WEBVTT

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 Morning, church. The scripture reading today comes from the book of Psalm, chapter 122.

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 Please follow along in the bulletin, on the screen, or in your own Bible.

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 Starting in the introduction, we read,

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 A song of essence of David.

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 I was glad when they said to me,

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 Let us go to the house of the Lord.

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 Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.

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 Jerusalem, built as a city that is bound firmly together, to which the tribes go up.

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 The tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord.

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 There, thrones for judgment were set.

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 The thrones of the house of David.

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 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

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 May they be secure who love you.

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 Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers.

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 For my brothers and companions' sake, I will say,

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 Peace be within you.

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 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.

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 This is the word of God.

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 That's great.

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 Thanks, Anastasia.

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 Thanks for all those encouraging testimonies.

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 It's wonderful to hear of God's goodness.

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 But after looking backwards, we're going to look forward, because there's another year coming.

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 And so why don't I pray as we look at this passage together.

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 Our Father, yeah, thank you for your word and for the past year.

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 And as we look forward to another year, pray that you would speak to us and encourage us today.

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 Show us Jesus in his name.

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 Amen.

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 Yeah, another year.

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 Now, I don't know how you feel about another year living for Christ.

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 We've heard how so many people have had a hard year.

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 And so you see 2024, and maybe you think another year of fighting sin.

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 Or another year of, you know, struggling with all the serving you're doing.

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 Another year of failing to balance work and family.

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 Another year of staying single because you can't find the right Christian to marry.

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 How do we keep going?

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 How do we keep going in 2024?

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 And so I wanted to look at this little psalm.

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 Why is this psalm relevant?

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 Well, look at that introduction.

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 It says a psalm of ascents.

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 That's a group of psalms.

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 But to ascend is to go up, right?

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 This is about going up to Jerusalem.

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 This is about a pilgrimage.

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 The Israelites, a few times a year, they all had to go to Jerusalem to celebrate.

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 To have this festival in God's presence.

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 That's what it's about, right?

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 Verse 1.

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 I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord.

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 Right?

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 Let's go together.

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 And, you know, our feet have been standing within your gates.

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 People are so excited to, yeah, to come together.

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 I don't know.

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 Maybe you think, well, this is about going to church.

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 Well, imagine if you live all the way on the other side of Israel.

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 And you have to spend a whole week traveling through the desert with a bunch of cows and sheep that you have to sacrifice.

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 Traveling through the hot desert to Jerusalem.

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 And then a week celebrating there.

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 And then a week traveling back three weeks away.

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 Just at harvest time when you really want to work.

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 Pilgrimage isn't easy.

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 And so you need motivation.

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 And these songs are what people would sing along the way.

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 I hope you can see that it's relevant for us.

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 This is about pilgrimage.

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 Well, what is for us the pilgrimage, of course?

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 Well, it's not Jerusalem in the Middle East.

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 Where do we go?

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 Well, if you did the Bible reading plan, you've just read it.

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 Right in Revelation 21 and 22, the new Jerusalem.

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 That's where we are going.

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 We have this long journey keeping going until we reach the new Jerusalem.

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 And so just as these pilgrims motivated themselves by singing this, well, we can learn how we can motivate ourselves to keep going in 2024.

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 Well, let me give you two reasons from this psalm to keep us going.

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 The first one, of course, is that why is it worth keeping going?

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 Well, being in God's place will be great.

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 It will be so great to get there.

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 Because you can hear the joy, right, when people get there, when people arrive at Jerusalem.

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 And why is it so great?

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 Well, Jerusalem is safe and secure.

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 Verse 3, Jerusalem built as a city that is bound firmly together.

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 There's no gaps in the walls.

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 There's nothing bad coming in.

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 There's no wild animals, no robbers, no enemies.

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 It's just a wonderful, safe place to be, right?

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 All the dangers, all the hardships, they're not there.

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 Of course, pilgrimage, you think of a religious duty.

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 But it's celebrating God's presence, right?

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 The tribes going up to give thanks to the name of the Lord, to have a great feast, a great celebration.

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 It is secure.

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 There is justice.

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 Verse 5, there thrones for judgment were set.

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 The thrones of the house of David.

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 God's king rules there.

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 And he will bring justice.

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 And so there's no injustice.

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 There's no poverty.

