0:00:07.180,0:00:13.841
We have a great privilege to be able to look into the Word together;

0:00:13.842,0:00:22.253
so why don't we pray, and then we'll go ahead and get started tonight. (P)

0:00:32.932,0:00:39.561
Father in heaven, we humble ourselves before You now.

0:00:39.561,0:00:43.082
We come to You empty-handed.

0:00:43.082,0:00:48.459
We come to You, Lord, without anything to offer to You.

0:00:48.459,0:00:54.485
We need Your grace, and we believe that You are a gracious God,

0:00:54.485,0:00:58.060
that You give good gifts,

0:00:58.060,0:01:04.393
that there's no shadow in You, no change, no variation.

0:01:04.393,0:01:13.643
Father we pray tonight, please give us bread from heaven.

0:01:13.643,0:01:15.931
Feed us with Your Word.

0:01:15.931,0:01:20.918
Lord, this world has nothing; this world is a barren wasteland.

0:01:20.919,0:01:23.965
We need You, Lord.

0:01:25.399,0:01:32.751
In Your Word there is life, in Your Son is everything that we need.

0:01:32.751,0:01:37.594
I pray and ask You tonight, Father,[br]for those that are outside of Christ,

0:01:37.594,0:01:40.411
that You'd give them ears to hear.

0:01:40.411,0:01:47.143
Help them to understand what Your truth is, what Your Word says,

0:01:47.143,0:01:53.577
who Your Son is, who they are.

0:01:53.577,0:01:55.366
Father I pray that You would be present;

0:01:55.366,0:02:01.004
I pray that You would give power, and love,

0:02:01.004,0:02:06.840
and the manifestation of the truth for Your people, Lord.

0:02:06.841,0:02:13.191
I pray that You would keep them from being confused or distracted.

0:02:13.191,0:02:24.510
Let Your Word be clear that even they could[br]rejoice and grow in the knowledge of Your Son.

0:02:24.510,0:02:27.005
Would You assist me, Father I pray,

0:02:27.005,0:02:30.841
be with my mouth now as I would speak Your Word.

0:02:30.841,0:02:37.083
Guard this time from any error or any thing of the flesh.

0:02:37.083,0:02:41.340
We wait on You Lord, our eyes are on You.

0:02:41.340,0:02:48.478
Thank You, thank You Lord, in Jesus name. Amen. (P)

0:02:53.492,0:02:57.565
Well, praise the Lord!

0:02:57.565,0:03:07.367
When we are hungry for God, God is very faithful to feed us.

0:03:07.367,0:03:11.145
When we come with a longing, God is very faithful;

0:03:11.145,0:03:17.559
and my desire is that for every one here,[br]the Lord would say something, the Lord would speak.

0:03:17.559,0:03:20.588
And maybe your need is different than someone else's,

0:03:20.588,0:03:25.949
but if you want to hear from the Lord,[br]the Lord is very willing to speak.

0:03:25.949,0:03:30.204
And now we're about to open up His Word, His Truth.

0:03:30.204,0:03:34.829
There's nothing like what we have right here in the Scriptures. (P)

0:03:34.829,0:03:40.284
Let's open up to Luke chapter one.

0:03:47.209,0:03:58.595
We're going to read a prophecy that was spoken[br]right at the beginning of the New Testament,

0:03:58.596,0:04:05.464
right around the time of the birth of John the baptist.

0:04:06.609,0:04:15.422
We'll read from Luke 1:57-80, but before we do,

0:04:15.424,0:04:17.762
I want to explain a little bit about what's going on,

0:04:17.762,0:04:25.991
just so we have in mind why we're gonna read this,[br]why it is important, what it is about.

0:04:25.992,0:04:34.596
This prophecy is really amazing in a way because[br]at the very beginning of the New Testament

0:04:34.596,0:04:39.212
when Christ was about to come, when He was about to arrive,

0:04:39.212,0:04:44.293
there were several prophecies saying that all of the Old Testament,

0:04:44.293,0:04:48.581
all of the expectation, all of the older prophecies,

0:04:48.581,0:04:50.647
were finally going to be fulfilled.

0:04:50.647,0:04:53.609
And now was the time.

0:04:53.609,0:04:59.939
And so, in a way it's a prophecy about[br]all these older prophecies coming to pass.

0:04:59.939,0:05:06.119
And in a way it's a summary of the whole message of the Bible.

0:05:06.119,0:05:12.973
So if maybe you felt like, "I don't really understand what the Bible is about.

0:05:12.973,0:05:15.131
What does it mean to be a Christian?

0:05:15.131,0:05:17.882
I never grew up in a Christian home, I didn't go to church,

0:05:17.882,0:05:21.397
I've never read the Bible, I've definitely never read the Old Testament.

0:05:21.397,0:05:22.504
What is this all about?"

0:05:22.504,0:05:28.535
These are good verses; and that's what[br]we're going to look at here tonight. (P)

0:05:28.535,0:05:32.955
John the baptist is being born, this prophecy comes,

0:05:32.955,0:05:37.829
and we can understand what the big picture is in life.

0:05:37.829,0:05:42.592
You know, I ask a lot of people, "What is the meaning of life?"

0:05:42.592,0:05:47.134
And most people don't know. They don't know why they're alive.

0:05:47.134,0:05:51.146
"Why am I here? Where am I going?"

0:05:51.146,0:05:56.641
Well, hopefully the Lord will show us tonight. (P)

0:05:56.641,0:06:05.272
Let's read. Luke 1:57, "Now the time[br]had come for Elizabeth to give birth,

0:06:05.272,0:06:08.892
and she gave birth to a son."

0:06:08.892,0:06:11.432
Now this is going to be John the baptist.

0:06:11.432,0:06:15.530
He is born as a little baby, and the time had come.

0:06:15.531,0:06:22.765
"Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the[br]Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her;

0:06:22.765,0:06:25.608
and they were rejoicing with her.

0:06:25.608,0:06:31.268
And it happened that on the eighth day[br]they came to circumcise the child,

0:06:31.268,0:06:35.329
and they were going to call him Zacharias, after his father.

0:06:35.329,0:06:40.187
But his mother answered and said,[br]'No indeed; but he shall be called John.'

0:06:40.187,0:06:46.639
And they said to her, 'There is no one among[br]your relatives who is called by that name.'

0:06:46.639,0:06:48.315
And they made signs to his father."

0:06:48.315,0:06:53.684
So the mum said, "Call him John," and they didn't trust the mum's words,

0:06:53.684,0:06:56.737
so now they're asking the dad's advice.

0:06:56.737,0:07:02.806
But he can't speak, so they're using sign language[br]or some kind of communicating with him. (P)

0:07:02.806,0:07:07.757
"They made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called.

0:07:07.757,0:07:15.520
And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, 'His name is John.'"

0:07:15.520,0:07:18.600
So his dad has already has his mind made up:

0:07:18.600,0:07:22.936
this was all from the Lord, this is a special child.

0:07:22.936,0:07:26.053
"'His name is John.' And they were all astonished.

0:07:26.053,0:07:31.913
And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed,

0:07:31.913,0:07:35.194
and he began to speak in praise of God."

0:07:35.195,0:07:41.513
What happened? When God told him he[br]was going to have a son in their old age,

0:07:41.513,0:07:45.241
John the baptist was going to born, he didn't believe Him.

0:07:45.241,0:07:50.351
And God took away his ability to speak, until the child was to be born.

0:07:50.351,0:07:54.718
And so now, he got the picture, he knew this was of God,

0:07:54.718,0:07:56.581
he knew what was going to happen, he did believe;

0:07:56.581,0:07:58.326
and he said, "His name is John."

0:07:58.326,0:08:03.521
And at this point he got his ability to speak back.

0:08:03.521,0:08:06.633
"And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed,

0:08:06.633,0:08:09.106
and he began to speak in praise of God."

0:08:09.106,0:08:10.643
Before that, he couldn't say a word.

0:08:10.643,0:08:17.754
And now, as soon as his mouth is opened, he begins just praising God.

0:08:17.754,0:08:20.220
It's a miracle. (P)

0:08:20.220,0:08:22.875
"Fear came on all those living around them;

0:08:22.875,0:08:27.302
and all these matters were being talked about[br]in all the hill country of Judea.

0:08:27.302,0:08:34.265
All who heard them kept them in mind, saying,[br]'What then will this child turn out to be?'

0:08:34.265,0:08:36.702
For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him."

0:08:36.702,0:08:42.515
They had been waiting for 400 years and hadn't heard any prophecy.

0:08:42.515,0:08:47.169
They had all these promises in the Old Testament[br]that one day a Savior would come.

0:08:47.169,0:08:49.218
And then it was like everything went silent.

0:08:49.218,0:08:51.525
And they were waiting and waiting and waiting.

0:08:51.525,0:08:54.280
And now the miracles were starting again.

0:08:54.280,0:08:59.361
And there was a child that was going to be born,[br]and he was going to be a prophet.

0:08:59.361,0:09:01.854
And so the word started to spread.

0:09:01.854,0:09:04.291
And this is the beginning, but now look at what happens;

0:09:04.291,0:09:08.262
now we get a detailed look at what the father said.

0:09:08.263,0:09:12.280
When his tongue was loosed, when he began to praise God,

0:09:12.280,0:09:15.194
we get a detailed look of what he actually said. (P)

0:09:15.194,0:09:25.863
Verse 67, "And his father Zacharias was filled with[br]the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying..."

0:09:25.863,0:09:29.514
What we're about to read is not the words of a man.

0:09:29.514,0:09:32.983
This is God speaking through a man. This is prophecy.

0:09:32.983,0:09:38.038
This is the Holy Spirit sending a message to the earth.

0:09:38.038,0:09:40.180
That's what we need.

0:09:40.181,0:09:44.424
If we want to find the meaning of life, you can't find it on your own;

0:09:44.424,0:09:51.005
but God can reveal it to you, He can speak from heaven.

0:09:51.005,0:09:58.261
Here's what he says: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel (the Jewish nation),

0:09:58.261,0:10:02.394
for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,

0:10:02.394,0:10:07.516
and has raised up a horn of salvation for[br]us in the house of David His servant--

0:10:07.516,0:10:11.842
as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old--

0:10:11.842,0:10:18.784
Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us."

0:10:18.784,0:10:22.194
Who's that? The Romans? No.

0:10:22.194,0:10:26.391
"To show mercy toward our fathers,[br]and to remember His holy covenant,

0:10:26.391,0:10:29.806
the oath which He swore to Abraham our father,

0:10:29.806,0:10:33.903
to grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,

0:10:33.903,0:10:41.041
might serve Him without fear, in holiness and[br]righteousness before Him all our days.

0:10:41.041,0:10:47.506
'And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;

0:10:47.506,0:10:52.617
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways;

0:10:52.617,0:10:58.250
to give to His people the knowledge of[br]salvation by the forgiveness of their sins,

0:10:58.250,0:11:01.439
because of the tender mercy of our God,

0:11:01.439,0:11:05.146
with which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,

0:11:05.146,0:11:09.969
to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

0:11:09.969,0:11:15.306
to guide our feet into the way of peace.'"

0:11:15.306,0:11:17.339
And that was the end of his prophecy.

