pate and
  • 00:37:59
    here's the thing don't think you're
  • 00:38:01
    Invincible don't think in your mind
  • 00:38:03
    you're Invincible act Invincible to me
  • 00:38:06
    I'm I'm glad okay because then I don't
  • 00:38:08
    have to act Invincible back okay act
  • 00:38:11
    Invincible impress your friends win
  • 00:38:14
    every argument you ever have but don't
  • 00:38:17
    do it with the Lord because God is is
  • 00:38:20
    more powerful he can break through he
  • 00:38:22
    can get to you uh just when you think
  • 00:38:24
    you are
  • 00:38:25
    Untouchable okay so then verse 13
  • 00:38:28
    nothing is hidden and this this verse
  • 00:38:31
    kind of wraps this up together all
  • 00:38:34
    things are naked before the Lord that
  • 00:38:36
    means there's no facade there's no
  • 00:38:38
    veneer there's nothing that hides you
  • 00:38:41
    from the Lord and then he says literally
  • 00:38:45
    you are taken by the throat for God and
  • 00:38:49
    the term comes from wrestling and it's a
  • 00:38:52
    Chokehold you God's word will put a
  • 00:38:55
    choke hold on you and if you think nah
  • 00:38:58
    it's this ancient word I don't even read
  • 00:39:00
    it I read it in Sunday school or
  • 00:39:02
    whatever uh God's word can take a
  • 00:39:05
    Chokehold on you and when you and I are
  • 00:39:07
    walking with the Lord and we're reading
  • 00:39:10
    the scriptures we're looking for help in
  • 00:39:12
    the excluded middle from the word don't
  • 00:39:15
    be surprised if you get a choke hold
  • 00:39:17
    don't be surprised if you realize whoa I
  • 00:39:20
    can't breathe whoa what is this I can't
  • 00:39:23
    go forward with this plan I had whoa
  • 00:39:25
    what's going on here choke hold God can
  • 00:39:29
    put a choke hold on you and he can make
  • 00:39:31
    you understand that he is the Lord he's
  • 00:39:35
    not going to let you go further with
  • 00:39:38
    something that's going to take you down
  • 00:39:41
    that road that is not the road that he
  • 00:39:43
    wants you on okay so it says at the end
  • 00:39:47
    of verse 13 that that we must give an
  • 00:39:50
    account to him and this is the teaching
  • 00:39:53
    of the New Testament uh Paul said in
  • 00:39:55
    Romans 14:10
  • 00:39:57
    uh why do you look down on another
  • 00:40:00
    believer we all will stand before the
  • 00:40:02
    Judgment seat of God as surely as I live
  • 00:40:04
    says the Lord every knee will bend to me
  • 00:40:06
    and every tongue will declare Allegiance
  • 00:40:09
    praise to God yes each of us will give
  • 00:40:12
    personal account to God Divine judgment
  • 00:40:16
    comes from the word of God we need to be
  • 00:40:20
    judged in this life so that we're not
  • 00:40:22
    judged in the next life in a place where
  • 00:40:25
    we don't have any more opportunity to
  • 00:40:27
    walk walk with the Lord that's what the
  • 00:40:29
    purpose of the word of God is for us
  • 00:40:32
    it's to expose the innermost thoughts
  • 00:40:34
    that we hide deep deep secretly from the
  • 00:40:38
    Lord from each other we don't want to we
  • 00:40:41
    don't even want to go there we don't
  • 00:40:43
    trust ourselves enough to be a part of
  • 00:40:45
    it you
  • 00:40:46
    know desires are everywhere in our life
  • 00:40:50
    and they infiltrate our best of thinking
  • 00:40:53
    okay we argue about something but we
  • 00:40:55
    really want something else we really
  • 00:40:57
    have a desire okay we must go to the
  • 00:41:00
    steakhouse tonight we must I feel called
  • 00:41:03
    and led to go to the steakhouse tonight
  • 00:41:05
    and really your stomach's going I want
  • 00:41:07
    steak I want steak so badly and they
