April 6, 2025

Words vs Methods: Isaiah 50:7 Pt 1

Words vs Methods: Isaiah 50:7 Pt 1

A case study in how the words many churches say contradict the actual methods they are using

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A case study in how the words many churches say contradict the actual methods they are using

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Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is

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the Theology Central podcast, making Theology Central. Well, well, well,

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it seems that my last two broadcasts didn't make everyone happy.

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In fact, it seems it may have upset a few

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people who didn't really like what I was attempting to do.

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I think in some ways they may have missed the point.

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I stated it over and over and over again that

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what I was trying to do was build a case

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study where we have pastors who say one thing. They

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kind of market the church, sell the church by saying

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all the right words. They sound spiritual, they sound scriptural,

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they sound philological. But once you turn away from their words,

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you turn away from the marketing, and then you look

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at what the church actually does and practice what it

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actually is. There's a big disconnect. I stated it over

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and over this It was not designed to be a

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hit piece or an expose or attacking personalities. It was like, wait,

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here's this interview where this pastor says all these things

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that sound so very good. But when I went and

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looked up the church, what I found was the complete opposite.

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Why does that keep happening? Why is that happening? How

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is it happening. I was trying to ask these deeper questions,

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but it seems that some of you definitely did not

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like what I was attempting to do. But here we are.

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Now we're even though people don't like it. I'm going

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to press forward because I think now we come well

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to the real issue, and we will do that right

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after I say good morning everyone. It is Sunday, April sixth,

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twenty twenty five. It is currently eight thirty one am

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Central time, and I'm coming to you live from the

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Theology Central Studio located right here in Abilene, Texas. Today

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this morning we arrive I guess what we will call

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at the moment where the words must meet the reality.

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And our last two episodes we walked through a carefully

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constructed image. We had a pastor sitting down for an interview,

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and what I felt he was giving a very carefully

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constructed image of what his church is supposedly like, what

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it really is about, and he clearly distinguished himself from

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other megachurches. He was different. He doesn't like watered down

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ted talks. He likes to reach the meat of the word,

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and he doesn't want to starve the people by just

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giving them chicken nuggets and all of these other things,

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and it sounded so good. Now even in the interview,

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things begin to fall apart, and we took that interview apart,

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and then we went to the church website and found

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ourselves with all kinds of problems. So I think we

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walked through what is a carefully constructed image the interview

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where the pastor said all the right things about God,

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he said all the right things about the Bible. He

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even said all the right things about preaching. We explored

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the church's public face, it's branding, it's website, it's mission statement,

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and some people I don't think like this. The staggering

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financial data, which I'm still trying to wrap my mind

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around the church in question about between nine and twelve

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thousand people attended every single week. They have an operating

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budget somewhere around thirty about twenty five to thirty million dollars.

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It's just it's crazy. But you know, now it's Sunday.

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All of that's over, the interviews, over the going through

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the website, all of it's over. Now it's Sunday. The

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doors are opening to the church, the lights are on,

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the smoke machines are humming, and we're going to church,

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not hypothetically, not from a press release or a Philosophy

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of Ministry podcast. We're going to walk into the church

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itself on a real Sunday morning, and I want you

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to picture it. We're going to step into a modern,

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spacious auditorium. The lighting is professionally designed, the screens are

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alive with motion, and there's a buzz in the air

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that feels maybe more like a ted talk or a

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concert than a sacred gathering. The music fades, the stage

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is cleared. The pastor steps up, Bible in hand, or

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maybe the Bible is just the scripture is just going

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to be on the screen, Okay, but just imagine a

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Bible is in their hand, and he's going to begin

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his sermon. The text for this morning Isaiah, chapter fifty,

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verse seven, This we are told will be the foundation.

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This will be the spiritual mill. Because he doesn't give

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us chicken nuggets. He's going to give us an actual

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spiritual mill. This, as he says, will be the voice

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of God through his word, brought to us by a

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man who says he's committed to expository preaching, to spiritual

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nourishment and defeating the sheep. So we're going to listen carefully.

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I'm going to do my very best nut be cynical,

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but I am going to try to be discerning. I

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have no personal bias, but I am going to do this.

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I'm going to open my bibles and open my eyes.

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What does this sermon really say? Is Isaiah chapter fifty

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verse seven proclaimed or is it repurposed repackaged? Is Christ

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exalted or is he eclipsed? Is Christ seen or is

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Christ replaced by you and me? Does the message align

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with the theology, with the claims and the convictions we've

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already heard in the interview. So this morning, we're going

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to church. In fact, we're going to Indianapolis, Indiana, and

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we're going to pull into the parking lot of Trader's

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Point Christian Church. Between nine to twelve thousand people attend

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every single week. Twenty five million dollars. But basically what

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it takes to make the church work, they bring in

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over thirty million. They have a four million dollar surplus.

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But we're gonna try to forget about the money. We're

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gonna forget about the branding. We're gonna forget about the marketing.

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I am going to remember all the things the pastor

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said about preaching and how his church is different. So

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let's take our seats. Come on, be quiet, Come on, everyone,

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be quiet. All right, we're in church now. Okay, all right,

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we gotta pay attention. Open our bibles. We may be

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the only ones carrying them. Okay, I'm joking. That was

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that was joking. Right, Let's take our seats. Ssh be quiet,

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open our bibles. It's time for church.

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Well, good to be everybody today is we get ready

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to weather the great snowstorm of twenty twenty five. Hey,

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it wouldn't be January in Indiana without one, So I

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don't know. It kind of kind of feels like par

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for the course. But I'm glad you guys are here.

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I want to welcome everybody across all of our locations

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in online. Today's message is just going to be an extremely,

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extremely practical message to kick off the brand new year.

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And at the end of today's message, we're going to

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take communion together across all of our locations. So just

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right now, I just want to encourage you to, if

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you don't have that already, grab a communion cup to

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be ready to participate with us here in just a

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few moments, but it's hard to believe that it's twenty

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twenty five. Can anybody else believe that we are officially

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a quarter of a way through this century? That's one

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way to think about it, which makes me feel really old.

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And I don't know how you're feeling about a new year.

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I don't know if you're kind of like the bandwagon

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like new Year's resolutions goal setting, like you're super super

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excited about it, or if maybe you're a little bit say,

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and you've got some doubts and you're just totally like

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not a new Year's resolution person. I can kind of

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understand that as well. But what I want to invite

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you into is to do a little bit of evaluation

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as to what we just came out of the last

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twelve months and then what we're kind of entering into.

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I typically do that between Christmas and New Year's those

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five to seven days. I'll just spend a little bit

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of time reflecting upon the previous year and then getting

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my heart ready for the year to come.

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Now, a couple of things, right as we start here, Okay,

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now we got we got to do our review quietly?

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Could we don't want to disturb everyone during the sermon. Okay, now,

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obviously we can do whatever we want. We're going to

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be allowed. All right, here we go. Now, now I

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know he hasn't given us the text yet, but just

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remember this is a sermon supposedly on Isaiah chapter fifty,

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verse seven, and I just want you to see because

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it may you may not even catch it. It may

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may be subtle to you. This is starting with what

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the focus on us? US, A new year, us US,

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how we do things us. It's about us. So it's

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we're already being exalted as the focal point here. Now

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when he opens the Bible to Isaiah fifty seven, is

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it gonna switch that the focal point is on something else?

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Because if we're in Isaiah fifty, just from a historical perspective,

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the focal point can no longer be us. It has

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to be the people Isaiah fifty would be written to,

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and that's the people in Babylonian captivity who needs words

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of comfort. Because from Isaiah forty to Isaiah fifty five,

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it is the book of comfort. So it's gonna have

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to stop being about us in twenty twenty five because

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Isaiah fifty has nothing to do with you in twenty

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twenty twenty five, twenty twenty twenty five, twenty twenty five, right, however,

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the way you correctly say it, right, I don't know

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how many twenties I'm putting in there twenty twenty five.

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So already I'm a little I'm a little concerned. And

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does it not just I know as much as the interview.

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In his interview, he tried to make it sound like

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that they are, you know, somehow different than all the

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other megachurches. To me, it sounds just like every other megachurch.

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It just sounds the same. Has everything just fills the same.

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It just I mean, it's just the same manufactured copy

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and paste template for a church. It sounds the same.

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May but maybe I'm good going to be very very

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very very wrong. So we're going to find out. So

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sh he's preaching let's be quiet.

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And as I was doing that this last week, one

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of the things that I just really began think through

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was overall, like twenty twenty four was I would just

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put that as like a really really good year, like

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for me personally, but not without some adversity. And one

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of the things that I just was reflecting upon is

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that there were some high highs, and there were some

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low lows maybe for you too. And here's the thing

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that the two had in common is that I didn't

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see the highs coming, and I didn't necessarily anticipate the

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lows or didn't see them coming. In fact, there were

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many things that happened, and I'm just like, man, those

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are such blessings. I don't know that I deserve it.

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And then there are some bad things, some really discouraging

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things that happened that I didn't see coming as well.

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Now here's what it initially did to me. And I'm

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just being confessional with you, and I'm trusting that some

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of you will be able to relate to me. Because

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of that, I found myself kind of gingerly inching into

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this year, like, well, you know, if that was true

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in the past twelve months, and actually that was true

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in twenty twenty three and twenty twenty two and twenty

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twenty one, that probably in twenty twenty five there's going

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to be some unexpected blessing, some high highs, and some

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unexpected challenges, some low lows. And so I found myself

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kind of like posturing, like almost like red like trying

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to like figure out how can I enter into the

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year to try to maximize the good and minimize the

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bad so I can net an overall good year at

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the end of the year. And really what that spelling

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is control, if I'm being honest, and a lack of

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trust in the sovereignty of God, because there isn't anything

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that really like, there's so many circumstances that are outside

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of our control, both the good and the bad. And really,

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what I want to do is, I don't want to

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try to live my life in the absence of adversity.

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I want to try to live my life so that

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I can face adversity well. And so I want to

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be like surefooted and recognize that good or bad, whatever

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may come, I'm going to trust like the sovereignty of

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God in that. And it's an unfortunate truth, but it

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is true that when I look back at my life,

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the times when I've grown the most spiritually and emotionally

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and even in other ways like physically, has been through adversity,

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not around it. And so actually adversity, when you're surefooted,

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can become a blessing. And so what I want to

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encourage you with is just simply these truths right here.

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We talked about this and are storms of life. Hey,

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you go through horrible things, but isn't it great because

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you always come out better and stronger and it's good

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and this is the way you grow. Adversity is wonderful.

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Now again that I mean, Christians love to say that,

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Pastors love to teach that. I always get a little

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bothered by that because you know, oh, you were molested

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for fifteen years, Well, goods, what isn't it great? You

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went through that adversity and it makes you better, and

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it makes you stronger, it makes you wonderful. Oh you

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were abused for ten years, Well that's wonderful and that's great.

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Oh you've got a terminal disease and you're going to

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die in a year, Well that's wonderful. You're gonna be stronger,

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you're gonna be better, you're gonna be more spiritual. We

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always grow through adversity. I mean, like you've got to

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kinda don't you have to kind of qualify that? And

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to some level, don't you have to kind of I mean, hey,

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you're going through a bad year, Well that's good. You're

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gonna grow. You're gonna grow, You're gonna come out better. Now,

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I think we always tell ourselves we're gonna come out better.

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I mean, there's a lot we could talk about it.

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I'm not going to get into that because I'm still waiting,

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because you know, this is a sermon about Isaiah, chapter fifty,

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verse seven. And he's not like other pastors. He doesn't

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like water down ted talks. He likes expositional preaching. He

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likes to expound scripture. He likes to give people the meat. Okay,

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So so I mean I could sit there and take

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all of this apartment, we could get in philosophical discussions.

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I'm trying to get to where we are going. So

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let's find out where we're going.

