1 00:00:07,374 --> 00:00:08,708 Second Thessalonians 2 00:00:08,708 --> 00:00:11,711 chapter two, verses 1 to 12. 3 00:00:11,945 --> 00:00:13,947 Now concerning the coming of our Lord 4 00:00:13,947 --> 00:00:14,814 Jesus Christ 5 00:00:14,814 --> 00:00:16,983 and are being gathered together to him. 6 00:00:16,983 --> 00:00:18,918 We ask you, brothers, 7 00:00:18,918 --> 00:00:19,953 not to be quickly 8 00:00:19,953 --> 00:00:21,755 shaken in mind or alarm, 9 00:00:21,755 --> 00:00:24,391 either by a spirit or spoken word, 10 00:00:24,391 --> 00:00:26,826 or a letter seeming to be from us, 11 00:00:26,826 --> 00:00:27,460 to the effect 12 00:00:27,460 --> 00:00:30,063 that the day of the Lord has come. 13 00:00:30,063 --> 00:00:31,965 Let no one deceive you in any way. 14 00:00:31,965 --> 00:00:32,866 For that day 15 00:00:32,866 --> 00:00:34,167 will not come 16 00:00:34,167 --> 00:00:36,302 unless the rebellion comes first. 17 00:00:36,302 --> 00:00:39,039 And the man of lawlessness is revealed. 18 00:00:39,039 --> 00:00:40,607 The son of destruction, 19 00:00:40,607 --> 00:00:42,375 who opposes and exalts himself 20 00:00:42,375 --> 00:00:44,878 against every so-called God 21 00:00:44,878 --> 00:00:47,080 or object of worship, 22 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:48,481 so that he takes his seat 23 00:00:48,481 --> 00:00:49,783 in the temple of God, 24 00:00:49,783 --> 00:00:52,485 proclaiming himself to be God. 25 00:00:52,485 --> 00:00:53,887 Do you not remember that 26 00:00:53,887 --> 00:00:55,522 when I was still with you, 27 00:00:55,522 --> 00:00:57,023 I told you these things? 28 00:00:57,023 --> 00:00:57,490 And you know 29 00:00:57,490 --> 00:00:59,192 what is restraining him now, 30 00:00:59,192 --> 00:01:01,394 so that he may be revealed in his time. 31 00:01:01,394 --> 00:01:02,762 For the mystery of lawlessness 32 00:01:02,762 --> 00:01:04,297 is already at work. 33 00:01:04,297 --> 00:01:05,965 Only he who now restrains 34 00:01:05,965 --> 00:01:07,267 it will do so until 35 00:01:07,267 --> 00:01:08,401 he is out of the way. 36 00:01:09,369 --> 00:01:10,637 And then the lawless 37 00:01:10,637 --> 00:01:12,005 one will be revealed 38 00:01:12,005 --> 00:01:13,807 whom the Lord Jesus will kill 39 00:01:13,807 --> 00:01:15,208 with the breath of his mouth, 40 00:01:15,208 --> 00:01:16,476 and bring to nothing 41 00:01:16,476 --> 00:01:18,144 by the appearance of his coming. 42 00:01:18,144 --> 00:01:20,080 The coming of the lawless one 43 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:21,514 is by the activity of Satan, 44 00:01:21,514 --> 00:01:22,916 with all power and false 45 00:01:22,916 --> 00:01:24,284 signs and wonders, 46 00:01:24,284 --> 00:01:25,685 and with all wicked deception 47 00:01:25,685 --> 00:01:27,787 for those who are perishing, 48 00:01:27,787 --> 00:01:29,823 because they refuse to love the truth 49 00:01:29,823 --> 00:01:31,157 and so be saved. 50 00:01:31,157 --> 00:01:32,625 Therefore God sends them 51 00:01:32,625 --> 00:01:33,793 a strong delusion, 52 00:01:33,793 --> 00:01:35,128 so that they may believe 53 00:01:35,128 --> 00:01:36,863 what is false, in order 54 00:01:36,863 --> 00:01:38,364 that all may be condemned 55 00:01:38,364 --> 00:01:39,732 who did not believe the truth 56 00:01:39,732 --> 00:01:42,735 but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 57 00:01:46,072 --> 00:01:46,773 Well, hey everybody, 58 00:01:46,773 --> 00:01:48,541 welcome to the weekend service 59 00:01:48,541 --> 00:01:50,009 here at Christ Community Chapel. 60 00:01:50,009 --> 00:01:51,511 So glad you're with us today. 61 00:01:51,511 --> 00:01:53,246 My name is Jimmy Kosi. 62 00:01:53,246 --> 00:01:54,347 I'm one of the pastors here, 63 00:01:54,347 --> 00:01:56,583 and I'm just so excited to be here. 64 00:01:56,583 --> 00:01:58,785 As we continue our series from first 65 00:01:58,785 --> 00:01:59,986 and second Thessalonians, 66 00:01:59,986 --> 00:02:01,788 which we're calling the church 67 00:02:01,788 --> 00:02:04,057 that God calls good. 68 00:02:04,057 --> 00:02:05,325 And I was really excited 69 00:02:05,325 --> 00:02:06,860 when Pastor Zach asked me 70 00:02:06,860 --> 00:02:08,728 if I wanted to preach this weekend 71 00:02:08,728 --> 00:02:09,963 a few weeks back. 72 00:02:09,963 --> 00:02:11,097 And then I read the passage, 73 00:02:12,098 --> 00:02:12,365 and I 74 00:02:12,365 --> 00:02:13,266 began to wonder if it 75 00:02:13,266 --> 00:02:13,900 was possible 76 00:02:13,900 --> 00:02:16,302 that this was some sort of set up 77 00:02:16,302 --> 00:02:17,070 because I was saying, 78 00:02:17,070 --> 00:02:17,871 let me get this straight. 79 00:02:17,871 --> 00:02:19,305 We've got a passage that God, 80 00:02:19,305 --> 00:02:20,607 a man of lawlessness, 81 00:02:20,607 --> 00:02:22,208 a son of destruction, 82 00:02:22,208 --> 00:02:23,176 there's rebellion. 83 00:02:23,176 --> 00:02:25,345 There's all kinds of things going on. 84 00:02:25,345 --> 00:02:25,945 And you'd like me 85 00:02:25,945 --> 00:02:27,780 to preach this passage five days 86 00:02:27,780 --> 00:02:30,783 following a presidential election. 87 00:02:31,651 --> 00:02:32,252 Buckle up. 88 00:02:32,252 --> 00:02:34,354 Let's go. 89 00:02:34,354 --> 00:02:35,088 But actually, there's 90 00:02:35,088 --> 00:02:36,589 some really great things 91 00:02:36,589 --> 00:02:37,857 that we can get from this passage, 92 00:02:37,857 --> 00:02:40,293 and I'm excited to look into it. 93 00:02:40,293 --> 00:02:40,827 Together. 94 00:02:40,827 --> 00:02:42,629 There's a lot going on. 95 00:02:42,629 --> 00:02:44,130 But what we want to talk about 96 00:02:44,130 --> 00:02:44,597 today 97 00:02:44,597 --> 00:02:47,600 is how the church that God calls good 98 00:02:48,301 --> 00:02:51,037 can move to confidence because of Jesus 99 00:02:51,037 --> 00:02:52,639 and Jesus alone. 100 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:55,475 So how can we as individuals 101 00:02:55,475 --> 00:02:58,411 and as a church live with confidence 102 00:02:58,411 --> 00:03:00,580 because of Jesus? In order to do that? 103 00:03:00,580 --> 00:03:02,081 I have three points. 104 00:03:02,081 --> 00:03:03,183 So if you're a note taker, 105 00:03:03,183 --> 00:03:04,284 this is good to write down. 106 00:03:04,284 --> 00:03:06,486 If not, it'll just give you an idea 107 00:03:06,486 --> 00:03:07,520 of where we're headed today. 108 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:09,455 My first will be that, 109 00:03:09,455 --> 00:03:12,458 chaos creates confusion. 110 00:03:12,525 --> 00:03:14,727 Chaos creates confusion. 111 00:03:14,727 --> 00:03:16,563 My second will be confusion 112 00:03:16,563 --> 00:03:18,765 demands clarity. 113 00:03:18,765 --> 00:03:21,134 Confusion demands clarity. 114 00:03:21,134 --> 00:03:23,336 And then I'll finish with clarity. 115 00:03:23,336 --> 00:03:25,205 Breeds confidence. 116 00:03:25,205 --> 00:03:26,973 Chaos creates confusion. 