  • 00:41:09
    make it so good there they give you that
  • 00:41:10
    big baked potato enough of that so the
  • 00:41:13
    desire gets mixed with our own
  • 00:41:16
    relationship with the Lord in such a way
  • 00:41:18
    that we don't even know it we don't even
  • 00:41:20
    mask it we're rooting for stuff to
  • 00:41:22
    happen because of desires because of
  • 00:41:25
    special thoughts within us and and
  • 00:41:27
    that's what we need to be delivered from
  • 00:41:30
    that's what you and I we want Purity
  • 00:41:32
    from that we want to say I follow Jesus
  • 00:41:34
    I walk with him and I want him to deal
  • 00:41:38
    with the things inside of me he knows
  • 00:41:40
    how to do it he doesn't do it all at
  • 00:41:41
    once he just does it at the right time
  • 00:41:43
    but I want him to deal with the stuff
  • 00:41:45
    that doesn't please him and then we see
  • 00:41:49
    then uh we see then that in dealing with
  • 00:41:54
    it we're better off now for for decades
  • 00:41:58
    the church has joked about wanting to be
  • 00:42:01
    rich famous
  • 00:42:03
    powerful uh win lotteries or whatever uh
  • 00:42:07
    and and the church has joked about this
  • 00:42:10
    not knowing that people people shouldn't
  • 00:42:12
    be joking about these things I I always
  • 00:42:14
    love this little sticker here that's in
  • 00:42:16
    the preaching music stand which serves
  • 00:42:18
    as the pulpit in today's music era it
  • 00:42:21
    says never forget that Jesus was a brown
  • 00:42:23
    skin healer who empowered women
  • 00:42:26
    destroyed religious systems loved the
  • 00:42:28
    rejected opposed our Fascinations with
  • 00:42:30
    power and flipped the tables of
  • 00:42:32
    Oppression his mission was neither
  • 00:42:34
    lights stages nor influence it was our
  • 00:42:37
    Liberation I love that I read that
  • 00:42:40
    sometimes when I'm waiting for you to
  • 00:42:41
    catch up with the words I'm saying just
  • 00:42:42
    remind myself of what we're doing and
  • 00:42:44
    what it's all about that that we want
  • 00:42:48
    Jesus to lead us and to judge us and
  • 00:42:51
    what happens what happens if you don't
  • 00:42:54
    do that what happens if you live your
  • 00:42:55
    life going I am not telling anybody this
  • 00:42:58
    ever I'm never going to deal with this
  • 00:43:00
    or deal with that what happens is found
  • 00:43:04
    in the word of God it shows us what
  • 00:43:06
    happens it happened to Solomon Rich
  • 00:43:09
    beyond measure the amount of wealth can
  • 00:43:12
    be calculated in today's dollars just
  • 00:43:14
    incredible the richest man on Earth by
  • 00:43:16
    far he would be women everywhere Queen
  • 00:43:19
    of Sheba journeyed uh through Nations
  • 00:43:22
    just to hear him talk okay he had many
  • 00:43:26
    many wives multiple wives he had uh
  • 00:43:29
    Pleasures Untold and yet in his one of
  • 00:43:33
    his last writings The Book of
  • 00:43:34
    Ecclesiastes there is despair chapter 12
  • 00:43:37
    verse1 don't let the excitement of Youth
  • 00:43:40
    cause you to forget your creator is that
  • 00:43:42
    an admission probably honor him in your
  • 00:43:46
    youth before you grow old and say life
  • 00:43:48
    is not pleasant anymore because Solomon
  • 00:43:50
    reached the boredom with all of his
  • 00:43:52
    riches and all of his wealth he reached
  • 00:43:54
    a place where he realized uh it's all
  • 00:43:57
    going to be over I can't take any of
  • 00:43:58
    this with me verse 8 of Ecclesiastes 12
  • 00:44:02
    is the nihilism everything is
  • 00:44:04
    meaningless says the teacher completely
  • 00:44:07
    meaningless
  • 00:44:08