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Is that God wants you to meditate, Satan wants you

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to ruminate. So God wants you to meditate on what

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it is that you've been through and kind of where

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things are headed, and Satan wants you to ruminate. Well,

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what's the difference.

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God wants you to meditate on where you've been, what

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you're going. Does God want you to meditate on where

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you ban where you're going, or does God want you

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to meditate on his word? What are you called to

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meditate on? In scripture? What are you called to meditate

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on it? Are you called to meditate on? Where you've

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been and where you're going? Are you? Are you called

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to meditate on in your life? What you're going? Does

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scripture and I give you what you're called to meditate on?

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Are you called to meditate on his word day and night?

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I think that's in the Bible. I could be wrong.

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Are we supposed to meditate on? You need to sit

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back and meditate on where you've been and where you're

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going and what you've gone through. That seems to be

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very self focused. So God wants you to meditate on

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He didn't say meditate on God's word. You're supposed to

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meditate on these other things, But Satan wants you to ruminate.

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You're supposed to meditate. Satan wants you to ruminate. I don't.

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Is there a scripture that says Satan wants me to ruminate?

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I mean he's saying this is as these are dogmatic assertions.

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Does the Bible say Satan roams about? Is a roaring

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line trying to get you to ruminate? Is Satan going?

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Is Satan's strategy? Hey guys, we've got to get these

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people to ruminate because we don't want them to meditate

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on where they've been and where they're going. We've got

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to get them to ruminate. I mean, I didn't even

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know this was a satanic strategy. I'm going to back

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that up just a little bit because I want you

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to hear.

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That, because there isn't anything that really like, there's so

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many circumstances that are outside of our control, both the

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good and the bad. And really, what I want to

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do is I don't want to try to live my

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life in the absence of adversity. I want to try

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to live my life so that I can face adversity well.

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And so I want to be like surefooted and recognize

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that good or bad, whatever may come, I'm going to

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trust like the sovereignty of God in that. And it's

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an unfortunate truth, but it is true that when I

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look back at my life, the times when I've grown

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the most spiritually and emotionally and even in other ways

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like physically, has been through adversity, not around it. And

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so actually adversity, when you're surefooted, can become a blessing.

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And so what I want to encourage you with is

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just simply these truths right here, is that God wants

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you to meditate. Satan wants you to ruminate. So God

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wants you to meditate on what it is you've been

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through and kind of where things are headed, and Satan

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wants you to ruminate. Well, what's the difference between the two. Well,

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one keeps you spinning on circumstances you can't change, and

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the other one gets you reminded of the truths of

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God's word and an unchanging God.

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Well, I guess he didn't. He said you will meditate

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on where you've been and where you're going, But it

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says one is going to keep you focused on God's

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unchanging word. Well, that means you're not meditating then on yourself.

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You're meditating on God's word. So that was kind of

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weird the way that was spoken. He seems to go

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back to, well, you're actually focusing on God's word. Now,

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that's one thing to say. God wants you to meditate

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on his word. Stop focusing on yourself, Stop focusing on

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where you've been and where you're going. Stop being self focused,

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and have a God focused perspective. Lift your eyes up,

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stop looking your start turning your eyes inwardly, stop looking

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to your circumstances and look to God. Okay, but it's

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weird because he that's that's just the way it seems like.

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He said, meditate on where you've been and where you're going.

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But then he kind of connected meditation with God's word.

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But however you want to deal with that. But again,

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all of this is really self focused. All of this

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is very focused on self, and it sounds very much

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like just kind of like a life coach giving you

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practical tips to you know, have your best life now.

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But that's how it's feeling to me. You can draw

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your own conclusion.

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One turns the attention upon you. The other turns the

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attention upon the only one ultimately powerful and sovereign enough

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to bring about real change. So at the beginning of

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a brand new year, let these words of Saint Augustine

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encourage you. I love how he writes this. He says,

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trust the past to God's mercy because you can't do

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anything to change it now. It's in the past. Trust

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the present to God's love. That the present moment that

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you are in, be fully present in that moment and

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recognize the gift that it is, that it's God's mercy

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and love and great upon you, and then trust the

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future to God's providence. And when it comes to.

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The oh Man, I want you to think about the

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words of Saint Augustine. He wrote, trust the past to

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the mercy of God, the presence, the present to his love,

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and the future to his providence. Didn't that sound so

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spiritual and so connected to historical Christianity, didn't it? Well,

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here's the only problem. Saint Augustine never said that. That's

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completely fraudulent. So we're off to a great start. We're

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off to a great start. From what I can tell,

353
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this is a widely misattributed quote to Saint Augustine. There

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is no known source and Augustine's works that seem to

355
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contain the exact quote. It's often cited online and devotionals

356
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or from Christian speakers as a quote from Augustine, but

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it does not seem to appear in any verified Latin

358
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or English translation of his writings. And so now maybe

359
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it's somewhere, But from what I can look find, and

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I tried to do a little bit of research on this,

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it's not found in his confessions, it's not found in

362
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the City of God, it's not found on Grace and

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free will. It's not found in his letters and homilies.

364
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It's definitely not found. I can't remember the book that

365
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we were teaching through at Victory Baptist Church on Hermeneutics.

366
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We didn't find it there. So there's a I don't

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know where this comes from. Some say it's possible to

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quote as a modern summary or paraphrase, maybe inspired by

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general themes in Augustine's writings, but the wording itself cannot

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be found right. So I asked artificial intelligence, Hey, you

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00:21:54.920 --> 00:21:57.559
know does this? You know what's going on here?

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Hey?

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I said this, and I quote. Augustine did write deeply

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about time memory in God's Sovereignty and Confessions. He absolutely

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spoke of God's mercy, love, and providence, but not in

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this tidy, three part slogan format that this quote presents.

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This quote is often used to bring comfort and clarity,

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and while it isn't necessarily heretical, it presents a cleaned

379
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up version of Augustine's complex theology that lacks nuance, it

380
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is also intention It also unintentionally suggests a therapeutic framing

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of God mercy for your regret, love for your now,

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and providence for your plans. This is more like a

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modern devotional sentiment than a patristic theology. So we're starting

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off great now. Remember he did the same thing in

385
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the interview, Remember his story about amazing grace and where

386
00:22:52.680 --> 00:22:58.440
the song came from. Completely fraudulent, fraudulent information in the interview.

387
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Now a completely made up quote by Augusta. And notice

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how he said it. Oh, I want you to think

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about this, this statement from Augustine. He wrote as almost

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as if he had read it, as he had the

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Book of Augustin right here in front of it, like

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just the way it stated. He stated it emphatically. He

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doesn't give a source, does he? No, he does not

394
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give a source, doesn't tell him which book he got

395
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it from. Now, most likely he got it from a

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devotional book that was supposedly quoting Augustine. And he didn't

397
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verify if the quote came from Augustine because he trusted

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the devotional book from which he found it. Most likely

399
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that is how it happens, because that quote, I've heard

400
00:23:40.680 --> 00:23:43.000
it in sermons, and I've seen it in the numerous

401
00:23:43.200 --> 00:23:46.599
devotional books. In fact, I could probably find one. I

402
00:23:46.720 --> 00:23:49.519
have to look, I may have one of them here

403
00:23:49.720 --> 00:23:52.799
around me. If I find it, I'll have to quote it.

404
00:23:53.680 --> 00:23:55.759
I probably can do some searching and find it, and

405
00:23:55.839 --> 00:23:59.119
then and the devotional books that it appears. But so

406
00:23:59.240 --> 00:24:02.200
wouldn't it be better to say? Wouldn't it be better

407
00:24:02.200 --> 00:24:04.720
to say? Some people say, I mean, you could do

408
00:24:04.759 --> 00:24:07.519
it this way, and I think, and sometimes I forget

409
00:24:07.559 --> 00:24:09.559
to do this. If I'm reading a book and it

410
00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:12.920
gives a quote from someone and I haven't verified it

411
00:24:12.960 --> 00:24:15.200
what I tried to and I don't always do this,

412
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but I try to do this. Some say Augustine said this,

413
00:24:20.519 --> 00:24:25.039
some say Luther said this, and I that's where I'm

414
00:24:25.039 --> 00:24:28.599
placing the focus on. Other people say that they said it,

415
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but I'm making it clear that I haven't verified it.

416
00:24:32.279 --> 00:24:35.119
That's an easy thing to do. That's an easy thing

417
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to do. I read this quote from Augustine in this book,

418
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but I have not verified it. The quote that I'm

419
00:24:41.440 --> 00:24:47.200
reading comes from page seven of this devotional or just

420
00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:49.680
something simple you don't have to go into great detail.

421
00:24:50.440 --> 00:24:54.079
So but again, the quote is trust the past to

422
00:24:54.160 --> 00:24:56.680
the mercy of God, the present to his love, and

423
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the future to his providence. Sounds so good, sounds so great.

424
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But all right, let's continue.

425
00:25:06.279 --> 00:25:09.400
Primary things that matter the most in your life and

426
00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:11.559
in my life. I would just kind of narrow it

427
00:25:11.559 --> 00:25:13.400
down to these four buckets. If you're taking notes, you

428
00:25:13.400 --> 00:25:16.480
can jot these things down. Your spiritual growth, like your

429
00:25:16.519 --> 00:25:18.359
walk with God. That should be the most important thing.

430
00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:21.759
Number two, your relationships and everything that would fit into

431
00:25:21.759 --> 00:25:26.440
that category dating, marriage, kids, family, co workers, your community.

432
00:25:26.960 --> 00:25:30.480
Number three your physical and emotional health. Those are important

433
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things because we are holistic beings. And then number four,

434
00:25:33.240 --> 00:25:36.440
your financial health because as scripture says that wherever your

435
00:25:36.440 --> 00:25:39.240
treasure is, your heart will follow. Those four things when

436
00:25:39.240 --> 00:25:44.200
it comes to spiritual growth, relationships, physical and emotional health,

437
00:25:44.599 --> 00:25:47.680
and your finances. Now, I think that for many of us,

438
00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:51.960
if we're being honest, in those four categories, we would

439
00:25:52.039 --> 00:25:56.759
say that too many times our strategy has been these

440
00:25:56.759 --> 00:26:00.240
two little words right here behind me. I hope. I

441
00:26:00.279 --> 00:26:03.240
hope I grow closer to God this year. Don't know

442
00:26:03.279 --> 00:26:05.359
if I will, but I hope, you know. I hope

443
00:26:05.599 --> 00:26:08.960
my marriage gets stronger. I hope I find and meet

444
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the right one. I hope my connection to my kids

445
00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:17.480
gets better. I hope I'll be in better shape physically, emotionally, financially.

446
00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:21.359
But what I want to just gently point out is

447
00:26:21.400 --> 00:26:27.319
that the words I want and I hope aren't effective strategies.

448
00:26:28.480 --> 00:26:30.400
It's a good place to start, but it's not an

449
00:26:30.440 --> 00:26:34.039
effective strategy that'll sustain you through the year, especially when

450
00:26:34.079 --> 00:26:35.880
adversity comes.

451
00:26:37.519 --> 00:26:41.359
So I'm just I'm so interested here. The text is

452
00:26:41.359 --> 00:26:46.319
Isaiah fifty, and the entire setup is about you. You

453
00:26:46.319 --> 00:26:49.799
you you you you you you. You don't just want change,

454
00:26:50.200 --> 00:26:52.799
don't just hope for change. You've got to be the

455
00:26:52.839 --> 00:26:55.119
one to do it. This is like a life coach.

456
00:26:55.160 --> 00:26:59.240
Come on, it's January twenty twenty five. Guys, get up.

457
00:26:59.400 --> 00:27:02.240
Don't just want it, don't just hope it. You gotta

458
00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:04.359
do it. I sound like I'm gonna cycle class. Right,

459
00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:07.480
come on, guys, pedal. Don't just want it, just don't

460
00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:09.920
hope for it. You're gonna make this year a great year.

