LutheranLectionary.org

Series A – Fifth Sunday After Pentecost – Sunday, July 02, 2023 | Pr. Chris Rosebrough

Welcome to the Teaching Ministry of Kongsvinger Lutheran Church. Kongsvinger is a beacon for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of Northwestern Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone, and now, here’s a message from Pastor Chris Rosebrough:

Time Stamp	Transcript
0:22	The holy Gospel
0:29	According to Saint Matthew the 10th chapter to the
0:35	to thee oh Lord Jesus said do not think that I have come
0:41	to bring peace to the earth I have not come to bring peace but a sword I have come to set a man against his father a
0:47	daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law and a person’s enemies will be those of his own household
0:53	whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy
1:00	of me whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me whoever finds his life will lose it
1:07	whoever loses his life for my sake will find it whoever receives you receives me whoever receives me receives him who
1:13	sent me and the one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward and the one
1:19	who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward whoever gives
1:25	one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple truly I say to you he will by no means
1:31	lose his reward this is the gospel of the Lord in the name of Jesus
1:37	all right another tough gospel text we have to consider what Christ is saying here Christ says he’s not come to bring
1:44	priests peace to the earth I have not come to bring peace but a sword and we’re going to talk about the conflict
1:50	that Jesus is referring to here and then he says I have come to set a man against his father and a daughter against her
1:56	mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law that doesn’t seem too uncommon though daughter-in-law against
2:01	her mother-in-law that that might be normal and I’m sorry I had to say that and a person’s enemies will be those of
2:09	his own household why is it because we’re just so
2:16	cantankerous we can’t get along with each other is that the issue no the issue has to come comes down to this
2:23	whose words are you listening to are you listening to the words of God or are you
2:29	listening to the words of the culture have you noticed that you know most families nowadays they have to have
2:35	standing rules during holidays standing rules go something like this there will be no discussion of what religion and
2:42	politics right because religion and politics they seem to go together and when things get rolling at a family
2:49	event or a holiday get together oftentimes there’s conflict so the
2:54	conflict Christ is talking about is the conflict that comes from those who believe and hear the words of God
3:02	and family members who do not hear the words of God will not listen to them and
3:09	instead have exalted their own opinions above the word of God so last week we
3:16	noted that this was the thing that we have to deal with because when we speak the truth we should expect persecution
3:22	Christ has made it very clear that because he was persecuted crucified and died that we shouldn’t expect any better
3:30	treatment than he got after all Christ did nothing wrong yet they killed him
3:35	and so you’ll know this is really at the heart of uh of a couple of our texts today Our Gospel texts and our Old
3:42	Testament text and the question comes down to again who are you listening to
3:47	or maybe a better question is who’s do you belong to you know no when I was
3:54	growing up when my parents told me that I needed to do certain things you know
3:59	what I listened to them now if I didn’t listen to them because I was being lazy or just an obstinate there was always
4:06	consequences but if somebody else’s parents came up to me and told me that
4:11	they wanted me to do this that or the other thing my response would have been well I don’t have to listen to you
4:16	you’re not my dad you’re not my mom right when did you start giving having
4:21	authority to give me orders right and so what we can kind of talk about this
4:26	who’s do you belong to who do you belong to either God is your father or Satan’s
4:34	your daddy and that’s really where the dividing line is those who will not hear the word
4:40	of God who do not believe and trust with God’s words who despise preaching and his word this is the fruit of those who
4:49	are the children of the devil not the children of God so we’re going to take a look now in our
4:57	text in Jeremiah and we’re going to add a little bit of context to it because it needs some context added I have no idea
5:04	what the people who put the three-year lectionary together were thinking and by the way did a little research on this
5:09	Roman Catholics and episcopalians anglicans had a big say in the creation
5:14	of the three-year lectionary and I I just have to wonder did they leave the
5:20	context out because they they have issue with the word of God I