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 All of that is gone.

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 That is that place where we will be forever, right?

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 If you did the reading plan, I hope it was so motivating to just read about that city.

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 To read about seeing God's face.

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 About the tree of life.

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 About, you know, we don't need a temple anymore because God is there.

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 And there's no more curse.

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 And all these wonderful things.

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 I've been meditating on that last week.

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 So encouraging.

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 It motivates you.

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 Yeah, I want to keep going.

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 2024.

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 I want to keep living for Christ because I want to get to the new creation.

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 But, of course, it's great if we get there.

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 But will that actually happen?

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 You know?

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 It's a long journey.

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 It's a hard journey.

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 The Christian life is hard.

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 Will we get there?

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 Will it happen?

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 Will we get there?

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 I don't know.

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 Maybe you wanted to go away for Christmas.

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 And you booked a holiday.

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 And it was really not what was advertised.

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 And it was rather disappointing.

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 Will that happen?

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 Um, maybe you wanted to go and then your flight got canceled.

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 Or you got sick.

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 You know?

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 Is it really going to happen?

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 Well, that's the other thing in this psalm.

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 Of course, one thing you can do is pray.

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 I hope we'll be a praying people, right?

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 Verse 6.

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 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

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 May they be secure who love you.

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 Peace be within your walls and security within your towers.

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 We've heard so much about community, right?

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 Praying for Jerusalem.

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 Praying for the church.

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 Praying for each other.

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 That we would keep going.

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 Supporting each other.

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 As we journey together to the new creation.

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 But how about verses 8 and 9?

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 Because they're a bit weird.

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 I mean, praying.

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 Yeah, that's useful, right?

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 But verse 8.

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 For my brothers and companions' sake,

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 I will say, peace be within you.

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 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,

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 I will seek your goods.

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 That sounds like what we should do is,

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 well, seeking the goods of Jerusalem.

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 Let's seek the good of the church.

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 That's a good thing to do.

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 But if you're just a pilgrim, what can you do?

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 You're traveling through the desert.

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 What kind of goods can you do for Jerusalem?

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 Not very much.

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 If you're just saying, I will say, peace be within you.

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 What good does it do for me to say, peace be within you?

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 No, we need to see, if we look at these verses,

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 who is the author of this psalm?

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 Who is this about?

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 Well, as you see in the title, this is of David.

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 And sometimes, you know, that's very important in the psalms.

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 Who wrote it?

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 Sometimes David is just a believer.

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 And we can take the psalm and, hey, we can sing the same psalm.

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 But David is also, he's the king, right?

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 He's the greatest king ever.

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 And sometimes he says things that are not really applicable to us, right?

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 When he says, with my sword, I cut off all my enemies.

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 That's not about you going back to work next week.

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 It's not.

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 Right?

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 David can say that because he is the king.

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 And if you know that, then suddenly that transformed this psalm.

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 This is a psalm by the king.

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 This is about him and his commitment to Jerusalem,

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 to God's people, right?

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 Verse 5.

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 Their thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David.

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 David is writing this psalm and he realizes that's my job.

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 The peace and safety of Jerusalem.

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 Well, I'm the king.

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 I need to make that happen.

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 It's my job.

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 I'm the king.

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 And so that's why he says, okay, for my brothers and companions' sake,

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 I will say, peace be within you.

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 By royal decree, I'm going to bring peace to Jerusalem.

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 Verse 9.

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 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,

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 I will seek your good.

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 With my royal power and authority,

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 I'm going to bring peace.

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 I'm going to make this happen.

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 I don't know if you ever thought about that,

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 but yeah, king is important.

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 The fact that God's king will make it happen.

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 And the pilgrims would sing this and think,

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 yeah, we have a great king.

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 And next year we're going to read through the Old Testament.

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 As you probably know,

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 there are some good kings and some bad kings.

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 And just to make that real,

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 have you ever thought of going on pilgrimage

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 when there's a really bad king in Jerusalem?

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 There's no point going.

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 First of all, Jerusalem's not safe.

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 There's gangs and crime and injustice.

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 There's a foreign army outside the gate, right,

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 because the king has rejected God.

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 And, you know, there's a siege,

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 and so there's no festival.

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 And even if you get into the city,

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 you know, the king, he's rejected God.

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 He's worshiping some idol.