461
00:27:10.119 --> 00:27:13.640
Keep peddling, keep peddling, keep running. Come on, come on,

462
00:27:13.799 --> 00:27:15.799
come on, come on, come on. We gotta get another

463
00:27:15.880 --> 00:27:18.039
thirty minutes in. Come on, we're gonna do this. This

464
00:27:18.200 --> 00:27:20.359
is gonna be a great year. You're gonna look better,

465
00:27:20.480 --> 00:27:22.640
You're gonna feel stronger. You can do it. Should I

466
00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:25.119
do it? Be one of those cycle coaches? Right? Should

467
00:27:25.119 --> 00:27:26.880
I do that. Should I do? I sound like I

468
00:27:26.920 --> 00:27:29.519
could do it now, Well, well I'll sit there and

469
00:27:29.559 --> 00:27:31.720
talk that way, but I'll probably be kicked back, eating

470
00:27:31.759 --> 00:27:34.079
a bag of Doritos and drinking a coke. But I

471
00:27:34.559 --> 00:27:35.279
can motivate.

472
00:27:35.359 --> 00:27:35.839
You couldn't.

473
00:27:35.839 --> 00:27:38.559
I you can do it. Come on, don't just want it,

474
00:27:38.599 --> 00:27:41.079
don't just hope for it. You gotta do it. That's

475
00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:46.319
not a way to get effective change. Now again, I

476
00:27:46.440 --> 00:27:51.039
wanna make this so very clear, I literally don't care

477
00:27:51.680 --> 00:27:54.400
what churches do. You can do whatever you want. You

478
00:27:54.440 --> 00:27:56.960
can do church any way you want. I don't care.

479
00:27:57.519 --> 00:28:01.319
The reason we're even reviewing this is because I was

480
00:28:01.400 --> 00:28:05.839
simply on YouTube and then here's this video saying churches

481
00:28:05.960 --> 00:28:09.759
are starving their people to death. The people are starving

482
00:28:10.119 --> 00:28:12.759
and they're just feeding the people chicken nuggets. And this

483
00:28:12.960 --> 00:28:15.279
pastor comes along. It's like, hey, no, we don't do that.

484
00:28:16.240 --> 00:28:19.200
The focus at our church is the preaching of God's word,

485
00:28:20.480 --> 00:28:24.480
the you know, the we do expositional preaching. I don't

486
00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:27.319
like water down ted talks. I mean, he's the one

487
00:28:27.359 --> 00:28:31.119
who criticized the other churches. He's the one who said, no,

488
00:28:31.240 --> 00:28:33.599
we don't do it like the other churches. The other

489
00:28:33.680 --> 00:28:37.200
people are starving. We feed our people the meat of

490
00:28:37.319 --> 00:28:40.240
God's work kind of mentality. All right. So when I

491
00:28:40.359 --> 00:28:43.400
heard that, I was like, well, great, then this I

492
00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:46.359
want to hear what this church does. And then when

493
00:28:46.359 --> 00:28:49.000
I go look up the church, immediately when I looked

494
00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:52.519
at the website, I'm like, the website seems completely contradictory

495
00:28:52.519 --> 00:28:55.039
to everything said in the interview. That's the reason we're

496
00:28:55.119 --> 00:28:57.519
doing this. I don't care. I'm not you can do

497
00:28:57.680 --> 00:28:59.680
church anyway you want. I just think if you're gonna

498
00:28:59.680 --> 00:29:01.359
do church so like this, then just say, hey, guys,

499
00:29:01.400 --> 00:29:05.000
we don't really care about getting philological and in depth

500
00:29:05.119 --> 00:29:08.279
and taking the scriptures apart. That's not what we're there

501
00:29:08.400 --> 00:29:11.640
to do, Okay, And that's okay, just state it. My

502
00:29:11.839 --> 00:29:15.640
whole point here is the contradiction between the way it's

503
00:29:15.759 --> 00:29:18.799
sold and what actually happens. Because this is a common

504
00:29:18.920 --> 00:29:21.720
strategy used all over the place. And I have an

505
00:29:21.920 --> 00:29:26.400
entire on of four or five pages of notes where

506
00:29:26.400 --> 00:29:29.920
I had artificial intelligence break down the strategy used by

507
00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:32.720
many pastors where oh, you've got to say these things

508
00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:35.519
because this is what the people want to hear and believe,

509
00:29:35.839 --> 00:29:38.200
but they don't really want these things. You got to

510
00:29:38.240 --> 00:29:40.319
give them something different. You got to convince them that

511
00:29:40.359 --> 00:29:42.720
they're coming and they're getting scripture and we care about

512
00:29:42.759 --> 00:29:45.039
this and this and this, but in reality, they want

513
00:29:45.119 --> 00:29:47.720
something completely different. So you got to play this little

514
00:29:47.799 --> 00:29:50.920
game that I'm just calling out this game. I don't

515
00:29:50.960 --> 00:29:53.000
care what they do, all right, If this is the

516
00:29:53.079 --> 00:29:55.160
kind of sermon you want, then by all means, you

517
00:29:55.279 --> 00:29:58.599
got a million churches to choose from. I'm just curious

518
00:29:58.640 --> 00:30:00.880
how in the world all of this sets up Isyadaya fifty,

519
00:30:01.079 --> 00:30:03.079
which has literally nothing to do with any of this.

520
00:30:04.720 --> 00:30:08.559
But okay, don't just want it. Don't just hope. That's

521
00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:11.440
not a strategy for effective change. You can't want it.

522
00:30:11.680 --> 00:30:17.440
You can't hope for it. You gotta do it right. Okay,

523
00:30:17.680 --> 00:30:21.279
all right, we could get into whole law gospel discussion here,

524
00:30:21.319 --> 00:30:22.440
but let's continue.

525
00:30:23.519 --> 00:30:25.440
And think about it. For we already know this. I

526
00:30:25.559 --> 00:30:27.240
just think about it for a minute. We don't train

527
00:30:27.319 --> 00:30:29.400
one time and go out and run a marathon, at

528
00:30:29.480 --> 00:30:32.359
least most of us, Like, we don't just save a

529
00:30:32.400 --> 00:30:35.680
little bit from one paycheck and expect like to retire

530
00:30:35.799 --> 00:30:40.039
after that. We know both of those things require consistent

531
00:30:40.200 --> 00:30:43.519
behavior over time. I think This is what Paul's driving

532
00:30:43.559 --> 00:30:46.440
at when he's mentoring a young Timothy, and he says

533
00:30:46.440 --> 00:30:48.640
this in for Timothy, chapter four, verse eight. He says,

534
00:30:48.720 --> 00:30:53.400
physical training is good, but training for Godliness is much better,

535
00:30:53.519 --> 00:30:55.839
promising benefits in this life and in the life to come,

536
00:30:56.119 --> 00:30:57.880
going into twenty twenty five. That's how I want you

537
00:30:57.960 --> 00:31:01.680
to think about your spiritual formation, which is just a

538
00:31:01.799 --> 00:31:07.400
fancy term for growing to look more and more like Jesus. Listen,

539
00:31:07.519 --> 00:31:11.720
your salvation is not based upon your works. It's based

540
00:31:11.759 --> 00:31:12.920
upon the finished.

541
00:31:12.559 --> 00:31:13.400
Work of Jesus.

542
00:31:14.480 --> 00:31:19.279
However, your formation that is based upon your works. So

543
00:31:19.400 --> 00:31:22.720
we're saved by grace through faith. But then training for

544
00:31:22.960 --> 00:31:26.319
godliness means that we've got to put in some efforts.

545
00:31:26.920 --> 00:31:29.240
And Paul is saying that we don't just like automatically

546
00:31:29.319 --> 00:31:32.960
become godly. We have to train for it. C. S.

547
00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:35.039
Lewis would say it this way in the screw Table Letters.

548
00:31:35.279 --> 00:31:38.240
He says, the more often one feels without acting. In

549
00:31:38.319 --> 00:31:41.960
other words, I've got the motivation, but I never apply

550
00:31:42.119 --> 00:31:44.079
what I know. That's what he's saying. So I got

551
00:31:44.119 --> 00:31:47.039
feeling without action, the less one will ever be able

552
00:31:47.319 --> 00:31:50.400
to act, and in the long run, the less one

553
00:31:50.559 --> 00:31:53.119
will be able to feel you hear what he's saying.

554
00:31:53.599 --> 00:31:56.519
He say, if you never apply what it is you know,

555
00:31:56.960 --> 00:32:00.440
you'll eventually lose the motivation to grow. So you've got

556
00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:02.279
to begin to take what you know. This is what

557
00:32:02.319 --> 00:32:04.799
I want to encourage you with. But not only today's message,

558
00:32:05.039 --> 00:32:07.440
but every message in twenty twenty five. Is that I

559
00:32:07.519 --> 00:32:09.799
don't expect that all forty minutes will apply to you

560
00:32:09.920 --> 00:32:12.599
equally every single week. That didn't need to you. Just

561
00:32:12.640 --> 00:32:14.240
walk away from the message and go, what's the one

562
00:32:14.279 --> 00:32:15.200
thing God wants me to know?

563
00:32:17.279 --> 00:32:19.799
Do you see how He's doing this? So he wants

564
00:32:19.799 --> 00:32:22.799
you and his sermons to focus on you. What does

565
00:32:22.839 --> 00:32:26.799
God want you to know about you? About you? About you?

566
00:32:27.160 --> 00:32:29.920
This isn't complete, not the way you're supposed to preach.

567
00:32:30.240 --> 00:32:33.839
It's not about the people. It's about the text. It's

568
00:32:33.880 --> 00:32:35.839
not a taking the text saying what does it say

569
00:32:35.920 --> 00:32:39.799
to me? Nobody stinking cares what it means to you.

570
00:32:40.200 --> 00:32:42.680
Nobody should let me say it that way. Everyone thinks

571
00:32:42.720 --> 00:32:45.799
it matters. No, what does it mean to the people?

572
00:32:46.039 --> 00:32:48.279
Was written to? What does it say? What does it

573
00:32:48.359 --> 00:32:50.559
teach us about? What? What is it saying? What is

574
00:32:50.640 --> 00:32:55.720
it teaching we're so secondary do the entire part. We're

575
00:32:55.759 --> 00:32:58.880
not even secondary with third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh place.

576
00:32:59.119 --> 00:33:00.519
We got to figure out what it means. We got

577
00:33:00.599 --> 00:33:02.640
to figure out what it means in its context. What

578
00:33:02.799 --> 00:33:06.839
is the historical context, What are the difficulties in the text?

579
00:33:07.119 --> 00:33:09.039
What is there any textual issues we get?

580
00:33:09.079 --> 00:33:09.319
We get?

581
00:33:09.319 --> 00:33:12.559
What are the theological implications are there's so there's a

582
00:33:12.680 --> 00:33:15.599
million things we have to do hermoneutically before we even

583
00:33:15.680 --> 00:33:18.160
show up on the scene. But it's always about me,

584
00:33:18.480 --> 00:33:21.480
me me, me, me, me, me, me, me me. What

585
00:33:21.559 --> 00:33:22.319
does God seem to me?

586
00:33:22.519 --> 00:33:23.160
Me me me?

587
00:33:24.559 --> 00:33:26.160
We just you know what we should do. We should

588
00:33:26.319 --> 00:33:28.920
we should remove crosses, and we should just in our

589
00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:31.839
churches just have the picture of the congregation behind the

590
00:33:31.920 --> 00:33:35.039
pulpit and say, it's all about us. Bow before us,

591
00:33:35.359 --> 00:33:38.680
the glory of us. It's all about us, exalt ourselves.

