call at my house around 12 15 this morning from my second born child downstairs dad I don't feel well Mike you know what you okay when you have a 20 year old calling you doing you know you want to say why are you calling me But I didn't say that. I was nice. I'm like, oh, I'm so sorry, baby. I was delirious, too. But anyways, pray for her and all the rest of the folks. Brother Joe's out, a number of folks, Miss Sarah, others as well. But be in prayer for those that are under the weather. There's apparently some pretty nasty stuff floating around. Glad that you are able to be with us this morning, and for anyone that's watching online, glad you joined us as well. John chapter 7, and we're getting towards the end of the chapter-ish, all right? John chapter 7, look at verse number 27. Who's laughing out there? Brother Felix is laughing, Eric's laughing. All right, look at verse number 27. By the way, we're going through the Bible this way, in different books of the Bible, because it really is the best way to learn the Bible. The prophet Isaiah talks about it, and he says, how do you learn, right? And he says, well, here a little, there a little, line upon line, precept upon precept. And that's, that's how you learn. You don't, if you, anyone here wants to, I don't know, whatever your New Year goal might be, if it's a physical one, let's say it's, you know, I'll lose 10 pounds, I want to gain muscle, whatever it might be. You don't, you don't jump into something a thousand miles an hour. You incrementally build up. When you jump into something a thousand miles an hour, you know what you're going to be? You're going to be a shooting star. You know what that means? You're going to be beautiful for like 30 seconds and then you're out of here. And that's where a lot of Christians are at. They're there like, boom, I'm here, and then they're gone. And what the Lord wants in your life, I'm not just saying this because of New Year's, guys. I'm saying this because it's right biblically. The Lord wants you to sustainably and consistently walk with Him. And one of the ways you can ensure that is by learning the Word of God, and the way you do that is, like I just mentioned, line upon line, precept upon precept. So go to John 7, verse number 27, and they're arguing about whether or not Jesus is, in fact, the Christ. I'm going to get into this. People have different ideas. Muslims, of course, have their idea about who Jesus is. They'll say that he is a prophet. I'm not throwing stones at Muslims. I'm just telling you, if you don't know, this is good for you to understand if you ever engage with someone that is coming from that background. Now, keep in mind that the Qur'an, and there's no argument about the fact that the Qur'an was written and is a true historical document from that standpoint, But in regards to the Quran being inspired scripture that gives you extra light on the person of Jesus Christ, there is no way in the world. Number one, it's written hundreds of years later. You're going to tell me you're going to throw out the eyewitness accounts of people that were there in that moment, and you're going to take the account of some guy that was illiterate, no disrespect, but he's illiterate, couldn't read, epileptic, had seizures all the time, didn't know what was going on half the time, and that guy's going to bring you closer to God? Are you out of your mind? You're not going to learn more about Jesus Christ that way. You know how you learn it? You learn it by the guys that were actually there. And so they say he's a prophet. Well, is he? I heard someone say this not that long ago. To me, this is kind of funny. They said, I believe that Jesus is the Christ. I just don't believe that he is the Messiah. Now, does anybody know why that's funny? Some of you are laughing right now. You know why that's funny? Because this is just the Greek transliteration in English, Christ from Christos. It's the Greek word for Messiah. That's all it is. So when someone says, I believe he's the Christ, but he's not the Messiah, it's like, I don't know what I'm talking about. I watched a video on YouTube, and I'm repeating what I just heard. So anyways, John chapter 7, look if you would at verse number 27. How be it we know this man whence he is. But when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is." In other words, you won't know where he came from, and that's not true. Micah chapter 5 says that he'd come from Bethlehem. Isaiah, go to Isaiah. Keep your hand here. Go to Isaiah chapter 63 real quickly. chapter 63, you've got in the Bible, you've got the account of the prophecy of His first coming telling you where He'd come from in His first coming, and then you've got prophecy telling you which direction He'd come from in His second coming. So in both comings, you got it covered. So when someone says when Messiah comes or when the Christ comes, we won't know where he comes from, they're not saying anything that's accurate biblically. They may have been saying that from an argument, trying to win an argument standpoint. You know what, I'll say it like this. People generally have their presuppositions about God. I was watching something this week and someone said this. They said, you know, the God of the Old Testament is a God I can't believe in. Here's what they said. The reason I can't believe in the God of the Old Testament is because here you've got this God that murdered people because they disagree with Him. First off, let me ask you a question. If this bottle of water is mine and I grab it, am I stealing it? If it's my life, I'm not murdering someone when I take it. That's a hard concept, but you know what my life is? It's God's. He made me. So if God takes my life, he's not murdering me. That's the first thing. The second thing is this. God is very gracious and merciful all throughout the Bible, including the Old Testament. And it's not as simple as God's schizophrenic. He was really mean in the Old Testament. He's really nice in the New Testament, in the person of Jesus. This same guy was saying, you know, Jesus changed my life. I just don't understand the God of the Old Testament. My bro, he's the same one. But the problem is when you separate and