117 00:03:26,973 --> 00:03:29,242 Confusion demands clarity. 118 00:03:29,242 --> 00:03:31,110 And then clarity breeds confidence. 119 00:03:31,110 --> 00:03:32,245 Let's start with that first one. 120 00:03:32,245 --> 00:03:34,514 Chaos. Creates confusion. 121 00:03:34,514 --> 00:03:37,183 One of the things that I do as a hobby 122 00:03:37,183 --> 00:03:39,052 is I coach seventh grade football. 123 00:03:39,052 --> 00:03:40,720 Here in Hudson, I've been doing that. 124 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:42,121 I think I just finished up 125 00:03:42,121 --> 00:03:43,289 my 12 season 126 00:03:43,289 --> 00:03:44,557 coaching seventh grade football. 127 00:03:44,557 --> 00:03:47,160 I will say this if you've ever wondered 128 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:48,161 if you're intelligent 129 00:03:48,161 --> 00:03:49,028 or if you've ever thought 130 00:03:49,028 --> 00:03:49,896 that you're intelligent, 131 00:03:49,896 --> 00:03:51,831 you should try to convince 132 00:03:51,831 --> 00:03:52,932 12 year old boys 133 00:03:52,932 --> 00:03:53,233 to do 134 00:03:53,233 --> 00:03:54,601 just about anything 135 00:03:54,601 --> 00:03:55,735 in an organized fashion, 136 00:03:55,735 --> 00:03:57,270 and you'll find out quickly 137 00:03:57,270 --> 00:03:58,404 that you're not nearly as smart 138 00:03:58,404 --> 00:03:59,172 as you think you are. 139 00:03:59,172 --> 00:04:00,707 I had a situation 140 00:04:00,707 --> 00:04:02,775 this past season where, 141 00:04:02,775 --> 00:04:03,843 you know, I'm the head coach 142 00:04:03,843 --> 00:04:05,411 and I call the offensive play, 143 00:04:05,411 --> 00:04:07,714 so it was in between quarters. 144 00:04:07,714 --> 00:04:09,349 And so we had the ball, 145 00:04:09,349 --> 00:04:09,782 which meant 146 00:04:09,782 --> 00:04:10,783 I had an opportunity 147 00:04:10,783 --> 00:04:12,352 to connect with my team 148 00:04:12,352 --> 00:04:13,720 to get us all on the same page. 149 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:15,021 So, you know, we're walking from 150 00:04:15,021 --> 00:04:16,756 one end of the field to the other. 151 00:04:16,756 --> 00:04:18,491 I'm dialing up the perfect play. 152 00:04:18,491 --> 00:04:19,892 We're getting everybody organized, 153 00:04:19,892 --> 00:04:20,627 and then they head out 154 00:04:20,627 --> 00:04:22,395 to start the fourth quarter. 155 00:04:22,395 --> 00:04:22,829 And you know, I'm 156 00:04:22,829 --> 00:04:24,097 kind of walking down the sideline 157 00:04:24,097 --> 00:04:25,465 just looking off, daydreaming 158 00:04:25,465 --> 00:04:27,166 about how I'm going to break it 159 00:04:27,166 --> 00:04:28,268 to my assistant coaches 160 00:04:28,268 --> 00:04:29,602 that I can't be there next week 161 00:04:29,602 --> 00:04:30,970 because, the Browns 162 00:04:30,970 --> 00:04:31,804 are going to see the tape 163 00:04:31,804 --> 00:04:32,805 and they're going to call me up 164 00:04:32,805 --> 00:04:34,874 because of my incredible play call. 165 00:04:36,242 --> 00:04:37,644 And I looked out on the field 166 00:04:37,644 --> 00:04:39,345 and my team was about to snap the ball, 167 00:04:39,345 --> 00:04:40,647 and all four wide receivers 168 00:04:40,647 --> 00:04:43,650 were facing the wrong direction. 169 00:04:44,751 --> 00:04:47,120 And so I needed to call a timeout 170 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:49,656 because I needed to get them organized. 171 00:04:49,656 --> 00:04:50,156 And actually, 172 00:04:50,156 --> 00:04:50,923 that's one of the things 173 00:04:50,923 --> 00:04:52,425 that I've learned that as a coach, 174 00:04:52,425 --> 00:04:54,160 one of the most important times to call 175 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:55,128 a timeout 176 00:04:55,128 --> 00:04:56,529 is when the chaos of 177 00:04:56,529 --> 00:04:57,897 what's been going on in 178 00:04:57,897 --> 00:05:01,200 the game has led to confusion 179 00:05:01,467 --> 00:05:02,669 on the part of my team, 180 00:05:02,669 --> 00:05:04,170 and they need to be organized. 181 00:05:04,170 --> 00:05:05,204 We need to recenter 182 00:05:05,204 --> 00:05:07,607 and figure out what we're going to do, 183 00:05:07,607 --> 00:05:08,241 and that's how 184 00:05:08,241 --> 00:05:09,976 we should think of this passage 185 00:05:09,976 --> 00:05:12,545 in Second Thessalonians chapter two. 186 00:05:12,545 --> 00:05:13,613 If you remember last week, 187 00:05:13,613 --> 00:05:14,213 one of the things 188 00:05:14,213 --> 00:05:15,581 that Pastor Zach pointed out 189 00:05:15,581 --> 00:05:17,850 is that not every letter 190 00:05:17,850 --> 00:05:19,652 that's a part of the New Testament 191 00:05:19,652 --> 00:05:20,920 has a second writing 192 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:21,721 that comes with it. 193 00:05:21,721 --> 00:05:23,523 There's no second Romans 194 00:05:23,523 --> 00:05:24,424 or second Ephesians, 195 00:05:24,424 --> 00:05:27,360 but there is a Second Thessalonians. 196 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:28,528 And one of the reasons 197 00:05:28,528 --> 00:05:29,195 there's a Second 198 00:05:29,195 --> 00:05:30,263 Thessalonians is 199 00:05:30,263 --> 00:05:32,165 because there were some things 200 00:05:32,165 --> 00:05:33,599 that were happening within the church. 201 00:05:33,599 --> 00:05:35,735 There was chaos going on 202 00:05:35,735 --> 00:05:37,270 within this church 203 00:05:37,270 --> 00:05:39,138 that was leading to confusion 204 00:05:39,138 --> 00:05:40,239 on the part of the people 205 00:05:40,239 --> 00:05:41,641 who were in the church. 206 00:05:41,641 --> 00:05:43,176 And so the apostle Paul, 207 00:05:43,176 --> 00:05:43,643 who wrote 208 00:05:43,643 --> 00:05:44,410 the letter, needed 209 00:05:44,410 --> 00:05:45,878 to pull them back 210 00:05:45,878 --> 00:05:47,647 together, reorganize, 211 00:05:47,647 --> 00:05:49,549 and give them some clarity in regards 212 00:05:49,549 --> 00:05:50,283 to what was going on. 213 00:05:50,283 --> 00:05:51,751 Let me show you. 214 00:05:51,751 --> 00:05:52,552 Let's read 215 00:05:52,552 --> 00:05:53,753 Second Thessalonians 216 00:05:53,753 --> 00:05:55,421 chapter two, verses one and two. 217 00:05:55,421 --> 00:05:56,155 Here's what it says 218 00:05:57,290 --> 00:05:58,958 now concerning the coming of 219 00:05:58,958 --> 00:06:00,226 our Lord Jesus Christ 220 00:06:00,226 --> 00:06:02,762 and our being gathered together to him, 221 00:06:02,762 --> 00:06:03,930 we ask you, brothers, 222 00:06:03,930 --> 00:06:05,231 not to be quickly shaken 223 00:06:05,231 --> 00:06:06,966 in mind or alarmed, 224 00:06:06,966 --> 00:06:08,201 either by a spirit 225 00:06:08,201 --> 00:06:09,902 or a spoken word, or a letter 226 00:06:09,902 --> 00:06:12,171 seeming to be from us, to the effect 227 00:06:12,171 --> 00:06:15,174 that the day of the Lord has come. 228 00:06:15,708 --> 00:06:17,143 So what was happening 229 00:06:17,143 --> 00:06:18,077 