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Speaker 1: Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation

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Speaker 1: Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank

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Speaker 1: you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope

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Speaker 1: it builds your faith. Hope it gives you perspective to

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Speaker 1: see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message,

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Speaker 1: and I get the distinct privilege too to introduce you

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Speaker 1: to our guest. Today. We got a special guest. We

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Speaker 1: got Pastor Robert Madeu in the house. Him and his

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Speaker 1: wife Taylor are with us, and he spoke here three

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Speaker 1: months ago at the beginning of this pandemic, and he's

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Speaker 1: spoken here multiple times, so I think it's official. We

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Speaker 1: no longer call him a special guest. We call him family.

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Speaker 1: Pastor Robert will do. Him and his wife, the Medusa

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Speaker 1: are having a ministry that's happening all around the world.

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Speaker 1: If you haven't had a chance to meet Pastor Robert,

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Speaker 1: he's probably the sincerest, most genuine, and maybe one of

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Speaker 1: the nicest people you'll ever meet. But even more important

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Speaker 1: than that, he loves the Word of God. He's a preacher,

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Speaker 1: and we get the distinct privilege of him opening up

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Speaker 1: God's word and sharing it with us. Today, So Elevation Church,

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Speaker 1: you know how we do it. Let's put our hands together,

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Speaker 1: Let's get ready and welcome Pastor Roberts Madou. Come on,

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Speaker 1: somebody bless the Lord today. Wherever you're watching, Come on,

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Speaker 1: would you give God just the best praise that you're God.

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Speaker 1: If you're in your living room, give him praise. If

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Speaker 1: you're in your kitchen, give him praise. If you're in

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Speaker 1: the car, give him praise. Come on, No matter what

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Speaker 1: you're facing right now, his name is still worthy. He

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Speaker 1: deserves the glory, the honor, and the phrase God, we

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Speaker 1: lift you up because you are here Boom. I'm telling

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Speaker 1: you I sense the presence of the Lord right here.

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Speaker 1: I don't know where you're watching from Elevation Church, but

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Speaker 1: I want you to know God is with you. His

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Speaker 1: presence knows no limits, His presence knows no bounds. He

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Speaker 1: is there with you right now. He can I tell

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Speaker 1: you have a reason to give God praise today, He said, Robert,

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Speaker 1: what are you talking about? You don't know what I'm facing.

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Speaker 1: If there is still breath in your body, come on,

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Speaker 1: you got a reason to give Him praise. If you

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Speaker 1: woke up this morning, you still got a reason to

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Speaker 1: give him praise. I feel you. I've had moments, especially

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Speaker 1: in this the last few weeks, I've just had to say, Lord,

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Speaker 1: I don't know if I got it in me to

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Speaker 1: lift up my voice. I had to talk to myself.

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Speaker 1: I mean, you know, you're only crazy if you don't

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Speaker 1: talk to yourself. Now, do like David did and say,

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Speaker 1: Bless the Lord on my soul and all that is

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Speaker 1: within me. Bless his Holy name. And I think in

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Speaker 1: times like this you need to lean into his presence,

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Speaker 1: lean into his word. And I'm believing He's going to

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Speaker 1: speak to you today and your life is never going

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Speaker 1: to be the same. Amen. Amen, we got some people

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Speaker 1: in the room. Y'all can be seated. I'm absolutely honored

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Speaker 1: to be back at Elevation Church. There is no place

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Speaker 1: like Elevation Church. I get tempted to move to Charlotte

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Speaker 1: every time that I come here, and it's pretty amazing.

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Speaker 1: Pastor LB mentioned that I am a part of the

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Speaker 1: family now and last time I was here. We're at

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Speaker 1: the beginning of COVID nineteen, this virus we're trying to

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Speaker 1: figure out. Then the challenge of the virus was how

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Speaker 1: do we stay apart? So we can stay together. Now

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Speaker 1: here we are again back at elevation, and there's another virus,

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Speaker 1: virus of racism has been embedded in this nation. Now

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Speaker 1: the challenge is we got to come together so we

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Speaker 1: don't fall apart. And I'm telling you where my hope

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Speaker 1: is in. My hope is in the Church of the

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Speaker 1: Living God. Come on, if you're looking for hope and

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Speaker 1: look to Jesus and then look to you. We are

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Speaker 1: the hope of the world. And I'm believing what Jesus

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Speaker 1: prayed his last prayers, that we would be one, that

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Speaker 1: we would come together. And to that end, I'm excited

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Speaker 1: to minister God's word to you today. It's gonna be good.

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Speaker 1: I want you to lean in. I hope you like

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Speaker 1: who you're watching the Word of God with today. If

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Speaker 1: you don't, just move to another section e faan wherever

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Speaker 1: you are. But this word is gonna bless you, it's

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Speaker 1: gonna encourage you, and I want to jump straight into it.

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Speaker 1: I do bring your greetings from the country of Texas

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Speaker 1: where I live and there with my incredible wife who

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Speaker 1: is here today help me. Thank God for my wife, Taylor.

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Speaker 1: She's here with me. We left the kiddos at home.

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Speaker 1: And you know there's no seminary class you can take

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Speaker 1: on how to lead in a pandemic, how to lead

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Speaker 1: in so much turmoil. But here's what I love is

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Speaker 1: that Elevation Church is best blessed with the best of

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Speaker 1: the best. I want you to help me thank God

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Speaker 1: for Sir Stephen and Holly Fredick, who have set the pace,

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Speaker 1: who have set the tone not just for Elevation but

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Speaker 1: for the church at large. If they're incredible leadership and

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Speaker 1: how they've led so well. And uh man, if you

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Speaker 1: got something to be thankful for, be thankful for the

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Speaker 1: gift that is in Pastor Stephen Fredick. Every word he

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Speaker 1: preaches has minister to our souls. This minister to me

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Speaker 1: and you will not find a better preacher. And I'm

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Speaker 1: thankful for his friendship. Come on one more time, even

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Speaker 1: in the chat, just say thank you so much, Elevation Church.

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Speaker 1: Thank you so much Pastor Steven and Holly, and I'm

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Speaker 1: glad to be here today. I want you to go

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Speaker 1: with me to the Gospel of John today, John chapter

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Speaker 1: number eight, and I want to look at verses one

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Speaker 1: through eleven John Chapter eight one through eleven, and then

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Speaker 1: I want to look at John chapter one, verse fourteen.

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Speaker 1: After eight, starting at verse one, will land of verse

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Speaker 1: number eleven, and then John chapter one, verse number four teen.

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Speaker 1: It says, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

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Speaker 1: Now early in the morning he came again into the temple,

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Speaker 1: and all the people came to him, and he sat

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Speaker 1: down and taught them. The scribes and pharisees brought to

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Speaker 1: him a woman caught in adultery. And when they set

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Speaker 1: her in the midst they said to him, teacher, this

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Speaker 1: woman was caught in adultery in the very act. Now

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Speaker 1: Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stone.

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Speaker 1: But what do you say this, they said, testing him,

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Speaker 1: that they might have something of which to accuse him.

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Speaker 1: But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with

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Speaker 1: his finger, as though he did not hear, straight up,

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Speaker 1: ignoring him. So when they continued asking him, he raised

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Speaker 1: himself up and said to them he was without sin

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Speaker 1: among you. Let him throw a stone at her first,

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Speaker 1: and again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

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Speaker 1: Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience,

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Speaker 1: went out, one by one, beginning with the oldest even

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Speaker 1: to the last, and Jesus was left alone, and the

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Speaker 1: woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised himself

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Speaker 1: up and saw no one but the woman, he said

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Speaker 1: to her, woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has

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Speaker 1: no one condemned you? She said, no one. Lord. Jesus

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Speaker 1: said to her, neither do I condemn you? Go and

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Speaker 1: sin no more? Can you say? Amen? He found wherever

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Speaker 1: you're watching. And then John chapter one, verse fourteen, just

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Speaker 1: one verse of scripture. Here it says, and the word

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Speaker 1: became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld the glory.

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Speaker 1: The glory is of the only begotten, of the Father,

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Speaker 1: full of grace and truth, Full of grace and truth.