you only think of God in one light, then you make God a certain person. Listen, I'll say it like this. I know we talked about this before. You can't separate mercy from justice. Mercy is nonsensical. There's no sense to it. There's no meaning to it. There's no depth to it. There's no substance to it. If there is no justice, there would be no need for mercy. So when you look at the justice and the mercy of God, they went on to explain it like this, and I'm sorry, I'm giving you a little bit of ad-lib stuff here. They went on to say this, the God in the Old Testament goes in and wipes people out, and kills all these people, and then you got Jesus standing up for that woman, and he says, whoever's without sin, cast the first stone. I'm like, no, it's the same God. One was a just judgment, and the other was an unjust judgment. Does that make sense? One was righteous, and one was not. Now, first off, when you can figure out how to create something out of nothing, then you can go argue with God about what you think is right and what you think is wrong. Until then, my suggestion is you take what God says is right as being right, and what God says is wrong as being wrong. Does that make sense? Otherwise, you're just making up the rules. People have presuppositions of God. So they say this, when the Christ shows up, no one's going to know where he came from. He's going to come from planet Krypton like Superman. No one's going to know where he shows up from. That's not what the Bible says. Look at Isaiah 63 and look at verse number one. Micah 5 is when he's born, Bethlehem, Ephratah. This is when he comes back in the second coming. Isaiah 63, look at verse one. Who is this that cometh from Edom with dyed garments from Bozrah? This that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength, I that speak in righteousness, mighty to what? There's no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. This is clearly a reference to the coming of Jesus Christ. Look at verse number three. There's about a thousand verses that you can run references to that go along with this. I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the people there was none with me, for I will tread them in mine anger and trample them in my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stand on my raiment for the day of what? Vengeance is in my heart and the year of my redeemed is come." Now you look at that and you go, that just sounds so mean. All right, here's what I want you to do. The next time someone crosses you, even if they're right for doing it, because you can't cross God and be right, you understand that, right? So the next time someone crosses you, even if they were wrong in what they did, what I want you to do is just shut your mouth. And the next time that happens, shut it again. And the next time that happens, just keep shutting your mouth and watch how long you last. I think you guys need to laugh a little bit right now, because that's funny. You know why? Because if you think about it, you can't stand five minutes in a married relationship and go, but I have to say this! And the Lord is sitting up there for 6,000 years. And He's watching murder. And He's watching rape. And He's watching genocide. And He's watching hate. And He's watching pride. And He's watching rebellion. And He watches all of it. And you say, what is He? He's long-suffering. So when you read about God coming back to, and the context here, by the way, is when He comes back at the Second Coming, the Battle of Armageddon, and He wipes out the armies of the Antichrist, and we'll get to that in a little bit, but when He does that, that's what Isaiah 63 is talking about. It's not like the Lord just chose to pick on some innocent people that knew nothing and they're just minding their own business, and God says, I'm going to wipe them all out. That's not how God is. God's not arbitrary in His judgment. He's righteous in His judgment. All right, so when you read this, don't get, oh, it's like two different gods. No, it's the same one. As a matter of fact, it's talking about your Savior, the one that loved you enough to die for you. See, we like to talk about Christmas like this little baby, sweet little baby Jesus. People get a little weirded out when you talk about a man coming back on a white horse to take out his enemies. And they go, well, I don't know about that. Well, you don't know about that because you haven't spent less time on, you spend more time on YouTube than you do in your Bible. And if you spend more time in your Bible, I'm not trying to be offensive, I'm trying to help you. If you spend more time in your Bible, what I'm saying will not sound radical to you at all. It'll be very seamless with who God is. God does judge, but He's not arbitrary in His judgment. He's righteous in His judgment. And so when you look at this, you say, what are we really looking at? Two things. Number one, the righteous judgment of God. But number two, when they said, when the Christ comes, when Messiah comes, no one's going to know where he comes from. That's not true. The first coming, it tells you where he's going to come from. The second coming, it tells you literally, you could do an entire Bible study on the path of the second coming of Jesus Christ. Where do they see him first, where he goes to next, and where he eventually goes in that eastern gate in Jerusalem and comes in and sits in that temple and cleans it out, wipes out the Antichrist and takes back his rightful throne in the temple of God. You could literally do a Bible study just on that. So when someone says what they just said, go back to John chapter 7, what it does is it proves for me this. When people have their opinions about God, their opinions become authority to them. So, if you ever find yourself going, well, God would never do that, ask yourself, how did I come upon that conclusion? Was it a biblical one? Or did I just feel in my heart, and oh, by the way, I'm here to tell you, here at church, my job is to help you avoid Disney princess theology. Okay, don't follow your heart because your heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked who can know it That's what God said. I didn't say that you know what