at this point in time 230 00:06:18,077 --> 00:06:19,545 was that there were people within 231 00:06:19,545 --> 00:06:20,012 the church 232 00:06:20,012 --> 00:06:20,780 who were 233 00:06:20,780 --> 00:06:21,748 writing letters, 234 00:06:21,748 --> 00:06:24,417 or speaking or spreading information 235 00:06:24,417 --> 00:06:26,119 that was leading people to believe 236 00:06:26,119 --> 00:06:27,320 that the day of the Lord 237 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:28,087 had already come. 238 00:06:28,087 --> 00:06:30,089 Or another way of saying that is, 239 00:06:30,089 --> 00:06:31,891 the people in this church were trusting 240 00:06:31,891 --> 00:06:32,692 that someday 241 00:06:32,692 --> 00:06:34,227 Jesus would return 242 00:06:34,227 --> 00:06:35,561 and take Christians to go 243 00:06:35,561 --> 00:06:37,096 and be in heaven with him. 244 00:06:37,096 --> 00:06:38,331 But people were starting to say, 245 00:06:38,331 --> 00:06:39,866 hey, you've missed it. 246 00:06:39,866 --> 00:06:41,000 You've missed that day. 247 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:43,669 He already came. He already returned. 248 00:06:43,669 --> 00:06:45,071 You missed your opportunity 249 00:06:45,071 --> 00:06:45,872 to be with him. 250 00:06:45,872 --> 00:06:46,806 And so you've been, 251 00:06:46,806 --> 00:06:48,341 you know, left behind. 252 00:06:48,341 --> 00:06:49,742 And as you can imagine, 253 00:06:49,742 --> 00:06:52,044 that would have created some chaos 254 00:06:52,044 --> 00:06:53,513 and confusion within the church 255 00:06:53,513 --> 00:06:54,447 because not only would 256 00:06:54,447 --> 00:06:55,481 people have been concerned 257 00:06:55,481 --> 00:06:57,049 for their own destiny, 258 00:06:57,049 --> 00:06:58,351 they also would have been concerned 259 00:06:58,351 --> 00:06:59,919 for the destiny of those around them, 260 00:06:59,919 --> 00:07:02,455 for their friends, for their neighbors. 261 00:07:02,455 --> 00:07:04,290 And so it had gotten to the point 262 00:07:04,290 --> 00:07:06,092 where this was so rampant 263 00:07:06,092 --> 00:07:07,393 that the Apostle Paul felt 264 00:07:07,393 --> 00:07:08,194 it was necessary 265 00:07:08,194 --> 00:07:10,263 to write another letter 266 00:07:10,263 --> 00:07:12,899 to pull them back together, to clarify 267 00:07:12,899 --> 00:07:14,600 and to make sure they understood 268 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:15,601 that the day of the Lord 269 00:07:15,601 --> 00:07:17,537 had not yet come. 270 00:07:17,537 --> 00:07:19,772 And I think our current situation is in 271 00:07:19,772 --> 00:07:22,608 some ways similar to this. 272 00:07:22,608 --> 00:07:23,342 What I mean by 273 00:07:23,342 --> 00:07:24,844 that is we live in a culture 274 00:07:24,844 --> 00:07:26,446 that I think at times 275 00:07:26,446 --> 00:07:29,081 could be characterized as chaotic. 276 00:07:29,081 --> 00:07:31,017 Even over this past week, 277 00:07:31,017 --> 00:07:32,852 as we went through an election cycle. 278 00:07:32,852 --> 00:07:33,786 There's information 279 00:07:33,786 --> 00:07:35,421 flying in multiple directions, 280 00:07:35,421 --> 00:07:37,256 and sometimes it's hard to tell 281 00:07:37,256 --> 00:07:37,924 what's true, 282 00:07:37,924 --> 00:07:38,491 what's not, 283 00:07:38,491 --> 00:07:39,692 what's accurate, what's not. 284 00:07:39,692 --> 00:07:40,860 You have to wait and see 285 00:07:40,860 --> 00:07:42,628 and see how things play out. 286 00:07:42,628 --> 00:07:44,130 It's chaotic, 287 00:07:44,130 --> 00:07:46,098 but I think that even on a deeper level 288 00:07:46,098 --> 00:07:47,066 than that, 289 00:07:47,066 --> 00:07:49,135 our culture could be described 290 00:07:49,135 --> 00:07:50,570 as confused 291 00:07:50,570 --> 00:07:52,805 when it comes to spiritual things. 292 00:07:52,805 --> 00:07:54,307 What I mean by that is, 293 00:07:54,307 --> 00:07:55,374 if you ask five 294 00:07:55,374 --> 00:07:56,943 different people on the street 295 00:07:56,943 --> 00:07:59,679 what the truth about spiritual reality 296 00:07:59,679 --> 00:08:00,480 is, you might get 297 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:01,514 five different answers. 298 00:08:01,514 --> 00:08:03,049 If you ask five different people, 299 00:08:03,049 --> 00:08:04,083 what is our purpose? 300 00:08:04,083 --> 00:08:05,218 What is our meaning? 301 00:08:05,218 --> 00:08:06,352 How are we supposed to live? 302 00:08:06,352 --> 00:08:08,054 What's right, what's wrong? 303 00:08:08,054 --> 00:08:09,956 You might get five different answers. 304 00:08:09,956 --> 00:08:11,791 I think it's clear to say 305 00:08:11,791 --> 00:08:12,592 that our culture 306 00:08:12,592 --> 00:08:13,759 has an element 307 00:08:13,759 --> 00:08:16,762 of spiritual confusion to it. 308 00:08:17,363 --> 00:08:18,598 But here's the thing 309 00:08:18,598 --> 00:08:20,933 when it comes to spiritual reality, 310 00:08:20,933 --> 00:08:22,535 this is a high stakes thing 311 00:08:22,535 --> 00:08:23,736 to have confusion about. 312 00:08:24,871 --> 00:08:25,671 It was high stakes 313 00:08:25,671 --> 00:08:27,173 for the Thessalonians. 314 00:08:27,173 --> 00:08:29,542 If they had missed Jesus return, 315 00:08:29,542 --> 00:08:30,643 the consequences of 316 00:08:30,643 --> 00:08:32,278 that would be devastating. 317 00:08:32,278 --> 00:08:32,945 There's a difference 318 00:08:32,945 --> 00:08:35,181 between a little confusion, 319 00:08:35,181 --> 00:08:36,649 which is something like, 320 00:08:36,649 --> 00:08:37,617 I'm on the highway 321 00:08:37,617 --> 00:08:38,451 and I'm not quite sure 322 00:08:38,451 --> 00:08:40,219 which exit to get off at, 323 00:08:40,219 --> 00:08:41,821 and capital C confusion. 324 00:08:41,821 --> 00:08:43,923 I'm confused about what life means. 325 00:08:43,923 --> 00:08:45,992 I'm confused about my purpose. 326 00:08:45,992 --> 00:08:47,793 I'm confused about who is God, 327 00:08:47,793 --> 00:08:48,961 what does he want from me? 328 00:08:48,961 --> 00:08:50,563 What kind of relationship 329 00:08:50,563 --> 00:08:52,732 am I able to have with him? 330 00:08:52,732 --> 00:08:55,101 That's the kind of confusion 331 00:08:55,101 --> 00:08:57,570 that I'm talking about here. 332 00:08:57,570 --> 00:08:58,137 And the thing 333 00:08:58,137 --> 00:08:58,538 is, I'm 334 00:08:58,538 --> 00:08:59,038 not sure 335 00:08:59,038 --> 00:08:59,939 we can afford 336 00:08:59,939 --> 00:09:01,941 to be confused about these things. 337 00:09:01,941 --> 00:09:03,242 I mean, these are questions 338 00:09:03,242 --> 00:09:03,876 that it's easy 339 00:09:03,876 --> 00:09:05,745 to hit the snooze button on 340 00:09:05,745 --> 00:09:07,346 because tomorrow's Monday 341 00:09:07,346 --> 00:09:08,581 and we've got to go back to work. 342 00:09:08,581 --> 00:09:09,615 We got to go back to school. 343 00:09:09,615 --> 00:09:12,552 But the reality is these are questions 344 00:09:12,552 --> 00:09:14,086 that are on a deep level. 