0:11:17.340,0:11:20.680
"And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit,

0:11:20.680,0:11:27.857
and he lived in the deserts until the[br]day of his public appearance to Israel." (P)

0:11:27.857,0:11:31.394
Well, Amen! This is the word of the Lord.

0:11:31.395,0:11:34.445
So now let's look at it, piece at a time,

0:11:34.445,0:11:38.420
and just try and get a picture for what God is doing in the world.

0:11:38.420,0:11:41.173
What is the message of the Bible?

0:11:41.173,0:11:43.645
What were the Jews waiting for?

0:11:43.645,0:11:47.793
Those hundreds and thousands of years while[br]they were waiting, what were they waiting for?

0:11:47.793,0:11:56.842
Because here, at the very beginning of the[br]New Testament, it's all coming to pass.

0:11:56.842,0:12:00.358
Let's look back up in Verse 68, it says this:

0:12:00.358,0:12:07.198
"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us."

0:12:07.198,0:12:12.017
He has visited us - this is the first thing.

0:12:12.018,0:12:14.907
God has visited us.

0:12:14.907,0:12:18.876
Now this is in past tense, which is interesting, you wouldn't expect that.

0:12:18.876,0:12:23.601
You would think he's about to say, "God will visit us."

0:12:23.601,0:12:27.268
But it's like this: sometimes when something is right...

0:12:27.268,0:12:33.701
(because Jesus hasn't been born yet, Jesus isn't[br]the one in the picture. This is John the baptist),

0:12:33.701,0:12:36.516
but when something is about to happen,

0:12:36.516,0:12:41.091
when something is right up on the edge of taking place,

0:12:41.091,0:12:44.308
it's like everything is about to spill over.

0:12:44.309,0:12:47.273
It's like the whole avalanche is about to fall.

0:12:47.273,0:12:52.253
All of these promises have been stacked up[br]and waiting and waiting and waiting.

0:12:52.253,0:12:56.759
And now with the birth, not of Jesus,[br]but with the birth of John the baptist,

0:12:56.765,0:12:59.043
this is like the beginning of the end.

0:12:59.043,0:13:01.158
This is when everything is going to rush in -

0:13:01.158,0:13:05.741
the kingdom of God is going to come in a powerful way.

0:13:05.741,0:13:14.387
And now, now that John was born,[br]he said by the Holy Spirit, "God has visited us."

0:13:14.387,0:13:18.134
Now it's taking place. Now it's begun. (P)

0:13:18.134,0:13:24.416
What does it mean for God to visit us? Has God ever visited you?

0:13:24.416,0:13:28.382
You know, some people say, "I had this dream, I had this vision;

0:13:28.382,0:13:32.231
and I saw God, I saw Jesus Christ."

0:13:32.231,0:13:36.270
Sometimes you really question some of[br]those people when you get to know them.

0:13:36.270,0:13:39.248
They're not really spiritual people, they're not really godly people.

0:13:39.248,0:13:42.341
They say they had these visitations from God,

0:13:42.341,0:13:45.735
and it makes you think, "Mehn, don't talk like that."

0:13:45.735,0:13:53.664
But in another way it is true, that to be a Christian means you're visited by God.

0:13:53.664,0:13:55.998
This is what we want in life.

0:13:55.998,0:13:58.886
We want to know God.

0:13:58.886,0:14:03.289
We want to meet with God. We want to experience God.

0:14:03.289,0:14:05.405
I can remember when I was a new Christian,

0:14:05.405,0:14:07.718
there was a book being passed around, I never read it,

0:14:07.719,0:14:11.986
but just the title grabbed at me, just laid hold of me.

0:14:11.986,0:14:14.915
The book was called Experiencing God.

0:14:14.915,0:14:18.707
And I just thought, "Wow, that's amazing!"

0:14:18.707,0:14:23.092
It's possible to know God.

0:14:23.092,0:14:28.947
Some people feel like, "Where is God?[br]Why can't I see God? Why don't I know God?"

0:14:28.947,0:14:30.717
But it is possible to know God. (P)

0:14:30.717,0:14:34.519
But here's the thing: you can't go up into heaven and find Him;

0:14:34.519,0:14:37.123
He has to come and visit you.

0:14:37.123,0:14:39.558
And that is what He does.

0:14:39.558,0:14:43.187
God is a God that loves to reveal Himself.

0:14:43.187,0:14:48.411
God is a God that is willing to show up and speak.

0:14:48.411,0:14:51.463
The dangerous thing is, sometimes people say, "God, where are you?"

0:14:51.463,0:14:54.305
And then He shows up.

0:14:54.305,0:14:59.200
He is a Living God, He is the One True God.

0:14:59.200,0:15:04.719
To know God is the greatest blessing.[br]This is the greatest treasure in all of life.

0:15:04.719,0:15:09.925
Adam and Eve, what was it that they had that was so great?

0:15:09.925,0:15:13.074
Was it fruit? We have fruit.

0:15:13.074,0:15:19.898
Was it Paradise? You can take a vacation to[br]the Bahamas or Palm Springs or wherever.

0:15:19.899,0:15:23.097
What was Adam and Eve's blessing?

0:15:23.097,0:15:26.098
The blessing was that they knew God.

0:15:26.098,0:15:28.572
They were in the presence of God.

0:15:28.572,0:15:31.593
It says in the Bible that Adam and Eve,

0:15:31.593,0:15:36.742
that God would walk in the midst of the garden in the cool of the day.

0:15:36.742,0:15:41.822
The Lord would visit them. That was Adam and Eve's treasure.

0:15:41.822,0:15:44.006
And that's what we've lost.

0:15:44.006,0:15:46.756
That's why the world is so empty.

0:15:46.756,0:15:51.826
That's why the world feels like such a cold place,[br]not just because of our own sin,

0:15:51.826,0:15:57.009
but because God, who is the source of all life and all blessing, is absent.

0:15:57.010,0:15:59.568
That is the big problem.

0:15:59.568,0:16:03.928
Where is the Lord? We've lost what Adam and Eve had. (P)

0:16:03.928,0:16:11.375
Here's the thing: People will place their treasure[br]in all these other smaller things that don't really matter.

0:16:11.375,0:16:17.639
For example, there is a famous verse in the Bible (Jer. 9:23) that says,

0:16:17.640,0:16:21.078
"Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom."

0:16:21.078,0:16:24.223
People will boast in their knowledge and their wisdom.

0:16:24.223,0:16:27.817
"Let not the strong man boast in his strength.

0:16:27.817,0:16:30.359
Let not the rich man boast in his riches."

0:16:30.359,0:16:32.179
None of that really matters.

0:16:32.179,0:16:36.056
Whether you're wise, whether you're smart,

0:16:36.056,0:16:40.740
whether you're beautiful, whether you're strong, whether you're tough,

0:16:40.740,0:16:42.293
none of that really matters.

0:16:42.293,0:16:44.140
And the world just pursues this.

0:16:44.140,0:16:48.853
Instead of searching for God, what does the world do?

0:16:48.853,0:16:51.977
It finds a different treasure.

0:16:51.977,0:16:56.567
"I'll get this degree. I'll get this career. I'll get this money.

0:16:56.567,0:16:59.533
I'll get this girlfriend, or I'll get this boyfriend."

0:16:59.533,0:17:01.880
And that becomes the treasure.

0:17:01.880,0:17:06.388
And they get really happy if they get it,[br]and really broken and sad if they don't. (P)

0:17:06.388,0:17:08.539
Most people, when you meet them,

0:17:08.539,0:17:12.977
they say, "Mehn, my life is just falling apart.[br]I'm just so broke and I'm so empty."

0:17:12.978,0:17:17.178
And you ask them, "Well, tell me about it,[br]what's going on in your life? Why are you so sad?"

0:17:17.179,0:17:20.729
And they start to tell you about all their troubles, you know,

0:17:20.729,0:17:24.137
"Well, I'm having a real hard time with my wife."

0:17:24.137,0:17:27.315
Or, "I'm having a real hard time raising my kids."

0:17:27.315,0:17:29.896
Or, "I'm having a real hard time at work."

0:17:29.896,0:17:33.363
Or, "Nobody likes me at school."

0:17:33.364,0:17:34.595
Or, "I don't have any money."

0:17:34.595,0:17:39.148
They mention all these smaller things that really are not the main problem.

0:17:39.148,0:17:44.663
The main problem is this: Do you know God?

0:17:44.663,0:17:48.014
because the end of that verse says, "Let him who boasts boast in this,

0:17:48.014,0:17:53.044
that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD."

0:17:53.044,0:17:58.941
If you know God, you have the greatest treasure that anybody could have.

0:17:58.941,0:18:03.339
Some people in this room know God.

0:18:03.339,0:18:08.317
Do you know God? Has God ever visited you?

0:18:08.317,0:18:11.525
Well that's what He came to do. (P)

0:18:11.525,0:18:17.793
I had a friend when I was a little boy; I can remember I was in 6th Grade.

0:18:17.794,0:18:20.651
And this friend, I don't know if he was a true Christian or not,

0:18:20.652,0:18:26.262
I was not a Christian at the time;[br]but even though I wasn't saved, he stood out to me.

0:18:26.262,0:18:28.810
He would always wear these Christian t-shirts to school.

0:18:28.810,0:18:34.327
I went to public school, and in 6th Grade nobody wore Christian t-shirts to school.

0:18:34.327,0:18:37.832
I can remember he had one shirt on, that had a little heartbeat monitor,

0:18:37.832,0:18:41.659
you know, like at the hospital you see the little blip on the heart screen.

0:18:41.659,0:18:45.661
It had a heartbeat, and it was like flat, and then it started beating again.

0:18:45.661,0:18:49.946
And it said "Christ alive," like He died and rose again.

0:18:49.946,0:18:51.578
And he would wear shirts like that,

0:18:51.578,0:18:54.691
and I remember I just thought, "He's so strange.

0:18:54.692,0:18:58.038
Why is it always about God with that boy (his name is Timothy)?"

0:18:58.038,0:19:03.723
And one day we were out on the playground, and there was a group of girls.

0:19:03.723,0:19:07.734
Nobody liked Timothy, because he loved...

0:19:07.734,0:19:12.771
well, he at least outwardly was wearing[br]these t-shirts, following God, whatever.

0:19:12.771,0:19:14.481
Nobody liked him.

0:19:14.481,0:19:18.418
And I walked up and heard this group of girls mocking him.

0:19:18.418,0:19:22.392
(We were all 6th graders). And this one girl started mocking him,

0:19:22.392,0:19:25.909
she said, "Huh! Yeah, Timothy, he doesn't have any friends,

0:19:25.909,0:19:30.498
only God is his friend. Only God is his friend."

0:19:30.498,0:19:32.074
And all the girls laughed.

0:19:32.074,0:19:36.450
And when they laughed, I recoiled on the inside. (P)

0:19:36.450,0:19:42.435
Even as a lost boy, when I was only 12 years old, I knew that was wrong.

0:19:42.435,0:19:48.302
To laugh about somebody having God as[br]their friend, that did not sit well with me.

0:19:48.302,0:19:52.594
If God is your friend, that's nothing to mock a person about.

0:19:52.594,0:19:55.854
And I saw that as such a great sin, and it is!

