WEBVTT

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 I first noticed the title of this musical, Almost There.

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 I thought about how Jesus once told a Jewish teacher

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 that he was almost there

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 in terms of entering the kingdom of God.

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 It took place in the context of several Jewish leaders

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 basically attacking Jesus.

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 They were bombarding him with questions,

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 trying to confuse him.

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 Trying to make him look bad.

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 Well, Mark, the Gospel of Mark tells us

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 how a scribe, a scholarly teacher,

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 he was involved.

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 He asked Jesus a question about

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 what's the greatest commandment?

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 I want you to look with me on the screen

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 how Jesus answered.

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 Jesus answered,

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 the most important is,

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 hear, O Israel,

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 the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

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 And you shall love the Lord your God

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 with all your heart and with all your soul

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 and with all your mind and with all your strength.

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 The second is this,

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 you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

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 There is no other commandment greater than these.

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 Now, when that scribe heard the answer,

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 something changed.

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 The light came on for him.

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 And he responded,

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 not as a critic,

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 but as an honest seeker

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 who understood that Jesus had spoken truth.

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 Look at what he said.

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 And the scribe said to him,

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 you are right, teacher.

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 You have truly said that he is one

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 and there is no other besides him.

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 And to love him with all the heart

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 and with all the understanding

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 and with all the strength

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 and to love one's neighbor as oneself

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 is much more than all

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 whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

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 He's on board with Jesus.

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 He understands.

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 Jesus is speaking words of truth,

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 of wisdom.

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 Well, Jesus took it that way.

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 Look at how he responded to this scribe.

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 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely,

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 he said to him,

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 you are not far from the kingdom of God.

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 Jesus was telling him in effect,

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 you're almost there.

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 You're almost in the kingdom of God.

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 Now, when Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God

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 throughout his ministry,

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 he was talking about more than a future kingdom,

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 sort of like what we would think about heaven.

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 Jesus was talking about,

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 when he spoke about the kingdom of God,

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 living under the kingdom of God,

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 living under God's authority.

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 Jesus was talking about living as a follower of himself

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 as a person's Lord and Savior,

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 and living under God's authority.

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 When Jesus told this man that he was not far from the kingdom of God,

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 he was saying two things.

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 Look with me.

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 It was a word of encouragement.

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 Think about it.

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 You are not far from the kingdom of God.

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 You are almost there.

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 Why would he say that?

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 Well, that man believed correctly.

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 He believed that Jesus was speaking the truth.

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 He believed that God was more concerned

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 with us having a heart of love for him

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 and people

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 than just following a bunch of rules of a religion.

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 This man was almost there

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 because he believed the truth.

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 He had some right beliefs.

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 But almost there is not there.

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 He was not a part of the kingdom of God

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 because he was not trusting Jesus.

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 He was not a follower of Jesus.

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 I am confident

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 that almost everyone in this room today,

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 you believe what the Bible says

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 about Jesus coming into this world,

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 which is what we celebrate at Christmas.

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 I have no doubt

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 that just about everyone in this room,

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 you believe the Christmas story

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 as spelled out in Scripture.

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 You believe

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 the things that we have

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 been singing about

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 or heard sung

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 about Jesus.

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 Such beliefs,

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 thinking rightly

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 according to the truth of Scripture,

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 makes us

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 almost there

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 in terms of being a part of the kingdom

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 because you cannot

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 become a follower of Jesus

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 without knowing

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 who he is

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 and the truth about

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 why he came.

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 But

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 until a person

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 puts

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 their trust

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 in Jesus

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 as their own Savior

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 and Lord,

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 you remain

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 almost there,

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 not

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 there

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 in the kingdom of God.

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 And so that makes

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 what Jesus said

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 more than just a word

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 of encouragement.

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 It was a word

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 of warning.

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 You are not far

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 from the kingdom of God,

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 but you are not

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 there.

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 If you're not there,

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 you are outside

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 the kingdom of God.

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 Jesus was telling

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 this well-informed

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 teacher

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 that it was not enough

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 to just believe

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 correct doctrine,

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 right facts

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 about God.