5:25	just have to wonder I’m speculating out loud I shouldn’t do that but consider the context let me back up a little bit
5:32	in the book of Jeremiah in the book of Jeremiah chapter 6 all right God says
5:39	these words of Judah To Whom Shall I speak and give warning so that they may
5:45	hear behold their ears are uncircumcised they cannot listen behold the word of Yahweh
5:54	is to them an object of scorn they take no pleasure in it
6:02	doesn’t that sound like today I mean I’m not talking about the world out there I’m talking about like within the
6:07	visible Church how many churches today have no pleasure in hearing the word of
6:12	God you know you you attend a big box mega church and over the course of a
6:18	really long service a 45-minute sermon how much of God’s word do you hear
6:25	a couple of verses maybe out of context and then you’ll
6:30	note here that many of the pastors today they’re all about well
6:36	preaching soft things to you and so God continues in Jeremiah chapter six for
6:43	from the least to the greatest of them everyone is greedy for unjust gain and from Prophet to priests everyone deals
6:50	falsely they have healed the wounds of my people lightly saying peace peace
6:58	when there is no peace were they ashamed when they committed
7:04	Abomination no they were not ashamed at all they did not know how to blush therefore they shall fall among those
7:10	who fall at the time I punish them they shall be overthrown says the Lord
7:16	so you’ll note listening to God’s word is an is a vital thing and so in chapter
7:22	28 in the Fuller context backing up to verse 1 here we have a collision a
7:27	collision between a true prophet of God Jeremiah and you’ll note that uh Jeremiah hasn’t been sent with soft
7:34	words and a silk pillow to lay people’s heads on he has not been given by God
7:40	the messages of platitudes of joy and peace and prosperity and health and
7:46	God’s provision and all this kind of stuff instead he’s been given the task of preaching God’s Wrath against a stiff
7:53	neck and obstinate people who are engaging in rank idolatry and where this
7:59	takes place then is in the temple itself in the temple Courtyards and so this is
8:04	where the children of Israel the high holy place the the temple and God has sent Jeremiah to prophesy that if they
8:14	will not turn from their sin in and their idolatry and all of theirs right
8:23	that they are going to be put under the Yoke bars of Nebuchadnezzar and so God
8:30	has given Jeremiah a prop he wants him to prophesy with a big old wooden yoke
8:35	around his neck to make the point and by the way Nebuchadnezzar has already come
8:40	in his first wave and carried off the king and the rightful King and replaced him with zedekiah instead of a puppet
8:47	King and made off with a whole bunch of the Implements of the temple and the first round of Exiles and how long has
8:55	God said they’re going to stay in Babylon 70 years okay I’m 55 years old okay if I
9:06	had been born in Babylon year one I’d still have 15 years before I can go home you get the idea that’s a long time and
9:14	of course everything that Jeremiah has said would come to pass has begun to
9:20	come to pass why because he’s a true prophet of God and true prophets always
9:26	have a 100 batting record when it comes to prophecy they never get it wrong
9:33	so we hear then what’s going to what’s taking place and listen carefully to
9:39	who’s paying attention to the word of God here so in that same year at the beginning of the reign of zedekiah the
9:45	king of Judah in the fifth month of the fourth year hananiah the son of azure the prophet from gibeon spoke to me in
9:52	the house of Yahweh in the presence of the priests and all the people now this is important in the presence of the
9:59	priests and all the people in the temple now if they had been paying attention to
10:05	God’s word what does God’s word say to do to false prophets
10:12	kill him right if someone is preaching false prophets they’re going to their
10:17	false prophet the punishment is death which then requires the people of God to
10:24	know God’s word well enough to be able to distinguish between the voice of God
10:31	and the voice of a lunatic I think hananiah kind of falls into the lunatic
10:36	category I’m 100 convinced that if Hannah and I are were living today he
10:41	would be making regular appearances on Prophecy Bingo he would have a YouTube channel dedicated to releasing words of
10:49	the Lord with much frequency and telling everybody about how there was going to be a suddenly and a change of the
10:56	atmosphere and all this other nonsensical stuff that these so-called prophets are prophesying today he’s that
11:02	same kind of prophet so he arose and he spoke to Jeremiah in the house of Yahweh
11:08	in the presence of the priests and the people who should know better because they should know their word thus says
11:13	Yahweh of hosts the god of Israel hananiah now prophesying
11:19	prophesying I have broken the Yoke of the king of Babylon within two years I