592
00:33:38.839 --> 00:33:41.279
We come here to worship us. We come to make

593
00:33:41.319 --> 00:33:44.279
it about me. It's about me, and Church better go

594
00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:45.960
the way I want it, because I don't like it,

595
00:33:46.119 --> 00:33:51.160
I'll get mad and go somewhere else. The whole thing

596
00:33:51.359 --> 00:33:57.599
is maddening. And somehow this has somehow, this has something

597
00:33:57.640 --> 00:34:01.559
to do with Isaiah fifty. I don't get the setup here,

598
00:34:02.960 --> 00:34:06.440
all right, and we won't even get into the screw

599
00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:09.280
tape letters quote. We could get into that, but okay,

600
00:34:10.679 --> 00:34:14.719
So it's all about it's all about application. Application. Basically,

601
00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:18.360
application comes first. But he's the one who's set up that.

602
00:34:18.559 --> 00:34:18.599
Know.

603
00:34:18.920 --> 00:34:24.480
It's about expounding the scriptures. It's about reading, explaining the scriptures,

604
00:34:24.519 --> 00:34:29.360
and then applying. Even the very system he gave was read, explain,

605
00:34:30.079 --> 00:34:34.440
then apply. If the application is jumping the line in

606
00:34:34.519 --> 00:34:35.239
a sense.

607
00:34:38.119 --> 00:34:39.840
And what's the one thing God wants me to do?

608
00:34:40.119 --> 00:34:42.480
And I'm telling you that if you will try to

609
00:34:42.559 --> 00:34:44.639
pinpoint what it is that God wants you to know

610
00:34:45.199 --> 00:34:47.079
and what it is he wants you to do, and

611
00:34:47.159 --> 00:34:50.119
if you would do it that week, then you're training

612
00:34:50.239 --> 00:34:54.000
in godliness. Lewis would say this in another book of his,

613
00:34:54.199 --> 00:34:56.920
It's Lesser Known God in the Dock. He would say,

614
00:34:56.960 --> 00:35:00.159
we all want progress, but progress means getting near to

615
00:35:00.280 --> 00:35:02.119
the place where you want to be. And if you

616
00:35:02.199 --> 00:35:04.880
have taken a wrong turning, then to go forward does

617
00:35:04.960 --> 00:35:07.440
not get you any nearer. If you are on the

618
00:35:07.519 --> 00:35:12.039
wrong road, progress means doing an about turn and walking

619
00:35:12.239 --> 00:35:13.239
back to.

620
00:35:13.440 --> 00:35:14.320
The right road.

621
00:35:15.079 --> 00:35:17.960
I think it was Albert Einstein, who said insanity is

622
00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:19.719
doing the same thing over and over again and expecting

623
00:35:19.880 --> 00:35:23.480
different results. That's essentially what Lewis is saying there. He's like, listen, man,

624
00:35:23.519 --> 00:35:25.360
if you're not getting to the place where you want

625
00:35:25.440 --> 00:35:27.880
to be in your relationship with Jesus, you got to

626
00:35:27.880 --> 00:35:30.280
ask yourself, Okay, maybe I don't need to keep going

627
00:35:30.280 --> 00:35:31.960
down the same road. I actually need to do an

628
00:35:31.960 --> 00:35:34.400
about turn and take a different path.

629
00:35:34.599 --> 00:35:41.800
And that's literally, Oh man, I just looked it up. Okay,

630
00:35:43.800 --> 00:35:44.880
I just asked Ai.

631
00:35:46.400 --> 00:35:50.679
Hey, the C. S. Lewis quotes. AI says, let's verify

632
00:35:50.760 --> 00:35:53.079
the C. S. Lewis quotes used in the January fifth,

633
00:35:53.119 --> 00:35:55.559
twenty twenty five sermon to determine if the pastor quoted

634
00:35:55.599 --> 00:35:59.199
them accurately and in context. Quote one seems to be

635
00:35:59.280 --> 00:36:01.159
you can't go back can change the beginning, but you

636
00:36:01.239 --> 00:36:03.840
can start where you are and change the ending. The

637
00:36:03.960 --> 00:36:06.079
quote is often attributed to C. S. Lewis, but there

638
00:36:06.159 --> 00:36:10.039
is no documented, documented source in Lewis's published works or

639
00:36:10.119 --> 00:36:13.000
letters that contains the exact line. It does not appear

640
00:36:13.039 --> 00:36:15.559
in Mere Christianity. The Four Loves the Problem of Pain

641
00:36:15.880 --> 00:36:18.360
Surprised by Joy letters to Malcolm or any of the

642
00:36:18.800 --> 00:36:22.159
Narnia books. The phrasing is modern and therapeutic, not consistent

643
00:36:22.199 --> 00:36:25.039
with C. S. Lewis's writing style. It's widely considered a

644
00:36:25.159 --> 00:36:28.760
missed attribution, similar to other quotes floating online that get

645
00:36:28.840 --> 00:36:32.559
falsely tied to C. S. Lewis, like You're never too

646
00:36:32.679 --> 00:36:37.239
old to set another goal. So it's not verified. The

647
00:36:37.360 --> 00:36:41.280
other very often, the only way to get quality time

648
00:36:41.400 --> 00:36:44.880
is to get quantity time. This quote is not from C. S. Lewis,

649
00:36:47.519 --> 00:36:51.000
so it seems. And I think he gave a different quote,

650
00:36:51.960 --> 00:36:56.360
so at least so far, and maybe I so according

651
00:36:56.400 --> 00:36:58.159
to AI, and I'd have to go through and work.

652
00:36:58.599 --> 00:37:00.440
I said, I wasn't even going to get into Uh. Oh,

653
00:37:00.519 --> 00:37:04.079
I know what he did. He he Okay, I'm gonna ask.

654
00:37:04.480 --> 00:37:25.800
He gave a quote supposedly from the screwtape letters. Okay,

655
00:37:25.840 --> 00:37:34.280
hang on, okay, yeah, the uh okay, here we go.

656
00:37:34.480 --> 00:37:37.800
He the screw tape letter. Once it sounds to be exact.

657
00:37:38.239 --> 00:37:41.119
The more the more often he feels without acting, the

658
00:37:41.199 --> 00:37:43.239
less he will be able to ever act, and the

659
00:37:43.320 --> 00:37:46.079
long run, the less he will be able to feel. Uh,

660
00:37:46.400 --> 00:37:54.400
this is a legitimate quote, all right? So yes, the

661
00:37:54.800 --> 00:38:00.719
quote was accurate, The source was correct, all right. The Jerman, however,

662
00:38:00.840 --> 00:38:03.199
did not explain the context that the quote comes from

663
00:38:03.239 --> 00:38:08.679
a demon trying to destroy a believer spiritual life. The

664
00:38:08.800 --> 00:38:12.079
context matters because Lewis is showing how the enemy exploits

665
00:38:12.199 --> 00:38:17.320
are in action. So AI says, now, to his credit,

666
00:38:17.480 --> 00:38:21.480
the pastor quoted C. S. Lewis correctly, this one really

667
00:38:21.599 --> 00:38:24.559
is from the Screwtape letters. But that wasn't But what

668
00:38:24.840 --> 00:38:27.760
wasn't mentioned is the voice behind the quote screwtape, a

669
00:38:27.840 --> 00:38:31.119
senior demon coaching his nephew on how to spiritually sabotage

670
00:38:31.159 --> 00:38:33.639
a believer. The whole point that if someone keeps feeling

671
00:38:33.639 --> 00:38:37.079
spiritual conviction it never acts, though eventually stop feeling anything

672
00:38:37.119 --> 00:38:40.039
at all is a powerful insight but also a warning. Okay,

673
00:38:40.360 --> 00:38:43.800
So he didn't offer explain that, So that screwtape letter

674
00:38:43.880 --> 00:38:48.400
one is correct. That one is correct. So he's not

675
00:38:48.559 --> 00:38:51.840
off to a good start because in the interview his

676
00:38:52.000 --> 00:38:56.320
story about amazing Grace is fraudulent. The Augustine quote is fraudulent,

677
00:38:56.400 --> 00:38:59.920
and it appears there's two other quotes. I guess somewhere

678
00:39:00.119 --> 00:39:04.159
the sermon that is attributed to Cus list unless Ai

679
00:39:04.559 --> 00:39:09.960
just miss didn't get the transcript right. I did give

680
00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:11.719
it the transcript, but I didn't give it to it again.

681
00:39:11.719 --> 00:39:14.079
I'm making it refer back to what it's already reviewed,

682
00:39:14.400 --> 00:39:17.480
so I could I could possibly provide it. Well, hang on,

683
00:39:17.639 --> 00:39:19.480
I know what I'll do. I know what i'll do.

684
00:39:19.679 --> 00:39:21.199
We'll take a little bit of time. That's okay. We

685
00:39:21.320 --> 00:39:23.199
want to get everything accurate. I want to get everything

686
00:39:23.280 --> 00:39:27.880
accurate here. Okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna do this. I'm

687
00:39:27.960 --> 00:39:33.960
going to give it the transcript again. Review this transcript

688
00:39:36.079 --> 00:39:39.800
and find all the quotes.

689
00:39:43.760 --> 00:39:44.480
That are.

690
00:39:45.880 --> 00:39:58.960
Misattributed. Miss attribute if I can spell right and false,

691
00:40:00.320 --> 00:40:08.800
here we go. Okay, so all right, here we go.

692
00:40:08.920 --> 00:40:11.639
Here's a detailed analysis and critique of the quoted material

693
00:40:11.679 --> 00:40:14.480
and the sermon transcript from January the fifth, with attention

694
00:40:14.599 --> 00:40:18.199
to factual, hermeneutical, philological, and logical errors. The focus is

695
00:40:18.280 --> 00:40:21.880
particularly on misattributed or false quotes. We've got the first one,

696
00:40:22.320 --> 00:40:25.599
uh true. Trust the past to God's mercy, the present

697
00:40:25.679 --> 00:40:28.400
to God's love, and the future to God's providence. This

698
00:40:28.840 --> 00:40:31.840
this quote is widely circulated and often attributed to Augustine.

699
00:40:32.079 --> 00:40:35.880
It is not, but it's it's not uh, it's it's

700
00:40:36.159 --> 00:40:40.880
he says that best you could say attribution disputed or

701
00:40:41.039 --> 00:40:46.480
unverified paraphrase. All right, the quote quotes of to attributed

702
00:40:46.519 --> 00:40:51.239
to C. S. Lewis. The more often one feels Okay,

703
00:40:51.400 --> 00:40:53.360
that's the one we just looked at. That one is

704
00:40:53.920 --> 00:40:58.239
accurate another one, uh the quote God in the doc

705
00:40:58.440 --> 00:41:03.719
we all want progress, but progress means means getting nearer

706
00:41:03.800 --> 00:41:05.920
to the place where you want to be. If you're

707
00:41:05.960 --> 00:41:08.960
on the wrong road, progress means doing an about turn.

708
00:41:09.440 --> 00:41:12.519
This is a faithful paraphrase of something Lewis wrote in

709
00:41:12.559 --> 00:41:18.119
Mere Christianity, where he wrote, progress means getting nearer to

710
00:41:18.159 --> 00:41:19.519
the place where you want to be, and if you

711
00:41:19.599 --> 00:41:21.760
have taken a wrong turning, then to go forward does

712
00:41:21.840 --> 00:41:25.960
not get you any nearer. Misattribution to the Wrong Book

713
00:41:26.159 --> 00:41:29.559
is minor, but demonstrates a lack of careful carefulness. All right.