    confusion confusion the same confusion
  • 00:44:11
    and nihilism that infected contemporary
  • 00:44:13
    Christianity in today's political
  • 00:44:15
    Environ environment nothing matters uh
  • 00:44:19
    everything is confused and helpless and
  • 00:44:21
    and just despair there's no point in
  • 00:44:24
    politics there's no point in trying to
  • 00:44:25
    solve our problems and any way just
  • 00:44:28
    dominate just take over and be powerful
  • 00:44:31
    that's all that matters then finally in
  • 00:44:34
    Ecclesiastes chapter 12 Solomon said
  • 00:44:37
    here now is my final conclusion fear God
  • 00:44:40
    and obey his command for this is
  • 00:44:42
    everyone's Duty God will judge us for
  • 00:44:45
    everything we do including every secret
  • 00:44:48
    thing whether good or bad and man oh man
  • 00:44:51
    Solomon had a lot of secret things that
  • 00:44:52
    he's going to answer for and you and I
  • 00:44:55
    need to keep that list to a minimum um
  • 00:44:57
    okay we don't want to be spending our
  • 00:44:59
    time in the glories of Heaven explaining
  • 00:45:02
    why we disobeyed God explaining why we
  • 00:45:04
    didn't allow him to lead us out of our
  • 00:45:07
    troubles and then finally verses 14- 16
  • 00:45:10
    today this afternoon the word of
  • 00:45:13
    God judges us and exposes our behavior
  • 00:45:18
    and then the Throne of God invites us to
  • 00:45:22
    come to be to come to it before Jesus
  • 00:45:25
    now in our singing of the hymns today we
  • 00:45:28
    had one hymn which is not this concept
  • 00:45:32
    okay you don't come to the throne of God
  • 00:45:36
    In this
  • 00:45:38
    passage ready to acknowledge the
  • 00:45:40
    Splendor and the glory and the Majesty
  • 00:45:43
    of God okay you see the difference there
  • 00:45:45
    I there I come and I fall prostrate on
  • 00:45:47
    the ground okay God you're awesome man
  • 00:45:49
    your throne room oh I don't even want to
  • 00:45:51
    look around I don't want to look at the
  • 00:45:52
    artwork or listen to the music of the
  • 00:45:54
    cherubs I don't want to do anything
  • 00:45:55
    because I'm so humbled to be okay that
  • 00:45:57
    isn't what this is about this is about
  • 00:45:59
    the last song We sang my sins are many
  • 00:46:03
    and I need a lot of Mercy it invites us
  • 00:46:06
    the Throne of God invites us to come you
  • 00:46:09
    are cut up by God's Fierce uh Fierce
  • 00:46:12
    weapon of his word now come to the
  • 00:46:14
    throne of grace because you don't want
  • 00:46:16
    to get on that wrong road because the
  • 00:46:18
    wrong road ends it ends in judgment it
  • 00:46:23
    ends in despair it ends with Solomon the
  • 00:46:26
    wrong road
  • 00:46:27
    if you want to be on the right Road
  • 00:46:29
    you're going to have to face the
  • 00:46:31
    problems that you see that cause your
  • 00:46:33
    heart to harden and then you get before
  • 00:46:36
    Jesus notice here all of his Apple
  • 00:46:39
    appalaches all of the ways to describe
  • 00:46:42
    him are mentioned he is Jesus human name
  • 00:46:45
    but he's Son of God and high priest we
  • 00:46:47
    looked at those things earlier he's all
  • 00:46:49
    of those things but he but he's a human
  • 00:46:52
    being and that and in the merging of of
  • 00:46:55
    taking on being son of man along with
  • 00:46:58
    the Eternal Son of God he went through
  • 00:47:02
    this life and and it says literally
  • 00:47:04
    through the heavens your new living
  • 00:47:06
    translated that into heaven but he went
  • 00:47:08
    through the heavens and onto the
  • 00:47:11
    throne as a human being as well as Son
  • 00:47:14
    of God so let's follow him let's follow