345 00:09:14,086 --> 00:09:17,089 We need answers to who is God, 346 00:09:17,156 --> 00:09:18,824 what does he want from us? 347 00:09:18,824 --> 00:09:20,226 What kind of relationship does 348 00:09:20,226 --> 00:09:21,694 he desire? 349 00:09:21,694 --> 00:09:22,562 How do we know him? 350 00:09:22,562 --> 00:09:24,397 Can we know him? 351 00:09:24,397 --> 00:09:25,331 These questions 352 00:09:25,331 --> 00:09:26,899 and this kind of confusion 353 00:09:26,899 --> 00:09:29,068 demands clarity. 354 00:09:29,068 --> 00:09:30,603 Which leads me to my second point, 355 00:09:30,603 --> 00:09:32,171 which is that confusion 356 00:09:32,171 --> 00:09:33,773 demands clarity. 357 00:09:33,773 --> 00:09:35,107 Confusion demands clarity. 358 00:09:35,107 --> 00:09:35,908 Let's keep reading. 359 00:09:35,908 --> 00:09:37,743 In Second Thessalonians 360 00:09:37,743 --> 00:09:38,377 chapter two, 361 00:09:38,377 --> 00:09:39,478 I'm going to read verses 362 00:09:39,478 --> 00:09:41,547 three through seven. It says this 363 00:09:42,782 --> 00:09:45,318 let no one deceive you in any way. 364 00:09:45,318 --> 00:09:46,018 For that day 365 00:09:46,018 --> 00:09:47,186 will not come 366 00:09:47,186 --> 00:09:49,789 unless the rebellion comes first 367 00:09:49,789 --> 00:09:52,458 and the man of lawlessness is revealed, 368 00:09:52,458 --> 00:09:53,960 the son of destruction, 369 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:56,462 who opposes and exalts himself 370 00:09:56,462 --> 00:09:58,230 against every so-called God 371 00:09:58,230 --> 00:09:59,865 or object of worship, 372 00:09:59,865 --> 00:10:01,200 so that he takes his seat 373 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:02,268 in the temple of God, 374 00:10:02,268 --> 00:10:05,271 proclaiming himself to be God. 375 00:10:05,271 --> 00:10:06,405 Do you not remember that 376 00:10:06,405 --> 00:10:07,473 when I was still with you, 377 00:10:07,473 --> 00:10:09,675 I told you these things? 378 00:10:09,675 --> 00:10:10,343 And you know 379 00:10:10,343 --> 00:10:12,278 what is restraining him now 380 00:10:12,278 --> 00:10:14,413 so that he may be revealed in his time. 381 00:10:14,413 --> 00:10:16,649 For the mystery of lawlessness 382 00:10:16,649 --> 00:10:18,284 is already at work. 383 00:10:18,284 --> 00:10:21,120 Only he who now restrains it will do 384 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:24,123 so until he is out of the way. 385 00:10:25,524 --> 00:10:26,659 Okay, so when we read this 386 00:10:26,659 --> 00:10:27,360 passage, 387 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:29,862 it actually seems incredibly unclear. 388 00:10:29,862 --> 00:10:31,197 There's a lot going on there. 389 00:10:31,197 --> 00:10:31,931 There's it talks 390 00:10:31,931 --> 00:10:33,499 about a mystery of lawlessness, 391 00:10:33,499 --> 00:10:35,134 a son of destruction, 392 00:10:35,134 --> 00:10:36,469 a man of lawlessness. 393 00:10:36,469 --> 00:10:38,371 It's like a grab bag 394 00:10:38,371 --> 00:10:41,340 of a pop apocalyptic terminology. 395 00:10:41,340 --> 00:10:43,109 And throughout the years, 396 00:10:43,109 --> 00:10:43,809 people have tried 397 00:10:43,809 --> 00:10:45,144 to understand this passage 398 00:10:45,144 --> 00:10:46,112 in a lot of different ways. 399 00:10:46,112 --> 00:10:47,113 For example, a question 400 00:10:47,113 --> 00:10:48,614 that often arises, 401 00:10:48,614 --> 00:10:50,249 who is the man of lawlessness? 402 00:10:50,249 --> 00:10:51,751 What does that mean? 403 00:10:51,751 --> 00:10:53,586 And that's a concept in 404 00:10:53,586 --> 00:10:54,453 Christian theology 405 00:10:54,453 --> 00:10:56,555 that's referred to as the Antichrist, 406 00:10:56,555 --> 00:10:58,391 a person called the Antichrist. 407 00:10:58,391 --> 00:10:58,958 And then 408 00:10:58,958 --> 00:11:00,493 maybe the next logical question 409 00:11:00,493 --> 00:11:01,460 is, okay, 410 00:11:01,460 --> 00:11:03,062 if there's an Antichrist, who is it? 411 00:11:03,062 --> 00:11:05,731 How would we be able to identify 412 00:11:05,731 --> 00:11:07,233 a person like that? 413 00:11:07,233 --> 00:11:08,734 As I was studying for this message, 414 00:11:08,734 --> 00:11:10,102 I came across a historian 415 00:11:10,102 --> 00:11:11,971 by the name of Robert Fuller, 416 00:11:11,971 --> 00:11:12,738 who wrote a book 417 00:11:12,738 --> 00:11:15,007 in which he chronicled the history 418 00:11:15,007 --> 00:11:17,576 of Christians trying to identify 419 00:11:17,576 --> 00:11:19,111 who might be the Antichrist. 420 00:11:19,111 --> 00:11:20,112 In that book, 421 00:11:20,112 --> 00:11:21,714 he gives a list of people who, 422 00:11:21,714 --> 00:11:23,115 at one point who have thought, 423 00:11:23,115 --> 00:11:23,883 who have been thought to 424 00:11:23,883 --> 00:11:25,017 maybe be the Antichrist. 425 00:11:25,017 --> 00:11:26,385 That includes, 426 00:11:26,385 --> 00:11:29,388 Martin Luther King George the Second 427 00:11:29,789 --> 00:11:32,692 Napoleon, both sides of the Civil War, 428 00:11:33,659 --> 00:11:35,161 Kaiser Wilhelm, 429 00:11:35,161 --> 00:11:35,761 the League of 430 00:11:35,761 --> 00:11:38,764 Nations, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, 431 00:11:38,964 --> 00:11:41,967 the United Nations, Khrushchev, 432 00:11:42,001 --> 00:11:44,704 the entire Soviet Union, Pope John 433 00:11:44,704 --> 00:11:45,805 Paul, Ayatollah 434 00:11:45,805 --> 00:11:47,707 Khomeini, Yasser Arafat, 435 00:11:47,707 --> 00:11:50,242 Saddam Hussein, Henry Kissinger, 436 00:11:50,242 --> 00:11:52,478 Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan. 437 00:11:52,478 --> 00:11:53,212 This is interesting. 438 00:11:53,212 --> 00:11:54,480 Ronald Reagan's full name 439 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:55,381 is Ronald 440 00:11:55,381 --> 00:11:56,415 Wilson Reagan, 441 00:11:56,415 --> 00:11:56,982 which there are 442 00:11:56,982 --> 00:11:58,484 six letters in each name. 443 00:11:58,484 --> 00:12:01,487 So that's food for thought. 444 00:12:01,921 --> 00:12:03,923 Jim Harbaugh, 445 00:12:03,923 --> 00:12:05,825 step 446 00:12:05,825 --> 00:12:08,227 Stephan Curry 447 00:12:08,227 --> 00:12:09,061 I may have added 448 00:12:09,061 --> 00:12:10,563 a few names to this list 449 00:12:10,563 --> 00:12:12,832 after I read the book. 450 00:12:12,832 --> 00:12:15,234 One point, Emperor Frederick 451 00:12:15,234 --> 00:12:16,502 the Second and Pope Gregory 452 00:12:16,502 --> 00:12:17,636 the Ninth were engaged 453 00:12:17,636 --> 00:12:19,438 in concurrent camp 454 00:12:19,438 --> 00:12:22,441 competing campaigns against each other, 455 00:12:22,742 --> 00:12:24,276 each declaring the other person 456 00:12:24,276 --> 00:12:25,678 to be the Antichrist. 457 00:12:25,678 --> 00:12:26,679 And it's like the ultimate 458 00:12:26,679 --> 00:12:27,780 mic drop insult. 