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Speaker 1: Jesus is full of grace and truth. Think of all

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Speaker 1: the adjectives that we could ascribe to Jesus. Come on,

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Speaker 1: we can say he's a provider. We can say he's

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Speaker 1: a protector. We can say he's our peace. We can

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Speaker 1: say he's our shelter. We could go on and on.

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Speaker 1: But I love John because he skips the commas, makes

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Speaker 1: it clear and concise, and says, when you see Jesus,

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Speaker 1: you will see two things, grace and truth. I had

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Speaker 1: an encounter with Jesus. That means you had an encounter

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Speaker 1: with grace and truth, the tension of grace. And I

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Speaker 1: want to talk to you today from this idea living

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Speaker 1: in the tension, living in the tension. There's so much

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Speaker 1: tension right now, political tension, economic tension, racial tensent. What

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Speaker 1: do you do with grace and tru living in the tension?

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Speaker 1: I mean working out one time and I had my

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Speaker 1: weights in my hand, and the trainer, while I was

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Speaker 1: holding the weights, put this thing as from the devil,

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Speaker 1: put one of those resistance bands on me. While I'm

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Speaker 1: holding the weight, I said, I already got the weight

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Speaker 1: in my hand, what is this for? It just just

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Speaker 1: put the resistance band. And I had the resistance band

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Speaker 1: on it, and I thought it was good because it

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Speaker 1: was already heavy. And the trainer said, no, no no, no, no,

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Speaker 1: you got to keep the tension in the resistance band.

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Speaker 1: That's what it's for. So here I am already holding

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Speaker 1: a weight but also having to deal with the tension.

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Speaker 1: What do you do when you're living in the tension.

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Speaker 1: That's what I want to talk about today. So let's

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Speaker 1: pray as we go into this. Father, thank you for

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Speaker 1: your word speak today all the Epham said, Amen, Amen.

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Speaker 1: Living in the tension, like many preachers during this quarantine

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Speaker 1: and shelter in place and gathering restrictions, I've had to

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Speaker 1: adjust how I preach and how I communicate. I've learned

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Speaker 1: to calm myself down and preach while sitting in the stool.

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Speaker 1: I've learned not to say touch your neighbor, but to

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Speaker 1: say type in the chat. Because we've had gathering restrictions.

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Speaker 1: I've learned that although we have awesome people here in

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Speaker 1: the room, I've learned to make sure I stay connected

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Speaker 1: and locked in to the camera. In fact, in this

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Speaker 1: room right now, we got camera. There's one, two, three, four,

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Speaker 1: about four, five, about eighty cameras in this room all over.

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Speaker 1: And these cameras are able to get different angles while

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Speaker 1: I'm preaching, different angles. While I'm preaching to be able

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Speaker 1: to connect to you different angles, these cameras will get

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Speaker 1: different shots. It doesn't change me. It just gives you

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Speaker 1: a different angle of me, a different view. And this

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Speaker 1: is what I love about the Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke,

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Speaker 1: and John because all four of these gospel writers are

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Speaker 1: talking about the same Jesus, but they give us different angles.

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Speaker 1: Say give us different views. These four cameramen, if you will,

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Speaker 1: They're all have their view on the same subject who

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Speaker 1: is Jesus, but they're able to give us different angles

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Speaker 1: of who this Jesus is. I love almost like four

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Speaker 1: film directors who've been given the same subject to film,

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Speaker 1: but if given their own cinema cinematic license to film it,

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Speaker 1: they give us a different view of who Jesus is.

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Speaker 1: That's why. If you like long documentaries, please read the

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Speaker 1: Book of Matthew. Because Matthew he's writing to a Jewish audience,

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Speaker 1: so he begins this long process of letting you know

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Speaker 1: that Jesus is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies.

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Speaker 1: If you like sci fi movies, please read the Book

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Speaker 1: of Luke, because Luke is the doctor, and so Luke

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Speaker 1: goes into detail to explain these miracles that Christ did,

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Speaker 1: how his miracles could do what medicine could not do.

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Speaker 1: If you like action pack movies, please stay in the

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Speaker 1: Book of Mark, because Mark is all about Jesus in action,

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Speaker 1: of Jesus who will roll up on you and does

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Speaker 1: not play games with you. He's all about the actions

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Speaker 1: of Christ. But John, Oh, John, is a love story.

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Speaker 1: John is a romantic chick flick. I love the Gospel

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Speaker 1: of John. Who else but John, the disciple that always

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Speaker 1: had his head on the chest of Jesus. He can

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Speaker 1: hear his heart beat. That's why John's gospel pulsates with

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Speaker 1: the personality of Jesus Christ. He gives us insight that

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Speaker 1: none of the other gospel writers give us love. Who

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Speaker 1: else but John would tell us that God so loved

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Speaker 1: the world that he gave his only begotten son, that

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Speaker 1: whosoever would believe in him would not perish but have

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Speaker 1: everlasting life. I love John. John does not give you

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Speaker 1: Jesus earthly lineage. But John wants you to understand that

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Speaker 1: he is God in the flesh. He wants you to

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Speaker 1: understand that he is divined, that he is a deity.

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Speaker 1: That's why when he begins his gospel, it's almost like

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Speaker 1: he's retweeting the Book of Genesis, because he says, in

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Speaker 1: the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,

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Speaker 1: and the Word was God. All things were made by Him,

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Speaker 1: and without him was not anything made that has been made.

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Speaker 1: And in the verse fourteen he turns all the way

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Speaker 1: up and says, and the Word became flesh and dwelt

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Speaker 1: among us the word. Let me pause, right there, the

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Speaker 1: word became flesh and it dwelt among us. How many

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Speaker 1: you know there is power in that verse right there,

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Speaker 1: that the word became flesh and it dwelt among us.

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Speaker 1: That is deeper than a Christmas verse. There is power

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Speaker 1: in the fact that the word became flesh and dwelt

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Speaker 1: among us. Hear me, The only way we can have

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Speaker 1: hope in the dark world is because the word became

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Speaker 1: flesh and dwelt among us. The only way we can

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Speaker 1: have life and hope is because the word became flesh

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Speaker 1: and it dwelt among us. You understand that the incarnation

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Speaker 1: is the greatest picture of empathy. People want to know,

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Speaker 1: how can we change what's going on in our world today?

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Speaker 1: We need empathy, and that's what Jesus did in his

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Speaker 1: carnation incarnation. He understood that he could not redeem us

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Speaker 1: from heaven. He had to put on human skin and

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Speaker 1: feel what we feel and know what we go through.

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Speaker 1: And the word became flesh and it dwelt among us.

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Speaker 1: Thank God for a savior who can feel what I feel,

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Speaker 1: and know what I go through, and can understand when

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Speaker 1: I'm weeping that night because I'm seeing senseless murders. Can

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Speaker 1: understand why tears come down my face and sometimes I

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Speaker 1: don't want to lift up my hands. He knows what

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Speaker 1: it feels like to have heard and pain because the

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Speaker 1: word became flesh and it dwelt among us, some of

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Speaker 1: y'all and not getting to see if I'm sick. If

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Speaker 1: I'm sick, please don't just throw me a medical book. No,

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Speaker 1: get me a doctor. You know why, because that doctor

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Speaker 1: personifies the principle that are in the medical book. Soucie.

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Speaker 1: If if I'm in trouble with the law, please don't

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Speaker 1: just give me a law book. Give me a lawyer.

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Speaker 1: You know why. That lawyer personifies the principles that are

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Speaker 1: within the law book. Somebod y'all gonna get it in

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Speaker 1: a minute. If I'm about to lose my mind, please

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Speaker 1: don't give me a book on psychology. Give me a psychologist,

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Speaker 1: because that psychologist is going to personify the principles that

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Speaker 1: are in the psychology book. Do you understand when humanity

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Speaker 1: was lost in our sin and we had no hope

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Speaker 1: of redemption, we needed more than just the law. We

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Speaker 1: needed more than the Ten Commandments. We needed Jesus because

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Speaker 1: Jesus personifies the principles in the Word of God. He

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Speaker 1: is the word made flesh. Oh, and it made it

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Speaker 1: dwelling among us. And the word was made flesh. That's

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Speaker 1: what empathy is. It's the word becoming flesh. He knew

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Speaker 1: he could not read EMUs and be removed from us.