714
00:41:29.639 --> 00:41:33.000
So okay, okay, wait a minute. So he says that

715
00:41:33.119 --> 00:41:36.440
that God's that C. S. Lewis said this and God

716
00:41:36.679 --> 00:41:40.119
in the doc. This is a faithful paraphrase of something

717
00:41:40.199 --> 00:41:44.719
Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity. All right, not God in

718
00:41:44.800 --> 00:41:48.039
the dock. So he it's he gives a faithful paraphrase

719
00:41:48.079 --> 00:41:50.199
of what Lewis says, but he gives he attributes it

720
00:41:50.320 --> 00:41:53.920
to the wrong book. So AI says, this is a

721
00:41:54.000 --> 00:41:57.239
misattribution to the wrong book. It maybe be considered minor,

722
00:41:57.320 --> 00:42:00.360
but it demonstrates a lack of carefulness, particularly when diferencing

723
00:42:00.400 --> 00:42:03.239
a respected theological thinker and a sermon meant to ground

724
00:42:03.239 --> 00:42:06.519
believers in truth. Ironically, the quote is used to advocate

725
00:42:06.639 --> 00:42:10.920
for realignment with biblical faithfulness, while the misattribution itself reflects

726
00:42:10.960 --> 00:42:16.280
sloppiness and intellectual discipline. Right, okay, And then of course

727
00:42:16.320 --> 00:42:20.840
it goes back to the two things said in the interview,

728
00:42:20.920 --> 00:42:25.360
that we're incorrect about the the thing about amazing Christ.

729
00:42:25.639 --> 00:42:30.000
So there, and then of course earlier AI says, he

730
00:42:30.079 --> 00:42:32.000
says some other things about C. S. Lewis, So we'll

731
00:42:32.000 --> 00:42:34.320
see if he says that. So so far he's not

732
00:42:34.440 --> 00:42:37.039
of he's got the screw tape letters right God on

733
00:42:37.119 --> 00:42:39.119
the dock. He's got the wrong book. And then the

734
00:42:39.199 --> 00:42:42.800
Augustine quote is completely fraudulent. Now isn't it ridiculous that

735
00:42:42.920 --> 00:42:45.079
in a sermon I got to spend all this time

736
00:42:45.280 --> 00:42:49.920
fact checking quotes. Now this is just a question. If

737
00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:54.559
you remember he put forth his churches being so different

738
00:42:54.719 --> 00:42:58.320
right that they they're not like these water down ted talks. Well,

739
00:42:58.800 --> 00:43:00.639
and a water down Ted talk. Do you have to

740
00:43:00.760 --> 00:43:03.039
sit there and fact check everything, Well, you probably do,

741
00:43:03.400 --> 00:43:06.639
but this is just crazy that now this entire sermon review,

742
00:43:06.880 --> 00:43:09.039
we're not even gotten to Isaiah fifty yet, we haven't

743
00:43:09.039 --> 00:43:12.119
even gotten to Isaiah fifty. We're still not even there.

744
00:43:12.599 --> 00:43:15.199
And what's driving me crazy is we can't get there

745
00:43:15.440 --> 00:43:18.239
because we're spending all of this time having the fact

746
00:43:18.360 --> 00:43:22.639
check quotes that clearly it's not he's not even accurat

747
00:43:22.679 --> 00:43:25.840
in quotes. So just from a practical standpoint, if the

748
00:43:25.920 --> 00:43:30.480
pastor can't get quotes right, can't get quotes right either,

749
00:43:30.800 --> 00:43:34.679
fraudulent quotes, misattributed quotes, wrong books, all the things that

750
00:43:34.760 --> 00:43:37.400
he's doing here not even giving you the context of

751
00:43:37.599 --> 00:43:40.000
the quote, like, well, this is what the demon was saying,

752
00:43:40.119 --> 00:43:43.119
this is what the demon was not even giving you context.

753
00:43:44.840 --> 00:43:46.679
Do you trust them to handle the text?

754
00:43:52.880 --> 00:43:56.400
Really, what this eight week series is about that we're

755
00:43:56.480 --> 00:43:58.760
kicking off a brand new year, is that I don't

756
00:43:58.800 --> 00:44:00.840
want this to be a people that are trying to

757
00:44:00.960 --> 00:44:05.360
insulate ourselves from adversity, because adversity is going to come.

758
00:44:05.480 --> 00:44:08.760
I want us to be the kind of people that

759
00:44:08.960 --> 00:44:15.800
develop a godly resilience in the face of adversity, that

760
00:44:15.920 --> 00:44:18.239
we would develop kind of this kind of coin, this

761
00:44:18.360 --> 00:44:21.960
term like a spiritual grit, that I'm going to be

762
00:44:22.079 --> 00:44:26.199
surefooted even in the face of adversity and whatever may come.

763
00:44:26.400 --> 00:44:28.880
And so our message series that we're kicking off today,

764
00:44:28.880 --> 00:44:30.920
it's gonna be an a week series. It's based off

765
00:44:31.000 --> 00:44:33.960
a single verse in the Old Testament Book of Isaiah

766
00:44:34.280 --> 00:44:37.920
where the Old Testament prophet Isaiah says these really powerful words.

767
00:44:38.239 --> 00:44:39.920
He says, and I think he was doing a little

768
00:44:39.960 --> 00:44:42.599
bit of meditation of his own. He goes, because the

769
00:44:42.800 --> 00:44:45.039
sovereign Lord, that word sovereign just means he is in control.

770
00:44:45.760 --> 00:44:52.199
He helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore I

771
00:44:52.360 --> 00:44:57.559
have here it is set my face like flint. Flint

772
00:44:57.679 --> 00:45:01.159
is another word for stone. It means that I'm fixed.

773
00:45:01.400 --> 00:45:04.880
I'm not gonna be like blown around by the waves

774
00:45:04.920 --> 00:45:07.920
of change. My eyes are fixed upon becoming more and

775
00:45:08.039 --> 00:45:10.960
more like Christ. And I know that all that effort,

776
00:45:11.159 --> 00:45:13.480
I will not be put to shame. And that's what

777
00:45:13.840 --> 00:45:16.800
these this eight week series is all about. And actually,

778
00:45:16.880 --> 00:45:18.440
what I want you to know is I've laid out

779
00:45:18.519 --> 00:45:21.199
all the message series for twenty twenty five, and the

780
00:45:21.280 --> 00:45:23.280
way I lay out a message series is kind of

781
00:45:23.360 --> 00:45:26.800
like a menu, like what does our church body need

782
00:45:27.639 --> 00:45:30.800
to what nutrients do we need to kind of carry

783
00:45:30.880 --> 00:45:33.119
us through and really kind of the mega theme for

784
00:45:33.199 --> 00:45:39.480
twenty twenty five is preparing us to follow God wherever

785
00:45:39.679 --> 00:45:40.320
he may lead.

786
00:45:42.159 --> 00:45:49.360
Okay, I've got I'm having complete I'm having comply melt

787
00:45:49.440 --> 00:45:54.239
down here, ladies and gentlemen. This just went got weird.

788
00:45:54.719 --> 00:45:55.000
Okay.

789
00:45:55.320 --> 00:45:58.920
So he quotes Isaiah fifty seven. He says entire series

790
00:45:59.000 --> 00:46:01.199
is going to base based off a single verse in

791
00:46:01.320 --> 00:46:04.599
the Old Testament Book of Isaiah, chapter fifty, verse seven,

792
00:46:04.920 --> 00:46:09.119
where Isaiah may have been doing some meditating himself for

793
00:46:09.239 --> 00:46:11.960
the Lord God will help me. Is he saying that

794
00:46:12.159 --> 00:46:15.760
Isaiah is saying that about himself, that God will help me?

795
00:46:16.199 --> 00:46:19.840
Therefore shall I not be confounded? Therefore have I set

796
00:46:19.920 --> 00:46:22.880
my face like flint? And I know that I shall

797
00:46:23.000 --> 00:46:26.079
not be ashamed? Is he saying that Isaiah was meditating

798
00:46:26.320 --> 00:46:29.039
and Isaiah is saying this about himself?

799
00:46:31.360 --> 00:46:31.519
Right?

800
00:46:33.119 --> 00:46:36.639
I So he seems to refer to Isaiah fifty seven

801
00:46:36.679 --> 00:46:40.079
as possibly Isaiah meditating or Isaiah speaking about himself. He

802
00:46:40.159 --> 00:46:43.079
then applies the verse directly to modern believers, using it

803
00:46:43.119 --> 00:46:46.960
as a model for personal consistency, determination, and spiritual resolve.

804
00:46:47.400 --> 00:46:47.519
Right.

805
00:46:47.679 --> 00:46:50.599
So, but at first the way he read, if Isaiah

806
00:46:50.760 --> 00:46:53.599
was doing some meditating himself, then you first read it

807
00:46:53.679 --> 00:46:57.239
as this is Isaiah speaking of himself. But this seems

808
00:46:57.280 --> 00:47:01.719
to be a clearly serious hermeneutical error. So I had

809
00:47:01.800 --> 00:47:04.639
AI do some am I, am I missing something here?

810
00:47:05.039 --> 00:47:06.719
Because I was like, wait a minute, am I hearing

811
00:47:06.760 --> 00:47:08.599
this right? I mean just literally when he said it,

812
00:47:08.639 --> 00:47:10.760
I immediately started typing to Ai, am I, am I

813
00:47:10.920 --> 00:47:13.599
out of my mind? Here? You know, here's the here's

814
00:47:13.639 --> 00:47:15.239
the transcript. Am I missing something?

815
00:47:16.719 --> 00:47:17.000
This is?

816
00:47:17.159 --> 00:47:21.239
This seems to be what's happening. Number one, he's misidentifying

817
00:47:21.320 --> 00:47:24.760
the speaker, Isaiah forty Isaiah fifty four through nine is

818
00:47:24.800 --> 00:47:27.480
not Isaiah speaking about himself. It's the voice of the

819
00:47:27.599 --> 00:47:32.920
servant of the Lord, a distinct figure in Isaiah's prophetic writing.

820
00:47:33.239 --> 00:47:37.400
Go back to Isaiah chapter fifty, verse four. The Lord

821
00:47:37.519 --> 00:47:40.000
God hath given me the tongue of the learn that

822
00:47:40.159 --> 00:47:43.119
I should know how to speak a word in season

823
00:47:43.719 --> 00:47:45.920
is So what we have to do is identify who

824
00:47:46.199 --> 00:47:50.239
is who's being spoken, who is the one being spoken

825
00:47:50.320 --> 00:47:57.239
of here, or who's the one that this is speaking of. Okay, man, okay,

826
00:47:57.320 --> 00:48:00.800
all right, Oh they's so see, this is what happens

827
00:48:00.800 --> 00:48:02.960
when you go to a church like this. We almost

828
00:48:03.039 --> 00:48:06.280
need to stop and do an entire we need to

829
00:48:06.320 --> 00:48:08.719
do in an exegedical study of Isaiah fifty one through

830
00:48:08.719 --> 00:48:11.519
eleven is what we need to do. But Ai says

831
00:48:13.760 --> 00:48:16.159
that this is the voice of the servant of the Lord.

832
00:48:16.239 --> 00:48:19.360
Now we've been talking about the servant of the Lord

833
00:48:19.559 --> 00:48:23.679
or the servant songs in Isaiah forty through fifty five,

834
00:48:23.960 --> 00:48:26.719
and we've been working and working, working and working hermoneutically

835
00:48:26.800 --> 00:48:29.639
trying to to identify who are the servants, right, because

836
00:48:29.679 --> 00:48:34.079
sometimes Israel's refer to the servant. Sometimes Cyrus, we believe

837
00:48:34.159 --> 00:48:37.039
is being referenced as a servant. Sometimes it may point

838
00:48:37.119 --> 00:48:39.840
to Jesus being the reference of the servant. So you've

839
00:48:39.880 --> 00:48:44.159
got to identify the servants. The servant here speaks in

840
00:48:44.239 --> 00:48:48.480
the first person, describing his divine calling obedient, suffering, and

841
00:48:48.639 --> 00:48:52.599
unwavering resolve. I gave my back to those who strike me.