Gus is about my heart God says about Adrian's heart that it's desperately wicked and who can know the depths of its depravity You know, you know what he's saying there. The implied answer is no one knows how far they will go Only God knows that you know why you don't follow your heart because it'll make a mess out of your life. I And if you don't believe that, anybody here ever just, you knew you were right about something, especially if you're in your 40s, 50s, 60s in here today, and you knew in your 20s, you were right about this thing, you just knew for a fact, I'll go to my grave with this, and now you're 40, 50, 60 and you go, I was wrong. I was oh so wrong. Anybody here like that? All right. Well, let me just say this. There's more to come from that in your life if you're going to submit to God's word, because the Lord's going to show you, hey, you thought you were right. Your heart told you this. Your heart was wrong. I'm right. He's the only one that's right all the time. All right. So again, go back to John 7. What they're doing is they've made up their own opinion about who the Christ is. And that's not a new thing, people do that to this day. But look at verse number 28. Then cried Jesus in the temple, John 7, 28. Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, You both know me, and you know whence I am. And I have not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom you know not. You know what I've always wondered about? I was thinking about this this morning. He never argues the virgin birth. Do you ever notice that? Not once, does he ever bring it up? And I always think, man, why don't you hit them with that? Like, go ahead, you know what he does? He just bypasses that whole conversation and goes, my original source, my original, it's not Mary, it's him. And so he goes right back to, I didn't show up here on my own, God the Father sent me. Look if you would at verse number 29, but I know him, for I am from him, and he hath sent me. Then they sought to take him, but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come. And many of the people believed on him." You know what's crazy about this? In the midst of all this arguing between people that don't want to listen and don't believe the Lord and are trying to kick Jesus out and trying to get him arrested, in the midst of all that chaos, some others are believing on him. You know what that shows you? Anytime you're going to try to do something for the Lord, there's going to be chaos and there'll be things going on, and you'll be going, Lord, how can you use this for any good? But there were people that believed on him in the midst of all of that. It says, many people believed on him and said, when Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done? That's a great question. Let me go back to verse number 29, where it says this, but I know him, for I am from him. Go to John 8. You're real close. Just go one page or so to the right. John 8. And we're going to hit this thought more than once. Look, if you would, at John 8, verse number 40. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God, this did not Abraham. Because they're claiming to be Abraham's seed. And he goes, whoa, if you're Abraham's kids, you should act like Abraham. Because me and Abraham were friends. You're not acting like my friend. And that's in the vernacular what the Lord is saying. Look at verse number 41. Ye do the deeds of your father, then said they to him. Now watch this. We be not born of fornication. You know what that was? That was a slap in the face. They're going, we don't buy this whole virgin birth bit, man. We don't believe it for a moment. And I'll say this, guys, I know I've mentioned this on a Wednesday night not that long ago. I personally, I can't prove it, but kind of scripturally, I believe the reason why the Lord doesn't spend a lot of time arguing with people about the virgin birth is because the way that he proves that he was born of a virgin is he doesn't stay dead, he comes out of the grave. And that's all the proof that you need right there. And that's what I believe. I believe that for a scriptural reason, Romans 1 says he declared to be the son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Not by the virgin birth, but by the resurrection from the dead. The virgin birth expresses his deity, no doubt, but it is proven after he rises from the dead. But what they're saying is this, we don't buy this virgin birth stuff. I've had people say, well, I believe in Jesus, I just don't believe he's born a virgin. So you believe he's just a man like the rest of us. All right. Let me say this much. If he's just a man like the rest of us, how does he come out of the grave? Because your blood is defiled. The life of the flesh is in the blood. And when you die, you stay dead. You don't come out of the grave unless he calls you. Nobody called him. He just got up. All right, look at verse number 41, end of the verse. We be not born of fornication. We have one Father, even God. Jesus said to them, if God were your Father, you would love me. For I proceeded forth and came from God, neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do you not understand my speech? Even because you cannot hear my word. Ye are of your Father the what? You know, people will say, if you stand up and preach that, well, Jesus would never say that. It's right there in the text. Neither you believe He said it or you didn't. You don't have this free country. Believe whatever you want, but I'll stick with the Bible. It's never been proven wrong yet, and here's the thing. Again, I'm going to go back to this over and over. These are eyewitness accounts that were there to see what Jesus said. It's funny because you'll have people write history books about a Roman emperor 100 years after he was dead, and they don't question it one bit. Not one thing. You've got eyewitness accounts that were there while Jesus was there, and they're like, well, I don't know. Literally, this week I listened to a guy that took this book, it's called The Gospel of Barnabas, which was a forgery. There's only two copies of it. It was a forgery. It was made up, pretty much. In this Gospel of Barnabas, it talks about some