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 So the temple will be closed.

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 The priests don't get any money.

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 They're gone.

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 It's no worth going if there's no good king.

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 But if you have a great king who delights in worship,

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 who absolutely loves God's people celebrating,

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 who is committed to it,

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 then it's worth going.

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 And so pilgrims would sing this,

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 not about themselves,

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 hey, my commitment.

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 No.

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 We have a great king who is going to make this happen.

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 And that's why it's worth keeping going.

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 And, of course, David is dead,

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 but we have the son of David,

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 the greatest king, Jesus.

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 This is about him and his commitment and his delight.

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 Read these as the words of Jesus.

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 I was glad when they said to me,

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 let us go to the house of the Lord.

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 All right?

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 Jesus loves nothing more than seeing God's people there,

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 celebrating in the presence of God,

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 seeing them worship his Father.

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 That's his greatest joy.

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 It's not just that we are looking forward

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 to the new creation, to heaven.

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 Jesus is looking forward to it.

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 He is so looking forward to the completion of all God planned,

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 to us being there, being with us.

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 He's looking forward to it.

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 One day the father will say,

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 okay, son, it's time to get up, time to end this.

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 How do you think, what do you think he will do?

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 Will he just, okay, well, you say so, let me.

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 No, right?

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 He will jump up from his throne

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 because he loves to come back and bring us home.

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 He's committed to it.

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 It is his greatest joy.

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 And even now, this coming year,

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 he's going to make it happen.

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 Right?

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 For my brothers and companions' sake,

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 we are his family.

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 He will make it happen.

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 And for the house of the Lord,

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 for his Father's glory,

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 he wants to see his Father honored

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 by having you be there in worship,

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 in celebration.

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 And so he's going to make it happen.

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 He knows this is my job.

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 I need to do this.

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 I'm the son.

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 It's my responsibility.

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 So he will make it happen.

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 He is totally committed.

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 And maybe you do New Year's resolutions.

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 Maybe you want to lose weight

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 or read the Bible more and pray.

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 And that's really great.

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 But I don't know.

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 How many New Year's resolutions make it?

00:12:37.439 --> 00:12:38.459
 10% or something?

00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:41.620
 It's not very encouraging.

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 But this is Jesus' New Year's resolution.

00:12:45.100 --> 00:12:45.860
 Jesus says,

00:12:46.519 --> 00:12:47.139
 I will say,

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 Peace be within you.

00:12:48.759 --> 00:12:50.159
 I will seek your good.

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 He's going to do it.

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 And who is speaking?

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 He is the Word of God, right?

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 The one whose words creates galaxies.

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 He will do it.

00:12:59.779 --> 00:13:01.460
 And we've seen his commitment, right?

00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:02.940
 Yeah, we look forward.

00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:05.200
 But how committed is Jesus to us?

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 As you know, he died on the cross.

00:13:06.940 --> 00:13:07.980
 He became a human.

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 He died for us.

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 And he's not going to stop there.

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 He's not going to stop until you are there in his presence,

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 celebrating, enjoying his love and blessing and goodness.

00:13:21.679 --> 00:13:23.679
 And so, yeah, if he's not going to give up,

00:13:24.019 --> 00:13:26.440
 we can go into 2024, right?

00:13:26.840 --> 00:13:28.779
 What a wonderful way to start this year.

00:13:28.860 --> 00:13:29.980
 I'm not sure what it will bring.

00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:32.039
 Trials, temptations.

00:13:32.600 --> 00:13:34.919
 The world is still lying in the power of Satan.

00:13:34.919 --> 00:13:38.299
 You know, there's wars and the economy is still tanking.

00:13:38.659 --> 00:13:41.000
 And there's sin in our hearts and all around us.

00:13:41.439 --> 00:13:43.419
 But Jesus is committed to us.

00:13:44.199 --> 00:13:45.439
 Jesus will see us through.

00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:47.919
 Jesus will bring us home.

00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:51.899
 It's his greatest delight and his greatest responsibility.

00:13:51.899 --> 00:13:55.879
 And so, let's keep our eyes fixed on Jesus this year,

00:13:56.519 --> 00:13:58.639
 as his eyes are fixed on us.

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 A przestsmail stints.

00:13:59.899 --> 00:14:00.360
 A przestromo.

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