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Speaker 1: He had to come where we were, and he put

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Speaker 1: on human skin, and the word became flesh and dwelt

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Speaker 1: among us. Would you just slap your neighbor or whoever

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Speaker 1: you're watching with at home and make sure you know him,

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Speaker 1: and just say the word became flesh. Now tell him

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Speaker 1: the word became flesh and it dwelt among us. We

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Speaker 1: beheld the wonder of his glory, the only begonden of

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Speaker 1: the Father. Then it says this that he's full of

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Speaker 1: grace and truth. He's full of grace and truth. And

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Speaker 1: there is the tension. How in the world can Jesus

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Speaker 1: be full of grace and truth? Hold up John, Those

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Speaker 1: two words don't go together, grace and truth. How can

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Speaker 1: Jesus be full of grace and truth? On one of

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Speaker 1: these things is not like the other. Grace and truth.

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Speaker 1: This is beauty and the beast. How can Jesus be

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Speaker 1: full of grace and truth? On the surface, these two

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Speaker 1: words do not go together, grace and truth. Come on,

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Speaker 1: just for a moment, would you consider if you can

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Speaker 1: the grace of God? Come on, if you can even

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Speaker 1: fathom the grace of our God, to think that, no

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Speaker 1: matter what you've done, no matter where you've been, that

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Speaker 1: God's grace can meet you right where you are. How

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Speaker 1: many you know there's something incredible about God's grace. If

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Speaker 1: grace doesn't make tears well up in your eyes, you

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Speaker 1: don't know what grace is to no matter where you've been,

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Speaker 1: that God can reach you, no matter what you've done,

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Speaker 1: that his grace can come to you. Come on, that

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Speaker 1: God would go through a hell that he didn't deserve

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Speaker 1: so that we can receive a heaven that we don't deserve.

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Speaker 1: There is something about the grace of God to the

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Speaker 1: point that his grace has been lavish upon us. Ooh,

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Speaker 1: some people are rich in other things. God is rich

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Speaker 1: and grace. His grace will never run out. His grace

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Speaker 1: can meet you right where you are. That we can

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Speaker 1: approach the throne of Grace with confidence, with boldness. There's

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Speaker 1: nothing like the grace of God. Amazing grace, How sweet

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Speaker 1: the sound that saved the wretch like me. His grace

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Speaker 1: is powerful, His grace is intoxicating. His grace is wonderful

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Speaker 1: and the right. When you're resting in his grace, then

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Speaker 1: you got His truth, his standard, his holiness that is

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Speaker 1: so high, that is so perfect, that is so flawless,

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Speaker 1: that on your best day, your righteousness is as filthy rags.

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Speaker 1: On your best day, your righteousness is ratchet. How in

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Speaker 1: the world can you deal with grace and true truth? Oh? Yes,

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Speaker 1: His truth will set you free, But how many know

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Speaker 1: it generally will tick you off before it does. People

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Speaker 1: can't handle the truth. Come on, Amama, only one during

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Speaker 1: this COVID nineteen that was forced to look at yourself

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Speaker 1: when everything went on pause and you begin to see

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Speaker 1: some things, some truth that you did not like. Oh,

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Speaker 1: I'm telling you a lot of us can't handle the truth.

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Speaker 1: Truth is appealed that everybody wants to give out, but

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Speaker 1: nobody wants to swallow. Even right now in the world,

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Speaker 1: we're looking at some truth that is ugly. To deal

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Speaker 1: with the truth hurts. His grace is wonderful, amazing grace.

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Speaker 1: But then you God truth how can he be full

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Speaker 1: of grace and truth? This paradox attention is in the

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Speaker 1: grace and the truth, And if we're honest, most of

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Speaker 1: us go to one of the extremities, grace or truth. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: you got the grace people, you know where you are.

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Speaker 1: You grace people cannot wait for the shelter in place

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Speaker 1: and all these gather restrictions to be gone because you

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Speaker 1: just want to hug everybody. You want to love on everybody.

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Speaker 1: All you grace people. You're like, grace, Grace, Come, why

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Speaker 1: can't we all just get along? Can't we just hug

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Speaker 1: it out? Oh grace. People are quick to forgive, they're

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Speaker 1: quick to love. Always got a smile on your face,

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Speaker 1: talking longer than you should. The people, oh grace, grace,

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Speaker 1: grace all over the place, and they just want to love.

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Speaker 1: But the problem with the grace people is sometimes in

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Speaker 1: an effort to show grace, they lower the standard of truth.

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Speaker 1: Then you got the truth people, and all you truth people,

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Speaker 1: you will tell it like it is. Truth people aren't

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Speaker 1: afraid of anybody. Truth people will let you know what

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Speaker 1: they think about you. I mean, they will slap you

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Speaker 1: and not wait to see you hit the ground. Truth

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Speaker 1: people will get on your Instagram or your Facebook page

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Speaker 1: and never like the picture or said anything nice, but

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Speaker 1: they will let you know what they think about you.

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Speaker 1: In one post truth people are so quick to put

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Speaker 1: their finger in your face and let you know, I'm

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Speaker 1: gonna tell you about you. I'm gonna tell you who

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Speaker 1: you really are. But the problem with the truth people

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Speaker 1: that they're so busy touting their truth and pointing their

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Speaker 1: finger that they forget they're gonna need the grace that

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Speaker 1: they refuse to give the tension of life is how

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Speaker 1: do you balance grace and truth? Because grace without truth

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Speaker 1: ceases to be grace. Truth without grace crushes people and

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Speaker 1: ceases to be truth. Let's say another way, Grace without

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Speaker 1: truth is meaningless. Truth without grace is me. Grace and

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Speaker 1: truth is medicine. And Jesus says, I Am the total

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Speaker 1: amalgamation of grace and truth, and it brings and in

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Speaker 1: the world where everything is divided, where there's chaos, how

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Speaker 1: many know we need some believers who are tethered to

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Speaker 1: the tension of grace and truth, showing grace when it's needed,

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Speaker 1: speaking truth when you have to. Oh, not fifty percent truth,

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Speaker 1: fifty percent grace but one hundred percent truth, one hundred

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Speaker 1: percent grace, because hear me, the Gospel flies on the

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Speaker 1: wings of grace and truth. We need both grace and truth,

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Speaker 1: the tension of grace and truth. It's like the strings

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Speaker 1: on a violin grace. If it's too loose. If it's

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Speaker 1: too loose, how many are you gonna get an ugly

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Speaker 1: sound out of that string? But if you tighten it

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Speaker 1: too tight, truth, people, you're gonna pop the strings on

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Speaker 1: the violin. But if you got the perfect tension, all

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Speaker 1: of a sudden you will hear beautiful music. And the

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Speaker 1: world right now is a list for believers who are

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Speaker 1: full of grace and truth. Jesus lived in the tension

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Speaker 1: of grace and truth. This is what the teachers of

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Speaker 1: the law could not understand. They could not understand how

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Speaker 1: this rabbi, this rabbi who was supposed to uphold the truth,

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Speaker 1: how he kept hanging out with shady, messed up, disfunctional

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Speaker 1: tax collectors and prostitutes. They could not comprehend that if

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Speaker 1: he's supposed to uphold the truth, why in the world

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Speaker 1: is he hanging out with mess up people. This is

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Speaker 1: what the teachers of the law could not comprehend because

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Speaker 1: you do know that Jesus had a reputation for hanging

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Speaker 1: out with shady, messed up people. Come on, if you

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Speaker 1: got issues, you are in great candidate to be connected

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Speaker 1: to God because he always just had this draw, this

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Speaker 1: pull of marginalized, messed up people they loved coming to Jesus.