459 00:12:27,780 --> 00:12:28,347 I have 460 00:12:28,347 --> 00:12:29,949 four children under the age of 11, 461 00:12:29,949 --> 00:12:30,750 so I've heard some things 462 00:12:30,750 --> 00:12:31,484 go back and forth. 463 00:12:31,484 --> 00:12:33,119 This is like, hey, you're mean. 464 00:12:33,119 --> 00:12:34,220 Oh yeah, well you're ugly. 465 00:12:34,220 --> 00:12:36,355 Oh yeah, you're the Antichrist. 466 00:12:39,391 --> 00:12:41,127 Saint Augustine is one of the foremost 467 00:12:41,127 --> 00:12:42,228 theologians in the history 468 00:12:42,228 --> 00:12:42,962 of Christianity, 469 00:12:42,962 --> 00:12:44,997 and he wrote a book called City of God. 470 00:12:44,997 --> 00:12:45,698 In that book, 471 00:12:45,698 --> 00:12:47,133 he offers some commentary, 472 00:12:47,133 --> 00:12:49,301 specifically on this passage 473 00:12:49,301 --> 00:12:50,136 in the book of Second 474 00:12:50,136 --> 00:12:51,470 Thessalonians, chapter two. 475 00:12:51,470 --> 00:12:52,037 And what he said, 476 00:12:52,037 --> 00:12:53,639 I thought was really insightful. 477 00:12:53,639 --> 00:12:54,440 Here's what he said. 478 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:57,309 Saint Augustine said, I frankly confess 479 00:12:57,309 --> 00:13:00,312 I do not know what he means. 480 00:13:01,013 --> 00:13:03,549 And this is really my point. 481 00:13:03,549 --> 00:13:05,718 It can be tempting to look at a passage 482 00:13:05,718 --> 00:13:06,552 like this and think, 483 00:13:06,552 --> 00:13:07,419 what we need to do 484 00:13:07,419 --> 00:13:08,320 is we need to figure out 485 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:09,789 all the answers. 486 00:13:09,789 --> 00:13:10,623 We need to figure out 487 00:13:10,623 --> 00:13:11,757 all the information 488 00:13:11,757 --> 00:13:12,525 and the answers 489 00:13:12,525 --> 00:13:14,627 that are connected to this passage. 490 00:13:14,627 --> 00:13:16,228 But the reality is, 491 00:13:16,228 --> 00:13:17,196 the Apostle Paul 492 00:13:17,196 --> 00:13:18,297 wrote this passage 493 00:13:18,297 --> 00:13:20,299 to a specific group of people 494 00:13:20,299 --> 00:13:21,834 at a specific point in time, 495 00:13:21,834 --> 00:13:22,835 and we sit 496 00:13:22,835 --> 00:13:24,436 thousands of miles away 497 00:13:24,436 --> 00:13:26,038 and thousands of years later 498 00:13:26,038 --> 00:13:26,872 trying to figure out 499 00:13:26,872 --> 00:13:28,574 what does it have to say 500 00:13:28,574 --> 00:13:31,110 that is of relevance to us. 501 00:13:32,578 --> 00:13:33,512 And so one of the 502 00:13:33,512 --> 00:13:34,113 things that 503 00:13:34,113 --> 00:13:34,713 we need to 504 00:13:34,713 --> 00:13:35,981 that I want to propose to you 505 00:13:35,981 --> 00:13:36,615 is that 506 00:13:36,615 --> 00:13:38,017 the Bible is clear 507 00:13:38,017 --> 00:13:39,585 on things where it needs 508 00:13:39,585 --> 00:13:41,320 to be clear for us, 509 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:42,521 and that on things 510 00:13:42,521 --> 00:13:45,524 where it is not clear, we can trust 511 00:13:45,524 --> 00:13:47,393 that God has given us what we need, 512 00:13:47,393 --> 00:13:49,128 that God has given us clarity 513 00:13:49,128 --> 00:13:50,629 where we need clarity 514 00:13:50,629 --> 00:13:52,598 and where we don't have clarity. 515 00:13:52,598 --> 00:13:54,533 We can trust him 516 00:13:54,533 --> 00:13:55,935 because the truth is, God 517 00:13:55,935 --> 00:13:58,070 does not give us clarity 518 00:13:58,070 --> 00:14:01,006 in the form of information and answers. 519 00:14:01,006 --> 00:14:02,508 God gives us clarity 520 00:14:02,508 --> 00:14:04,443 in the form of a person, 521 00:14:04,443 --> 00:14:06,779 and that person is Jesus. 522 00:14:06,779 --> 00:14:07,980 And so if we want to know 523 00:14:07,980 --> 00:14:08,747 what the nature 524 00:14:08,747 --> 00:14:09,782 of our relationship 525 00:14:09,782 --> 00:14:10,883 with God is like, 526 00:14:10,883 --> 00:14:12,418 what what kind of relationship does 527 00:14:12,418 --> 00:14:12,985 he desire? 528 00:14:12,985 --> 00:14:14,253 Who who does he want us to be? 529 00:14:14,253 --> 00:14:16,021 How does he care about us? 530 00:14:16,021 --> 00:14:17,656 We need to look at Jesus. 531 00:14:17,656 --> 00:14:19,658 The life, death, and resurrection of 532 00:14:19,658 --> 00:14:21,026 Jesus gives us everything 533 00:14:21,026 --> 00:14:24,029 that we need to know about who God is, 534 00:14:24,196 --> 00:14:26,031 about what he wants from us, 535 00:14:26,031 --> 00:14:27,433 about the type of relationship 536 00:14:27,433 --> 00:14:28,767 that he desires with us. 537 00:14:28,767 --> 00:14:29,335 Let me show you. 538 00:14:30,569 --> 00:14:30,870 I want to 539 00:14:30,870 --> 00:14:31,804 read a passage from 540 00:14:31,804 --> 00:14:33,873 Hebrews chapter one. 541 00:14:33,873 --> 00:14:34,573 I'm going to read verses 542 00:14:34,573 --> 00:14:35,341 one through three. 543 00:14:35,341 --> 00:14:37,576 Here's what it says. 544 00:14:37,576 --> 00:14:39,712 Long ago, at many times 545 00:14:39,712 --> 00:14:41,213 and in many ways, God 546 00:14:41,213 --> 00:14:43,716 spoke to our fathers by the prophets. 547 00:14:43,716 --> 00:14:45,451 But in these last days 548 00:14:45,451 --> 00:14:48,087 he has spoken to us by His Son, whom 549 00:14:48,087 --> 00:14:50,756 he appointed the heir of all things, 550 00:14:50,756 --> 00:14:51,123 through him 551 00:14:51,123 --> 00:14:52,825 whom also he created the world. 552 00:14:52,825 --> 00:14:53,792 Listen to this. 553 00:14:53,792 --> 00:14:56,795 He is the radiance of the glory of God 554 00:14:56,962 --> 00:14:59,798 and the exact imprint of his nature. 555 00:14:59,798 --> 00:15:01,667 And he upholds the universe 556 00:15:01,667 --> 00:15:03,602 by the word of his power. 557 00:15:03,602 --> 00:15:06,272 After making purification for sins, 558 00:15:06,272 --> 00:15:08,474 he sat down at the right hand 559 00:15:08,474 --> 00:15:11,477 of the Majesty on high. 560 00:15:12,177 --> 00:15:13,379 Well, we can draw from that 561 00:15:13,379 --> 00:15:16,382 is that God has spoken to us. 562 00:15:16,482 --> 00:15:19,051 God has spoken to us clearly, 563 00:15:19,051 --> 00:15:20,986 and he's spoken to us fully. 564 00:15:20,986 --> 00:15:22,154 And he's done, done 565 00:15:22,154 --> 00:15:23,355 so through the person 566 00:15:23,355 --> 00:15:25,424 and work of Jesus Christ, 567 00:15:25,424 --> 00:15:26,759 through Jesus life, 568 00:15:26,759 --> 00:15:28,127 death, and resurrection 569 00:15:28,127 --> 00:15:30,062 as described in Scripture, 570 00:15:30,062 --> 00:15:32,131 we see everything we need to know about 571 00:15:32,131 --> 00:15:33,399 who God is, 572 00:15:33,399 --> 00:15:35,167 about what he has for us, 573 00:15:35,167 --> 00:15:36,268 about what it means 574 00:15:36,268 --> 00:15:37,703 to have a relationship 575 00:15:37,703 --> 00:15:38,203 with him, 576 00:15:38,203 --> 00:15:40,639 and about what our eventual destiny is. 577 00:15:40,639 --> 00:15:42,641 And that's so important for us, 578 00:15:42,641 --> 00:15:43,976 for us to understand 579 00:15:43,976 --> 00:15:46,111 that this book is not primarily 580 00:15:46,111 --> 00:15:48,948 an informational document. 