842
00:48:53.119 --> 00:48:56.719
The servant is not the prophet Isaiah it doesn't appear

843
00:48:56.840 --> 00:48:59.599
to be Israel as a nation. It would be possibly

844
00:48:59.599 --> 00:49:02.039
if you're going to apply it is the messionic figure

845
00:49:02.239 --> 00:49:05.280
ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ. But the way he just

846
00:49:05.480 --> 00:49:08.760
did that was he made Isaiah may have been meditating,

847
00:49:08.880 --> 00:49:12.239
and he's going to apply it to us what is

848
00:49:12.480 --> 00:49:18.199
going on. It ignores the servant's song structure. Isaiah fifty

849
00:49:18.320 --> 00:49:21.119
is the third of the servant songs, Isaiah forty two,

850
00:49:21.880 --> 00:49:23.599
which is what we're going to be working on here

851
00:49:23.960 --> 00:49:28.199
in about forty minutes. Isaiah forty two, Isaiah forty nine,

852
00:49:28.519 --> 00:49:32.159
Isaiah fifty, and Isaiah fifty two through Isaiah fifty three.

853
00:49:32.719 --> 00:49:37.239
These are cohesive philological units carefully crafted to describe the identity, mission,

854
00:49:37.280 --> 00:49:40.880
and suffering of God's chosen servant. The Servant speaks as

855
00:49:40.960 --> 00:49:44.199
one distinct from Isaiah, with a role far greater than

856
00:49:44.239 --> 00:49:47.280
a prophet. He is the redeemer who suffers for others.

857
00:49:48.960 --> 00:49:52.639
By treating verse seven as Isaiah's personal resolution and then

858
00:49:52.679 --> 00:49:56.159
applying it directly to the congregation, the sermon collapses the

859
00:49:56.280 --> 00:49:59.920
crystalllogical framework of Isaiah fifty and to a motivational called

860
00:50:00.280 --> 00:50:04.719
action that turns the messianic prophecy into a self help slogan,

861
00:50:05.039 --> 00:50:08.920
robbing the passage of its gospel depth and redemptive clarity.

862
00:50:11.880 --> 00:50:15.000
This is this is insane. I remember, he's in the

863
00:50:15.039 --> 00:50:18.719
world like we do expositional preaching. This is not expositional preaching.

864
00:50:19.079 --> 00:50:22.559
This is insanity. What you are hearing, you are hearing

865
00:50:22.639 --> 00:50:25.360
maybe one of the world. I cannot believe what is happening.

866
00:50:26.360 --> 00:50:36.119
I'm gonna have to back this up, lady. But see

867
00:50:36.239 --> 00:50:41.679
this literally brings me to the point of saying, it

868
00:50:41.920 --> 00:50:45.000
doesn't matter. Just quit. It doesn't matter. It's you. It's

869
00:50:45.039 --> 00:50:49.400
a waste of time. This kind of preaching brings in

870
00:50:49.599 --> 00:50:53.679
between nine to twelve thousand people a week in Indiana,

871
00:50:54.360 --> 00:51:00.480
and they give thirty million dollars to support this kind

872
00:51:00.599 --> 00:51:05.440
of preaching. There's no point in going to Bible college.

873
00:51:05.719 --> 00:51:08.920
There's no point in going to seminary. It's a waste

874
00:51:08.960 --> 00:51:13.119
of time. There's no point in learning hermeneutics, there's no

875
00:51:13.280 --> 00:51:17.480
point in doing exegetical studies. It's nobody wants that. The

876
00:51:17.599 --> 00:51:21.039
people in America don't want. You say, oh, we want that.

877
00:51:21.239 --> 00:51:23.920
No use stinking don't, because if people in America did,

878
00:51:24.159 --> 00:51:28.880
these churches wouldn't even exist. What is happening here to

879
00:51:28.960 --> 00:51:46.159
Isaiah fifty This is criminal, this is insanity. I'm just

880
00:51:46.199 --> 00:51:50.400
looking down at my study bible Isaiah chapter fifty, verse four,

881
00:51:50.519 --> 00:51:53.679
given give, given me the tongue of the learn. The

882
00:51:53.880 --> 00:51:57.400
third servant song consists of a reflection by the servant

883
00:51:57.719 --> 00:52:01.159
and the prophets addressed to the believing and unbelo leaving Israel,

884
00:52:01.199 --> 00:52:05.559
and verses ten through eleven. So even my study Bible

885
00:52:05.840 --> 00:52:07.719
just says, no, this is a servant song. This is

886
00:52:07.800 --> 00:52:13.880
the servant. He just made the servant Isaiah. This is

887
00:52:13.920 --> 00:52:17.239
what what is okay? I gotta back this up, ladies.

888
00:52:17.559 --> 00:52:19.639
I could play this on a loop for the next

889
00:52:19.880 --> 00:52:22.199
fifty years. And this is what I'm gonna do. I'm

890
00:52:22.239 --> 00:52:26.239
gonna stand out in front of seminaries when the young

891
00:52:26.280 --> 00:52:28.199
people are no, no, no, no no, you're getting ready

892
00:52:28.239 --> 00:52:30.760
to go to seminary, Go go withdraw and get a refund.

893
00:52:30.800 --> 00:52:33.239
Why this is the kind of preaching people want. Listen,

894
00:52:34.360 --> 00:52:37.239
that church right there, nine to twelve thousand people a week,

895
00:52:37.679 --> 00:52:41.159
thirty million dollars. There's no point in going into that

896
00:52:41.239 --> 00:52:45.440
seminary paying money because this is you can preach this

897
00:52:45.599 --> 00:52:48.320
way right now. Just open your Bible find a verse

898
00:52:48.440 --> 00:52:50.679
and just make it say whatever you want it to say. Oh,

899
00:52:50.920 --> 00:52:53.639
but don't criticize this, because then you'll get email of

900
00:52:53.679 --> 00:52:58.320
people criticizing you. Oh, I'm sorry. I can't criticize when

901
00:52:58.320 --> 00:53:02.000
a pastor takes a passage that's possibly specifically a prophetic

902
00:53:02.079 --> 00:53:05.079
message about Christ and makes it about us. I'm sorry.

903
00:53:05.199 --> 00:53:08.039
I'm not supposed to criticize that because I'm the bad

904
00:53:08.159 --> 00:53:12.679
guy if I do that. Oh, man, I gotta back

905
00:53:12.719 --> 00:53:18.719
this up. I gotta back I'm everyone needs to flee

906
00:53:18.800 --> 00:53:20.840
the state of Indiana. That's the only thing I can say.

907
00:53:20.920 --> 00:53:22.440
Get out of Indiana. Here we go.

908
00:53:24.079 --> 00:53:26.719
That I'm gonna be surefooted even in the face of

909
00:53:26.840 --> 00:53:30.800
adversity and whatever may come. And So our message series

910
00:53:30.840 --> 00:53:32.079
that we're kicking off today, it's gonna be an a

911
00:53:32.159 --> 00:53:35.320
week series. It's based off a single verse in the

912
00:53:35.400 --> 00:53:38.800
Old Testament Book of Isaiah where the Old Testament prophet

913
00:53:38.880 --> 00:53:41.760
Isaiah says these really powerful words. He says, and I

914
00:53:41.840 --> 00:53:43.400
think he was doing a little bit of meditation of

915
00:53:43.480 --> 00:53:43.800
his own.

916
00:53:46.480 --> 00:53:48.719
So Isaiah was just doing a little bit of meditation

917
00:53:48.880 --> 00:53:51.519
on his own, and then he came up and then

918
00:53:51.679 --> 00:53:57.760
Isaiah said this for the glory God will help me Isaiah. Therefore,

919
00:53:57.800 --> 00:54:02.519
shall I me Isaiah, not be confounded? Therefore, have I

920
00:54:03.039 --> 00:54:06.760
me Isaiah said my face like flint? And I me

921
00:54:07.159 --> 00:54:10.280
Isaiah know that I shall not be ashamed. So he

922
00:54:10.360 --> 00:54:14.559
takes the words of the servant and makes him about himself. Now,

923
00:54:14.840 --> 00:54:16.760
if you're going to make that argument that this is

924
00:54:16.840 --> 00:54:21.159
Isaiah speaking of himself, If that's the argument, okay, well

925
00:54:21.239 --> 00:54:24.079
then he's not offering up. Well, then I guess he's saying, Hey,

926
00:54:24.320 --> 00:54:27.719
when you guys could remember, Isaiah wrote these words about

927
00:54:27.719 --> 00:54:30.960
one hundred years before the people go into to Babylonian captivity.

928
00:54:30.960 --> 00:54:33.559
So I guess what he's saying. He's guys, look, you're

929
00:54:33.679 --> 00:54:36.239
going into captivity, and here's how I'm gonna comfort you.

930
00:54:36.760 --> 00:54:41.800
Remember how I God helped me. I guess he's saying,

931
00:54:42.119 --> 00:54:54.800
I'm the example. I'm just I'm baffled here. So, okay,

932
00:54:55.159 --> 00:55:06.199
I gotta is there is there any textual and hermeneutical

933
00:55:08.360 --> 00:55:20.760
justification if I can typewrite for saying Isaiah is speaking

934
00:55:21.800 --> 00:55:32.119
of himself in Isaiah fifty seven, I want to look

935
00:55:32.159 --> 00:55:34.159
for I'm gonna I'm gonna do everything I can to

936
00:55:34.239 --> 00:55:37.199
help this pastor out, because if there is textual or

937
00:55:37.239 --> 00:55:40.840
hermoneutical justification for doing this. Then listen, ladies and gentlemen.

938
00:55:41.039 --> 00:55:43.800
Then I got no problem coming up with a completely

939
00:55:43.920 --> 00:55:46.719
new and unique way of interpreting Isaiah fifty verse seven.

940
00:55:46.760 --> 00:55:53.280
I got no way. I got no problem doing that. Okay,

941
00:55:53.360 --> 00:55:59.079
hang on, I've gotta look here, all right. Ay, I

942
00:55:59.199 --> 00:56:06.920
did not play No hey, I gave me no exclamation mark. No,

943
00:56:07.679 --> 00:56:10.960
there is no valid textual or hermoneutical justification for saying

944
00:56:11.000 --> 00:56:13.880
that Isaiah is speaking of himself and Isaiah fifty seven.

945
00:56:14.119 --> 00:56:18.599
That interpretation is inconsistent with the structure, the flow, and

946
00:56:18.679 --> 00:56:22.440
the theology of the passage. It misunderstands both the literary

947
00:56:22.599 --> 00:56:26.079
voice and the context of Isaiah fifty four through eleven.

948
00:56:27.519 --> 00:56:31.440
These verses Isaiah fifty four through eleven are part of

949
00:56:31.480 --> 00:56:34.519
the Third Servants Song in Isaiah. The passage is structured

950
00:56:34.559 --> 00:56:37.039
as a first person monologue of the servant of the Lord.

951
00:56:37.360 --> 00:56:40.800
Let's observe some key features Isaiah fifty four. The Lord

952
00:56:40.880 --> 00:56:43.480
God has given me the tongue of those who are taught.

953
00:56:43.880 --> 00:56:46.599
That is the beginning of a distinct speaker, clearly someone

954
00:56:46.719 --> 00:56:49.840
taught and commissioned by the Lord. Isaiah fifty five to six.

955
00:56:49.920 --> 00:56:52.159
The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was

956
00:56:52.239 --> 00:56:54.800
not rebellious. I turned not backward. I gave my back

957
00:56:54.880 --> 00:56:58.079
to those to strike. The person is obedient and suffering,

958
00:56:58.519 --> 00:57:02.719
submitting willing to physical abuse and humiliation Isaiah fifty seven.