11:25	will bring back to this place all the vessels of yahweh’s house which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon took
11:31	away from this place and carried to Babylon I will also bring back to this place jack and I the son of jehoiakim
11:39	the king of Judah and all the Exiles from Judah who went to Babylon declares Yahweh for I will break the Yoke of the
11:46	king of Babylon and Bill Johnson of Bethel Church in Reading said I approve I agree I got a check in my spirit
11:52	saying that this is correct and Cindy Jacobs and Chuck Pierce all said amen amen right
11:59	you kind of get the point but here’s the thing this not only contradicts
12:05	what Jeremiah is prophesying but this also contradicts
12:11	what Isaiah prophesied and Isaiah is safely in his grave at
12:16	this point and everybody recognizes that he was a true prophet of God and his words God requires the children of
12:25	Israel to know the words of the prophet Isaiah and requires them to speak them
12:31	to their children and to their children’s children because they are the very words of God so if they had been
12:37	paying attention to their Bibles these priests and those people listening to hananiah they would have recognized
12:45	hananiah you’re out of your mind your your brain has been baked in the sun you
12:51	should have wore a hat when you were out farming and look what happened right and so they should have taken him off and
12:57	stoned him or at least locked him up and punished him but the Prophet Jeremiah then spoke to
13:03	hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of Yahweh and the
13:09	Prophet Jeremiah said and I I always like to picture him clapping
13:17	amen amen may it may Yahweh do so may Yahweh make
13:25	the words that you have prophesied come true and may He bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the House of
13:32	Yahweh and all the Exiles yet here now this word that I speak in your hearing
13:39	and in the hearing of all the people the prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied War
13:48	famine pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms so you’ll know Jeremiah referencing his
13:55	Bible here again whose words are you listening to and you’ll note there’s
14:01	conflict here between people of the same tribe of the tribe of Judah and what and
14:08	what’s happening here you have enemies within their own households all because some are listening to the words of God
14:14	and believing and others are not but then Jeremiah says this as for the prophet who prophesies peace when the
14:21	word of that Prophet comes to pass then it will be known the Yahweh has truly
14:27	sent the prophet peace peace when there is no peace
14:32	that’s what the false prophets were prophesying and hananiah is no different so then hananiah had a a prophetic
14:41	temper tantrum he did not like hit being rebuked even in the slightest by Prophet
14:47	Jeremiah and he was sick and tired of his message of God’s judgment and God’s
14:54	Wrath and just had it to hear and he was sick and tired of looking at that stupid
15:00	yoke around Jeremiah’s neck and so what did hananiah do he went and he grabbed
15:07	the Yoke bars off of Jeremiah and kind of did like you know like one of those
15:12	rock and roll moves you know where they take their guitars and Smash It On Stage he took the yolk bars and went
15:18	broke it all apart right and then to add insult to injury he then prophesies
15:27	again wait a second I’m getting a download hananiah says I feel a suddenly coming on and he says even so I will
15:35	break the Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years
15:44	right right how’d that work out for him by the way
15:52	so Jeremiah went his way but God wasn’t done with hananiah
16:00	now remember he said these things in the presence of the priests and of the people you’ll note that if you know your
16:07	Mosaic Covenant it’s the Levites who were tasked with the job of teaching and instructing the children of Israel in
16:14	the synagogues teaching and instructing them every Sabbath the word of God
16:19	you would think that these priests would have had enough biblical sense to recognize a wing that whacker doodle
16:25	when he was in their presence but what did they do to hananiah when he falsely prophesied peace when there was no peace
16:31	well we better wait and see what happens I mean how are we supposed to know they did nothing
16:39	and so God decided that he was going to act on his own accord
16:46	so sometime after the prophet hananiah had broken the oak bars off the neck of
16:52	Jeremiah the prophet the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah you go tell hananiah thus says Yahweh
16:59	you have broken wooden bars but you have made in their place bars of iron you
17:05	know I think back you remember the whole covid-19 thing I I like to think it’s ancient history now but there was Ken
17:13	Copeland in the opening days of covid 19. decreeing and declaring as the
17:19	prophet of God the end of covet in March of 2020.