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Speaker 1: And I think we have to ask ourselves at the

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Speaker 1: twenty first century church that if we are not attracting

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Speaker 1: the type of people that Jesus attracted, are we really

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Speaker 1: preaching the same gospel that Jesus preached Because sinners and

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Speaker 1: tax collectors have messed up people that were just drawn

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Speaker 1: to him. He loved them. And one day he's in

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Speaker 1: the temple teaching and he sat down to teach, and

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Speaker 1: it says all the people came to him as he

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Speaker 1: sat down to teach. All of a sudden, in the

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Speaker 1: middle of his message, the Pharisees, the pretentious, pompous, stuck

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Speaker 1: up teachers of the law, they burst in the middle

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Speaker 1: of the temple with the woman who has just been

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Speaker 1: caught in the act of adultery. They come in, they

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Speaker 1: throw the woman in the middle of Jesus preaching, and

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Speaker 1: they say, Jesus stop the sermon. You know how religious

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Speaker 1: people do. They always look like they smell something in

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Speaker 1: the room. They always look like they just caught a

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Speaker 1: whiff or something. Just Jesus, stop the sermon. In the

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Speaker 1: middle of the message, they throw this woman in front

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Speaker 1: of Jesus and say, we just caught her in the

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Speaker 1: act of adultery. The law of Moses commands us that

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Speaker 1: she should be stolen. But what do you have to

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Speaker 1: say in the middle of his message. I don't know

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Speaker 1: how you read the Bible. Here's how I read the Bible.

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Speaker 1: When I read the Bible, I jump in the page

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Speaker 1: of the Bible. Okay, I imagine what it would be

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Speaker 1: like to be in that situation. Can you imagine on

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Speaker 1: this illustrious Sunday morning, if while I'm preaching, all of

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Speaker 1: a sudden, in this side door, somebody comes in and says, Robert,

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Speaker 1: stop the sermon. We just caught a woman in the

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Speaker 1: act of adultery. Throws her in the middle of the

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Speaker 1: elevation church and says, what do you have to say? Hey, uh,

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Speaker 1: you're looking for Pastor Ferdick. I'm a dou Ferdick gum.

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Speaker 1: Now people get us confused all the time. Now can

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Speaker 1: you imagine the shock, the tension in the room. See church,

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Speaker 1: people don't know how to deal with tension. Can you

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Speaker 1: imagine what the service would have looked like that day?

427
00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:15,399
Speaker 1: Can you imagine the gas forever the people that turned

428
00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:18,240
Speaker 1: their head. Can you imagine how many people say, oh,

429
00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:21,760
Speaker 1: my goodness. Can you imagine the shock in the room.

430
00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:24,159
Speaker 1: Can you imagine what it would have been like to

431
00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:30,320
Speaker 1: have been her? Surely she wanted to meet Jesus, but

432
00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:35,880
Speaker 1: not like this. She's forced in the middle of the

433
00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:41,080
Speaker 1: temple in the church. And I submit to you, of

434
00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:42,919
Speaker 1: all the people that were shocked that day, of all

435
00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:47,200
Speaker 1: the people that sucked in air, there was one person

436
00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:51,680
Speaker 1: who did it, and his name is Jesus. His name

437
00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:55,359
Speaker 1: is Jesus. He was not shocked. In fact, I think

438
00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:58,080
Speaker 1: the whole thing was a set up, not by them,

439
00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:01,199
Speaker 1: but by an awesome God who is trying to reveal

440
00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:04,679
Speaker 1: that I know how to live in the tension of

441
00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:08,879
Speaker 1: grace and true. I think this is a good place

442
00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:13,840
Speaker 1: to insert this thought that Jesus is not shocked by

443
00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:17,200
Speaker 1: your sin. I don't know who needs to hear that today,

444
00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:20,919
Speaker 1: but Jesus is not shocked by your sin. I know

445
00:27:21,119 --> 00:27:23,680
Speaker 1: you're shocked by the messed up things that you did.

446
00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:25,800
Speaker 1: Some of you did it last night. But can I

447
00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:29,199
Speaker 1: tell you, Jesus is not shocked, nor is he appalled,

448
00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:32,520
Speaker 1: nor is he going at your sin. He can handle it.

449
00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:36,880
Speaker 1: In fact, he came from heaven to Earth to defeat sin, death, hell,

450
00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:40,679
Speaker 1: and the grave. Jesus is not shocked, nor is he

451
00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:44,639
Speaker 1: intimidated by your sin. I know you're shocked, but please

452
00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:48,400
Speaker 1: don't think that he was. Oh, he is not shocked

453
00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:51,719
Speaker 1: by your sin. See they thought they could get Jesus

454
00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:55,159
Speaker 1: and pull a TMZ moment and make him go, oh my.

455
00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:59,360
Speaker 1: He is not shocked by your sin. A we get shocked,

456
00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:02,639
Speaker 1: yeahanity does. Because we have the tendency to look at

457
00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:05,680
Speaker 1: sin in categories, don't we, feeling like there's big sin

458
00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:09,919
Speaker 1: and there's little sin. With humans look at sin and categories.

459
00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:11,879
Speaker 1: But that is not how Jesus looks at it. He

460
00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:14,199
Speaker 1: just sees sin at sin. In fact, that is the

461
00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:18,480
Speaker 1: great qualifier of life, that all have sin and fallen

462
00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:21,479
Speaker 1: short of the glory of God. But we look at

463
00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:25,119
Speaker 1: sin in categories, don't we. We look at sin and

464
00:28:25,119 --> 00:28:28,280
Speaker 1: flavors and flavors. I'll never forget back when I could

465
00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:30,800
Speaker 1: go to restaurants and eat and my father and I

466
00:28:30,840 --> 00:28:33,080
Speaker 1: he travels with me sometimes and we try to hold

467
00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:34,840
Speaker 1: each other accountable and we try to eat healthy, and

468
00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:36,840
Speaker 1: I never forget. One day we said, hey, we're gonna

469
00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:38,600
Speaker 1: eat right on this trip. We're not gonna eat bad.

470
00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:42,160
Speaker 1: We go to this restaurant and I leave. The waiter says, hey,

471
00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:43,920
Speaker 1: do you want to deserve? I said, oh, no, I'm good.

472
00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:46,280
Speaker 1: I go to the restroom. I come back. My father

473
00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:49,080
Speaker 1: is eating pecan pie. I said, man, when you do

474
00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:51,840
Speaker 1: my Nigerian fathers, even Compa said what you're doing? What

475
00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:53,960
Speaker 1: we said, we're gonna eat healthy? Why in the world

476
00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:55,960
Speaker 1: are you eating this for Compile? Of course my dad,

477
00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:57,960
Speaker 1: it's only he could do it. And Nigeria says, good

478
00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,680
Speaker 1: wordy about me. Okay, don't worry about me. I said, okay,

479
00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:02,880
Speaker 1: it's cool. And the waiter came back said do you

480
00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:05,840
Speaker 1: want some dessert. I said no, I'm good. I'm good.

481
00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:07,080
Speaker 1: She said are you sure. I was like, no, I'm

482
00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:08,959
Speaker 1: good unless you got cheesecake or something. She said, oh,

483
00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:11,720
Speaker 1: we got cheesecake. I said, oh, go ahead and bring

484
00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:14,720
Speaker 1: that cheesecake out real quick, ken and she brings out

485
00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:17,760
Speaker 1: the cheesecake, and there I am eating the cheesecake. Now,

486
00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:20,760
Speaker 1: how crazy would it be for me to be judging

487
00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:26,280
Speaker 1: my father eating pecan pies when I got cheesecake all

488
00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:29,160
Speaker 1: on the side of my face. Wouldn't I look ridiculous

489
00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:32,120
Speaker 1: to me? I can't believe you are eating that cheeseca.

490
00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:34,280
Speaker 1: At least mine has a strawberry on it. I'm getting

491
00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:37,320
Speaker 1: my fruit. Wouldn't that be crazy? Because I mean, my

492
00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:40,920
Speaker 1: body does not care whether it's cheesecake or pecan pie

493
00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:43,520
Speaker 1: or keelm pie. They don't care about the flavor. It's

494
00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:46,440
Speaker 1: just counting the calories. And it's easy to look at

495
00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:49,680
Speaker 1: somebody that doesn't have the sin that you have or

496
00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:52,600
Speaker 1: the issue that you have and to judge them. But

497
00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:54,440
Speaker 1: can I tell you what you make all of us

498
00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:56,800
Speaker 1: just come to the Throne of Grace and said, know

499
00:29:56,880 --> 00:29:59,640
Speaker 1: that all of us have sin, and all of us

500
00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:04,840
Speaker 1: have all in short, and all of us have something. Oh,

501
00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:07,880
Speaker 1: but it's easy to judge people that don't have the

502
00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:12,520
Speaker 1: flavor of said that you have. And they came in

503
00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:15,240
Speaker 1: and thought they were going to get a reaction out

504
00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:18,400
Speaker 1: of Jesus said, we just caught this woman in the act.