  • 00:47:19
    him right into that throne room go
  • 00:47:21
    boldly into that throne room because
  • 00:47:23
    he's there and he knows what we're going
  • 00:47:25
    through in this life and that's that's
  • 00:47:28
    the import he understands our weaknesses
  • 00:47:30
    he faced all these same tests that we
  • 00:47:32
    have and he didn't fail he didn't sin so
  • 00:47:36
    we're going to go boldly though we're
  • 00:47:39
    humble people we're going to go boldly
  • 00:47:41
    before our gracious God and we're going
  • 00:47:44
    to receive Mercy he's not going to look
  • 00:47:46
    at us go oh yuck aren't you the same man
  • 00:47:49
    that was just doing that yesterday he
  • 00:47:52
    doesn't he he doesn't look at us that
  • 00:47:55
    way he has Mercy he doesn't look at what
  • 00:47:57
    we deserve he has mercy and he's
  • 00:48:00
    gracious and notice where the grace
  • 00:48:02
    comes in in verse 16 we need to find
  • 00:48:06
    Grace to help us we got a trial we
  • 00:48:11
    believe we follow Jesus but we got
  • 00:48:14
    troubles and what do we need for those
  • 00:48:17
    troubles we don't just need Deliverance
  • 00:48:19
    because remember we talked about this
  • 00:48:21
    you don't just need to be out of trouble
  • 00:48:24
    you need to pass the test of trouble
  • 00:48:27
    you need to face up to it and believe
  • 00:48:30
    all the way through it to the point
  • 00:48:32
    where you passed the test and now you
  • 00:48:35
    believed in those troubles now those
  • 00:48:37
    troubles can't ever have the same power
  • 00:48:39
    they had with you before because you
  • 00:48:41
    believed all the way through them that
  • 00:48:44
    takes Grace for all of us it takes Grace
  • 00:48:47
    Living in the excluded middle land is a
  • 00:48:49
    tough Zone to live in there are hard
  • 00:48:52
    things that press us there are troubles
  • 00:48:54
    that scare us there are people that
  • 00:48:57
    scare us we scare ourselves sometimes to
  • 00:49:00
    death and living in this this place
  • 00:49:03
    requires us to find the grace so live in
  • 00:49:07
    the land of the excluded Middle where
  • 00:49:10
    the perfect faith and belief is not
  • 00:49:13
    found in us but where we do believe in
  • 00:49:16
    Jesus we do trust in him and we believe
  • 00:49:19
    in him in his promise of salvation for
  • 00:49:21
    us so we're driven by the excluded
  • 00:49:25
    middle not to Fall Away through
  • 00:49:28
    Disobedience but it drives us to his
  • 00:49:31
    throne where we will call upon him and
  • 00:49:34
    ask him for Grace to help us through
  • 00:49:36
    those trials that we ultimately want to
  • 00:49:39
    get through because we want to pass the
  • 00:49:41
    test fully believing in the face of
  • 00:49:44
    those Troubles of any kind let's pray
  • 00:49:47
    father please help us with the excluded
  • 00:49:51
    middle land we live in Middle Earth of
  • 00:49:55
    of a sort I pray that you would help us
  • 00:49:57
    this week to find you in all ways in any
  • 00:50:00
    way we can so that our belief and our
  • 00:50:03
    unbelief can be met by the grace of
  • 00:50:06
    Christ who leads us ever onward never
  • 00:50:08
    backward in his name amen now may God
  • 00:50:11
    bless you this week I pray that whatever
  • 00:50:13
    troubles you see you would also see the
  • 00:50:15
    commensurate faith there that's probably
  • 00:50:19
    nearby you would focus on the belief and
  • 00:50:22
    the faith and call upon God for the
  • 00:50:24
    troubles and receive the grace that he's
  • 00:50:26
    going to as send your way in Christ's
  • 00:50:28
    name amen
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