581 00:15:48,948 --> 00:15:51,784 It is primarily a relational document 582 00:15:51,784 --> 00:15:54,320 that reveals Jesus to us 583 00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:56,255 and points us to him. 584 00:15:56,255 --> 00:15:58,791 In order for us to see God 585 00:15:58,791 --> 00:16:00,859 and to see what he wants from us. 586 00:16:00,859 --> 00:16:02,328 One of the primary claims 587 00:16:02,328 --> 00:16:03,228 of Christianity 588 00:16:03,228 --> 00:16:06,065 is that you can know God 589 00:16:06,065 --> 00:16:07,533 and that that comes through Jesus. 590 00:16:07,533 --> 00:16:08,233 That's why 591 00:16:08,233 --> 00:16:09,001 Jesus says, 592 00:16:09,001 --> 00:16:10,936 I am the way, the truth, and the life. 593 00:16:10,936 --> 00:16:13,105 He doesn't say, I show you the way. 594 00:16:13,105 --> 00:16:14,206 He doesn't say, 595 00:16:14,206 --> 00:16:15,474 I tell you about the way 596 00:16:15,474 --> 00:16:18,110 he says I am the way. 597 00:16:18,110 --> 00:16:18,944 Which, by the way, 598 00:16:18,944 --> 00:16:20,646 is one of the primary differences 599 00:16:20,646 --> 00:16:21,747 between Christianity 600 00:16:21,747 --> 00:16:23,849 and any other faith system. 601 00:16:23,849 --> 00:16:25,150 It's that God doesn't 602 00:16:25,150 --> 00:16:26,185 hold out a path 603 00:16:26,185 --> 00:16:27,453 or a set of principles 604 00:16:27,453 --> 00:16:29,521 for us to follow, or a set of rules 605 00:16:29,521 --> 00:16:30,389 that if we do it 606 00:16:30,389 --> 00:16:30,990 well enough, 607 00:16:30,990 --> 00:16:32,925 we might earn enough credits 608 00:16:32,925 --> 00:16:34,660 to gain entry to the kingdom of heaven. 609 00:16:34,660 --> 00:16:36,261 That's not how it works. 610 00:16:36,261 --> 00:16:39,264 Instead, Jesus is the way to God. 611 00:16:39,765 --> 00:16:41,367 He does all the obeying 612 00:16:41,367 --> 00:16:42,935 and the crediting and everything 613 00:16:42,935 --> 00:16:44,903 we need to do for us, 614 00:16:44,903 --> 00:16:47,172 and then credits it to us. 615 00:16:47,172 --> 00:16:48,073 The life, death, 616 00:16:48,073 --> 00:16:50,042 and resurrection of Jesus 617 00:16:50,042 --> 00:16:51,877 are what gets us into heaven, 618 00:16:51,877 --> 00:16:53,645 or what gets us into relationship 619 00:16:53,645 --> 00:16:54,013 with God. 620 00:16:54,013 --> 00:16:54,780 And everything 621 00:16:54,780 --> 00:16:56,715 we need to know about God 622 00:16:56,715 --> 00:16:59,885 has been revealed to us through Jesus. 623 00:17:00,953 --> 00:17:02,488 And so it's true that God 624 00:17:02,488 --> 00:17:05,224 has given us clarity where we need it 625 00:17:05,224 --> 00:17:06,892 and where we don't have clarity. 626 00:17:06,892 --> 00:17:08,127 A passage like this one, 627 00:17:08,127 --> 00:17:10,396 we can trust that we don't need it 628 00:17:10,396 --> 00:17:11,864 because he's revealed to us 629 00:17:11,864 --> 00:17:12,831 with clarity 630 00:17:12,831 --> 00:17:15,501 through Jesus in the areas that we do. 631 00:17:15,501 --> 00:17:17,269 And because of that, 632 00:17:17,269 --> 00:17:20,272 because of what Jesus says about us, 633 00:17:20,372 --> 00:17:22,641 we can move forward with confidence. 634 00:17:22,641 --> 00:17:24,510 And that leads me to my third point, 635 00:17:24,510 --> 00:17:25,611 which is that 636 00:17:25,611 --> 00:17:28,547 clarity breeds confidence. 637 00:17:28,547 --> 00:17:29,481 God has spoken 638 00:17:29,481 --> 00:17:31,450 clearly through the life, death, 639 00:17:31,450 --> 00:17:32,684 and resurrection of Jesus. 640 00:17:32,684 --> 00:17:34,486 We can move through this life 641 00:17:34,486 --> 00:17:35,421 with confidence, 642 00:17:35,421 --> 00:17:37,222 knowing how things end 643 00:17:37,222 --> 00:17:38,657 because of the life, death 644 00:17:38,657 --> 00:17:40,359 and resurrection of Jesus. 645 00:17:40,359 --> 00:17:41,560 There are two specific things 646 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:43,062 that I want to tell you about today. 647 00:17:43,062 --> 00:17:45,164 The first is found in the passage 648 00:17:45,164 --> 00:17:46,331 in Second Thessalonians. 649 00:17:46,331 --> 00:17:48,734 Let me read verse eight. It says this. 650 00:17:49,768 --> 00:17:50,736 And then the lawless 651 00:17:50,736 --> 00:17:52,271 one will be revealed, 652 00:17:52,271 --> 00:17:54,073 whom the Lord Jesus will kill 653 00:17:54,073 --> 00:17:55,841 with the breath of his mouth, 654 00:17:55,841 --> 00:17:57,242 and bring to nothing 655 00:17:57,242 --> 00:18:00,245 by the appearance of his coming. 656 00:18:00,379 --> 00:18:02,047 So the first thing we can know, amidst 657 00:18:02,047 --> 00:18:02,848 all the things 658 00:18:02,848 --> 00:18:04,249 that are going on in this passage, 659 00:18:04,249 --> 00:18:05,317 all the terminology 660 00:18:05,317 --> 00:18:06,819 in the man of lawlessness 661 00:18:06,819 --> 00:18:07,386 and everything 662 00:18:07,386 --> 00:18:08,654 that is not clear, 663 00:18:08,654 --> 00:18:11,256 one thing is absolutely abundantly 664 00:18:11,256 --> 00:18:12,524 crystal clear, 665 00:18:12,524 --> 00:18:15,327 and that is that Jesus wins in the end. 666 00:18:15,327 --> 00:18:15,928 That no matter 667 00:18:15,928 --> 00:18:17,262 what happens in life, 668 00:18:17,262 --> 00:18:19,498 that this there is a day coming 669 00:18:19,498 --> 00:18:22,501 where Jesus will reduce evil to nothing 670 00:18:22,634 --> 00:18:25,070 simply by his appearance 671 00:18:25,070 --> 00:18:27,139 that he will destroy evil 672 00:18:27,139 --> 00:18:28,340 by the word of his mouth. 673 00:18:28,340 --> 00:18:28,707 And that 674 00:18:28,707 --> 00:18:30,843 should give us great confidence 675 00:18:30,843 --> 00:18:31,143 to know 676 00:18:31,143 --> 00:18:32,778 that if we trust in Jesus, 677 00:18:32,778 --> 00:18:35,280 there is a day coming where he wins. 678 00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:36,482 In the end, 679 00:18:36,482 --> 00:18:37,116 where everything 680 00:18:37,116 --> 00:18:39,318 that's evil will be undone, 681 00:18:39,318 --> 00:18:40,285 where everything that is 682 00:18:40,285 --> 00:18:41,887 broken will be restored, 683 00:18:41,887 --> 00:18:44,256 where every injustice will be undone, 684 00:18:44,256 --> 00:18:45,891 where everything will be made right 685 00:18:45,891 --> 00:18:48,894 and restored to the way it ought to be 686 00:18:49,027 --> 00:18:50,095 because of him. 687 00:18:50,095 --> 00:18:51,063 There's a day coming 688 00:18:51,063 --> 00:18:53,132 where Jesus wins in the end. 689 00:18:53,132 --> 00:18:54,733 But the second thing that we can know 690 00:18:54,733 --> 00:18:59,171 is if we trust in Jesus when he wins, 691 00:18:59,671 --> 00:19:03,108 we win his when can be our win. 692 00:19:03,642 --> 00:19:04,510 And we know that 693 00:19:04,510 --> 00:19:06,278 because of who Jesus is 694 00:19:06,278 --> 00:19:08,046 and what he did, 695 00:19:08,046 --> 00:19:09,181 because Jesus came 696 00:19:09,181 --> 00:19:10,816 and he lived perfectly, 697 00:19:10,816 --> 00:19:11,683 he did everything 698 00:19:11,683 --> 00:19:12,784 we were supposed to do. 699 00:19:12,784 --> 00:19:16,221 He won every time on our behalf. 