17:26	how did that work out by the way and and then there was a whole bunch of prophets prophesying that it was going to end in
17:32	Passover of that year and you know what this thing just stretched out and stretched out and I
17:38	got to the point where I was saying would you guys just put a cork in it please
17:44	because I feel like this thing’s going to stretch out as many days as possible until you guys be quiet
17:51	so that nobody would ever think that you got it right same thing regarding hananiah here so
17:58	you they you know he broke the bars that God told the the Yoke that God told Jeremiah to wear and that was made of
18:06	wood so now God’s replacing his wooden yoke bars with with the bars yolk Bars
18:11	of Steel of iron so thus says Yahweh have hosts the god
18:17	of Israel I have put upon the neck of all these nations an iron yoke to serve
18:22	Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon and they shall serve him
18:29	for I have given him even the beasts of the field and then Jeremiah the prophet
18:34	said to the prophet hananiah listen hananiah Yahweh hasn’t sent you
18:41	I know you got a prophetic activation you paid 500 bucks to Jennifer LeClaire and she gave you a prophetic activation
18:47	but you’re not a prophet all right absolutely false God didn’t
18:52	send you and you have made these people trust in a lie
18:59	and isn’t that exactly what is happening today I know we make sport of it you know on a
19:04	prophecy bingo at pirate Christian but at the end of the day there’s a whole bunch of people believing these
19:10	people these false prophets and by spewing these words that God hasn’t
19:16	given them to speak they are causing people to trust and flat out lies and
19:22	God doesn’t take that lightly remember that it says you shall not
19:30	blaspheme you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain because God will not hold him Guiltless the one who
19:36	takes his name in vain and drags it to emptiness therefore thus says Yahweh to
19:41	hananiah behold I will remove you from the face of the Earth although the
19:47	priests should have done that earlier if they had known their word if they had
19:52	been listening to the voice of God they would have known to get rid of hananiah immediately but they didn’t so God’s going to do it himself I’m going to
19:59	remove you from the face of the Earth this year you shall die because you have uttered Rebellion against Yahweh
20:07	and in that same year in the seventh month the prophet hananiah
20:13	died who turned out to be the true Prophet
20:18	here Jeremiah how do we know his words came to pass
20:24	and if had they been paying attention to the word they would have known better but Jesus here in our new testament in
20:32	Our Gospel text promises us this same kind of conflict this conflict between
20:38	those who will hear the words of God those who belong to God and those who
20:43	belong to the devil those who belong to God hear the voice of God abide in the
20:49	words of Christ if you love me Jesus said you will abide in my word that
20:55	means hearing it marking it studying it meditating on it doing it
21:04	those who do not belong to Christ they take no pleasure in God’s word so
21:10	consider a new testament example of this same kind of conflict people of the
21:16	children of Israel these are all Jews in Judea and it’s after the death burial
21:23	resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ and after the day of Pentecost and what has happened is that Peter and
21:30	John have gone into the temple to preach Christ and him crucified for our sins to
21:35	call people to repentance and faith in the one who loved them so much that he
21:40	laid down his life so that they might live and when they got into the temple they found a fellow who was crippled and
21:48	he was expecting alms some some kind of money to help him pay his bills and
21:54	Peter looks at him and says silver and gold I do not have any but what I do have I give you in the
22:00	name of Jesus Christ I command you to walk the guy did
22:05	God healed him and it led to a commotion and of course the commotion Peter took
22:11	advantage of that commotion to preach Christ and him crucified for our sins and then in chapter four it says as they
22:18	were speaking to the people the priests and the captain of the temple this all
22:24	takes place in the same place that our Old Testament that we just read Jeremiah 28 takes place in the same place and
22:31	there’s priests and there’s the people and you got the Sadducees and you got the high priest they’re all they’re all
22:37	right there on the scene and so they came upon them and they were greatly
22:42	annoyed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in
22:48	Jesus the resurrection from the dead and so they arrested them and put them in