things in reference to the fact that Jesus didn't die. Let me throw this to you. Would you take something that was written in the 1400s, versus an eyewitness account of Jesus Christ? I would take the eyewitness account. Let's say we're wanting to learn about the Revolutionary War. Would you listen to some guy that just got up and started talking about stuff that he just thought of about the Revolutionary War, 200, 400, 500, 1,000 years later? Or would you rather read the books of the people that were there? This is the book of the people that were there. All right, and so this guy records the fact that Jesus said, ye are of your father, the devil. Now when he says, ye are of, all right, that's a preposition just like the word from, but it implies source. You came from somewhere, you are of this. All right, that's why if you look at, you know, like the old Spanish crests, and flags, de la casa de la familia Dominguez, right? Of the house of, of the house of. Just like in the Bible, this guy was of this guy, and this guy was of this guy. You ever read Chronicles, or even in Matthew, where he gives the genealogy of Christ? And so-and-so was of so-and-so. It's tying you back to your genealogy, your genesis, all right? Your beginning, if you will. Genes, Genesis, beginning, your DNA. Well, the Lord Jesus Christ is this. I am from him. I'm not from here. You're in John chapter 8 already. Look if you would at verse number 29. Go to John chapter 8. Verse number 20, I'm sorry. John 8 verse 20. John 8 verse 20. These words make Jesus in the treasuries. He taught in the temple, and no man laid hands on him for his hour is not yet come." That's a good one, but that is not what I'm looking for. I apologize. It's verse 23, verse 23. And he said unto them, ye are from beneath. I am from where? All right, ye are of this world, I am not of this world. All right, so either he is who he said he was, and he came from where he said he came from, or he made it all up. You can't have it both ways. You can't be intellectually honest and say, Jesus is a good man, I believe in his morals, I believe in his stuff, and the guy just, every other claim about himself is a lie. If you knew someone that lied about who they were all the time, Would you go around saying, I just didn't have great morals? You absolutely wouldn't. And yet, when it comes to Christ, you try to play that game. You know why? Because you're halfway there. You don't want to commit. Because if you commit, you know there's stuff you've got to change about you. And that's the problem with modern, educated Americans. They know enough to know it's hard to completely disprove the life of Christ. Like, there was this guy, Jesus, but he wasn't necessarily who he said he was. Well, if he wasn't who he said he was, throw everything out. And then how do you explain the moral excellence by which he lived if he was a complete fraud? None of that makes any sense at all. I love it when someone approaches a Christian with what they think is logic, and then when you start expressing these things, you go, well, you're just brainwashed. No, that's not an argument. Tell me I'm brainwashed is not an argument. Give me a reason why you say I'm wrong. Like a logical, thought-out persuasion. You telling me I'm brainwashed is just name-calling. Listen, if you want to play that game, I've been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ. Call me brainwashed if you want, but in regards to actually thinking it out, it does not make sense to say he's a man of high moral quality, and at the same time, every other claim about himself is a fraud. It doesn't work that way. It doesn't work. Right now, do you know of anyone that lives great moral values that you would point your children to and friends and family to and go, this is the way to live, who lies about who they are? I don't know anyone like that. And somehow 2,000 years ago you think magically that's how it happened? It didn't happen that way either. He's either who he said he was or he's not at all. And he makes a really serious claim. He says, I'm from above. Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 5. We'll come back to John 8 in a moment. He says, I'm from above and I'm from my father. So what's he saying? My source is out of this world. I am not like you. I don't have the same beginning that you do. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 15, and this is what Paul says about the resurrection, 1 Corinthians chapter 15. He talks about different kinds of glory, but look if you would at verse number 47. The first man, who's the first man? Adam. The first man is of the what? He's earthy. The second man is the Lord from heaven. Well, what do you mean the second man? What is that supposed to mean? There's a lot of men in between Adam and Jesus Christ. The reason for that is because the Lord carries a different title. Look at verse 45. And so it is written, the first man, Adam, was made a living soul. The last Adam, who's that? Jesus Christ. was made a quickening spirit. Why? Because he rose from the dead by the power of the Spirit of God. Romans chapter 1 verse 5. Alright? Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual. So the first man, Adam, physical, carnal. The second man, the last Adam, Jesus Christ. This Adam is from down here. This last Adam is from up there. And there's that contrast that goes on. That's why if you're lost and without Christ, you are in Adam and you cannot experience the resurrection. You cannot experience eternal life unless you come through Christ. Because the first man is of the earth. He's earthy. And that's where you're at. And so the Lord says, if you want in on this eternal life resurrection thing, you have to come through him. Go back to John chapter 8, though. Look at John chapter 8. I'm sorry, John 13. Go to John 13. Forgive me. John chapter 13. John 13, look at verse 1. Now, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come, the setting here is the Last Supper, that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which are in the world, he loved them unto the end. Now, I want you to go back and notice what he says. He should depart out of this world unto the what? The idea is he's going back where he came from, and he's about to express that in so many words in John 7. Go to one last place, look at John chapter 16, John chapter 16, and look at verse number 32. John 16, verse number 32. Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone, and yet I am not alone, because the," who? Father is with me. He's talking about, you're going to go that way, and I'm going to go this way. Look at one more place. Look at chapter 17, verse 1. These words, spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify thy son, that thy son also may glorify thee. We're going to come back to that thought in a little bit, but that glory specifically is connected with the resurrection. Well, let me say this. If he's just from down here, he can't experience that. If he's just a man born like the rest of us, he doesn't come up out of the grave. That glorifying that he's talking about is twofold. It takes place here in one sense at the cross of Calvary because if he's lifted up from the earth, he will draw all men to him. That's one part of it. But the other part is, up from the grave he arose. That glory is connected with the resurrection. That's why in 1 Corinthians 15, if you're taking notes, it talks about one glory of the sun, one glory of the moon, another glory of the stars, right? And it says, one star differeth from another star in Glory in what? In the resurrection, John chapter 11. All right. Look at there's one other place I want you to go to in regards to this. That's not it. That's not it. Oh, yeah. Galatians chapter four. Go to Galatians four. So again, in regards to where he came from and how the Lord, if I can use this term, how the Lord isn't it funny when you're waiting for a package to be delivered? All right. And when a baby gives birth, she delivers. All right. So how did the Lord send his Amazon gift of love to us through a woman? All right. That's how the Lord did it. He was delivered through Mary. Obviously, look at Galatians chapter four. And look, if you would, at verse number three. Even so, when we were children, we're in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of the time was come, you ever notice in the gospel of John, mine hour's not yet come, mine hour's not yet come, God has a timetable for everything. He has a timetable for everything in your life as well. It's so important that you stay on his timetable and don't get on your own. But it says, when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his son. What are the next four words? and a woman. And it specifically does not say made of a man. Look at Matthew 1, a very familiar passage, especially as we've just been through all the Christmassy stuff and the narrative of the first coming of our Lord and Savior. Look at Matthew 1. Matthew chapter 1, and look if you would at verse number 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise, when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Now look down at verse number 20. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Thou son of David, fear not to take in the name Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of," is of what? The Holy Ghost. All right, so he's from him. He's of the Holy Ghost. He is not conceived of man. He does not come from man in that sense, all right? You can make the argument that he comes from man in the sense that he took on human form. No doubt about that. There's a connection with Adam. However, he does not come from man in the physical sense as we are all here, all right? And that's a big deal. You can't say you believe in Jesus Christ and not believe in the virgin birth. Because what you're saying is you don't believe what He said is true. Then the argument, and this is why I've been kind of harping on this this morning, the eyewitness account side of things, because people will say, well, I believe in Jesus, I just don't believe what they all wrote about Him. Okay, all right, so you do believe in him, you do believe he's a real person, and you believe in his morals, and you believe that maybe he died for you, but there's some stuff you really just can't get on board with, and what you think it is, is that the disciples were so enthralled with this person, and his character, and his life, that they embellished things and made things up to make him look better than he was, and they go, well, yeah. Okay, so let me ask you a question. If you were gonna lie about someone on that grand of a scale, and you knew it was all a lie, And they told you, man, all you gotta do is say you never saw him after he came out of the grave. All you gotta do is, we won't kill you, we'll leave you alone, go off and do your own thing. You guys wanna have your little cult? Have your cult. But quit saying he's the king, quit saying he's coming back, quit saying he rose from the dead. If you can just do that, we'll leave you alone. Sorry, I can't do it, I can't deny what I saw. Be objective for a moment if you're maybe doubting some of these things. Be objective. Jim Jones, how long did that last? David Koresh, how long did that last? Now I know there's others, there's some weird ones out there, I get it, but you realize they got life cycles to them. They don't generally last forever and ever and they definitely don't last thousands of years. All right, so again, now keep in mind, I didn't say people don't believe false religion for a long time. What I said is, I witnessed people, a religion, a faith that is built on the fact that someone came up out of the grave after they were alive. Tell me how that works over time if it's nothing but a big hoax. I'll tell you what, guys, it would fall, it would fall like a deck of cards if it was a big hoax. And the reason it doesn't fall is because he was not of this world. Look at John chapter 19. Go to John chapter 19. John chapter 19. John 19, look at verse number 7. Now let me interject this. If what they said was true, he should have been stoned. If Jesus made himself the Son of God, and it wasn't that God the Father made him the Son of God, then Jesus should have experienced capital punishment. He should have been stoned for blasphemy. And that's what they thought. Now look at verse number eight. Man, are you kidding me? I'm