0:19:55.854,0:20:02.536
If you have God as your friend,[br]you're the most blessed person in the world.

0:20:02.536,0:20:07.576
Wouldn't you trade anything you have to have God as your friend?

0:20:07.576,0:20:09.921
Wouldn't that be worth anything?

0:20:09.921,0:20:14.111
Abraham, in the Bible it said he was the friend of God.

0:20:14.111,0:20:15.675
He was God's friend.

0:20:15.675,0:20:18.244
Moses, it said he was the friend of God.

0:20:18.244,0:20:21.579
God talked with him like friend to friend, face to face.

0:20:21.579,0:20:24.904
Isn't that what you want in life?

0:20:24.904,0:20:28.718
Or are you still boasting in all the other things?

0:20:28.718,0:20:35.088
Are you still placing your treasure in all the[br]other realms of pleasure and satisfaction?

0:20:35.088,0:20:40.908
That's not where it's found. We need to be visited by God. (P)

0:20:40.908,0:20:47.082
Okay next phrase, Luke 1: 68, "He has visited us

0:20:47.082,0:20:53.058
(or, He's about to, He's right on the verge of breaking in to our world),

0:20:53.058,0:20:58.285
He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people."

0:20:58.285,0:21:03.010
Accomplished redemption. This is good news.

0:21:03.010,0:21:06.028
Why is it good news? What does redemption mean?

0:21:06.028,0:21:10.971
You guys remember, few weeks ago[br]Joseph was here, he was teaching on this.

0:21:10.971,0:21:13.382
Redemption: what does redemption mean?

0:21:13.382,0:21:21.094
Somebody want to volunteer and answer? What is redemption?

0:21:23.121,0:21:26.813
[Audience]: Redemption is the recovery of something taken. (P)

0:21:26.813,0:21:31.094
Recovery of something taken; yeah, you could put it like that.

0:21:31.094,0:21:33.591
Think about it like this: redeem.

0:21:33.591,0:21:37.168
Sometimes we don't use the word 'redemption' outside of church,

0:21:37.168,0:21:39.035
but we use the word 'redeem'.

0:21:39.035,0:21:42.864
Like if you get a coupon, or you get some prize or something,

0:21:42.864,0:21:44.326
you're going to redeem it.

0:21:44.327,0:21:46.793
So you're going to get something that you didn't have.

0:21:46.793,0:21:52.794
But, specifically, when you really want to[br]talk about redemption and redeem,

0:21:52.794,0:21:58.844
it revolves around a price, like a ransom;

0:21:58.844,0:22:06.645
a price that is paid to get something, to set something free, to get something back.

0:22:06.646,0:22:11.539
Something that was lost, or something that was enslaved, you get it back.

0:22:11.539,0:22:14.582
So if someone is in slavery you can redeem them out of slavery,

0:22:14.582,0:22:16.176
you can buy them out of slavery.

0:22:16.176,0:22:22.648
If you were a slave, wouldn't it be nice if someone[br]came along and paid the money for you to go free?

0:22:22.648,0:22:25.676
That's what redemption is.

0:22:25.676,0:22:28.792
Someone that's in bondage, being brought out of that.

0:22:28.792,0:22:32.346
A price has been paid for them, now they're free.

0:22:32.346,0:22:36.747
And even more than that, now they have a new owner. (P)

0:22:36.747,0:22:40.804
So, here it says, "God has accomplished redemption.

0:22:40.805,0:22:45.277
God has visited us and has accomplished redemption."

0:22:45.277,0:22:50.438
God has come to set people free.

0:22:50.438,0:22:59.203
This is the truth that you find in the Bible,[br]that men owe a great debt and are in bondage.

0:22:59.203,0:23:00.889
They're debtors.

0:23:00.889,0:23:08.786
We sing songs about this: "A debtor to mercy alone"[br]- like I'm a debtor. I owe God.

0:23:08.786,0:23:11.057
What do we owe God? Do we owe God money?

0:23:11.058,0:23:13.167
It's not like a money debt.

0:23:13.167,0:23:15.742
It has to do with the way we've lived our life.

0:23:15.742,0:23:18.579
Because of sin we owe a debt to God.

0:23:18.580,0:23:22.341
We ought to have lived righteously, but we're in the bondage of sin,

0:23:22.341,0:23:26.173
and we're under sin's curse and its guilt.

0:23:26.173,0:23:30.154
Now here's the question: If someone is a slave to sin,

0:23:30.154,0:23:34.915
or if someone is guilty because of their sin and they're a debtor,

0:23:34.915,0:23:38.373
can they pay the price?

0:23:38.373,0:23:43.718
Can you pay the price to God, pay off your debts?

0:23:43.718,0:23:47.319
Sometimes people talk that way, you know, "I'm just gonna straighten up.

0:23:47.319,0:23:52.396
I'm gonna turn over a new leaf,[br]gonna live a new life, gonna pay off my debts."

0:23:52.396,0:23:54.283
There's a big problem in the Bible.

0:23:54.283,0:23:57.970
The Bible's problem is this: you cannot pay off your debts.

0:23:57.970,0:23:59.785
You don't have any ability to.

0:23:59.785,0:24:05.713
Imagine owing millions and millions of dollars,

0:24:05.713,0:24:09.572
and you make minimum wage, how are you going to pay that off?

0:24:09.573,0:24:13.422
Some people will get credit cards and they'll just rack up debt,

0:24:13.422,0:24:18.705
huge amounts of debt (they have no way to get out of debt).

0:24:18.705,0:24:26.301
But spiritually speaking, every person is born that way in such a huge pile of debt.

0:24:26.301,0:24:28.273
They can't get themselves out. (P)

0:24:28.273,0:24:40.273
Let's look at a verse on this, Psalms 49:7-9,

0:24:40.273,0:24:49.871
"No man can by any means redeem his brother[br]or give to God a ransom for him--

0:24:49.871,0:24:55.282
for the redemption of his soul is costly,[br]and he should cease trying forever--

0:24:55.282,0:24:59.387
that he should live on eternally, that he should not undergo decay."

0:24:59.387,0:25:03.719
You hear what it's saying? Nobody can pay your debts before God.

0:25:03.719,0:25:05.879
And you can't pay your own debt.

0:25:05.879,0:25:10.852
And you might as well just give up--he should cease trying forever.

0:25:10.852,0:25:14.304
It's too costly. It's too expensive.

0:25:14.304,0:25:20.917
You'll never be able to pull yourself out of the mess, out of the pit.

0:25:20.917,0:25:22.927
The problem is, we've sinned against God--

0:25:22.927,0:25:26.932
sinned against Him so much and in such a vile way--

0:25:26.932,0:25:34.642
that no amount of trying or doing good works[br]will ever erase the problem or pay off the debt.

0:25:34.642,0:25:36.820
Just give up. (P)

0:25:36.820,0:25:42.112
You say, "What then, I don't have any hope?[br]I just give up and that's it, that's the end?"

0:25:42.112,0:25:47.577
Well, no, because this verse says He has accomplished redemption.

0:25:47.577,0:25:50.961
God can pay off your debts.

0:25:50.961,0:25:54.116
That's real good news - God can forgive our debts.

0:25:54.116,0:25:58.426
That's even in the Lord's Prayer, isn't it?

0:25:58.426,0:26:01.418
It's really good if you've got some rich uncle

0:26:01.418,0:26:06.404
that can just come in and pay off all your debts with one stroke.

0:26:06.405,0:26:07.496
God can do that.

0:26:07.496,0:26:11.373
No other man can do that--in this life there's no friend,

0:26:11.373,0:26:15.095
there's no priest, there's no uncle, there's no politician,

0:26:15.096,0:26:18.591
no president or king, that can save you.

0:26:18.591,0:26:22.617
But if God acts, there's nothing God cannot do.

0:26:22.617,0:26:27.670
He can accomplish redemption.

0:26:27.671,0:26:30.133
Only God can save.

0:26:30.133,0:26:32.799
Only God can set a person free.

0:26:32.799,0:26:39.078
Only God can pay the price to save your soul. He is the Savior.

0:26:39.079,0:26:42.750
He's not going to let you save yourself, because then you'd boast.

0:26:42.750,0:26:46.753
He's not going to let anybody else save you, because then you'd praise them.

0:26:46.753,0:26:50.288
He is going to save you, so that you'll praise Him alone.

0:26:50.289,0:26:52.974
He's going to be the One. He'll be the Champion.

0:26:52.974,0:26:56.576
He'll be the Savior. (P)

0:26:56.577,0:27:00.849
Let's look at the next verse, jump down to Luke 1:71,

0:27:00.849,0:27:04.585
"Salvation from our enemies." Good news!

0:27:04.585,0:27:09.979
The Kingdom of God has come; God is visiting us; He is here;

0:27:09.979,0:27:13.337
He is paying off our debts; He is accomplishing redemption;

0:27:13.337,0:27:16.873
He is saving us from our enemies. What does that mean?

0:27:16.873,0:27:21.898
Salvation from our enemies - okay, question,[br]who are the enemies in this world?

0:27:21.898,0:27:25.799
What kinds of enemies exist in this life?

0:27:25.799,0:27:27.590
You guys want to give some answers?

0:27:27.591,0:27:30.173
What are some examples of an enemy? (P)

0:27:30.174,0:27:31.127
Audience: Satan? (P)

0:27:31.128,0:27:34.303
Satan. Well, that's the one; we'll talk about that.

0:27:34.303,0:27:41.838
What about just in the normal life, not in the spiritual realm? (P)

0:27:41.839,0:27:43.565
Audience: Riches? (P)

0:27:43.566,0:27:47.405
Yeah, riches are kind of like an enemy,[br]they can work against you in a way.

0:27:47.405,0:27:53.418
But what about people? Does anybody have any enemies here,

0:27:53.418,0:27:57.789
or does everybody love you and everybody is your friend or just a stranger?

0:27:57.789,0:28:01.987
Or do you actually have people that are out for your harm?

0:28:01.987,0:28:06.498
You have people like that? Who are they?

0:28:06.498,0:28:09.984
Some people have a lot more enemies than other people.

0:28:09.984,0:28:15.538
What are some enemies in this life? [Pause].

0:28:15.539,0:28:20.284
You guys just must be really well liked. (P)

0:28:20.285,0:28:21.452
Audience: Terrorists? (P)

0:28:21.453,0:28:23.761
Okay, terrorists, there's an enemy.

0:28:23.762,0:28:29.357
On a national level you've got people from a[br]different country, different set of beliefs,

0:28:29.357,0:28:36.985
and they're out to do harm against a group of people,[br]maybe America or some other country.

0:28:36.985,0:28:40.489
They're out to do harm, they're out to blow people up.

0:28:40.489,0:28:41.911
That's an enemy.

0:28:41.911,0:28:45.319
In the time of war... you see, right now we're in a time of peace,

0:28:45.320,0:28:51.551
in terms of nobody is invading our country; it's not like World War II.

0:28:51.551,0:28:57.510
But if you lived few decades ago,[br]you could real quickly start spouting off some enemies:

0:28:57.510,0:29:00.991
"Well, this country, these soldiers, this general;

0:29:00.991,0:29:03.894
they're our enemies, they're trying to kill us."