22:54	custody until the next day for it was already evening but many of those who had heard the word they believed and the
23:01	number of the men came to about five thousand that which think about this
23:07	these are fellow Jews these are all people of the same family these are not
23:12	only descendants of Abraham these are descendants of Judah they are brothers
23:18	and sisters and cousins they are of the same Nation
23:23	the same religion supposedly and you’ll note that there’s conflict
23:30	here the apostles are in deep kimchi as like one of my old Korean War veteran
23:36	guys used to say deep kimchi for doing what preaching Christ but you’ll note
23:42	that the priests they should have known the word of God they should have known that Jesus Christ
23:48	was the one prophesied by Moses and the prophets they should have known the
23:54	scriptures well enough that Jesus to them would have they would have seen him as he truly is God of God light of light
24:01	very God of very God as the scriptures Proclaim about him but they’re not paying attention to the
24:07	scriptures properly in fact Judaism in Jesus’s day in the days of the Apostles was overrun by the religion of the
24:14	Pharisees and their false Revelations and their so-called oral Torah
24:19	so there’s Peter and John and they got arrested
24:25	and had to spend the night in prison and I know for a fact from the
24:30	archaeological evidence that first century prisons were not a place you wanted to be
24:36	the smells it’s just not a good place and why were
24:42	they arrested for preaching Jesus and healing a fellow so on the next day their rulers elders and scribes gathered
24:50	together in Jerusalem it’s time for a leadership meeting okay time for
24:55	management to come and take a look at what’s going on along with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas so the high
25:02	priests are there these are men who should know the Bible right and there was Alexander and all who were
25:08	of the high Priestly family people who should have known the scripture
25:13	and when they had set them in their midst they inquired and listen to this question tell me if this sounds like an
25:20	odd question to you by what power or by what name did you do this
25:30	wait what are we really on trial here for doing a good thing right
25:39	so then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit said to them not rulers of the people and Elders if we’re being
25:44	examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled Man by what means
25:50	this man has been healed it’s a good thing he was right you’re not going to
25:55	say that’s evil are you all right so let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel by the name of Jesus
26:02	Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified whom God raised from the dead by him
26:08	this man is standing before you well this Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you the builders which has
26:15	become the Cornerstone and there is salvation in no one else for there is no
26:21	other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved and these are
26:28	the words of scripture these are the words of the Apostles this is the truth there is salvation only in Christ and
26:36	indeed this is this is a Beyond Bond true statement it is truth itself
26:44	but you’ll note we live in the day where our family members put coexist bumper stickers on their the back of their
26:50	Subarus right and we are told by people like this who
26:57	are parts of our own families that we are haters that we are phobic
27:03	that we are reprehensible that we are just terrible manipulative
27:10	mean-spirited people for saying that their salvation only in Jesus Christ
27:16	and so they bring the conflict to us but who’s listening to the words of God
27:23	here is it you or is it them because it’s true
27:30	Jesus Christ as we confessed in the Nicene Creed was born of the Virgin Mary
27:35	and that this was all for our salvation and he suffered under Pontius
27:42	Pilate God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but
27:49	have eternal life and God has made you his own in the waters of baptism is
27:57	washed away your sins Christ who is bled and died for you takes his saving work on the cross and applied it to you
28:03	individually when you were baptized in the name of the father Son and the Holy Spirit he has opened your ears and he
28:11	has circumcised your heart he has washed away your sins all because of his great
28:16	love there is no other deity that exists there is no other savior there is only
28:23	him and so the apostles are preaching the truth
28:28	but who’s listening to the word of God here now when when all the leaders saw
28:34	the boldness of Peter and John they perceived that they were uneducated men apparently they spoke with some kind of