standing in front of a guy that I can look at him and I can tell you everything he's thinking. I can tell you all of his sins. I can tell you about his past. And the guy goes, hey, where'd you come from? And they say this and this and this about you. I'd be like, well, let me tell you about them. Let me tell you about you. Let me tell you about this. Let me tell you about that. That's how Adrian would handle that. And that's probably how you would handle it, too. But he doesn't do that. Silence can be awkward, can it not? It's more awkward when you've got a guy in front of you that claims to be from another place, another world, come from out of this world, his kingdom's not of this world, and you've got this guy in front of you and he looks innocent, and you can't find a reason to condemn him, and then you bring charges at him and he's just quiet and just stares at you. Boy, that would make me normal. If he had yelled at me and cussed me, I'd feel better about that. But a guy just stares at you and looks at you, and you look at him in his eyes. And I'll tell you this, too. The longer you live, the more you can look in someone's eyes and tell that person's messed up. That person's been through some stuff. That person's corrupt. You just look at people and just kind of tell, like you can tell where they're at. This guy has been in politics for a long time, pilot. You can tell when someone's a liar. You've been around politicians your whole life. And he looks at Jesus Christ and he goes, that guy's not like me. And I'm bringing all the charges and he's just quiet. You can hear a pin drop. And look what it says here in verse number 10. Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldst have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from where? From where he came from, from the source, from his father. Therefore, he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend, and so on and so forth. Again, over and over and over, you find out the Lord presents, go back to John chapter 7, in his interactions with others, he lets them know, I'm not from here. That's why, as a Christian, once you get saved, you know what you can honestly say? I'm not from here. I'm just passing through. My father's up there. This is just my journey right now. That's my ultimate home. The Lord eventually goes on to say, I go to prepare a place for you. Look at John 7 and look at verse number 29. But I know him, for I am from him, and he hath sent me. Then they sought to take him, but no man ..." Now, why would they want to put their hands on him when he said that? Because they understood exactly what he's saying. He's saying, I am the Son of God. I came from God the Father. I didn't come from you. All right? Look at verse 31. And many of the people believed on him and said, when Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done? You say, why are they asking that question? Keep your hand there. Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians 1. Now, keep in mind, the Bible says in John 1, he came unto his own and his own received him not. What is he talking about? When it says he came unto his own, he's talking about the nation of Israel, and his own received him not. Now, obviously, all the disciples are Jewish. It's not that no Jews ever got saved. The early church was primarily a Jewish church. But when it came to the rulers, now we learned about this last week, it talked about the rulers and how the rulers rejected Christ, and that's what's going on in this passage. There's a reason why they ask this question about miracles. Like, if he's not who he said he was, could anyone do what he's been able to do? Look at 1 Corinthians 1, and look, if you would, at verse number 20. I might want to go back a little bit. I know it's 22, but that's not what I want. I want to get something else first. No, let's just go to 22. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom. So what do the Greeks do? They sit around all day, and they philosophize. And they theorize and they think about, well, what about this? And what about that? What about this? And what about that? And they reason. All right. So when Paul goes to those places, what does he do? He reasons with them. All right. But the Jews, what do they expect? Well, you think back to how God called Moses and he brought him out of Egypt. And before he sends him there, he goes, Moses goes, well, how will they know that I'm sent from you? How will they know that you are the one that sent me? And he says, throw your rod down, throws it down, becomes a serpent, picks it up, all that stuff. He says, Moses, take your hand, put it in your coat, pull it back out. It's leprous, it's got leprosy. All right, put it back in, pull it back out. It's clean now. And he says, look, I'm gonna give you these signs so that when they question who sent you, they will know it was God the Father, all right? And the Lord Jesus Christ did that as well. There's a reason for that, because if you look in the Old Testament, There were places that talk about the fact that in order for the Lord to be who He was, He would have the ministry of healing as well. Look at Isaiah, go to the Old Testament, Isaiah 35. Isaiah 35, and of course, there's a little bit of what we call double application here. But look at Isaiah 35, and look if you would at verse number, oh, let's look at verse one to get the context. The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. The desert is not blossoming like a rose right now. That will not happen. That passage, if you're taking notes in your Bible, is very much so connected with Romans chapter 8, where it talks about the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now, waiting for what? Waiting for the adoption of sons, waiting for the Lord to come back. Because when the Lord comes back physically on the earth, the curse is going to be removed as it is right now on the earth. Why? Because the King of the earth will actually be here to reign on the earth. Listen, you may not know the Bible very well, but you might remember the Lion King. You remember the Lion King? Remember when Simba comes back, everything turns green overnight, and it's a big celebration, and he's a lion, and