0:29:03.894,0:29:07.235
But it doesn't have to be a man with a gun,

0:29:07.235,0:29:11.500
sometimes you just have people that have a grudge against you.

0:29:11.500,0:29:14.335
And it's like, that guy at work, he just does not like you.

0:29:14.335,0:29:17.169
You guys heard Brother Matt talking about this the other day.

0:29:17.169,0:29:20.504
He had a guy at work, who just didn't like Matt,

0:29:20.504,0:29:23.830
who just was against him, always trying to cut him down.

0:29:23.831,0:29:27.665
Or maybe even in your family you can have enemies.

0:29:27.665,0:29:30.651
Your own family can turn against you.

0:29:30.657,0:29:33.501
People on the street - you see some guy and he threatens you,

0:29:33.501,0:29:37.076
and he says, "The next time I see you, I'm going to knock your lights out."

0:29:37.077,0:29:39.970
You're going to get terrified: "I've got an enemy!" (P)

0:29:39.970,0:29:45.690
I can remember in high school one time, a guy[br]grabbed me by the collar of my shirt after Gym class,

0:29:45.702,0:29:49.255
pushed me up against a wall, with his three buddies around me

0:29:49.263,0:29:52.812
(they're all Seniors; I was this tiny Sophomore),

0:29:52.812,0:29:55.616
and I just realized, "I've got enemies."

0:29:55.616,0:29:58.603
It came out of nowhere.

0:29:58.603,0:30:03.365
But here's the thing: Even the worst enemies in this life -

0:30:03.365,0:30:09.974
the guys with guns, the people that have strength in numbers,

0:30:09.974,0:30:12.180
the people that can work against you -

0:30:12.180,0:30:18.302
that's nothing, compared to the real enemy that the Bible talks about:

0:30:18.302,0:30:23.004
and the Brother said it - Satan. The devil. (P)

0:30:23.004,0:30:25.721
You know anything about the devil?

0:30:25.722,0:30:31.817
The devil is real. Satan is real.

0:30:31.817,0:30:40.821
He's not just a force, he's a being, a fallen angel.

0:30:40.821,0:30:42.630
And he's powerful.

0:30:42.630,0:30:47.393
And the Bible says the whole world is in the hand of the devil.

0:30:47.393,0:30:52.973
Can you imagine that? "Does the Bible really say that?[br]I thought the whole world was in God's hand."

0:30:52.974,0:30:57.525
Well it is, including the devil. Every thing is in God's hand.

0:30:57.525,0:31:02.765
But this world, (not the heavens, the heavens belong to the Lord),

0:31:02.765,0:31:05.958
but this earth He has given to the sons of men,

0:31:05.958,0:31:08.830
and the devil is ruling over it.

0:31:08.830,0:31:16.237
Like a master chess player, he moves people in place[br]to do his will, to do great evil in the world.

0:31:16.237,0:31:19.144
Have you seen the evil that is in the world yet,

0:31:19.144,0:31:23.270
or do you still think the world is just kind of a nice place? It's not.

0:31:23.270,0:31:28.449
This world is under the power of darkness.

0:31:28.449,0:31:33.372
The devil, and demons, and powers, and principalities, they are at work.

0:31:33.373,0:31:38.167
It says that "they waged war in heaven, and God cast them down to the earth;

0:31:38.180,0:31:42.598
and woe to the earth, because now the devil has come down to the earth,

0:31:42.598,0:31:46.777
and he knows his time is short, and his wrath is great" (Revelation 12).

0:31:46.777,0:31:49.586
And he wants to destroy people. (P)

0:31:49.586,0:31:54.709
The devil, what is he trying to do? why does he want to destroy your soul?

0:31:54.709,0:31:58.624
why does he want you to go to hell? why does he care about that?

0:31:58.624,0:32:01.468
It's not about you, it's about God.

0:32:01.468,0:32:02.936
The devil hates God.

0:32:02.937,0:32:05.212
And you were made in the image of God.

0:32:05.212,0:32:08.530
And your soul is valuable to God and precious to God.

0:32:08.530,0:32:15.487
And the devil is gonna just, in rage, make war against the people of God.

0:32:15.487,0:32:21.422
And if someone is not a Christian, they're locked up in the devil's power;

0:32:21.422,0:32:22.818
and that's their greatest enemy.

0:32:22.818,0:32:27.784
Whether they realize it or not, the greatest enemy of their soul is Satan.

0:32:27.784,0:32:33.775
And he will tempt them, and he will lie to them,[br]and he will try to deceive them.

0:32:33.775,0:32:40.221
And he has many weapons - he will even try to kill them[br]if God lets him, if God allows him. (P)

0:32:40.221,0:32:44.193
In Revelation, talking about these demonic powers,

0:32:44.193,0:32:48.961
it says, "In their tail was the power of death."

0:32:48.961,0:32:52.427
The devil, he is seeking to wipe people out.

0:32:52.427,0:32:57.662
This is the enemy of our souls.

0:32:57.662,0:33:00.949
God is not our enemy; at least He ought not be.

0:33:00.949,0:33:04.756
We make Him our enemy. We make war with God.

0:33:04.756,0:33:09.056
But we really do have an enemy - the devil.

0:33:09.056,0:33:14.462
And even when you become a Christian,[br]he's not gonna just change his mind.

0:33:14.462,0:33:16.638
He is out to destroy. (P)

0:33:16.638,0:33:24.722
But, good news! "Salvation from our enemies." Saved from the devil.

0:33:24.722,0:33:30.054
Maybe you realize the devil is at work in your life, do you want to be free?

0:33:30.054,0:33:33.694
Do you want to be outside of his control?

0:33:33.694,0:33:36.151
Do you want to be saved? It's possible!

0:33:36.151,0:33:39.652
God promised in the very beginning, even to Adam and Eve,

0:33:39.652,0:33:41.997
even when they sinned and were cast out of the garden,

0:33:41.997,0:33:47.253
God said, "I'm going to crush the serpent's head.

0:33:47.253,0:33:51.253
The seed of the woman, the serpent will bruise his heel,

0:33:51.253,0:33:53.810
but he is going to crush the serpent's head."

0:33:53.810,0:33:57.398
God promised from the beginning that the devil would be crushed.

0:33:57.398,0:34:01.740
Salvation from our enemies. (P)

0:34:01.741,0:34:06.594
There's strange stories about the devil and demons.

0:34:06.594,0:34:10.281
Actually I was just talking the other day with a brother about this.

0:34:10.282,0:34:14.889
There's a missionary in China, when he would[br]go and preach the Gospel to people,

0:34:14.889,0:34:18.949
they would say, "Oh great! Praise the Lord,[br]we want to follow Christ and become Christians."

0:34:18.949,0:34:23.773
They would become Christians, at least outwardly,[br]and then you know what happened?

0:34:23.774,0:34:31.444
As soon as they became Christians and stopped[br]worshiping the idols and false gods in China,

0:34:31.445,0:34:34.656
some of their family members would get sick, or die,

0:34:34.656,0:34:39.567
or things would just start going wrong -[br]demonic problems started in their home.

0:34:39.568,0:34:42.670
And they said, "Woah! We didn't know it was like this.

0:34:42.670,0:34:44.804
If this is gonna happen forget it, I don't want to be a Christian.

0:34:44.804,0:34:47.388
I'll just go back to worshiping the idols.

0:34:47.389,0:34:52.967
We'll put the idols back on the shelf,[br]we'll put the food out at night for the idols."

0:34:52.967,0:34:55.259
They are appeasing the spirits.

0:34:55.260,0:34:59.423
The devil was after them, he did not want them to follow Jesus Christ,

0:34:59.424,0:35:03.057
and he turned up the heat when they started to believe,

0:35:03.057,0:35:06.800
when they started to throw away the idols. (P)

0:35:06.800,0:35:13.200
There is a lady in Japan, when she started getting around Christians,

0:35:13.200,0:35:15.795
all these demonic stuff started happening in her life.

0:35:15.795,0:35:20.154
She would lay on her bed, and her bed would be shaking.

0:35:20.154,0:35:22.872
There's nobody in the room, but her bed would start shaking.

0:35:22.872,0:35:25.840
She was terrified, asking the Christians for help, "Help me!

0:35:25.840,0:35:29.265
There's some kind of evil spirit in my house."

0:35:29.265,0:35:32.955
The devil is an enemy of Christians and the Gospel.

0:35:32.955,0:35:34.758
He does not want people to be saved.

0:35:34.758,0:35:37.033
He does not want people to become Christians.

0:35:37.033,0:35:39.641
But you know what his greatest weapon is?

0:35:39.641,0:35:41.971
It's not somebody getting sick.

0:35:41.971,0:35:43.886
It's not your bed starts shaking.

0:35:43.886,0:35:46.925
You know what his greatest weapon is against souls?

0:35:46.926,0:35:51.044
What's the way that he attacks? [br]What's the way that he actually destroys people?

0:35:51.045,0:35:52.328
It's through sin. (P)

0:35:52.328,0:35:56.964
He does use lies, but let me say it like this,

0:35:56.964,0:36:01.591
and actually Brother Tim was saying this the other day:

0:36:01.591,0:36:05.764
Can the devil destroy your soul in hell? No.

0:36:05.764,0:36:11.088
The devil himself is going to hell, God is going to[br]put the devil in hell, in the lake of fire.

0:36:11.088,0:36:14.603
The devil is not the king of hell.

0:36:14.603,0:36:20.703
But what is it that causes a person to perish[br]and to be judged and to go the lake of fire?

0:36:20.704,0:36:21.703
It's sin.

0:36:21.703,0:36:24.038
And the devil is going to tempt you to sin,

0:36:24.038,0:36:29.441
and then he's going to try to keep you away from[br]Jesus Christ so you don't get forgiveness.

0:36:29.441,0:36:32.259
That's his objective.

0:36:32.259,0:36:35.680
"I don't care if they go to church, I don't care if they do a lot of things,

0:36:35.681,0:36:37.346
I don't care if a Bible is in their house."

0:36:37.347,0:36:39.149
He's not afraid of holy water.

0:36:39.149,0:36:42.427
All those things that people say or you see in the movies, that doesn't matter.

0:36:42.427,0:36:46.589
The only thing he cares about is, he doesn't want you to be forgiven,

0:36:46.589,0:36:50.761
he doesn't want you to repent and believe in Jesus Christ.

0:36:50.761,0:36:55.795
And he's going to try as hard as he can to just[br]keep throwing sin into your life, keep you guilty,

0:36:55.795,0:36:59.181
keep you on the road to hell. (P)

0:36:59.181,0:37:05.507
But there's salvation from him if you want to be free.

0:37:05.507,0:37:07.054
Do you want freed?

0:37:07.054,0:37:10.113
Some people think they can bargain with the devil.

0:37:10.113,0:37:14.984
Some people think they can come out ahead by serving the devil.

0:37:14.984,0:37:19.223
The devil doesn't have any allies - he doesn't make any friends.

0:37:19.223,0:37:23.650
C. S. Lewis said, "The devil breaks all of his tools when he's done using them."

0:37:23.650,0:37:26.131
It's true.