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 It's not enough

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 just to say,

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 I believe the Bible's true.

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 Jesus was telling him,

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 it's not enough

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 for you to just

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 have a favorable

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 impression of me.

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 And that applies

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 to everyone.

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 Believing all

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 the right things,

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 the right facts

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 about God,

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 about Jesus,

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 about the Bible,

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 it is very important.

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 And I'm not

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 in any way

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 downplaying it.

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 But it's not enough

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 for us just to have

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 this intellectual knowledge,

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 this factual information

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 and be a Christian.

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 James tells us

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 that demons believe

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 the facts about God.

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 Look at this

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 from James chapter 2.

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 You believe that God

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 is one,

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 you do well.

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 Even the demons

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 believe and

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 shudder.

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 They tremble.

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 The only way

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 that we can be right

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 with God

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 and a part of His kingdom,

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 a part of His family,

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 now

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 and forever.

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 It's to have our faith,

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 our trust,

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 our confidence

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 in Jesus

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 as our Savior.

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 And if we do that,

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 we'll recognize

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 that He really is

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 King Jesus,

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 the Lord,

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 and we'll submit

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 to Him,

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 to His authority

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 and really seek

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 to follow Him,

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 be faithful followers

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 of Him.

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 If a person

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 does not know God,

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 through a personal

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 relationship

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 with Jesus,

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 it doesn't matter

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 how close

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 they are.

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 For a person

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 to be

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 or for a person

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 to die

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 almost there,

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 believing a lot

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 of what the Bible

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 says.

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 For a person

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 to die

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 like that

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 almost there.

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 Or for a person

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 to believe nothing

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 and shake

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 his fist

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 at God,

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 the end result

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 will be the same.

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 They will be

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 eternally separated

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 from God

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 in hell.

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 And we all need

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 to let this sink in

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 because it applies

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 to us,

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 to our family members,

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 to our friends,

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 to everyone.

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 As we come together

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 this morning

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 to celebrate

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 the birth of Jesus,

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 the coming

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 of God's Son

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 into this world,

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 I want to encourage

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 you to think

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 about yourself,

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 about your relationship

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 with Jesus.

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 Make sure

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 that you are

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 now

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 in the kingdom

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 of God,

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 which means

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 that you are living

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 under His authority.

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 You are truly

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 following Jesus,

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 your Lord.

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 You know,

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 the only way

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 for anyone

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 to know

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 that they have

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 a right relationship

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 with God,

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 the only way

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 for anyone

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 to know

00:09:06.980 --> 00:09:07.600
 for a fact

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 that they

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 are a part

00:09:08.960 --> 00:09:09.379
 of the kingdom

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 now

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 is to have

00:09:11.740 --> 00:09:12.440
 that true

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 faith,

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 trust,

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 confidence,

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 commitment,

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 love

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 for Jesus.

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 He is the way

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 to the Father.

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 Jesus made it clear

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 on one occasion.

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 He said to him,

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 I am the way

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 and the truth

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 and the life.

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 No one comes

00:09:28.299 --> 00:09:28.840
 to the Father

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 except through me.

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 That last sentence,

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 no one comes

00:09:33.179 --> 00:09:33.559
 to the Father

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 except through me,

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 also can be said,

00:09:36.699 --> 00:09:37.519
 anyone can come

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 to the Father

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 through me,

00:09:40.100 --> 00:09:40.740
 through Jesus.

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 If you are not

00:09:42.919 --> 00:09:43.419
 a Christian,

00:09:44.679 --> 00:09:45.740
 you can come

00:09:45.740 --> 00:09:46.940
 to faith in Jesus

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 right now.

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 Admit your need

00:09:50.019 --> 00:09:50.940
 that you're not.

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 Turn from your sin.

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 Change your mind.

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 Put your trust

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 in Jesus

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 as your Savior.

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 Trust him

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 that when he died

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 on the cross,

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 which is why

00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:02.539
 he came into this world,

00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:04.379
 that he was dying

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 for you,

00:10:04.860 --> 00:10:05.879
 paying the penalty

00:10:05.879 --> 00:10:07.080
 for your sins.