505
00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:21,920
Speaker 1: What do you have to say Jesus, and all of

506
00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:27,240
Speaker 1: a sudden tension is in the room and they're waiting

507
00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:31,560
Speaker 1: on Jesus' response because they had planned this out for

508
00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:35,200
Speaker 1: a long time. Oh, they had been waiting for this trap.

509
00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:37,520
Speaker 1: They were waiting to trap. In fact, that's what the

510
00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:41,640
Speaker 1: text says. All this was to trap Jesus. And let

511
00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:43,640
Speaker 1: me tell you why. I got to give the Pharisees

512
00:30:43,680 --> 00:30:45,760
Speaker 1: and the teachers of the law a little bit of

513
00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:48,920
Speaker 1: credit because this is a good trap. Oh, this is

514
00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:53,320
Speaker 1: a brilliant trap. Because you understand that the teachers of

515
00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:57,680
Speaker 1: the law were actually right, because Moses law was clear

516
00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:01,840
Speaker 1: that the punishment for adultry was to be stone. It

517
00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:04,920
Speaker 1: was in Leviticus, it was in Deuteronomy. They knew the word,

518
00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:07,640
Speaker 1: or they had the word memorized, the first five books

519
00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:10,000
Speaker 1: of the Old Testament, the whole Penitive they had it

520
00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:13,840
Speaker 1: memorized because they knew the word. They were profound and

521
00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:16,720
Speaker 1: the word. They knew it down to the letter. Or

522
00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:20,000
Speaker 1: they knew the word. They knew they were right. But

523
00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:22,680
Speaker 1: isn't it crazy how you can be right and wrong

524
00:31:23,040 --> 00:31:26,320
Speaker 1: at the same time. Isn't it crazy how you can

525
00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:28,200
Speaker 1: know the letter of the law but not know the

526
00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:31,960
Speaker 1: spirit of the law, isn't it crazy? Like my grandmother said,

527
00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:34,760
Speaker 1: you can know the word but not know the author.

528
00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:38,920
Speaker 1: And they had forgotten who the author was, and they

529
00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:41,920
Speaker 1: throw this woman down there like haha. We got them

530
00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:45,080
Speaker 1: trapped with the law. We got them trapped in the world.

531
00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:48,520
Speaker 1: And it is a good trap because if Jesus stands

532
00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:51,640
Speaker 1: up and says, hold up, wait a minute, do not

533
00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:55,680
Speaker 1: stone this woman, he is now trampling on the law

534
00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:59,760
Speaker 1: of Moses. And they already downloaded his podcast where he said,

535
00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:01,560
Speaker 1: I did I come to a boist the law. I

536
00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:05,360
Speaker 1: came to fulfill it. On the other hand, if Jesus says,

537
00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:08,680
Speaker 1: you know what you're right, get a big rock, knock

538
00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:12,800
Speaker 1: her out. All of a sudden, this savior who's known

539
00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:17,720
Speaker 1: for his grace and his mercy and his compassion, all

540
00:32:17,720 --> 00:32:20,320
Speaker 1: of a sudden, this Savior says, come to me, no

541
00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:23,120
Speaker 1: matter who you are, now the message has come to me,

542
00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:27,160
Speaker 1: and get stoned to death. So what is Jesus gonna do?

543
00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:30,880
Speaker 1: He's caught in this predicament of do I uphold the

544
00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:34,760
Speaker 1: law or do I protect the woman? What do I do?

545
00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:38,160
Speaker 1: He's caught in this tension of do I trample on

546
00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:41,800
Speaker 1: the word, or do I trample on this woman? Can

547
00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:45,880
Speaker 1: you see the tension that he is facing. Oh? If

548
00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:47,760
Speaker 1: that was me, I don't know if life has ever

549
00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:49,920
Speaker 1: hit you with a situation where you say, I don't

550
00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:52,280
Speaker 1: know what in the world I'm gonna do about this.

551
00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:54,760
Speaker 1: If this was me, I would have been nervous. I

552
00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:57,400
Speaker 1: would have been sweating. I would have been looking for

553
00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:00,840
Speaker 1: a theological book to help me out all. I would

554
00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:04,000
Speaker 1: have been nervous because I am an ordinary man. But

555
00:33:04,080 --> 00:33:07,120
Speaker 1: how many know Jesus was not an ordinary man. He

556
00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:10,680
Speaker 1: was God in the flesh. He was the beginning and

557
00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:14,200
Speaker 1: the end. He was the Alpha and the Omega. See,

558
00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:16,480
Speaker 1: this is what I love about the God that we serve.

559
00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:19,160
Speaker 1: It's not just that he has power. I'm glad that

560
00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:22,520
Speaker 1: he has power and wisdom. Oh it's one thing to

561
00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:26,320
Speaker 1: have power, it's another thing to have power and wisdom.

562
00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:29,840
Speaker 1: Anytime you have somebody that has power and no wisdom,

563
00:33:30,040 --> 00:33:32,680
Speaker 1: you need to be scared of that leader. But thank

564
00:33:32,720 --> 00:33:36,400
Speaker 1: God that he has all power and he has infinite wisdom.

565
00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:38,920
Speaker 1: And when you put that together, that's a god you

566
00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:41,800
Speaker 1: should worship. That's a god you should turn. That's a

567
00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:45,240
Speaker 1: god you can trust because He's got power and wisdom.

568
00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:48,320
Speaker 1: So my question is, why are you stressing about what

569
00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:51,160
Speaker 1: you're stressing about when you got a God who has

570
00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:54,520
Speaker 1: all power and he has all wisdom. He knew before

571
00:33:54,560 --> 00:33:56,880
Speaker 1: the pandemic you were going to be in that situation.

572
00:33:57,160 --> 00:33:59,160
Speaker 1: But how many know He is working it out for

573
00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:02,280
Speaker 1: your good. He's gonna make sure that in the end

574
00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:06,840
Speaker 1: you are going to win. I'll thank God that all

575
00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:08,759
Speaker 1: things work for the good of those that love the

576
00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:11,880
Speaker 1: Lord and are called according to his purpose. I'm glad

577
00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:15,440
Speaker 1: he has power, but I'm glad he has wisdom too.

578
00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:18,120
Speaker 1: Can I just stay here for a minute. I love

579
00:34:18,280 --> 00:34:20,759
Speaker 1: that he has wisdom. Do you realize that your God

580
00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:23,040
Speaker 1: has never thought of anything that he didn't already think of.

581
00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:26,280
Speaker 1: God has never thought of anything that he didn't already

582
00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:27,640
Speaker 1: think of. Because if he could think of something that

583
00:34:27,640 --> 00:34:29,600
Speaker 1: he hadn't already thought of, that means he could learn something.

584
00:34:29,680 --> 00:34:33,040
Speaker 1: And he can't learn anything because he knows everything. He

585
00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:38,600
Speaker 1: I'm saying another way, nothing has ever occurred to your God.

586
00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:41,759
Speaker 1: God has never said, you know what just occurred to me? No,

587
00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:45,680
Speaker 1: he knows everything. That means you can trust him even

588
00:34:45,719 --> 00:34:49,120
Speaker 1: in the darkest season of your life. That he will

589
00:34:49,160 --> 00:34:52,960
Speaker 1: work it out. They thought they had him trapped, so

590
00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:56,960
Speaker 1: they demanded an answer. They said, Jesus, we caught it

591
00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:02,760
Speaker 1: in the act. What do you to say? The Bible

592
00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:12,239
Speaker 1: says Jesus standing there, Sez the woman, ashamed and embarrassed,

593
00:35:13,320 --> 00:35:19,239
Speaker 1: sees the Pharisees with hatred in their eyes. What do

594
00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:27,879
Speaker 1: you have to say, Jesus? His immediate response to get down,

595
00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:39,320
Speaker 1: and he starts doodling in the dirt. All the while

596
00:35:40,040 --> 00:35:45,359
Speaker 1: they're demanding an answer. Jesus, we ain't playing. Lord Moses says,

597
00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:50,920
Speaker 1: you should be stronge. What do you have to say?