0:37:26.131,0:37:31.204
I remember when I was a young boy I used to have these nightmares.

0:37:31.204,0:37:35.722
And I had a nightmare one time it was terrifying.

0:37:35.723,0:37:40.928
I felt so disturbed when I woke up, do you want to know why?

0:37:40.928,0:37:47.973
Because in that nightmare, this time when the evil monster was coming at me,

0:37:47.973,0:37:52.699
I made a deal with the monster that I would serve him

0:37:52.699,0:37:57.747
and kill other people alongside of him, so that he wouldn't kill me.

0:37:57.747,0:38:01.997
You can't make deals with the devil like that.

0:38:01.997,0:38:06.161
If you serve the devil, you're going to be judged right along with him.

0:38:06.161,0:38:08.812
You don't want him as a master.

0:38:08.812,0:38:11.950
The world is not your friend.

0:38:11.950,0:38:18.940
You've got to get free from the power of Satan. And you can. (P)

0:38:18.940,0:38:21.781
Alright, the next phrase,

0:38:21.782,0:38:30.762
Luke 1:73, "The oath which He swore to Abraham our father."

0:38:30.762,0:38:34.454
It says that God is going to have mercy,[br]He is going to remember His holy covenant,

0:38:34.454,0:38:38.767
and He's going to remember the oath[br]which He swore to Abraham our father.

0:38:38.767,0:38:43.585
What is this? Who is Abraham? What's so special about Abraham?

0:38:43.585,0:38:46.316
What's the oath to Abraham? Anybody?

0:38:46.316,0:38:52.001
What oath or what promise did God make with Abraham? (P)

0:38:52.002,0:38:54.217
Audience: "In you shall all the nations be blessed." (P)

0:38:54.217,0:38:58.862
"That all the nations will be blessed in you.

0:38:58.862,0:39:02.444
Through your seed, I will bless all the nations.

0:39:02.444,0:39:07.227
The whole world will be blessed through your seed."

0:39:07.227,0:39:12.480
And now, right at the beginning in the New Testament, they say, "It's here!

0:39:12.480,0:39:14.908
It's finally coming to pass.

0:39:14.908,0:39:19.384
What we've been waiting for, that promise[br]that God made so long ago to Abraham,

0:39:19.384,0:39:23.519
is finally coming true - the whole world is about to be blessed."

0:39:23.519,0:39:25.124
Now what is that about?

0:39:25.124,0:39:30.221
God made promises to lots of people,[br]why does everybody always talk about Abraham?

0:39:30.221,0:39:31.434
Have you figured that out yet?

0:39:31.434,0:39:35.568
It's kind of strange; anytime the people would[br]get in trouble in the Old Testament,

0:39:35.568,0:39:39.424
they would cry out, "O Lord, remember Your promise to Abraham.

0:39:39.424,0:39:42.702
Remember Your mercy and what You swore to do to Abraham."

0:39:42.702,0:39:47.868
They were always going back to that promise that God made.

0:39:47.868,0:39:52.134
They didn't say, "O Lord, remember the Law that You gave to Moses."

0:39:52.134,0:39:56.625
That's not really a happy subject; the Law of Moses can't save you.

0:39:56.625,0:39:58.192
They didn't cry out about that. (P)

0:39:58.192,0:40:05.594
But God made a promise to Abraham that was[br]100 percent grace, 100 percent promise.

0:40:05.594,0:40:08.460
There wasn't any stipulation on it, He just said,

0:40:08.460,0:40:12.814
"I'm going to bless the world through your seed, through your descendant."

0:40:12.814,0:40:14.507
And it was true.

0:40:14.507,0:40:18.187
The curse that began with Adam and Eve, Adam and Eve sinned;

0:40:18.187,0:40:21.056
and the curse spread to the whole world.

0:40:21.056,0:40:23.974
Everybody is guilty because of Adam and Eve.

0:40:23.974,0:40:26.360
You may not like that, but it is true.

0:40:26.360,0:40:29.473
You may not like the fact that you're born with a heart of sin.

0:40:29.473,0:40:32.846
You say, "That's not fair! I want to be born with a heart of righteousness."

0:40:32.846,0:40:36.192
I'm sorry, that's not true. You were born with a heart of sin.

0:40:36.192,0:40:41.801
Because of Adam and Eve's guilt and transgression,[br]death has spread into all the world,

0:40:41.802,0:40:46.271
the curse to every nation, the curse to all peoples.

0:40:46.271,0:40:51.589
But then with Abraham, God said, "But, through your seed,

0:40:51.589,0:40:56.278
I'm going to bless every nation, I'm going to bless the world."

0:40:56.278,0:41:01.391
What was lost with Adam and Eve is going to be gained again.

0:41:01.391,0:41:06.896
What was broken and destroyed there, is going to be restored.

0:41:06.896,0:41:10.334
The blessing to the whole world;

0:41:10.334,0:41:18.349
the return to the Garden of Eden; the return to Paradise;

0:41:18.349,0:41:25.865
all of the promises coming true, coming to pass. (P)

0:41:27.769,0:41:41.357
Alright, Luke 1:74, "To grant us that we,[br]being rescued from the hand of our enemies,

0:41:41.357,0:41:45.518
might serve Him without fear."

0:41:45.518,0:41:47.527
To grant us that we might serve Him.

0:41:47.527,0:41:55.703
Now here's a question: Why does God save people?

0:41:55.704,0:41:59.354
Why not just wipe them all out in the flood?

0:41:59.354,0:42:03.178
Why not don't send Christ, don't send a Savior;

0:42:03.178,0:42:06.928
and just let them go on and sin, judgment day comes, and it's over -

0:42:06.928,0:42:11.817
Christ comes to judge the earth, and everybody is destroyed.

0:42:11.817,0:42:15.905
Why not do that? Why does He save people?

0:42:15.905,0:42:17.819
Well you could give a lot of different answers.

0:42:17.819,0:42:23.726
You could say, "Because He is loving. Because He's going to glorify Himself."

0:42:23.726,0:42:26.263
But you know what this verse says?

0:42:26.263,0:42:30.339
It says He is doing this, He is fulfilling all of this -

0:42:30.340,0:42:35.687
setting us free from Satan, redeeming us from our sins and our debts -

0:42:35.687,0:42:38.487
that we might serve Him.

0:42:38.488,0:42:43.061
Do you serve God with your life? (P)

0:42:43.061,0:42:44.864
Now I want to clear something up.

0:42:44.864,0:42:47.953
A lot of people say, "We're saved to serve."

0:42:47.953,0:42:50.394
You guys ever heard that? "We're saved to serve."

0:42:50.394,0:42:52.276
In the Baptist church it's kind of a slogan.

0:42:52.276,0:42:54.251
I grew up hearing that and I didn't really like it.

0:42:54.251,0:42:58.411
When I began to read the Bible I thought, "That's kind of cheesy."

0:42:58.411,0:43:02.111
Why? This is why, this is my problem with that:

0:43:02.111,0:43:06.520
In a way we are saved to serve, but it depends on what you mean.

0:43:06.520,0:43:10.435
God doesn't need any service. God is not weak.

0:43:10.435,0:43:14.256
He is not served by human hands.[br]If He was hungry, He wouldn't tell you about it.

0:43:14.257,0:43:15.614
That's what the Bible says.

0:43:15.614,0:43:18.681
He doesn't need anything from you.

0:43:18.681,0:43:22.203
It's not like church and Christianity just means you go somewhere

0:43:22.203,0:43:25.064
and you're trying to help God or do Him a favor.

0:43:25.064,0:43:26.906
God doesn't need any favors.

0:43:26.906,0:43:31.824
He is just fine on His own in who He is.

0:43:31.824,0:43:37.095
God is not lonely, God is not sick, God is not weak, He is not sad.

0:43:37.096,0:43:39.038
He is full of joy, full of life.

0:43:39.038,0:43:42.456
He is the source of life. He is the source of love.

0:43:42.456,0:43:47.355
And before this world even existed, that's the way He was.

0:43:47.356,0:43:48.906
So God is not served by human hands.

0:43:48.906,0:43:50.609
But what does it mean to serve God?

0:43:50.610,0:43:54.070
Well, another way that you can talk about service in the Bible,

0:43:54.070,0:43:58.592
many times in the Bible when we read the word 'serve' or 'service',

0:43:58.592,0:44:02.604
it's the same word, the same idea, as worship.

0:44:02.605,0:44:05.339
That we might worship Him. (P)

0:44:05.340,0:44:06.897
To serve God.

0:44:06.897,0:44:11.265
If someone is serving the Lord, if someone[br]wants to be in the service of the Lord,

0:44:11.265,0:44:15.057
a big part of what that means - it doesn't mean they're helping God out -

0:44:15.057,0:44:17.198
it means they're worshiping Him.

0:44:17.198,0:44:22.246
They are giving Him glory: "Lord, You're wonderful.

0:44:22.246,0:44:25.163
God, You're beautiful.

0:44:25.164,0:44:30.610
Lord, I praise You, I love You, I delight in You."

0:44:30.610,0:44:35.010
Do you do that? Does God make you happy?

0:44:35.010,0:44:37.390
Does God fill your soul with joy?

0:44:37.391,0:44:40.185
Do you just want to praise Him? Do you sing?

0:44:40.185,0:44:42.697
I know a lot of people, they go to church, they never sing.

0:44:42.697,0:44:44.643
They never open their mouth at all.

0:44:44.643,0:44:47.413
Like, "I'll just sit here, everybody else will sing."

0:44:47.413,0:44:49.702
That's not what the Bible says.

0:44:49.702,0:44:54.003
The Bible says, "Let every thing that has breath praise the Lord."

0:44:54.003,0:44:56.622
Some people are too ashamed, they don't want to open their mouth.

0:44:56.622,0:44:58.967
And their life is not even about that -

0:44:58.968,0:45:01.952
"That's not why I'm alive. That's not why I'm doing what I'm doing."

0:45:01.952,0:45:04.383
What are they doing, they're living for themselves.

0:45:04.383,0:45:09.672
They worship themselves, they worship their car, they worship the sports stars.

0:45:09.672,0:45:13.636
They worship all these other little gods that are no gods at all. (P)

0:45:13.636,0:45:19.353
But the reason why God saves people[br]is because He wants to catch them up

0:45:19.353,0:45:22.909
and involve them in this worship of Himself.

0:45:22.909,0:45:26.780
What is heaven all about? Heaven is about worshiping God.

0:45:26.780,0:45:35.501
In heaven, even right now as we speak, there are[br]myriads and myriads of angels worshiping God,

0:45:35.501,0:45:41.273
praising God with loud voices that shake the temple (they're so loud).

0:45:41.273,0:45:46.041
And they never cease, day and night, to say, "Holy, holy, holy."

0:45:46.041,0:45:47.734
They don't grow tired of worshiping God.

0:45:47.734,0:45:52.797
That's their life, that's their joy - it's to worship Him.

0:45:52.797,0:45:57.285
It's like Keith Green said, "If you don't learn to worship God now,

0:45:57.285,0:45:59.325
why would you even want to go to heaven?"

0:45:59.325,0:46:05.459
That's what heaven is all about - to worship the Lord.