959
00:57:03.480 --> 00:57:05.440
But the Lord God helps me. Therefore I have not

960
00:57:05.559 --> 00:57:08.320
been disgraced all right. This verse shows the servant's unwavering

961
00:57:08.360 --> 00:57:11.519
obedience in the face of rejection and shame. This continues

962
00:57:11.519 --> 00:57:13.880
through verses eight through nine, and the unit ends in

963
00:57:13.960 --> 00:57:18.079
verse eleven, where God speaks again. Why this is not

964
00:57:18.719 --> 00:57:22.239
Isaiah speaking about himself too exalted and sinless. The speaker

965
00:57:22.320 --> 00:57:25.239
never resists, God never rebels, and utterly faithful even to

966
00:57:25.320 --> 00:57:28.360
the death Isaiah, the prophet never claims sinlessness. In fact,

967
00:57:28.400 --> 00:57:30.639
in Isaiah six, he says, woe is me, for I'm lost.

968
00:57:30.800 --> 00:57:33.519
I'm a man of unclean lips. The servant here is betrayed,

969
00:57:33.559 --> 00:57:37.519
his perfect obedient. Not even Moses or Isaiah meets this description.

970
00:57:38.119 --> 00:57:42.159
The servant's role is uniquely messianic. The servant's mission, especially

971
00:57:42.199 --> 00:57:45.239
in Isaiah forty nine and fifty three, includes bringing Jacob

972
00:57:45.360 --> 00:57:48.400
back to God bearing the sins of many, being exalted

973
00:57:48.480 --> 00:57:52.559
after the suffering. These are Messianic redemptive tasks. No prophet

974
00:57:52.679 --> 00:57:56.920
in Israel's history fulfills them, except for Christ. Early Jewish

975
00:57:57.000 --> 00:58:02.000
and Christian interpretation ancient Jewish tech recognize the servant as

976
00:58:02.000 --> 00:58:04.320
an individual, not just a metaphor for the prophet or

977
00:58:04.400 --> 00:58:07.519
for Israel as a whole. The New Testament repeatedly identifies

978
00:58:07.599 --> 00:58:12.079
Jesus the fulfillment of the servant's songs. Matthew twelve quotes

979
00:58:12.159 --> 00:58:15.719
Isaiah forty two, Acts eight interprets Isaiah fifty three. Luke

980
00:58:15.840 --> 00:58:21.199
nine shows Jesus setting his face towards Jerusalem and echo

981
00:58:21.280 --> 00:58:27.719
of Isaiah chapter fifty, verse seven. All right, So Isaiah

982
00:58:27.800 --> 00:58:30.719
fifty seven therefore, is not about you. It's not about Isaiah.

983
00:58:30.719 --> 00:58:33.079
It's not about our resolve. All right, let me try this.

984
00:58:33.320 --> 00:58:35.400
Let's let me try a different way of asking, let

985
00:58:35.440 --> 00:58:47.719
me try a different way. What proof? What textual? What

986
00:58:48.039 --> 00:59:03.039
textual and hermeneutical proof that Isaiah fifty four four through

987
00:59:03.320 --> 00:59:14.559
eleven is a servant song? Is the speaker ever identified

988
00:59:15.079 --> 00:59:23.079
as the servant of the Lord? I'm being now, I'm

989
00:59:23.079 --> 00:59:31.320
playing Devil's advocate with Ai. All right, okay, all right,

990
00:59:31.440 --> 00:59:34.679
so Ai says, excellent and careful question and one that

991
00:59:34.800 --> 00:59:38.000
deserves a clear text driven response. You're asking, is their

992
00:59:38.119 --> 00:59:41.199
solid textual and hermeneutical proof that Isaiah fifty four is

993
00:59:41.280 --> 00:59:44.719
a servant song and specifically, is the speaker ever explicitly

994
00:59:44.800 --> 00:59:47.360
called the servant of the Lord. Are the words servant

995
00:59:47.440 --> 00:59:49.519
of the Lord in Isaiah fifty four through eleven? No,

996
00:59:49.639 --> 00:59:51.880
the phrase servant of the Lord is not explicitly used

997
00:59:51.880 --> 00:59:54.519
in Isaiah fifty four through eleven. However, this is also

998
00:59:54.599 --> 00:59:57.199
true of Isaiah fifty three one through twelve, the most

999
00:59:57.280 --> 00:59:59.719
famous servant song, where the servant is only called that

1000
01:00:00.280 --> 01:00:04.119
in Isaiah fifty two thirteen, Behold, my servant shall act wisely.

1001
01:00:04.480 --> 01:00:07.400
This shows that servant songs are not always marked by

1002
01:00:07.440 --> 01:00:09.400
the repeated use of the word servant. It said, they

1003
01:00:09.400 --> 01:00:14.440
are identified by contextual continuity, voice and content, structural unity,

1004
01:00:14.719 --> 01:00:18.599
thematic alignment with other servant passages. Why do scholars call

1005
01:00:18.679 --> 01:00:22.679
Isaiah fifty four through eleven a servant song? The passage

1006
01:00:22.840 --> 01:00:26.000
is identified as a servant's song because of textual, structural,

1007
01:00:26.039 --> 01:00:28.960
and thematic markers that directly align it with the previous

1008
01:00:29.000 --> 01:00:31.360
servant's songs Isaiah forty two to forty nine and the

1009
01:00:31.440 --> 01:00:35.559
final one fifty two through fifty three, So textual and

1010
01:00:35.599 --> 01:00:40.159
hermoneutical evidence continuity with Isaiah forty nine. Isaiah forty nine

1011
01:00:40.239 --> 01:00:42.800
one through six, the servant speaks in the first person,

1012
01:00:42.880 --> 01:00:46.440
describing his calling, weariness, and trust in the Lord's vindication.

1013
01:00:46.960 --> 01:00:50.480
Isaiah fifty four through nine the same pattern, first person speech,

1014
01:00:50.599 --> 01:00:55.519
same tone, same themes of suffering, obedience, weariness, and divine vindication.

1015
01:00:56.000 --> 01:00:59.239
This suggests literary continuity, not a new speaker, but a

1016
01:00:59.280 --> 01:01:04.079
continued serve discourse, unique first person monologue. The speaker in

1017
01:01:04.159 --> 01:01:07.119
Isaiah fifty four through nine. The Lord says, the Lord

1018
01:01:07.239 --> 01:01:11.000
has given me verse four, he wakens my ear. Verse four,

1019
01:01:11.880 --> 01:01:14.599
I was not rebellious. Verse five. I gave my back

1020
01:01:14.679 --> 01:01:17.360
to those who strike. Verse six. The Lord helps me

1021
01:01:17.519 --> 01:01:20.079
verse seven through nine. This mirror is the servant's first

1022
01:01:20.119 --> 01:01:24.320
person language and Chapter forty nine, which opens with the

1023
01:01:24.400 --> 01:01:28.239
Lord called me from the womb, that same prophetic eye continues.

1024
01:01:28.320 --> 01:01:32.079
Clearly not Isaiah, but one call taught, beaten, and vindicated,

1025
01:01:32.360 --> 01:01:35.920
themes that consistently belong to the servant figure in Isaiah.

1026
01:01:36.360 --> 01:01:38.840
All right, So then it goes on and offers a

1027
01:01:39.000 --> 01:01:43.199
number of other things to justify it. So even trying

1028
01:01:43.239 --> 01:01:47.719
to plays the devil's advocate, even challenging even Ai is like,

1029
01:01:47.800 --> 01:01:50.280
there's just no way to do what he's just done here.

1030
01:01:50.719 --> 01:01:54.559
In fact, he's destroying the entire philological meaning of the

1031
01:01:54.679 --> 01:01:57.480
Servant's song. And if the servant's song is Christ, just

1032
01:01:57.679 --> 01:02:00.519
literally what he has done, just think about this, literally

1033
01:02:00.880 --> 01:02:07.599
just replaced Christ ultimately with you. He's taking a scripture

1034
01:02:07.760 --> 01:02:11.559
that is possibly about Christ and made it about you.

1035
01:02:11.679 --> 01:02:13.920
And I'm just gonna say possibly, because we have to

1036
01:02:14.000 --> 01:02:16.639
do a lot of deep, deep, deep deep work on this.

1037
01:02:16.920 --> 01:02:18.679
But hey, this is a church where you go to

1038
01:02:18.719 --> 01:02:21.719
get expository preaching. He gives you the meat. He doesn't

1039
01:02:21.760 --> 01:02:24.519
give you chicken nuggets. And yet we just heard what

1040
01:02:24.679 --> 01:02:25.639
we just heard.

1041
01:02:27.239 --> 01:02:30.039
He goes because the sovereign Lord, that word sovereign just

1042
01:02:30.079 --> 01:02:33.880
means he is in control. He helps me. I will

1043
01:02:33.960 --> 01:02:39.840
not be disgraced. Therefore I have here. It is set

1044
01:02:40.199 --> 01:02:44.840
my face like flint. Flint is another word for stone.

1045
01:02:45.320 --> 01:02:48.639
It means that I'm fixed. I'm not gonna be like

1046
01:02:49.320 --> 01:02:52.400
blown around by the waves of change. My eyes are

1047
01:02:52.480 --> 01:02:55.199
fixed upon becoming more and more like Christ. And I

1048
01:02:55.360 --> 01:02:57.800
know that all that effort, I will not be put

1049
01:02:57.880 --> 01:03:00.960
to shame and that's what these this eight week series

1050
01:03:01.079 --> 01:03:03.280
is all about. And actually, what I want you to

1051
01:03:03.320 --> 01:03:05.440
know is I've laid out all the message series for

1052
01:03:05.679 --> 01:03:07.840
twenty twenty five. And the way I lay out a

1053
01:03:07.920 --> 01:03:10.679
message series is kind of like a menu, like what

1054
01:03:11.119 --> 01:03:14.960
does our church body need to what nutrients do we

1055
01:03:15.079 --> 01:03:17.159
need to kind of carry us through?

1056
01:03:17.400 --> 01:03:22.519
And you don't lay out a sermon series based on

1057
01:03:22.599 --> 01:03:25.280
what the people need. You lay out a sermon series

1058
01:03:25.480 --> 01:03:27.360
based on what text you're going to cover, and what

1059
01:03:27.480 --> 01:03:30.880
does the text say? Not worried about the people's needs.

1060
01:03:31.039 --> 01:03:33.440
You're worried about the text because the text is the

1061
01:03:33.519 --> 01:03:36.039
Inerran inspired Word of God. And guess what the people

1062
01:03:36.119 --> 01:03:38.920
need the inerran inspired word of God. You don't start

1063
01:03:38.960 --> 01:03:42.239
to meet people's perceived needs. You give them the word

1064
01:03:42.239 --> 01:03:44.920
of God because that's what they need, whether they understand

1065
01:03:44.960 --> 01:03:46.800
it or not. But I digress, because what do I

1066
01:03:46.960 --> 01:03:49.440
know about church? Okay? Because he obviously knows. I mean,

1067
01:03:49.519 --> 01:03:52.199
look from a human perspective, he knows a million times

1068
01:03:52.239 --> 01:03:55.800
more than I do. He's got a church with a

1069
01:03:55.880 --> 01:03:59.280
four million dollars surplus and twelve thousand people.

1070
01:04:02.360 --> 01:04:04.719
Really kind of the mega theme for twenty twenty five

1071
01:04:06.159 --> 01:04:10.960
is preparing us to follow God wherever he may lead.

1072
01:04:13.280 --> 01:04:15.679
Just say, he's take turning this into that. This is

1073
01:04:15.719 --> 01:04:18.719
about preparing us to follow God wherever he may lead.

1074
01:04:22.239 --> 01:04:27.119
Oh man, So the people in Babylonian captivity, they don't matter.

1075
01:04:27.599 --> 01:04:31.480
Jesus obviously he doesn't matter because we just replaced him

1076
01:04:31.519 --> 01:04:31.840
with us.