28:40	like hick accent right you know maybe they spoke thick redneck or something I don’t know but they recognize these were
28:47	not men of letters they were common men so they were astonished and they recognized that they had been with Jesus
28:53	but seeing the man who was healed standing beside them well there’s this
28:58	guy here okay and he was completely healed
29:03	um they had nothing to say in opposition but when they had commanded them to leave the council they conferred with
29:10	one another and they were saying well what shall we do with these men for that is a notable sign that has been
29:17	performed through them it’s evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem we cannot deny it
29:26	hello you can’t deny that this was a great sign who did the sign God did
29:32	right the people are praising God because of the sign why aren’t you
29:40	because they don’t belong to God they do not like his words they refuse
29:46	to hear them they prefer to hear other words they have a different agenda than
29:52	bending the knee to God and trusting in Him and hearing what he
29:58	has to say so they stupidly and that’s what this is stupid we can’t deny that this is a miracle that took place
30:05	but watch what their solution is to this then okay we cannot deny that this sign has been performed but in order that it
30:12	may not spread any further among the people let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name
30:18	we got to put an end to this put this under wraps sounds like a conspiracy theory right
30:26	so they called them and they charged them not to speak or to teach in the name of Jesus
30:31	Peter and John answered them well whether it’s right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God you
30:38	must judge for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard and when
30:43	they had further threatened them you see how this went the disciples were pretty much non-plusful yeah we’re just going
30:49	to obey God rather than you and then you can just see them if you come back in here again we see you preaching Jesus
30:55	again in the temple we’re going to arrest you and we’re going to crucify you just like we crucified Jesus and
31:01	their basic answer was whatever right we’re going to obey God
31:09	so when they had further threatened them they let them go finding no way to punish them because of the people for
31:15	all were praising God for what had happened for the man on whom the sign of healing
31:20	was performed was more than 40 years old I hate that verse by the way because it sound like anyone over 40 years old is
31:27	really old hate what no no don’t do that Ashley
31:33	she’s all yeah you are right but Watch What Happens next you’ll
31:39	note again this is the conflict that Christ has talked about so when they were released
31:45	they went to their friends and they reported with the chief priests and the elders had said to them the irony here
31:51	is thick and so when they heard it they lifted their voices together to God and they said Sovereign Lord who made the
31:57	heavens and the earth and the Sea and everything that is in them who through the mouth of Our Father David your servant said by the Holy
32:04	Spirit why why do the Gentiles rage and why did the people’s plot in vain the
32:11	kings of the earth they set themselves and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his
32:17	anointed one his Messiah why do the Gentiles rage why do our
32:22	family members who do not believe why do they rage and plot in vain and get angry
32:28	and shake their fists and clench their teeth and threaten you and do all kinds
32:34	of stuff when you preach the truth and tell them the truth of God it’s because
32:40	they do not belong to Christ that’s the reason
32:47	it’s they’re dead in trespasses and sins heathens are going to heathe that’s what
32:53	they do right and so what are we to do in the midst of that are we just to just say well that’s
32:58	what the heathens do no we have to pray because you’ll note that their threats are legit these are not empty words that
33:05	they were threatening the apostles and these Christians with and so they are praying back to God noticing that in the
33:13	Psalms that the Nations rage and the people plot in vain against the anointed Messiah of God for truly in the city
33:20	there were gathered against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate along with the
33:26	Gentiles and the people of Israel to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place
33:32	but now Lord look upon their threats and Grant your servants to continue to
33:38	speak your word with all boldness well you stretch out your hand to heal and signs and wonders are performed to