598
00:35:52,480 --> 00:35:55,520
Speaker 1: She just starts doodling. It takes us. He acted as

599
00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:57,799
Speaker 1: if he didn't hear. That's a cute way of saying.

600
00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:02,879
Speaker 1: He ignored them and just starts doodling. And I think

601
00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:06,120
Speaker 1: they thought his silence meant that they got him. They're like, oh,

602
00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:09,680
Speaker 1: we got him. Come on, Jesus, tell me she should

603
00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:12,360
Speaker 1: be stole. What do you have to say? What do

604
00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:19,040
Speaker 1: I have? So he just starts doodling in the third

605
00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:20,840
Speaker 1: And I don't know who this is for today, but

606
00:36:20,920 --> 00:36:23,040
Speaker 1: some of you need to take a cue from Jesus

607
00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:27,000
Speaker 1: and quit being so quick to react to your critics.

608
00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:29,880
Speaker 1: Sometimes the best thing you can do when the enemy

609
00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:32,279
Speaker 1: comes in your life with all kinds of drama and

610
00:36:32,320 --> 00:36:34,399
Speaker 1: all kinds of chaos, sometimes the best thing you can

611
00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:36,879
Speaker 1: do is just turn your back and get on your

612
00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:40,239
Speaker 1: knee and remind yourself that God is the author and

613
00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:43,479
Speaker 1: the finisher of your faith that He's got you. Quit

614
00:36:43,560 --> 00:36:47,400
Speaker 1: being so quick to give a reaction to the enemy,

615
00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:49,440
Speaker 1: because you do know that's what the enemy wants in

616
00:36:49,480 --> 00:36:51,520
Speaker 1: your life. He loves to come in your life with

617
00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:55,160
Speaker 1: chaos because he wants you to give a reaction. But

618
00:36:55,239 --> 00:36:57,200
Speaker 1: how man you know you don't need to give a reaction.

619
00:36:57,480 --> 00:37:00,000
Speaker 1: You need to give a response because there's a difference

620
00:37:00,400 --> 00:37:04,879
Speaker 1: between a reaction and a response. Come on, somebody, There

621
00:37:04,960 --> 00:37:08,520
Speaker 1: is a huge difference between a reaction and a response.

622
00:37:08,680 --> 00:37:13,000
Speaker 1: The enemy wants a reaction. He wants you to react

623
00:37:13,120 --> 00:37:16,360
Speaker 1: the chaos and the drama that came into your life.

624
00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:20,799
Speaker 1: But don't be a reactor. Be a responder. Oh can

625
00:37:20,840 --> 00:37:23,719
Speaker 1: I tell somebody in this season it is important that

626
00:37:23,840 --> 00:37:26,319
Speaker 1: in all the chaos, you don't react, but you give

627
00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:30,000
Speaker 1: a response. There's a difference between a reaction and a response.

628
00:37:30,600 --> 00:37:34,080
Speaker 1: A reaction tends to be quick. It tends to be

629
00:37:34,120 --> 00:37:37,759
Speaker 1: a knee jerker. It's fast. There's a difference between a

630
00:37:37,800 --> 00:37:42,680
Speaker 1: reaction and response. A response is deliberate. You're slow when

631
00:37:42,719 --> 00:37:45,560
Speaker 1: you respond. That's why. And this season is so critical

632
00:37:45,600 --> 00:37:48,040
Speaker 1: to remember what God said and James says, he says,

633
00:37:48,080 --> 00:37:53,480
Speaker 1: be slow to speak, slow to speak, slow to anger,

634
00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:56,520
Speaker 1: because when you give a reaction, that's what the enemy wants.

635
00:37:56,560 --> 00:38:00,400
Speaker 1: There's a difference between a reaction and a response. Enemy

636
00:38:00,440 --> 00:38:03,560
Speaker 1: wants your reaction. Have you notice, thank God, a pandemic

637
00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:06,080
Speaker 1: has shown us what the essential workers are. Have you

638
00:38:06,160 --> 00:38:10,239
Speaker 1: notice that they call them an emergency response team, not

639
00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:13,840
Speaker 1: an emergency reaction team. Can you imagine if it was

640
00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:17,000
Speaker 1: an emergency reaction team and you called ninemal ones saying

641
00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:20,439
Speaker 1: no one, hep, hep, hep, my daughter just got cut.

642
00:38:20,520 --> 00:38:22,799
Speaker 1: Hap hot help, and the person along the line talking

643
00:38:22,800 --> 00:38:26,080
Speaker 1: about want me go down, let me go down, we'd

644
00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:29,640
Speaker 1: be like, oh, I called you. Now they don't give

645
00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:33,640
Speaker 1: a reaction. They give you a response, and the enemy

646
00:38:33,680 --> 00:38:39,319
Speaker 1: wants your reaction. But Jesus never reacted. He responded, he

647
00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:45,640
Speaker 1: took a knee, and he just doodles in the dirt.

648
00:38:46,280 --> 00:38:48,080
Speaker 1: Now we got a pause here because I'm about to

649
00:38:48,160 --> 00:38:51,640
Speaker 1: land the plane. Everybody wants to know, right what was

650
00:38:51,760 --> 00:38:56,640
Speaker 1: Jesus writing in the ground that day? Oh, come on,

651
00:38:56,680 --> 00:38:59,440
Speaker 1: this is a hot topic in theology. Everybody wants to

652
00:38:59,440 --> 00:39:03,000
Speaker 1: know he's Dolars and theologians have postulated what they think

653
00:39:03,040 --> 00:39:05,200
Speaker 1: he wrote in the ground. There's so many different theories.

654
00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:09,160
Speaker 1: Some people think that he wrote, love the Lord your God,

655
00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:12,080
Speaker 1: though of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, Love your

656
00:39:12,080 --> 00:39:15,960
Speaker 1: neighbor as yourself. Some people say that he wrote the

657
00:39:16,040 --> 00:39:20,120
Speaker 1: Ten Commandments. Some people say that he wrote Jeremiah seventeen three.

658
00:39:20,200 --> 00:39:22,960
Speaker 1: Those who forsake you are written in the dust. There's

659
00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:26,120
Speaker 1: so many different theories. One theory is that he wrote

660
00:39:26,239 --> 00:39:29,240
Speaker 1: the names of all of the men who gathered rocks

661
00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:32,040
Speaker 1: that day, and next to their name he wrote their

662
00:39:32,040 --> 00:39:35,280
Speaker 1: particular sin, so that when they looked in the ground

663
00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:38,479
Speaker 1: and they saw their name and what they did next

664
00:39:38,520 --> 00:39:41,120
Speaker 1: to their name, they were like, you know what, I

665
00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:42,959
Speaker 1: wasn't even try to be here anyway. I have some stuff,

666
00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:45,840
Speaker 1: how shy do I don't know if that's true, but

667
00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:49,920
Speaker 1: I like that theory. After studying and reading everything I

668
00:39:49,960 --> 00:39:52,880
Speaker 1: know to read, I have to be honest, I don't

669
00:39:52,880 --> 00:39:56,319
Speaker 1: know what Jesus wrote that day. Which, by the way,

670
00:39:56,480 --> 00:39:57,920
Speaker 1: you do know sometimes it's all right for you to

671
00:39:57,920 --> 00:40:01,759
Speaker 1: say I don't know. I don't know what he wrote

672
00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:05,719
Speaker 1: that day, And to be honest, I don't care, because

673
00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:07,560
Speaker 1: I don't want to be so busy trying to figure

674
00:40:07,560 --> 00:40:11,640
Speaker 1: out what he was writing that I miss out on

675
00:40:11,800 --> 00:40:17,560
Speaker 1: how he was responding. Because when the law caught this

676
00:40:17,640 --> 00:40:23,120
Speaker 1: woman in the act of her sin, Jesus' response to

677
00:40:23,200 --> 00:40:28,000
Speaker 1: the law was to immediately get down on the ground