0:46:05.459,0:46:08.807
We were made to worship Him. This is why God made you. (P)

0:46:08.807,0:46:14.552
The greatest sin in life is not murder, or adultery,

0:46:14.552,0:46:19.865
or all of these other sins, child abuse or whatever;

0:46:19.865,0:46:25.617
it's not the great wars that happen when people[br]sweep through villages and kill thousands of people

0:46:25.617,0:46:28.333
because of the color of their skin, or their tribe,

0:46:28.333,0:46:29.771
or the language they speak.

0:46:29.771,0:46:31.589
That's not the greatest sin.

0:46:31.589,0:46:35.699
The greatest sin is when man, who is made in the image of God,

0:46:35.699,0:46:42.090
who has such faculties and abilities and powers and gifts and talents,

0:46:42.090,0:46:47.190
they look up at the sky, they see the sun, the moon,[br]and the stars - the works of God's hands -

0:46:47.190,0:46:50.480
and they don't praise Him, they don't worship Him, they don't love Him.

0:46:50.480,0:46:51.754
They don't even search for Him!

0:46:51.754,0:46:53.192
They don't even seek for Him!

0:46:53.192,0:46:56.628
They're not even interested in knowing God. That's the greatest sin.

0:46:56.628,0:47:01.201
The greatest sin, the thing that offends God the most,

0:47:01.201,0:47:04.177
that the heavens are appalled at when they see,

0:47:04.177,0:47:07.900
is they can watch a world with no worship.

0:47:07.900,0:47:11.048
Does it ever strike you as strange, you walk down the streets

0:47:11.048,0:47:14.546
and people are just going about their day, going through the rat race,

0:47:14.546,0:47:18.453
going to work, paying the bills, eating dinner, watching TV.

0:47:18.453,0:47:21.427
It's just like life moves on and there's no purpose.

0:47:21.427,0:47:24.811
What has happened to the world?

0:47:24.811,0:47:33.912
Worship - the reason why we were made - has disappeared. (P)

0:47:33.912,0:47:41.267
Heaven is a place where all the beings that are there, are in the presence of God.

0:47:41.267,0:47:45.302
And they see Him, and they know Him,

0:47:45.302,0:47:51.637
and they commune with Him, spend time with Him, and they love Him.

0:47:51.637,0:47:59.741
The way one Puritan said it, he said that[br]heaven is a world of love - love to God. (P)

0:47:59.742,0:48:01.852
What does Islam say heaven is?

0:48:01.853,0:48:04.899
"Heaven is paradise, where you get all the good food,

0:48:04.899,0:48:07.662
all of the sweet drinks, and women."

0:48:07.662,0:48:11.214
That's what they teach. That's what is written in the Quran.

0:48:11.214,0:48:12.896
Is that why you want to go to heaven?

0:48:12.896,0:48:15.001
Is that your idea of heaven?

0:48:15.001,0:48:19.926
That's not the Bible's idea of heaven. (P)

0:48:19.926,0:48:22.620
Heaven is not about sports.

0:48:22.620,0:48:28.606
I say that because I actually thought about that when I was a kid.

0:48:28.606,0:48:33.624
I thought about going to heaven, and I thought, "If it's to last forever

0:48:33.624,0:48:36.974
(I was lost, I didn't know any better),

0:48:36.975,0:48:39.960
how could it be any fun at all?"

0:48:39.960,0:48:41.816
And you know what I came up with?

0:48:41.816,0:48:44.319
Now I loved sports as a kid;

0:48:44.319,0:48:47.266
I thought they were great, but I was terrible at sports.

0:48:47.266,0:48:53.578
And I thought, "Maybe in heaven God will[br]make a sport that kind of suits every person,

0:48:53.579,0:48:56.583
and one person will be the best at their sport."

0:48:56.583,0:49:00.575
Like, "God is really smart, so He can just[br]make a bunch of different kinds of sports.

0:49:00.575,0:49:06.234
And maybe He can make one for me[br]that I'm the best at, and I'll be the champion."

0:49:06.234,0:49:08.289
That was what I thought as a kid.

0:49:08.289,0:49:13.252
What is that saying? I worship myself. (P)

0:49:13.252,0:49:18.854
What is your idea of heaven?

0:49:18.854,0:49:26.645
He saves us that we might serve Him, that we might worship Him;

0:49:26.645,0:49:28.425
and that we might serve Him without fear.

0:49:28.425,0:49:35.073
Look at Verse 74 again, these two little words "without fear."

0:49:35.073,0:49:37.181
Without fear - what does that mean?

0:49:37.181,0:49:41.011
Well it's true, without fear from our enemies, because He said that.

0:49:41.017,0:49:42.968
"Salvation from the hands of those who hate us."

0:49:42.968,0:49:48.302
The devil hates you; but God can save you from that, protect you from him.

0:49:48.302,0:49:50.179
But it's talking about something else, too.

0:49:50.179,0:49:53.491
We can worship the Lord with no fear.

0:49:53.491,0:49:55.501
We're not afraid He's going to put us in hell anymore.

0:49:55.501,0:49:57.771
We're not afraid He's going to cast us out anymore.

0:49:57.771,0:50:00.743
We're not afraid He's going to slap us around.

0:50:00.743,0:50:04.952
Some fathers on earth, that's how they treat[br]their children, they slap them around.

0:50:04.952,0:50:08.686
The heavenly Father is not like that.

0:50:08.686,0:50:10.094
He is a good Father.

0:50:10.094,0:50:14.840
And when you come to know Him, [br]when your debts are paid, when you're set free,

0:50:14.840,0:50:17.801
you can worship God and you don't have to be afraid of Him at all.

0:50:17.801,0:50:24.428
In a word, it's peace. To have real peace.

0:50:24.428,0:50:30.163
Do you have any peace in your life? Do you know peace? (P)

0:50:30.163,0:50:33.621
Now be careful, there's two kinds of peace.

0:50:33.621,0:50:35.881
There's God's peace and the world's peace.

0:50:35.881,0:50:38.279
I'm not talking about the world's peace.

0:50:38.279,0:50:41.753
Jesus says, "My peace I give to you; My peace I leave with you;

0:50:41.753,0:50:43.786
not as the world gives do I give to you."

0:50:43.786,0:50:48.644
The world will give you a kind of peace. That's not the kind you want.

0:50:48.644,0:50:50.287
It's a deceitful kind of peace.

0:50:50.287,0:50:53.485
It's not true peace, it's a false peace.

0:50:53.485,0:50:59.512
In the Old Testament, the prophet said, "They go around[br]saying, 'Peace, peace,' and there is no peace."

0:50:59.512,0:51:01.883
They deceived the people, they tricked the people.

0:51:01.883,0:51:04.217
They tell them there's peace but there is no peace.

0:51:04.217,0:51:10.295
The Bible says "there's no peace for the wicked, no rest for the wicked."

0:51:10.295,0:51:12.092
The world, where does it get its peace from?

0:51:12.092,0:51:15.796
When everything is going right; when money is in the bank;

0:51:15.796,0:51:18.021
when their checkbook is balanced;

0:51:18.021,0:51:23.818
when all your kids are at home and everything is[br]going well between husband and spouse;

0:51:23.818,0:51:26.864
and everybody likes you and you're still young and beautiful;

0:51:26.865,0:51:28.864
then you feel peace.

0:51:28.864,0:51:34.215
"I'm making the grades, everything is going just fine.

0:51:34.215,0:51:36.629
It's like the world is my spinning top." (P)

0:51:36.629,0:51:41.152
But then what happens? The famine hits. The disaster occurs.

0:51:41.152,0:51:44.615
The hammer falls. Your world comes crashing down.

0:51:44.615,0:51:48.612
And all of a sudden you realize, "I don't have any peace.

0:51:48.612,0:51:51.086
What was my peace in my life?

0:51:51.086,0:51:56.334
I was trusting in all these things like a shaky stool that I was standing on."

0:51:56.334,0:51:57.908
It's gonna fall.

0:51:57.908,0:52:02.033
Your peace in this world will be stripped away from you.

0:52:02.033,0:52:04.683
But a Christian has true peace.

0:52:04.683,0:52:08.604
They don't have to have any fear anymore, they can rest.

0:52:08.604,0:52:12.967
Peace comes from the Holy Spirit; joy and peace in believing;

0:52:12.967,0:52:16.654
and you abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

0:52:16.654,0:52:21.808
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace.

0:52:21.809,0:52:24.590
Do you have peace, Christian?

0:52:24.590,0:52:27.696
Where does your peace come from? [br]Does your peace come from yourself?

0:52:27.696,0:52:31.587
Does your peace come from your pastor, or friends, or your church?

0:52:31.587,0:52:36.951
Does your peace come from whether or not[br]you're surrounded by pleasant things?

0:52:36.951,0:52:38.706
That's not where peace comes from.

0:52:38.706,0:52:42.712
Peace comes from Jesus Christ - He's the Prince of peace.

0:52:42.712,0:52:44.356
He can take away all your fears.

0:52:44.356,0:52:49.890
It's like being in the eye of the tornado, [br]all the winds just rushing around you,

0:52:49.890,0:52:53.702
everywhere you look is chaos and destruction;

0:52:53.702,0:52:57.337
and it's just still, and peaceful. (P)

0:52:57.337,0:53:04.356
A Christian is the one that can go through[br]all the trials in this life, and they're not afraid.

0:53:04.356,0:53:09.050
Their heart is at peace, stedfast, trusting in the Lord.

0:53:09.050,0:53:13.010
The Christian is the one, like the child, you know, some stubborn child;

0:53:13.010,0:53:16.100
you spank them, and they just smile.

0:53:16.100,0:53:19.910
They don't want to cry, they don't want to let on that anything hurts them.

0:53:19.910,0:53:21.327
The Christian is just like that.

0:53:21.327,0:53:26.129
It doesn't matter how many times they get hit, they just keep smiling.

0:53:26.129,0:53:29.047
The Christian is the one that can sing in the fire,

0:53:29.047,0:53:32.736
that can sing when they're put in prison, like Paul and Silas.

0:53:32.736,0:53:37.933
The Christian is the one, after they get beaten up they go home rejoicing.

0:53:37.933,0:53:42.742
That's what we want, that's the peace that comes from God, right?

0:53:42.742,0:53:46.293
That's our birthright. That's promised to us.

0:53:46.293,0:53:48.930
We can worship the Lord and have no fear.

0:53:48.930,0:53:53.102
If God is for you, who can be against you?

0:53:53.102,0:53:56.844
It's amazing, we were kinda watching this testimony today,

0:53:56.844,0:54:02.495
and there's been people that have been converted in terrible circumstances,

0:54:02.495,0:54:07.456
with all kinds of enemies, and all kinds of wickedness all around them.

0:54:07.456,0:54:12.279
But it's like when God is for you,[br]it doesn't matter if everybody hates you. (P)

0:54:12.279,0:54:17.380
Now think about this: Jesus brings peace,[br]but in another place He said this:

0:54:17.380,0:54:19.967
"Don't think that I came to bring peace on the earth."

0:54:19.968,0:54:23.700
He's the Prince of peace; and then He says,[br]"Don't think that I came to bring peace on the earth."

0:54:23.700,0:54:24.656
What is He saying?