1077
01:04:36.920 --> 01:04:39.280
And if you've been in our church over the last year,

1078
01:04:39.360 --> 01:04:42.000
you've heard me talk about this a lot, about like

1079
01:04:42.079 --> 01:04:45.199
the Great Awakenings and the fifth grade Awakening. You know

1080
01:04:45.320 --> 01:04:47.480
it could happen this year because every fifty years is

1081
01:04:47.519 --> 01:04:50.199
when God has sparked one, and that would be twenty

1082
01:04:50.280 --> 01:04:54.199
twenty five. And we don't, like you know, speculate that

1083
01:04:54.320 --> 01:04:57.800
God might do that. We do anticipate it, and we

1084
01:04:57.920 --> 01:05:00.760
anticipate God, would you please bring revie and would you

1085
01:05:00.880 --> 01:05:04.280
please bring awakening? And it could happen. It seems like

1086
01:05:04.519 --> 01:05:06.800
things are kind of getting set up where that could happen.

1087
01:05:07.280 --> 01:05:08.840
What I want you to know is that if that

1088
01:05:09.599 --> 01:05:13.039
does happen, we can expect resistance because the enemy isn't

1089
01:05:13.119 --> 01:05:16.599
just gonna roll over. And so if God is going

1090
01:05:16.679 --> 01:05:18.880
to bring revival and if he is gonna bring awakening,

1091
01:05:19.159 --> 01:05:21.480
then that means like right now, you need to get

1092
01:05:21.480 --> 01:05:24.840
your feet set right right now. You need to recognize

1093
01:05:25.079 --> 01:05:29.280
that there's going to be resistance, there's going to be battle,

1094
01:05:29.800 --> 01:05:34.199
and I want to prepare you for the man.

1095
01:05:34.320 --> 01:05:39.320
Okay, what is this? Every fit home? This sermon? We're

1096
01:05:39.360 --> 01:05:41.960
gonna have to stop. But I don't even know what

1097
01:05:42.079 --> 01:05:47.719
to say anymore. Then, oh my goodness, gracious, okay, all right,

1098
01:05:48.159 --> 01:05:51.960
So the pastor claims that every fifth year God brings

1099
01:05:52.000 --> 01:05:55.000
a great awakening. So I had to ask Ai, because

1100
01:05:55.000 --> 01:05:56.480
I mean, this is the quickest way for me to

1101
01:05:56.519 --> 01:06:00.360
be able to review this in real time. God. Ay,

1102
01:06:00.440 --> 01:06:03.280
I says, this does not appear to be historically accurate,

1103
01:06:03.880 --> 01:06:06.559
It does not appear to be biblically supported, and it

1104
01:06:06.639 --> 01:06:13.320
doesn't appear to be philologically grounded. In this message, the

1105
01:06:13.400 --> 01:06:16.800
pastor states something like, it seems that every five years,

1106
01:06:16.880 --> 01:06:19.679
or every fifth year, God does something significant. Every fifth

1107
01:06:19.800 --> 01:06:22.239
year it brings some kind of great awakening. This is

1108
01:06:22.360 --> 01:06:26.639
offered without citation or explanation, just as a casual spiritual observation,

1109
01:06:26.840 --> 01:06:32.159
with stated with authority. There is no historical pattern, biblically

1110
01:06:32.320 --> 01:06:34.480
or within church history that supports the idea that God

1111
01:06:34.559 --> 01:06:37.679
sends a great awakening every five years the three sometimes

1112
01:06:37.760 --> 01:06:41.480
four recognized great awakenings in American history, first Great Awakening

1113
01:06:41.599 --> 01:06:46.000
seventeen thirty to seventeen forty, the next one second seventeen

1114
01:06:46.119 --> 01:06:50.840
ninety to th eighteen thirty, the third eighteen fifty seven

1115
01:06:50.920 --> 01:06:56.239
to eighteen fifty nine. The fourth disputed, sometimes associated with

1116
01:06:56.320 --> 01:07:00.039
the nineteen sixties to the nineteen seventies Jesus movement, but

1117
01:07:00.280 --> 01:07:05.079
each was separated by decades, not five year intervals. In scripture,

1118
01:07:05.159 --> 01:07:07.440
there's no indication of God working on a five year

1119
01:07:07.519 --> 01:07:10.760
cycle of spiritual renewal. A scripture speaks of long periods

1120
01:07:10.800 --> 01:07:13.679
of silence and waiting four hundred years between Malachi and John.

1121
01:07:13.719 --> 01:07:18.079
The Baptist revival happening in times of great crisis or repentance,

1122
01:07:18.159 --> 01:07:21.679
not regular intervals. Awakening tied to God's sovereign purpose, not

1123
01:07:21.840 --> 01:07:26.079
human calendars. This kind of statement suggests a predictable pattern

1124
01:07:26.159 --> 01:07:30.039
of divine behavior and almost numerological approach to revival, the

1125
01:07:30.119 --> 01:07:33.079
idea that we can anticipate or time moves of God.

1126
01:07:33.599 --> 01:07:38.159
These ideas are dangerously closely are close to superstition, and

1127
01:07:38.239 --> 01:07:42.199
they trivialize true revival, which is sovereign, disruptive, and unpredictable,

1128
01:07:43.000 --> 01:07:50.039
true spiritual awakenings are often unplanned and are preceded by desperation,

1129
01:07:50.360 --> 01:07:56.519
not scheduling. It says, given the pastor's repeated claims about

1130
01:07:56.559 --> 01:08:01.320
commitment to expository preaching centering on God's unchanging word, avoiding hype,

1131
01:08:01.360 --> 01:08:05.239
emotionalism and entertainment, this statement undercuts every single thing the

1132
01:08:05.320 --> 01:08:08.039
pastor said in the interview. It sounds more like vague

1133
01:08:08.079 --> 01:08:13.519
prophecy or spiritual cliche than sober biblical preaching. You can't

1134
01:08:13.559 --> 01:08:16.039
say you're building on God's word and then sprinkle in

1135
01:08:16.560 --> 01:08:21.439
a historical, unverifiable revival math as a part of your appeal.

1136
01:08:21.720 --> 01:08:26.000
That's what AI said. AI gets frustrated. AI starts getting

1137
01:08:26.079 --> 01:08:28.359
very frustrated with this sermon at this point. Every time

1138
01:08:28.439 --> 01:08:32.399
I keep giving it the transcript, AI just is like,

1139
01:08:32.479 --> 01:08:34.439
you know, what more do you want me to say? Basically,

1140
01:08:34.760 --> 01:08:37.640
this thing's a mess. I don't even know what to say.

1141
01:08:37.840 --> 01:08:41.960
What he's done with Isaiah fifty seven is utterly frightening.

1142
01:08:42.359 --> 01:08:48.960
The misattributed citations are quotes citing A. C. S. Lewis

1143
01:08:49.079 --> 01:08:52.720
from the wrong book. All the just everything here is sloppy.

1144
01:08:53.119 --> 01:08:59.680
It's a mess. It's basically a life coach by who

1145
01:09:00.000 --> 01:09:03.600
doesn't seem to understand Isaiah fifty and what it's actually about.

1146
01:09:03.760 --> 01:09:05.720
And we're gonna have to stop right there because we're

1147
01:09:05.760 --> 01:09:08.199
at sixty nine minutes and I'm supposed to be ready

1148
01:09:08.239 --> 01:09:12.880
to teach again in about twenty minutes, so I I.

1149
01:09:17.399 --> 01:09:18.560
So what do we get?

1150
01:09:18.840 --> 01:09:22.239
We get a massive disconnect from everything the pastor said

1151
01:09:22.439 --> 01:09:24.960
to what the people actually get. But all you got

1152
01:09:25.039 --> 01:09:27.439
to do is convince the people that your church is

1153
01:09:27.439 --> 01:09:30.039
about the preaching and teaching of God's word and we're

1154
01:09:30.079 --> 01:09:33.399
not about entertainment. And then yet you can give them entertainment.

1155
01:09:34.199 --> 01:09:37.920
You can give them fun food, activities, fellowship potlucks, and

1156
01:09:38.039 --> 01:09:41.319
you can give them what you try to. You convince

1157
01:09:41.359 --> 01:09:43.840
them that what they're getting is actual, in depth teaching,

1158
01:09:44.039 --> 01:09:46.159
when in reality they're not getting in depth teaching. All

1159
01:09:46.199 --> 01:09:50.560
you got to do is convince the people, and if

1160
01:09:50.600 --> 01:09:53.840
the people buy into it, then you can give them

1161
01:09:54.159 --> 01:09:56.399
something completely different. So it sounds like what you have

1162
01:09:56.479 --> 01:09:58.920
to do in church. You've got to talk a big game,

1163
01:09:59.359 --> 01:10:01.840
so you con the people this is what we're getting,

1164
01:10:01.960 --> 01:10:03.840
But then you really got to kind of sneak in

1165
01:10:04.079 --> 01:10:07.279
and give them the entertainment, the activities, and you've got

1166
01:10:07.359 --> 01:10:09.640
to give them the water down Ted talks, because that's

1167
01:10:09.680 --> 01:10:12.079
what the people really want. They don't ever want to

1168
01:10:12.199 --> 01:10:14.880
claim that's what they want, but that's what they really want.

1169
01:10:15.039 --> 01:10:18.920
And that's how you build church. You say it's about this,

1170
01:10:19.800 --> 01:10:22.479
it sounds good, but then you give them this, and

1171
01:10:22.600 --> 01:10:24.960
this is what the people really want. You gotta give

1172
01:10:25.000 --> 01:10:29.399
the people what they really want, which is an absolute

1173
01:10:29.600 --> 01:10:35.159
abhorred I don't even know what you call it. It's

1174
01:10:35.199 --> 01:10:38.520
almost theoretical what he's doing to Isaiah, chapter fifty, verse seven.

1175
01:10:39.680 --> 01:10:43.560
And then you just throw in misattributed quotes, historical and

1176
01:10:43.720 --> 01:10:48.760
accurate things like they did in the interview. This nonsense

1177
01:10:48.840 --> 01:10:51.600
about the every fifth year, What is that even about.

1178
01:10:51.680 --> 01:10:58.960
I don't even know what that is even talking about. Oh,

1179
01:10:59.039 --> 01:11:02.039
ladies and gentlemen. I guess we'll we'll do some more

1180
01:11:02.079 --> 01:11:05.640
review of the sermon later, I guess do it. I

1181
01:11:05.720 --> 01:11:09.239
guess we I don't even know. I don't even know

1182
01:11:09.319 --> 01:11:11.279
if I want to do any more reviewing of the sermon.

1183
01:11:11.520 --> 01:11:14.159
I'll have to really give that some serious thought. I

1184
01:11:14.239 --> 01:11:16.880
really have to give this some serious thought, because basically

1185
01:11:16.960 --> 01:11:18.880
the rest of the sermon is just going to be about.

1186
01:11:20.279 --> 01:11:20.399
Us.

1187
01:11:21.600 --> 01:11:23.800
Maybe maybe we'll finish. I think we'll finish it, just

1188
01:11:23.840 --> 01:11:26.399
to be fair. I don't want to, but we'll finish it.

1189
01:11:26.439 --> 01:11:30.920
I'm gonna. Yeah, I got to say, we'll back it

1190
01:11:31.000 --> 01:11:33.199
up and we'll start with the Isaiah fifty stuff and

1191
01:11:33.279 --> 01:11:35.000
then we'll do it that. Now, well, yeah, I don't

1192
01:11:35.000 --> 01:11:37.319
even know what to say. All Right, I gotta get

1193
01:11:37.359 --> 01:11:40.760
ready for the next teaching. All right, I give up,

1194
01:11:40.840 --> 01:11:45.800
I quit. I'm done. I really. I just that that

1195
01:11:46.159 --> 01:11:58.359
that brings in twenty five or thirty million dollars. God

1196
01:11:58.399 --> 01:12:00.079
bless you.