33:45	the name of your holy servant Jesus and so they prayed to God please in the
33:51	midst of these threats these hear that these these ravings from these men
33:56	please grant us boldness help us to not fold help us to not be cowards help us
34:04	to speak the truth even in the face of their threats and if necessary to suffer
34:10	the consequences accordingly while you in the midst of all this save
34:15	people and so when they had prayed the place in which they were gathered together was shaken and they were all
34:21	filled with the Holy Spirit and they continue to speak the word of God with boldness
34:26	and so brothers and sisters that’s exactly what we are called to do to speak the word of God with all boldness
34:33	remember last week Jeremiah had his commissioning we read the opening portion of Jeremiah chapter one God told
34:40	him that he was going to be in conflict that people would oppose him and God told him do not be dismayed by these people and then he comforted them and
34:47	said I will be with you consider the words of Christ in the words of the Great Commission in Matthew
34:54	chapter 28 Jesus says all authority in heaven on Earth has been given to me go
34:59	there for Make Disciples of all Nations baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit
35:04	teaching them to observe all that I have commanded which requires you to read your Bibles by the way and behold I Am
35:11	With You Always to the end of the age you’ll note and then in the midst of the
35:17	growing hostility on this planet as it continues to spiral into insanity and
35:24	the Suicidal Tendencies of sin and the ragings against the truth and
35:29	against the very God who loved them to and so much that he sent Christ to bleed and die for them that we must remember
35:36	that Christ is always with us and that the Holy Spirit when we ask will give us
35:41	the boldness to speak the truth in love but let me remind you that because of what Jesus did on the cross you belong
35:48	to him in fact Paul in Ephesians 1 says in him we have Redemption through his blood and
35:58	through him we have the Forgiveness of all of our trespasses according to the
36:03	riches of God’s grace which he has lavished on us in all wisdom and insight
36:08	making known to us the mystery of his will according to his purpose which is set forth in Christ as a plan for the
36:16	fullness of time to unite all things in him things in heaven and things on earth
36:21	and then you’ll note that he goes on to say that we’ve been in Christ obtained an inheritance a promise of the new
36:28	Earth a world without sin and a World Without End when God [Music]
36:33	re-genesis is that a word can you do that when he read Genesis is the world
36:38	and brings us back to Eden having been predestined then according to the purpose of him who works all things
36:44	according to the counsel of his will so that we who were the first to Hope in Christ might be to the praise of his
36:50	glory in him you also when you heard the word of Truth The
36:56	Gospel of your salvation you believed in him and because of this you were sealed
37:02	with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise
37:08	of his glory so brothers and sisters Christ has spoken the truth he’s absolutely correct but you might say and
37:16	I have to kind of say this at the in the midst of all of this there’s one thing that glaring thing that kind of stands
37:22	out in this text and that is during Christmas isn’t that when we sing about Jesus being the Prince of Peace right
37:29	and it’ll be called wonderful counselor the Mighty God right the Prince of Peace
37:37	but you’ll note Christ here is saying that he didn’t come to bring peace but that’s noted he didn’t come to bring
37:44	peace to the Earth what Jesus came to do was to bring peace
37:49	between you and God by laying down his life bleeding and suffering and dying in
37:57	order to reconcile us to God so that we can be adopted and be made God’s
38:03	children again and so brothers and sisters it is true Christ is the Prince of Peace but not
38:11	peace to the Earth in this era but peace to the earth and the era to come and in
38:18	the meantime now peace with God so note then
38:23	it is a harrowing difficult and anxiety causing problem
38:30	to have members of your own household be your enemies because of your confession of Christ
38:36	but do not be dismayed by them continue to preach the truth in love cry out to God the Holy Spirit to give you
38:43	boldness to speak the truth so that you would not cower in the face of persecution and note that when this does
38:50	happen to you you can say this is exactly what Jesus said would happen that makes him a true Prophet just like
38:58	Jeremiah and the others think it through in the name of Jesus Amen

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