700 00:19:16,622 --> 00:19:18,157 And then when he went to the cross, 701 00:19:18,157 --> 00:19:20,893 he lost so that we could win. 702 00:19:20,893 --> 00:19:22,161 He took our sin. 703 00:19:22,161 --> 00:19:23,495 He took our shame. 704 00:19:23,495 --> 00:19:24,930 He took our brokenness. 705 00:19:24,930 --> 00:19:26,598 He took it on himself. 706 00:19:26,598 --> 00:19:27,933 And in exchange for that, 707 00:19:27,933 --> 00:19:30,302 we get credit for his perfect 708 00:19:30,302 --> 00:19:32,538 righteousness in the eyes of God. 709 00:19:32,538 --> 00:19:34,406 If we trust in him, 710 00:19:34,406 --> 00:19:36,175 his win becomes our win. 711 00:19:36,175 --> 00:19:38,076 And then three days later, 712 00:19:38,076 --> 00:19:40,112 he rose from the dead 713 00:19:40,112 --> 00:19:40,546 to show 714 00:19:40,546 --> 00:19:41,713 that he can make good 715 00:19:41,713 --> 00:19:42,648 on these promises. 716 00:19:42,648 --> 00:19:44,283 And not only can he, 717 00:19:44,283 --> 00:19:46,952 he will make good on these promises 718 00:19:46,952 --> 00:19:48,420 so we can know those two things. 719 00:19:48,420 --> 00:19:51,156 Number one, Jesus wins in the end. 720 00:19:51,156 --> 00:19:53,325 And number two, when he wins, 721 00:19:53,325 --> 00:19:55,561 we win his when can be our win. 722 00:19:55,561 --> 00:19:56,728 And that should allow us 723 00:19:56,728 --> 00:19:59,264 to move forward with great confidence, 724 00:19:59,264 --> 00:20:00,699 knowing that whatever life 725 00:20:00,699 --> 00:20:01,433 throws at us, 726 00:20:01,433 --> 00:20:03,769 whatever sadness we may experience, 727 00:20:03,769 --> 00:20:05,804 whatever difficulty we may encounter, 728 00:20:05,804 --> 00:20:07,439 whatever comes our way, 729 00:20:07,439 --> 00:20:09,841 we can have joyful confidence 730 00:20:09,841 --> 00:20:12,211 as a church and as individuals 731 00:20:12,211 --> 00:20:13,111 because of Jesus. 732 00:20:14,112 --> 00:20:15,113 Just makes me think of 733 00:20:15,113 --> 00:20:16,615 something that happened 734 00:20:16,615 --> 00:20:18,150 early on in my relationship 735 00:20:18,150 --> 00:20:19,851 with my wife, Emily. 736 00:20:19,851 --> 00:20:21,220 Emily and I will have been married 737 00:20:21,220 --> 00:20:24,089 14 years this upcoming December, 738 00:20:24,089 --> 00:20:25,624 but way back when we started 739 00:20:25,624 --> 00:20:27,092 dating was right around 740 00:20:27,092 --> 00:20:27,626 the time 741 00:20:27,626 --> 00:20:29,161 that LeBron James 742 00:20:29,161 --> 00:20:30,829 was playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers 743 00:20:30,829 --> 00:20:31,663 for the first time. 744 00:20:31,663 --> 00:20:34,132 And I'm a huge basketball fan. 745 00:20:34,132 --> 00:20:35,634 I'm a huge Cavaliers fan. 746 00:20:35,634 --> 00:20:37,803 As you know, LeBron was here 747 00:20:37,803 --> 00:20:38,737 and then he left us. 748 00:20:38,737 --> 00:20:41,039 And then he was here another time. 749 00:20:41,039 --> 00:20:42,107 And then he left us again. 750 00:20:42,107 --> 00:20:43,342 And I'm promising you 751 00:20:43,342 --> 00:20:45,210 I have no abandonment issues 752 00:20:45,210 --> 00:20:47,913 in connection with that. 753 00:20:47,913 --> 00:20:48,981 But at this point in time 754 00:20:48,981 --> 00:20:50,282 Emily and I had been dating 755 00:20:50,282 --> 00:20:51,683 for about 4 or 5 weeks. 756 00:20:51,683 --> 00:20:52,651 So this was all new. 757 00:20:52,651 --> 00:20:55,120 Everything was fresh, it was new, 758 00:20:55,120 --> 00:20:56,154 and there was one night 759 00:20:56,154 --> 00:20:57,589 where the Cavaliers were scheduled 760 00:20:57,589 --> 00:20:58,690 to play the Los Angeles 761 00:20:58,690 --> 00:21:00,359 Lakers, who at the time 762 00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:01,994 their star was Kobe Bryant, 763 00:21:01,994 --> 00:21:03,328 who was widely regarded 764 00:21:03,328 --> 00:21:05,097 as the best player in the league. 765 00:21:05,097 --> 00:21:06,298 And LeBron was supposed to be 766 00:21:06,298 --> 00:21:07,599 the second best player in the league. 767 00:21:07,599 --> 00:21:08,834 And so any time 768 00:21:08,834 --> 00:21:10,335 these two teams matched up, 769 00:21:10,335 --> 00:21:11,403 it was must see TV 770 00:21:11,403 --> 00:21:12,838 because it was a huge game, 771 00:21:12,838 --> 00:21:13,905 a lot of fun, two 772 00:21:13,905 --> 00:21:15,941 great players and two great teams 773 00:21:15,941 --> 00:21:16,742 going at it. 774 00:21:16,742 --> 00:21:17,476 So there was a night 775 00:21:17,476 --> 00:21:18,777 where the Cavaliers were scheduled 776 00:21:18,777 --> 00:21:20,178 to play the Lakers. 777 00:21:20,178 --> 00:21:21,713 On that night, Emily's 778 00:21:21,713 --> 00:21:23,582 parents and her family invited me 779 00:21:23,582 --> 00:21:25,517 to come up to her house 780 00:21:25,517 --> 00:21:27,085 and to have dinner with them 781 00:21:27,085 --> 00:21:27,853 and keep in mind, 782 00:21:27,853 --> 00:21:29,021 we had only been dating 783 00:21:29,021 --> 00:21:30,555 for 4 or 5 weeks. 784 00:21:30,555 --> 00:21:33,325 So at this point I even I knew even 785 00:21:33,325 --> 00:21:34,326 I was smart enough to know 786 00:21:34,326 --> 00:21:36,495 that my fledgling relationship 787 00:21:36,495 --> 00:21:37,596 could not survive 788 00:21:37,596 --> 00:21:38,964 being thrown out of the nest 789 00:21:38,964 --> 00:21:40,932 in the form of me telling Emily, 790 00:21:40,932 --> 00:21:41,667 I'm not coming to 791 00:21:41,667 --> 00:21:42,668 your parents house tonight 792 00:21:42,668 --> 00:21:44,069 because I'm going to stay home 793 00:21:44,069 --> 00:21:45,404 and going to watch the Cavaliers game. 794 00:21:45,404 --> 00:21:47,539 So I went, I went to Emily's house. 795 00:21:47,539 --> 00:21:48,273 Things went well. 796 00:21:48,273 --> 00:21:49,441 It was a good night. 797 00:21:49,441 --> 00:21:50,809 You know, we we had dinner. 798 00:21:50,809 --> 00:21:52,778 We were talking, we were chatting. 799 00:21:52,778 --> 00:21:53,679 But over time, 800 00:21:53,679 --> 00:21:54,913 as the evening went along, 801 00:21:54,913 --> 00:21:57,916 I began to get more and more agitated. 802 00:21:58,050 --> 00:21:58,950 And the reason why 803 00:21:58,950 --> 00:21:59,718 there were two things. 