0:54:24.656,0:54:30.908
He is saying this: In our relationships with other people, Christ brings division -

0:54:30.908,0:54:34.271
"A man's enemies will be the members of his household.

0:54:34.271,0:54:35.896
I didn't come to bring peace but a sword.

0:54:35.896,0:54:37.223
I came to bring division" (Matt. 10:34-36).

0:54:37.224,0:54:41.050
Sometimes when you become a Christian[br]everybody is going to turn against you,

0:54:41.050,0:54:42.518
all your friends are going to leave you,

0:54:42.518,0:54:47.410
all your family is going to misunderstand you,[br]going to slander you, going to hate you;

0:54:47.410,0:54:49.404
the other people in the village are going to hate you,

0:54:49.404,0:54:51.704
the other people in your work are going to hate you.

0:54:51.704,0:54:53.334
That happens.

0:54:53.334,0:54:57.270
But He does bring peace between man and God.

0:54:57.270,0:55:01.318
He doesn't bring peace man-to-man, He brings peace man-to-God.

0:55:01.318,0:55:04.565
And if your relationship is right with God vertically,

0:55:04.565,0:55:09.802
then it doesn't matter what's going on around you horizontally.

0:55:09.802,0:55:14.499
Do you have the peace that surpasses all understanding:

0:55:14.499,0:55:20.985
Jesus Christ, forgiveness of sins, freedom from the devil?

0:55:20.985,0:55:24.667
If you do you'll know it, you'll be so happy. (P)

0:55:24.667,0:55:30.933
I mean, sometimes when you see a new Christian,[br]it's like they can't hardly contain their joy.

0:55:30.933,0:55:37.496
They're just bubbling over, just so thankful,[br]because they know that God loves them.

0:55:37.496,0:55:43.131
Now a lot of people say real cheaply, "Smile, God loves you; God loves you."

0:55:43.131,0:55:44.969
And it's cheap.

0:55:44.969,0:55:50.611
But when it's real, when you know it deep in your soul, "God loves me,"

0:55:50.611,0:55:57.562
that will hold you through anything. To be loved by God. (P)

0:55:57.563,0:56:10.027
Alright, next thing, Luke 1:76, "And you, child,[br]will be called the prophet of the Most High."

0:56:10.028,0:56:18.827
So now, picture this: John's dad, Zacharias,[br]his mouth has been opened, he got his voice back;

0:56:18.827,0:56:24.416
and he's praising God, full of joy, full of the Holy Spirit.

0:56:24.416,0:56:28.658
And he picks up his baby boy, picks up his son,

0:56:28.658,0:56:35.036
and he says, "You, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High."

0:56:35.037,0:56:36.955
John was a prophet.

0:56:36.955,0:56:45.998
And that's good news, because the Old Testament said[br]before the Savior comes, this one final messenger,

0:56:45.998,0:56:51.309
this one final prophet will come and prepare the way for Him.

0:56:51.309,0:56:55.825
So now, everything is coming to pass,[br]Jesus is about to come into the world;

0:56:55.825,0:57:01.384
and here is His herald, here is His messenger, here is the prophet.

0:57:01.384,0:57:02.913
And this is good news, why?

0:57:02.913,0:57:05.818
Because he says this,

0:57:05.819,0:57:11.077
Verse 77, "To give to His people the knowledge of [br]salvation by the forgiveness of their sins."

0:57:11.077,0:57:14.653
So he's going to go around preaching. John was a voice.

0:57:14.653,0:57:17.752
John wasn't a lot of things, but one thing he was - he was a voice.

0:57:17.752,0:57:22.353
He probably had a loud voice. He's out in the desert preaching;

0:57:22.353,0:57:25.239
he was a voice: "Prepare the way of the Lord."

0:57:25.239,0:57:33.357
And he was telling people about the knowledge of[br]salvation and the forgiveness of their sins. (P)

0:57:33.357,0:57:35.329
This is what you need to understand;

0:57:35.329,0:57:39.765
this is the message of the Bible: You need to be saved!

0:57:39.765,0:57:44.817
God made you, you sinned against God, you're under judgment.

0:57:44.817,0:57:48.183
You need to be saved. You need to be forgiven of your sins.

0:57:48.183,0:57:51.622
And that was John's job, to go around and preach to the people,

0:57:51.622,0:57:56.202
and tell them, "Forgiveness of sins is available, it's possible,

0:57:56.202,0:58:01.482
it's right around the corner. It's coming. You can be saved!"

0:58:01.482,0:58:04.171
And I'm doing the same thing tonight.

0:58:04.171,0:58:08.050
I'm telling you that if you are guilty, if you are a sinner,

0:58:08.050,0:58:10.515
you can be saved, you can be forgiven.

0:58:10.515,0:58:13.604
You don't have to be judged by God.

0:58:13.604,0:58:15.464
You don't have to be dirty anymore.

0:58:15.464,0:58:16.939
You don't have to be guilty anymore.

0:58:16.940,0:58:21.609
Do you want to live a dirty life, a guilty life? Is that what you want?

0:58:21.609,0:58:25.664
You don't have to be that way. You can be washed totally clean!

0:58:25.664,0:58:29.192
You can be whiter than snow in God's sight.

0:58:29.192,0:58:30.744
That's the message of the Bible.

0:58:30.744,0:58:34.591
Every sin forgiven, not half of them forgiven.

0:58:34.591,0:58:38.585
Every sin forgiven - the worst sins forgiven.

0:58:38.585,0:58:43.283
That was his job and that's what he was doing.

0:58:43.283,0:58:45.185
The forgiveness of sins. (P)

0:58:45.185,0:58:48.780
Now listen, John wasn't the Savior though.

0:58:48.781,0:58:50.675
And I'm not the Savior.

0:58:50.675,0:58:56.465
And even your best friend, the person that is[br]witnessing to you and sharing the Gospel with you,

0:58:56.465,0:58:57.647
they're not the Savior.

0:58:57.647,0:58:59.396
Who are we?

0:58:59.396,0:59:02.693
We that know the Lord, that are speaking on behalf of the Lord,

0:59:02.693,0:59:07.962
that are speaking from the Bible, we're only servants, only messengers.

0:59:07.962,0:59:10.456
Man cannot save you, man cannot help you.

0:59:10.456,0:59:12.965
There's no priest who can.

0:59:12.965,0:59:15.572
You need God Himself.

0:59:15.572,0:59:19.165
Even if you have a prophet, the prophet cannot save you.

0:59:19.165,0:59:22.259
That's why Islam is totally false.

0:59:22.259,0:59:23.535
I don't need a prophet.

0:59:23.535,0:59:26.597
I mean, great, okay, somebody can tell me what God thinks.

0:59:26.597,0:59:31.316
Alright I'm guilty; well, great, now I know what God thinks.

0:59:31.316,0:59:33.913
I don't need a prophet, I need a Savior! (P)

0:59:33.913,0:59:38.902
Imagine a man has fallen into a pit, and a guy comes to the edge of the pit.

0:59:38.902,0:59:42.992
And he's down there 30 feet in the pit,[br]and the guy is telling him, "Hey, you're in a pit

0:59:42.992,0:59:45.653
and if you don't get out of here you're going to die."

0:59:45.653,0:59:48.990
It's like, "Well thanks, throw me a rope, I need out of here!"

0:59:48.990,0:59:54.419
I don't need someone to stand up on the[br]outside and give me advice, you know,

0:59:54.419,0:59:59.325
"Climb higher; try harder; try stepping on[br]that rock over there; dig your way out."

0:59:59.325,1:00:00.737
I don't need advice.

1:00:00.737,1:00:05.859
I need someone to get down in the pit and boost me out.

1:00:05.859,1:00:07.411
I need a Savior.

1:00:07.411,1:00:11.821
I don't need good advice, I need forgiveness.

1:00:11.821,1:00:16.493
I know I've already blown it; I know I'm not worthy to go to heaven.

1:00:16.493,1:00:19.153
Is there anyone that can save?

1:00:19.153,1:00:24.821
Is there anyone that can take the worst sinner[br]and forgive him, and make him totally clean?

1:00:24.821,1:00:27.536
There is.

1:00:27.536,1:00:31.471
But it's not John, John was the prophet.

1:00:31.471,1:00:36.424
Who do you need? Who can pay off your debts? Only God. (P)

1:00:36.424,1:00:40.772
The prophet of whom? The prophet of the Most High.

1:00:40.772,1:00:41.866
You read that?

1:00:41.866,1:00:50.221
Look again, Verse 76, "You, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;

1:00:50.221,1:00:58.243
for you will go on before the - who? - the Lord to prepare His ways."

1:00:58.243,1:01:01.556
Who is coming? Jesus.

1:01:01.556,1:01:05.224
Who is Jesus? The Lord.

1:01:05.224,1:01:09.860
"Prepare the way of the Lord. Make His paths straight."

1:01:09.860,1:01:13.327
The King of glory; The King is coming.

1:01:13.327,1:01:19.229
The Savior; God's Son; He who is one with God.

1:01:19.230,1:01:25.025
The Son and the Father, there's no difference between Them.

1:01:25.025,1:01:29.213
Jesus said, "Whoever sees Me sees the Father."

1:01:29.213,1:01:33.570
In Their character, in Their essence, They are the same.

1:01:33.570,1:01:37.246
The First Person of the Trinity; the Second Person of the Trinity;

1:01:37.246,1:01:41.443
but They're the same. "I and the Father are one."

1:01:41.444,1:01:44.125
God became flesh.

1:01:44.126,1:01:48.629
The Word, who was God, became flesh.

1:01:48.629,1:01:50.508
Who is coming to save?

1:01:50.508,1:01:52.914
Who is the only person that can save this world?

1:01:52.914,1:01:55.551
What's the only hope for this world?

1:01:55.551,1:01:58.374
If God comes down.

1:01:58.374,1:02:02.537
If God would come down and visit the earth, and become a Man,

1:02:02.537,1:02:06.253
that's the only way people are going to get any help.

1:02:06.253,1:02:09.477
And that's who He is - the Most High. (P)

1:02:09.477,1:02:14.048
A few days after this, or I don't know how many months or whatever,

1:02:14.048,1:02:15.667
just in the next chapter;

1:02:15.667,1:02:24.464
(here in Luke 1, Zacharias is picking up his son John,[br]and he says, "You, child, will be called the prophet.")

1:02:24.464,1:02:35.394
But if you look over in chapter 2,[br]there's an old man, Simeon, a righteous man;

1:02:35.394,1:02:39.282
and something very similar happens to him.

1:02:39.282,1:02:44.290
Luke 2:25 says, "There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon;

1:02:44.290,1:02:48.938
this was a righteous and devout man,[br]looking for the consolation of Israel;

1:02:48.938,1:02:52.251
and the Holy Spirit was upon him."

1:02:52.251,1:02:59.069
And then it says this, "And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit

1:02:59.069,1:03:02.135
that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

1:03:02.135,1:03:04.651
And he came in the Spirit into the temple;

1:03:04.651,1:03:12.368
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus,[br]to carry out for Him the custom of the Law,

1:03:12.369,1:03:15.818
then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God,

1:03:15.824,1:03:22.435
and said, 'Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant[br]to depart in peace, according to Your word;

1:03:22.435,1:03:27.988
for my eyes have seen Your salvation.'"