678
00:40:28,719 --> 00:40:32,880
Speaker 1: and touch the dirt. And after he touched the dirt,

679
00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:37,680
Speaker 1: Bob says something interesting. It says, he raised himself up

680
00:40:38,480 --> 00:40:42,960
Speaker 1: and then he gave a response to the accusations of

681
00:40:43,080 --> 00:40:46,640
Speaker 1: the law. When this woman was caught in the act

682
00:40:46,760 --> 00:40:50,800
Speaker 1: of sin and the law wanted to destroy her, jesus

683
00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:55,480
Speaker 1: immediate response to the law was to get down on

684
00:40:55,520 --> 00:40:58,640
Speaker 1: the ground. He didn't say anything, He just got down

685
00:40:58,960 --> 00:41:01,759
Speaker 1: and he touched the dirt, and then he says, he

686
00:41:02,080 --> 00:41:07,800
Speaker 1: raised himself up and gave a response to the accusations

687
00:41:07,840 --> 00:41:10,359
Speaker 1: of the law. Did you hear what I said? When

688
00:41:10,400 --> 00:41:13,600
Speaker 1: this woman was caught in the act and the law

689
00:41:13,680 --> 00:41:17,960
Speaker 1: wanted to destroy her, Jesus' immediate response was to get

690
00:41:18,080 --> 00:41:20,920
Speaker 1: down on the ground. He was the only one that

691
00:41:21,080 --> 00:41:23,799
Speaker 1: was willing to get down on her level and meet

692
00:41:23,840 --> 00:41:27,120
Speaker 1: her where she was. And he touched the dirt, and

693
00:41:27,160 --> 00:41:31,440
Speaker 1: then he raised himself up and gave a response to

694
00:41:31,520 --> 00:41:35,920
Speaker 1: the accusation of the law. Come on, this is the gospel,

695
00:41:36,280 --> 00:41:39,800
Speaker 1: this is you, this is me. Humanity is this woman.

696
00:41:40,080 --> 00:41:42,840
Speaker 1: We were all caught in the act. And if the

697
00:41:42,920 --> 00:41:45,680
Speaker 1: law had its way, it would have killed us, it

698
00:41:45,719 --> 00:41:49,600
Speaker 1: would have destroyed us. But Jesus' response was to come

699
00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:54,319
Speaker 1: down from heaven. He came down to earth and humbled himself.

700
00:41:54,560 --> 00:41:57,920
Speaker 1: He touched the dirt. We are made of that dirt.

701
00:41:58,120 --> 00:42:02,160
Speaker 1: He could feel our humanity. And then he raised himself

702
00:42:02,280 --> 00:42:05,680
Speaker 1: up on a truss and gave a response to the

703
00:42:05,719 --> 00:42:11,799
Speaker 1: accusation of the law. Oh I am that woman. You

704
00:42:12,200 --> 00:42:16,400
Speaker 1: are that woman. We were caught in the act, and Jesus'

705
00:42:16,480 --> 00:42:21,000
Speaker 1: response was to come down to where we were. Oh,

706
00:42:21,080 --> 00:42:23,520
Speaker 1: what would our world look like if people would just

707
00:42:23,600 --> 00:42:27,720
Speaker 1: come down and humble themself and relate to other people.

708
00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:31,759
Speaker 1: He came down and touched the third and then he

709
00:42:31,960 --> 00:42:38,439
Speaker 1: raised himself up. He raised himself up to the point

710
00:42:38,480 --> 00:42:41,960
Speaker 1: that he says, no man takes my life, I lay

711
00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:45,960
Speaker 1: it down. He raised himself up on the cross, and

712
00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:50,680
Speaker 1: he offered a response to the accusation of the law.

713
00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:53,600
Speaker 1: When he raised himself up, he looked at him and says,

714
00:42:53,680 --> 00:42:57,560
Speaker 1: he who's without sin among you, you'd be the first

715
00:42:57,560 --> 00:43:03,560
Speaker 1: to cast the stone, says One by one, starting with

716
00:43:03,640 --> 00:43:08,320
Speaker 1: the oldest, even to the last, they dropped their rocks

717
00:43:09,200 --> 00:43:11,800
Speaker 1: and walked away. He didn't even wait on him to

718
00:43:11,840 --> 00:43:14,360
Speaker 1: drop the rock. He went right back down to doodling

719
00:43:14,880 --> 00:43:19,920
Speaker 1: in the dirt, and every single one of them walked away.

720
00:43:20,360 --> 00:43:23,600
Speaker 1: He who's without sin among you, you'd be the first

721
00:43:23,640 --> 00:43:29,000
Speaker 1: to cast a stone. What is Jesus saying with that statement?

722
00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:34,400
Speaker 1: What is he saying? You know what he's saying. He's saying,

723
00:43:34,840 --> 00:43:40,479
Speaker 1: I see you, I know what you did. You think

724
00:43:41,360 --> 00:43:46,120
Speaker 1: you want to uphold the law. You're using this woman,

725
00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:49,320
Speaker 1: You've dehumanized her to trap me, and you want to

726
00:43:49,400 --> 00:43:53,000
Speaker 1: uphold the law. I am the word, I am the law.

727
00:43:53,719 --> 00:43:56,560
Speaker 1: And if you really cared about the law, the law

728
00:43:56,680 --> 00:43:59,920
Speaker 1: was clear that if somebody was caught in the act

729
00:43:59,920 --> 00:44:04,680
Speaker 1: of adultery, that there had to be two witnesses seeing

730
00:44:04,719 --> 00:44:08,920
Speaker 1: them in that and the law was to bring the

731
00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:14,520
Speaker 1: woman and the man and stone both of them. So,

732
00:44:14,600 --> 00:44:18,480
Speaker 1: if you're really about upholding the law. Quick question, were

733
00:44:18,520 --> 00:44:23,360
Speaker 1: the man where is it with? Many believes that this

734
00:44:23,400 --> 00:44:26,799
Speaker 1: whole situation was a trap. It was a set up,

735
00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:29,360
Speaker 1: not just to get Jesus, but they trapped this woman.

736
00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:31,680
Speaker 1: And the reason the man wasn't there is because he

737
00:44:31,800 --> 00:44:34,879
Speaker 1: was in on it. And Jesus could see to the

738
00:44:34,920 --> 00:44:37,359
Speaker 1: core of who they were, and he says, I know

739
00:44:37,480 --> 00:44:41,400
Speaker 1: what you did. You set this whole thing up. And

740
00:44:41,480 --> 00:44:44,040
Speaker 1: in one statement, they were forced to do the most

741
00:44:44,080 --> 00:44:48,000
Speaker 1: powerful thing any human can do, and that is to

742
00:44:48,120 --> 00:44:53,160
Speaker 1: look at themselves. Oh what would our world look like

743
00:44:54,360 --> 00:45:00,360
Speaker 1: if we all looked on the inside of us the

744
00:45:00,400 --> 00:45:06,759
Speaker 1: truth asked for his grace. One by one they came

745
00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:11,120
Speaker 1: to the understanding, I'm not different than this woman who's

746
00:45:11,160 --> 00:45:15,760
Speaker 1: on the ground. They dropped their rocket and walked away,

747
00:45:16,640 --> 00:45:21,560
Speaker 1: and Jesus was left alone with the woman left alone

748
00:45:22,200 --> 00:45:25,040
Speaker 1: in his presence. And I can see her because I

749
00:45:25,040 --> 00:45:27,560
Speaker 1: think her head was down the whole tome, tears coming

750
00:45:27,600 --> 00:45:31,000
Speaker 1: down her face. I don't even think she noticed that

751
00:45:31,080 --> 00:45:34,759
Speaker 1: they had left. Because sometimes you can go through so

752
00:45:34,880 --> 00:45:37,000
Speaker 1: much and be beating down so much, and be so

753
00:45:37,280 --> 00:45:40,720
Speaker 1: tired and so much pain, you don't even realize Jesus

754
00:45:40,719 --> 00:45:43,600
Speaker 1: has already taken care of the thing that you've been

755
00:45:43,680 --> 00:45:46,680
Speaker 1: crying about. I don't even think she noticed that they

756
00:45:46,680 --> 00:45:48,680
Speaker 1: were gone, and I think he had to get her attention,

757
00:45:48,800 --> 00:45:53,160
Speaker 1: say woman and A, hey, where are your accusers? I

758
00:45:53,200 --> 00:45:55,359
Speaker 1: can see her going Jesus, you don't understand what's going

759
00:45:55,400 --> 00:46:04,600
Speaker 1: on the world. You don't see all. She realized Jesus

760
00:46:04,600 --> 00:46:07,759
Speaker 1: had taken care of the thing that she was weeping about.