804 00:21:59,718 --> 00:22:01,920 The first thing was I realized 805 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:03,789 Emily's parents don't have cable, 806 00:22:03,789 --> 00:22:04,456 and so 807 00:22:05,724 --> 00:22:06,525 there's nowhere at 808 00:22:06,525 --> 00:22:07,392 this house where I'm 809 00:22:07,392 --> 00:22:09,561 going to be able to watch this game. 810 00:22:09,561 --> 00:22:10,562 And then the second thing is 811 00:22:10,562 --> 00:22:12,731 I began to calculate in my head, 812 00:22:12,731 --> 00:22:14,966 okay, what time do I need to leave 813 00:22:14,966 --> 00:22:16,234 to get to my house in time 814 00:22:16,234 --> 00:22:18,370 for the game to start working backward 815 00:22:18,370 --> 00:22:18,804 from there? 816 00:22:18,804 --> 00:22:20,172 What do I need to say 817 00:22:20,172 --> 00:22:21,707 in this conversation 818 00:22:21,707 --> 00:22:24,710 so that it wraps up in a timely fashion 819 00:22:24,943 --> 00:22:25,877 so that I can get home 820 00:22:25,877 --> 00:22:27,179 so I can see the game. 821 00:22:27,179 --> 00:22:28,380 By the way, guys, 822 00:22:28,380 --> 00:22:28,980 you know, 823 00:22:28,980 --> 00:22:30,749 women really love it 824 00:22:30,749 --> 00:22:32,751 when we are only partially engaged 825 00:22:32,751 --> 00:22:33,752 in a family function 826 00:22:33,752 --> 00:22:35,187 because we are 827 00:22:35,187 --> 00:22:36,021 more concerned 828 00:22:36,021 --> 00:22:37,389 with the outcome of a sporting event. 829 00:22:37,389 --> 00:22:39,991 It works every time. 830 00:22:39,991 --> 00:22:41,426 So we're sitting at dinner, and dinner 831 00:22:41,426 --> 00:22:42,561 kind of wraps up and Emily says, 832 00:22:42,561 --> 00:22:43,495 hey, I need to talk to you. 833 00:22:43,495 --> 00:22:45,230 And she pulls me into the other room 834 00:22:45,230 --> 00:22:47,632 and I kind of shuffle over slowly, 835 00:22:47,632 --> 00:22:48,600 thinking that, 836 00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:49,434 you know, a lot of bad 837 00:22:49,434 --> 00:22:50,802 things could be happening to me 838 00:22:50,802 --> 00:22:51,336 very soon. 839 00:22:51,336 --> 00:22:53,171 So I'm not in a hurry to get there. 840 00:22:53,171 --> 00:22:54,139 And when I get over there, 841 00:22:54,139 --> 00:22:54,940 she doesn't say anything. 842 00:22:54,940 --> 00:22:55,907 She sends me a card. 843 00:22:55,907 --> 00:22:57,008 And I actually still have 844 00:22:57,008 --> 00:22:58,310 the card today, 845 00:22:58,310 --> 00:23:00,045 and I'm going to read it for you. 846 00:23:00,045 --> 00:23:00,679 Here's what it says. 847 00:23:00,679 --> 00:23:04,383 It's dated from December 19th, 2007, 848 00:23:04,549 --> 00:23:05,751 which, 849 00:23:05,751 --> 00:23:06,551 makes me realize 850 00:23:06,551 --> 00:23:07,486 my life is slowly 851 00:23:07,486 --> 00:23:08,320 slipping away from me. 852 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:10,622 But that's maybe a different message. 853 00:23:10,622 --> 00:23:12,991 It says, Dear Jimmy, 854 00:23:12,991 --> 00:23:14,826 I know this is not Christmas yet, 855 00:23:14,826 --> 00:23:15,660 but I was hoping 856 00:23:15,660 --> 00:23:17,763 you'd be able to take a present early. 857 00:23:17,763 --> 00:23:19,798 I've so enjoyed spending time with you 858 00:23:19,798 --> 00:23:20,565 and getting to know you 859 00:23:20,565 --> 00:23:22,000 these past few weeks. 860 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:23,034 I wanted to do something 861 00:23:23,034 --> 00:23:24,503 special for you. 862 00:23:24,503 --> 00:23:26,071 Are you free to go to the Cavs 863 00:23:26,071 --> 00:23:27,906 game with me tonight? 864 00:23:27,906 --> 00:23:30,776 Cavs versus Lakers LeBron versus Kobe. 865 00:23:30,776 --> 00:23:31,777 You and me. 866 00:23:31,777 --> 00:23:32,477 Club seats. 867 00:23:32,477 --> 00:23:34,513 What do you say from Emily. 868 00:23:36,181 --> 00:23:37,682 And the Cavs won that game. 869 00:23:37,682 --> 00:23:38,850 And I didn't even take her home. 870 00:23:38,850 --> 00:23:41,853 We went straight to the jewelry store. 871 00:23:49,961 --> 00:23:52,531 Here's the reason I tell you that 872 00:23:52,531 --> 00:23:53,665 if you had told me 873 00:23:53,665 --> 00:23:55,867 at the beginning of that night 874 00:23:55,867 --> 00:23:56,868 that not only would 875 00:23:56,868 --> 00:23:58,336 the Cavaliers win that game, 876 00:23:58,336 --> 00:23:59,704 but I would get to be there. 877 00:23:59,704 --> 00:24:00,839 And and that way 878 00:24:00,839 --> 00:24:02,908 their win would be my win. 879 00:24:02,908 --> 00:24:04,676 It would have completely changed 880 00:24:04,676 --> 00:24:05,911 my perspective 881 00:24:05,911 --> 00:24:07,446 on how that evening played out. 882 00:24:07,446 --> 00:24:08,880 No matter what happened, 883 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:09,314 I would have had 884 00:24:09,314 --> 00:24:10,949 a totally different mindset. 885 00:24:10,949 --> 00:24:12,584 And what I need you to know 886 00:24:12,584 --> 00:24:14,486 is that because of because of what God 887 00:24:14,486 --> 00:24:15,387 has revealed to us 888 00:24:15,387 --> 00:24:16,621 about Jesus in His Word, 889 00:24:16,621 --> 00:24:17,956 that can be true 890 00:24:17,956 --> 00:24:20,192 for all of us in our life. 891 00:24:20,192 --> 00:24:21,693 That because of the person 892 00:24:21,693 --> 00:24:23,495 and work of Jesus Christ, 893 00:24:23,495 --> 00:24:24,896 we as individuals 894 00:24:24,896 --> 00:24:25,864 and as a church 895 00:24:25,864 --> 00:24:28,867 can move forward with joyful confidence 896 00:24:29,201 --> 00:24:30,068 because we know that 897 00:24:30,068 --> 00:24:32,070 whatever happens in this life, 898 00:24:32,070 --> 00:24:34,372 Jesus wins in the end. 899 00:24:34,372 --> 00:24:37,042 And when he wins, we win. 900 00:24:37,042 --> 00:24:37,776 Let's pray together. 901 00:24:39,811 --> 00:24:40,812 Father in Heaven, thank 902 00:24:40,812 --> 00:24:41,680 you for this morning 903 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:43,181 and thank you for your word. 904 00:24:43,181 --> 00:24:44,049 And thank you for what 905 00:24:44,049 --> 00:24:45,884 you reveal to us through it, 906 00:24:45,884 --> 00:24:46,751 that it's possible 907 00:24:46,751 --> 00:24:48,487 to have relationship with you 908 00:24:48,487 --> 00:24:49,955 because of what you've accomplished 909 00:24:49,955 --> 00:24:51,756 on our behalf through your son, Jesus. 910 00:24:51,756 --> 00:24:54,292 I pray that that we would trust in him. 911 00:24:54,292 --> 00:24:55,360 I pray that as a church 912 00:24:55,360 --> 00:24:56,194 and as individuals, 913 00:24:56,194 --> 00:24:58,296 we would move forward in confidence, 914 00:24:58,296 --> 00:24:59,831 knowing that your love for us 915 00:24:59,831 --> 00:25:01,233 is secure in Jesus. 916 00:25:01,233 --> 00:25:03,301 Knowing that our hope is secure 917 00:25:03,301 --> 00:25:03,969 in Jesus. 918 00:25:03,969 --> 00:25:06,071 Knowing that there is a day coming 919 00:25:06,071 --> 00:25:07,906 when Jesus wins in the end. 920 00:25:07,906 --> 00:25:10,675 And on that day we can win too. 921 00:25:10,675 --> 00:25:12,711 It's in Jesus name that we pray. Amen.