he's a king, amen? And so the Lord comes back, and the same thing is going to happen. The curse will be lifted, as we know it right now. But look, if you would, in light of that, this is obviously something that has to do with when the Lord comes back. However, what you'll find in the Old Testament is you'll find, as I mentioned before, things that refer to stuff that happened during His first coming and things that refer to stuff that happened in His second coming in the same passage, all right? Because from God's perspective, this whole entire thing, you've got to understand this, guys, the church and where we're at right now is a mystery. This is not something that the prophets understood. It's not something that came as a surprise to God, but it was something that came as a surprise to the prophets. They didn't see that. That's why in Ephesians 5 it talks about the church, and it says the church is a mystery, and it goes on to describe the mystery of the church. In other words, they look at it from the standpoint of stuff happening here and here as if it was in the same day. Look at Isaiah 35. In light of that, look if you would at verse number 3. Strengthen ye the weak hands, confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not. Behold, your God will come with what? That's not the first coming, though, is it? That would be the second coming. The Lord doesn't come with vengeance in the first coming. He comes with vengeance over here. Clearly, the majority of the context of this passage is second coming, but look at what's tucked in here, in the middle of all this. Look at verse number five. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened. the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped when the Messiah comes look at the next verse all right then shall the lame man leap as in heart that's it that's like a deer and the tongue of the dumb saying for in the wilderness shall waters break out and strange in the desert all right so it's it's talking about stuff here but what it's referring to is the Messiah the anointed of God, from God the Father, the anointed of God, coming back to take rightfully what's His. They got a taste of that in the first coming, as it related to the ministry of healing that Jesus Christ had. Supernatural ministry that He had. By the way, that's the ministry He passes on to the apostles. I've been through this on Wednesday night, just to be clear. I'm not an apostle, alright, but Paul's not an apostle. The apostles were those that were there for the life and ministry of Jesus Christ from his baptism all the way up to his ascension, and there's the exception of Paul and all that. But generally speaking, that's what the apostles are. And so they would carry forth the same ministry. Why? Because from their standpoint, when they first start out, the last thing they were told is prepare for the kingdom, prepare for the kingdom, prepare for the kingdom, prepare for the kingdom. Get ready for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, kingdom of heaven is at hand, kingdom of heaven is at hand. And so guess what? That kingdom goes up with the Lord because they rejected the king. So he goes, you know what? We're going to postpone this for about two days. in God's calendar, 2,000 years for ours. And then he comes back and he establishes that kingdom over here. So again, they're looking at it going, wait, we read the prophecies about the Messiah. We knew that he would do this, and he would do this, and he would do this. And this guy fits the bill. And that's what they're saying in John. Did I lose you guys? Okay, all right. I don't know about this. What I'm trying to point out is the fact that, yes, some of this has to do with the second coming, no doubt, but it's about the same person. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. And they got a taste of that during his earthly ministry, so they're looking at it going, how is it that he's not who he said he was when he's able to do all this? We've never seen anybody else do this. Go back to John chapter 7. John 7. And look, if you would, at verse number 32. Verse number 32, the answer is nobody would do the miracles like he did, nobody. There'll be a false Christ, a false Messiah that shows up that has power, but it still won't rival that of the Lord Jesus Christ. John 7, verse 32, the Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him. In other words, they hear the whispers. They hear everybody going, wait, but if he's a bad guy, if he's a liar, if he's not who he said he was, how is he able to do all this? And the Pharisees hear that, and look what it says, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him. Then said Jesus unto them, yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me and shall not find me. And where I am, thither ye cannot come. Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go that we shall not find him? Will he go under the dispersed among the Gentiles? Is he going to do what Joseph Smith said and go to the Native American Indians in America, you know, and cross the Atlantic and go give them a different gospel and all that kind of crazy stuff? And that's not what the Lord is saying at all. What manner of saying, verse 36, is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me. And where I am, thither ye cannot come." So they don't get it. They don't understand what it is that the Lord is saying. Let me give you a couple places where the Lord talks about this. He talks about working, because the night cometh when no man can work anymore. And He talks about being the light of the world. As long as I'm in the world, I'm the light of the world. But He says, I'm going to leave, and it's going to get dark. There's a very particular reference to the night that refers to the Great Tribulation. I know some of you think, well, why would the Lord reference anything that is 2,000 years removed from those current events? And I know some of you understand this, but for those that don't, again, if you take this and slide the church up and move it out of here like a puzzle, and you slide the first coming into the second coming, it literally fits like a glove. It's what all the prophets understood. And