761
00:46:07,760 --> 00:46:09,160
Speaker 1: I don't know who this is for today, but you

762
00:46:09,160 --> 00:46:12,000
Speaker 1: need to understand. Jesus is taking care of the thing

763
00:46:12,280 --> 00:46:15,279
Speaker 1: that you're weeping about, that you're crying about that you

764
00:46:15,440 --> 00:46:20,799
Speaker 1: keep beating yourself up about. Jesus is handling it. One

765
00:46:20,800 --> 00:46:22,920
Speaker 1: by one, they dropped their rocks. She realized they were God.

766
00:46:22,960 --> 00:46:26,440
Speaker 1: She said, I have no Lord. Are you gonna condemn me?

767
00:46:28,000 --> 00:46:32,600
Speaker 1: Neither do I condemn. You? Go your way and sin

768
00:46:33,080 --> 00:46:38,040
Speaker 1: no more, not sin no more. Neither do I condemn you.

769
00:46:39,320 --> 00:46:45,839
Speaker 1: Walk shamefree, knowing that I did not come to condemn you.

770
00:46:46,800 --> 00:46:53,240
Speaker 1: And that woman walked away after encountering grace and truth.

771
00:46:54,360 --> 00:46:57,600
Speaker 1: You know what I wish those religious stuck up Pharisees

772
00:46:57,680 --> 00:47:00,480
Speaker 1: would have done. They were right to check them and

773
00:47:00,560 --> 00:47:03,040
Speaker 1: drop their rock, but they shouldn't have walked away. They

774
00:47:03,040 --> 00:47:06,200
Speaker 1: should have came and knelt at the feet of this

775
00:47:06,440 --> 00:47:10,960
Speaker 1: savior who is full of grace and truth and received

776
00:47:11,160 --> 00:47:15,640
Speaker 1: him right where he was. Thank God for a savior

777
00:47:16,560 --> 00:47:24,399
Speaker 1: who is full of grace and truth. This savior, he's

778
00:47:24,480 --> 00:47:27,920
Speaker 1: reaching out to all of us today saying, have an

779
00:47:28,080 --> 00:47:32,120
Speaker 1: encounter with my grace and truth. He's speaking to the

780
00:47:32,239 --> 00:47:37,600
Speaker 1: church today saying, will you be tethered to my character

781
00:47:37,960 --> 00:47:42,560
Speaker 1: and will you start to show grace and truth. Oh God,

782
00:47:42,800 --> 00:47:45,600
Speaker 1: I'm praying in this season where the world is so dark,

783
00:47:45,800 --> 00:47:48,920
Speaker 1: that we would respond with grace and truth to the

784
00:47:49,040 --> 00:47:52,120
Speaker 1: people around us. Give us the wisdom of when to

785
00:47:52,160 --> 00:47:56,480
Speaker 1: show grace and when to speak truth. That's what we

786
00:47:56,520 --> 00:48:02,000
Speaker 1: need this time and in this season, living in the

787
00:48:02,160 --> 00:48:08,080
Speaker 1: tension of grace and true. I'm just gonna ask, wherever

788
00:48:08,080 --> 00:48:10,920
Speaker 1: you're watching this, that your head spowed, your eyes closed.

789
00:48:10,920 --> 00:48:16,560
Speaker 1: No matter where you are, maybe you're watching and you

790
00:48:16,600 --> 00:48:26,200
Speaker 1: feel like this woman so much shame, condemnation. Enemy has

791
00:48:26,239 --> 00:48:30,000
Speaker 1: been tormenting you about mistakes in your past. Can I

792
00:48:30,080 --> 00:48:34,879
Speaker 1: tell you that if Jesus was a condemner, God would

793
00:48:34,920 --> 00:48:36,880
Speaker 1: have sent a condemner in the world. But he didn't.

794
00:48:36,880 --> 00:48:40,520
Speaker 1: He sent a savior. No matter what you're facing, no

795
00:48:40,560 --> 00:48:44,080
Speaker 1: matter what you're going through, This wonderful Savior who is

796
00:48:44,120 --> 00:48:49,200
Speaker 1: full of grace and truth. His arms are open to

797
00:48:49,239 --> 00:48:52,560
Speaker 1: you today. If you need to receive him. I want

798
00:48:52,600 --> 00:48:55,600
Speaker 1: you just right where you're watching, maybe friends are there.

799
00:48:55,760 --> 00:48:57,760
Speaker 1: Just lift up your hand and just as a response

800
00:48:57,800 --> 00:49:00,000
Speaker 1: to say, I need to give this savior my life,

801
00:49:00,239 --> 00:49:06,359
Speaker 1: my life. Thank you God. Maybe you're watching the day

802
00:49:06,360 --> 00:49:09,719
Speaker 1: and you say, you know what I need to be

803
00:49:09,800 --> 00:49:13,600
Speaker 1: a person that lives in the tension of grace and truth.

804
00:49:13,920 --> 00:49:17,160
Speaker 1: You've surrendered your life to Jesus. But maybe you're too

805
00:49:17,239 --> 00:49:20,440
Speaker 1: much grace and don't speak the truth when you need

806
00:49:20,480 --> 00:49:22,680
Speaker 1: to it. Maybe it's too much truth and you're crushing

807
00:49:22,719 --> 00:49:24,719
Speaker 1: people and you don't have the spirit of grace. But

808
00:49:25,760 --> 00:49:31,000
Speaker 1: I'm believing in this season especially, the voice of the

809
00:49:31,000 --> 00:49:33,440
Speaker 1: Holy Spirit is going to be so strong of the

810
00:49:33,480 --> 00:49:37,520
Speaker 1: inside of you to let you know when to operate

811
00:49:37,600 --> 00:49:42,840
Speaker 1: in grace and truth and live in the tension of both.

812
00:49:43,000 --> 00:49:45,400
Speaker 1: If that's your heart's cry, you'll just lift up your

813
00:49:45,400 --> 00:49:48,200
Speaker 1: head and say, Lord, let that be mean, Let that

814
00:49:48,239 --> 00:49:53,080
Speaker 1: be mean. Father. I thank you for your word, but

815
00:49:53,239 --> 00:49:56,360
Speaker 1: I thank you in the midst of a world that

816
00:49:56,400 --> 00:50:00,160
Speaker 1: has so much tension. Father, we can get strong or

817
00:50:00,160 --> 00:50:05,920
Speaker 1: as we live in the tension of grace and truth

818
00:50:06,719 --> 00:50:12,520
Speaker 1: in Jesus' mighty matchless name. Come on, somebody, say amen

819
00:50:12,600 --> 00:50:20,160
Speaker 1: and give God some praise to the Thank you for

820
00:50:20,280 --> 00:50:22,839
Speaker 1: joining us. Special thanks to those of you who give

821
00:50:22,920 --> 00:50:25,799
Speaker 1: generously to this ministry. Is because of you that this

822
00:50:25,920 --> 00:50:28,719
Speaker 1: ministry is possible. You can click the link in the

823
00:50:28,760 --> 00:50:33,160
Speaker 1: description to give now, or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash

824
00:50:33,200 --> 00:50:36,480
Speaker 1: podcast for more information and if you enjoyed the podcast,

825
00:50:36,760 --> 00:50:39,480
Speaker 1: you can subscribe. You can share it with your friends.

826
00:50:39,760 --> 00:50:42,040
Speaker 1: You can click the share button, take a screenshot and

827
00:50:42,120 --> 00:50:44,239
Speaker 1: share it on your social stories and tag us at

828
00:50:44,239 --> 00:50:51,839
Speaker 1: Elevation Church. Thanks again for listening. God bless you.