1:03:27.988,1:03:34.065
He picks up the baby, and he says,[br]"Lord, my eyes have seen Your salvation.

1:03:34.065,1:03:35.346
I have seen salvation."

1:03:35.346,1:03:38.635
What was he looking at? he was looking at a baby!

1:03:38.635,1:03:43.841
Salvation - who is the baby? Jesus Christ.

1:03:43.841,1:03:46.906
Very different from John the baptist.

1:03:46.906,1:03:49.941
John the baptist was picked up - "A prophet!"

1:03:49.941,1:03:55.185
Jesus was picked up - "Salvation!" (P)

1:03:55.185,1:04:00.570
Jesus is the Savior. He is the only One.

1:04:00.570,1:04:02.115
Don't trust in people.

1:04:02.115,1:04:07.278
Look, even if you have good Christians [br]around you that are trying to pray for you,

1:04:07.278,1:04:13.429
trying to be an example to you, trying to help you, they can't save you.

1:04:13.430,1:04:17.902
You need God. You need the real medicine. (P)

1:04:17.902,1:04:21.751
I heard a story one time; it's a true story I guess.

1:04:21.751,1:04:29.977
A doctor was trying to help a sick man, a sick patient;[br]and the man wasn't real bright.

1:04:29.977,1:04:32.659
And the doctor wrote him a prescription, "Here's the medicine,"

1:04:32.660,1:04:35.166
and he gave it to him; and the man took it home.

1:04:35.167,1:04:39.782
A week later he came back, and the doctor said,[br]"Well, how did it work for you?"

1:04:39.782,1:04:42.275
The man said, "Well, I'm not any better at all."

1:04:42.275,1:04:47.136
And he said, "Well, what's the problem? Did you take the prescription?"

1:04:47.136,1:04:51.284
He said, "Yeah, I took it, and I ate that paper you gave to me."

1:04:51.284,1:04:55.191
He ate the prescription.

1:04:55.191,1:05:01.218
That's what it's like if you trust in your friends,[br]if you trust in some pastor; they are nobody.

1:05:01.218,1:05:04.144
All they can do is point to Jesus Christ.

1:05:04.144,1:05:07.363
Don't look at me; the answer is not in me.

1:05:07.363,1:05:12.503
Don't even look at the Bible itself: there's a way to read the Bible,

1:05:12.503,1:05:15.696
and you're actually trusting in your own knowledge,

1:05:15.696,1:05:18.473
and you're trusting in how well you know the Bible.

1:05:18.473,1:05:20.338
That's not salvation.

1:05:20.338,1:05:23.099
The Bible points you to Jesus Christ.

1:05:23.099,1:05:25.918
A good preacher will point you to Jesus Christ.

1:05:25.918,1:05:28.699
You need Jesus Christ.

1:05:28.699,1:05:31.711
You have to come to Him and meet with Him.

1:05:31.711,1:05:38.350
He came down to the earth, and He can save you. (P)

1:05:40.450,1:05:46.869
What did He do? What was the price that He paid?

1:05:46.869,1:05:48.656
We said that He accomplished redemption.

1:05:48.656,1:05:52.392
He paid a price to set you free, to pay off your debt.

1:05:52.392,1:06:00.323
What did He do? What is the most important thing that Jesus did?

1:06:00.323,1:06:10.601
Jesus said this: "The Son of Man came to serve,[br]and give His life as a ransom for many."

1:06:10.601,1:06:18.619
What price did He pay? He gave His life.[br]The most precious thing that He could give.

1:06:18.619,1:06:21.123
He didn't pay for you with silver or gold.

1:06:21.123,1:06:25.795
Look, if someone said, "Can you donate some of your blood?"

1:06:25.795,1:06:27.617
"Well, yeah, I suppose I could do that.

1:06:27.617,1:06:31.620
How much do you want, a pint? Okay, no problem."

1:06:31.620,1:06:34.761
Jesus gave all of His blood.

1:06:34.761,1:06:38.795
He poured out all of His blood until He was dead.

1:06:38.795,1:06:40.408
He was giving His life.

1:06:40.408,1:06:42.875
Why was He doing that? Why did He die?

1:06:42.875,1:06:48.241
The Bible says this: "The soul that sins must die!"

1:06:48.241,1:06:52.060
If you've commited even one sin, you must die.

1:06:52.060,1:07:00.030
And there's no way you can pay back that price, unless you yourself die.

1:07:00.030,1:07:05.953
Are you gonna go to hell? Jesus Christ came and gave His life.

1:07:05.953,1:07:08.345
He died so that you might live.

1:07:08.345,1:07:10.303
He died so that you wouldn't have to.

1:07:10.303,1:07:14.900
The Law says, "The soul must die," and Jesus said, "I'll die.

1:07:14.913,1:07:17.626
I'll be the One that dies, let them live.

1:07:17.626,1:07:24.051
Father, forgive them. Father, save them. Take My life." (P)

1:07:24.051,1:07:27.416
Have you trusted in Christ?

1:07:27.416,1:07:29.189
What does it mean to believe in Jesus?

1:07:29.189,1:07:34.532
It means to believe that God's own Son came down to this world

1:07:34.532,1:07:38.246
(He who is the Lord, He who is God Himself),

1:07:38.246,1:07:44.685
and He gave over His life to pay for my sins, to pay for my penalty,

1:07:44.685,1:07:47.158
so that I wouldn't be destroyed.

1:07:47.158,1:07:52.784
That all the demands of the Law, all the threatenings[br]and warnings of the Law - "You're going to die!" -

1:07:52.785,1:07:56.331
all of that He took away. He took away all the fear.

1:07:56.331,1:08:02.341
He brought peace through the blood of His Cross.

1:08:02.341,1:08:04.908
That's what He did.

1:08:04.908,1:08:09.448
Jesus Christ gave His life so that you don't have to die,

1:08:09.448,1:08:16.799
if you will believe in Him, if you will turn to Him. (P)

1:08:18.287,1:08:20.919
God is preparing to make a way.

1:08:20.919,1:08:25.634
That's what He says here: "Make a way,[br]prepare His ways for the Most High."

1:08:25.634,1:08:28.504
Most people never get prepared.

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They're just wasting their time, passing their life;[br]their life is passing them by.

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But the good news is, even when people[br]don't have a clue how to save themselves,

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and it's not even a thought in their mind,

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God is nowhere in their thoughts, a Godless life;

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at the same time God is working, and He is preparing to save them.

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Maybe you've never taken one thought even about your soul,

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never had one consideration really of how to[br]escape judgment and be forgiven,

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but God has had many thoughts about this whole thing

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and He has prepared it all, He has accomplished it all.

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The Cross happened 2,000 years ago;[br]it's all finished, it's all done, it's all prepared.

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Everything has been made ready.

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Now you must turn from your sin and you must believe;

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you must run to Christ and believe in Him; and you'll be saved.

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The one that calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

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Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Why?

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Because it's all ready, it's all prepared. It's free!

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You don't have to pay anything to God, you don't have to work...

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I mean, if it was something (we were talking about this on Sunday),

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if it was something difficult, wouldn't you do it?

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If it was like, you really had to pray five times a day, let's say for ten years

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(let's say God had a contract: Pray five times[br]a day for ten years, and you'll go to heaven),

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wouldn't you do it?

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But the Bible says, No works.

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"To the one who does not work, but believes..."

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Faith - in a moment, in an instant - a free gift to be received by faith

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if you'll believe in Christ and trust in Him alone. (P)

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The last phrase, and our last verse, Luke 1:78-79,

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"Because of the tender mercy of our God,[br]with which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,

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to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death."

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The Sunrise from on high.

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This is like the shining of the sun, shining into the darkness,

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shining on those sitting in the dark, sitting in the shadows.

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And the sun breaks through the clouds,[br]and the light shines from heaven;

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and it shines on those that were just in complete black.

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And now all around them is light.

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That's salvation.

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That's what God can do in your life.

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Are you in the dark? Are you confused? Are you stumbling around?

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Are you lost? You don't know the way?

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"I can't see the way, I feel like I'm in the dark.

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I feel empty. I feel sad. I feel sorrowful."

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Are you in the dark? (P)

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When someone becomes a Christian,[br]when someone trusts in Jesus Christ,

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God floods light on their life.

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Jesus says, "I'm the Light of the world.

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He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness,[br]but will have the light of life.

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He's not going to stumble in the darkness.

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Follow Me: I am the Light. Come to Me.

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Come to the Light, don't sit in the darkness." (P)

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Jesus is the Sunrise.

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Jesus is like the sun shining in the sky.

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It's amazing, you guys ever think about this,[br]the way God designed our Solar System?

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The sun doesn't revolve around the earth,[br]the earth revolves around the sun.

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At the center of everything - just like God, just like Jesus Christ -

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at the center of everything is this big ball[br]of energy and fire and heat and light.

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And it's so huge, it's like it doesn't run out;[br]it just burns and burns and burns.

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It's like this never-ending source of energy, almost.

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I mean, our physical sun is not that way, there would be an end to it.

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But it's almost like that.

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It's like we've been here thousands of years,[br]and it's just as hot as when we first started.

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It's amazing! And everything revolves around the sun.

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Jesus Christ is the same way - all of life revolves around God.

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It's all about God. You're not the center of the universe.

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All the source of life - why do the plants grow?

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why does the rain fall? why does the breeze blow?

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why does everything happen? - it's the power of the sun.

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The sun is the source. No sun, no life.

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They say, "No water, no life," but it's, "No sun, no life, too."

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I mean, you've got to have light, you've got to have heat,

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otherwise nothing is going to move, you'll just be in the dark. (P)

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Listen, before God created the world, what was it? Darkness.

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And it's the same way, before God does a[br]work of a new creation in a person's heart,

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before they're saved, it's just darkness.

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And then one day, God speaks and says, "Let there be light."

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And the light just shines in.

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It's like all of a sudden there's light, there's life.

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God sees the light, He sees that it's good; He blesses it.

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That's what it's like.

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I know, if you go around and ask the true Christians [br]in this room, what are they going to tell you?

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They're all going to say, "Look, I love being a Christian.

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It's like every day it gets brighter and brighter.

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There's more and more joy, more and more glory,

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more and more strength, more and more faith, more and more love;

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brighter and brighter, like the shining of the sun.

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Like the sun, it starts in the morning,

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and there's starting to be light breaking into the darkness;

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and then a couple of hours later it's getting even brighter;

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and then the full day, where there's not a shadow around."

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That's where we are headed in the Christian life - the upward call -

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brighter and brighter, the light of God. (P)

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Do you want that?

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You say, "I'm too far gone. My life is too ruined.

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I've committed too many sins.

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I'm totally ignorant of the Bible, I don't know anything."

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You can be saved, because He came for the worst, [br]and He came for the lowest.

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He came to shine light on who? On the ones that already had light? No.

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He came to give light to those who are sitting in the darkness.

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If you're down in the dumps, if you're in the darkness,

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if you're in the midst of all the sin and all the sorrow and all the despair,

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that's perfect opportunity to be saved, to turn to Jesus Christ.

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Well, Amen. Let's pray.