I mention that because if they had received their Messiah, The Antichrist, son of perdition, is there. Rome, as the global power, is there. The Antichrist, using taxes to govern the world, is there. All the stuff that's said in prophecy, even in Daniel, about the latter days, is there in that time. There's a common language for the world. I could go on and on and on. It's all there. But they rejected their Messiah. Now let me just stop real quick and say this. It wasn't that the Lord was surprised by the outcome. He knew exactly what was going to happen. But he had made promises to his people Israel, the nation of Israel, and he wanted to fulfill those promises and give them their first right of refusal. You know what they did? They said, we don't want you. He goes, okay. Well, I'm going, and where I'm going, you can't come. And they're going, what is he talking about? And he's letting them know, look, if you don't believe on me, you're not coming where I'm going. You're not going to follow me there. And they're not getting it. They're not really understanding that. Look if you would at, oh, I'm gonna give you a practical, because we're running out of time. We may look at this a little bit further, but look at Isaiah chapter 55. Go to the Old Testament. Let me give you a practical thought here, just because we're running out of time. There's a lot more that can be said about this. We'll get into some of it more next week. But in regards to, just from a practical standpoint, can I give you a thought to close this with? And here's the thought. When the Lord is showing you that He's in something, That's when you should go after that thing. And when you say, I'll get to it later, I'll get to it later, I'll get to it later, I'll get to it later, I'll get to it later. Remember when Jacob lied and stole the blessing? And what his mom says, his mom says, why don't you just go over there and stay there for a little bit until your brother cools down? Then eventually you can come back and we'll be one big happy family again together. Does that ever happen? You know, they thought, we'll get to that later, we'll get to that later. The Lord is showing these people practically in his day during his ministry. Hey, this is the time to respond to truth Don't harden your heart. Don't put it off. It's gonna get harder and harder to do the right thing Let me tell you like this. I've got these I got crooked teeth So I got one of those Invisalign things, you know, and and so you know what happens you say I'll just I'll put it in tomorrow and Then the next day he goes, I'll put it in tomorrow. The next time you put it in, like a week later, oh, everything hurts so much. You know what you're tempted to do? I don't want to do this at all. And you just wasted a couple grand. Congratulations. You know why? Because you kept putting off what you knew you should have done right away. When you put off what you know you should do, it becomes harder to do the right thing down the road. Are you with me right now? So the Lord is going, hey, you should seek me now because I'm going to go and you're not going to find me. And he's telling them to respond to the truth that's right in front of them. Look at Isaiah chapter 55, just a practical thought before we end today. Look at verse number 6, Isaiah 55 verse 6, seek ye the Lord, what are the next couple of words? While he may be found. You know what that means? There are certain times in your life and certain moments of your life when the things of God and eternal things and things with spiritual nature are going to be more real to you, more accessible to you. And when you put them off and you go, no thanks, no thanks, I'll do it later, I'll do it later, you may or may not ever do it at all. And if you do get around to doing it, it'll be so much harder down the road. You ever try to witness to someone that's lost and they go, well, that's good, you got me thinking about some stuff, I'll consider that later. And then you go to them later and they go, yeah, that's, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah. But have you thought about this? You know, what about the hypocrites in the church? And what about this? What about that? You say, what are they doing? They're just hardening their heart. And they're delaying what God is trying to do in that moment. Listen, I've got, I've got, I've got kids. I know what this is about. I go to take Olivia to go night, night, night, night. Oh no, I hungy, I hungy. You know, and you know, you take her and she, by the way, if you ever hear her say booty, booty, booty, she's not saying what you think she's saying, okay? She doesn't know how to say bluey the right way. The little cartoon, so she'll go, booty, booty, and we're in public, I'm like, no, no, no, it's not what, you know, but before she goes, booty, booty, booty, and I'm like, okay, here's the animal. I'm hungry, I'm hungry, I'm hungry, okay, here's some food. She's delaying what she knows is inevitable. And as a Christian, sometimes the Lord's going, hey, respond to this. You're like, later, later. I'll go to church later. I'll get my Bible later. I'll witness that person later. I'll do that thing later. And the Lord's going, seek him now while he may be found. There's some doctrinal implications to that thought. We'll look at that next Sunday, but let's go ahead and stop there. Let's go ahead and stand. We'll have a word of prayer and ask for God's blessing on what we just looked into. I hope you guys got something out of the word today. Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus Christ. We thank you for the opportunity to open up this word to study it, to delve into it. And God, I pray, help us as believers, Lord, to be steadfastly minded, Lord, to respond to truth, Lord, when it's presented to us, not to put it off. Lord, there's so, so many, we live in a world of constant distractions. God, would you help us, Lord, to keep our eyes where they need to be, Lord, to respond to you, Lord, as you minister to us today, and you are literally, Lord, trying to get our attention, Lord, from a spiritual standpoint, in front of us, Lord, I pray that we would seek you today. We ask this all in Jesus' name. Amen.