00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:09.800
 If you know Christ

00:10:09.800 --> 00:10:10.320
 as your Lord

00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:10.720
 and Savior,

00:10:10.900 --> 00:10:11.879
 let this be a time

00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:14.040
 of worshiping him,

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 thanking him,

00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:17.560
 renewing your commitment

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 to him

00:10:18.259 --> 00:10:20.680
 as your king.

00:10:22.360 --> 00:10:23.680
 I also want to encourage

00:10:23.680 --> 00:10:24.720
 Christians in this room,

00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:28.000
 if you have family members,

00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:29.460
 friends,

00:10:29.620 --> 00:10:30.440
 people you work with,

00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:31.400
 people you go to school with

00:10:31.400 --> 00:10:33.040
 who are not Christians,

00:10:33.879 --> 00:10:35.259
 there is no better time

00:10:35.259 --> 00:10:36.100
 than this season,

00:10:36.100 --> 00:10:37.040
 the Christmas season,

00:10:38.120 --> 00:10:39.980
 for you to talk with them

00:10:39.980 --> 00:10:40.860
 about their relationship

00:10:40.860 --> 00:10:41.420
 with the Lord.

00:10:41.920 --> 00:10:42.920
 I encourage you

00:10:42.920 --> 00:10:43.879
 to ask God

00:10:43.879 --> 00:10:45.080
 to help you

00:10:45.080 --> 00:10:45.860
 get prepared

00:10:45.860 --> 00:10:46.879
 to share the gospel

00:10:46.879 --> 00:10:47.440
 with them

00:10:47.440 --> 00:10:49.019
 and ask him

00:10:49.019 --> 00:10:50.080
 to prepare them

00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:52.680
 and work through

00:10:52.680 --> 00:10:55.540
 your love,

00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:57.080
 your friendship,

00:10:58.080 --> 00:10:59.580
 your sharing the gospel,

00:11:00.759 --> 00:11:01.700
 the call of them,

00:11:02.300 --> 00:11:03.340
 that person you love

00:11:03.340 --> 00:11:03.980
 and care about,

00:11:04.600 --> 00:11:05.660
 the faith in Jesus.

00:11:06.480 --> 00:11:07.600
 Would you pray with me?

00:11:08.120 --> 00:11:08.540
 Father,

00:11:09.920 --> 00:11:11.860
 help all of us

00:11:11.860 --> 00:11:12.480
 in this room

00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:15.480
 being here today

00:11:15.480 --> 00:11:18.000
 to worship Jesus,

00:11:18.600 --> 00:11:19.620
 celebrate the true meaning

00:11:19.620 --> 00:11:20.200
 of Christmas.

00:11:21.680 --> 00:11:22.399
 Help us all

00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:23.600
 to think about

00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:25.120
 where we stand

00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:27.340
 in relationship

00:11:27.340 --> 00:11:28.019
 in relationship

00:11:28.019 --> 00:11:28.580
 to being

00:11:28.580 --> 00:11:30.620
 in your kingdom,

00:11:31.100 --> 00:11:33.019
 in your family.

00:11:36.100 --> 00:11:36.540
 Father,

00:11:36.600 --> 00:11:37.560
 for anyone in this room

00:11:37.560 --> 00:11:38.920
 who does not know Christ,

00:11:39.879 --> 00:11:40.700
 call them to faith

00:11:40.700 --> 00:11:41.240
 right now.

00:11:43.740 --> 00:11:45.780
 Do that miraculous work

00:11:45.780 --> 00:11:46.800
 in them right now.

00:11:47.680 --> 00:11:49.480
 Open their eyes

00:11:49.480 --> 00:11:51.379
 to see Jesus

00:11:51.379 --> 00:11:52.639
 as he really is,

00:11:52.700 --> 00:11:53.480
 your son

00:11:53.480 --> 00:11:56.440
 who died on the cross

00:11:56.440 --> 00:11:57.800
 for their sin.

00:11:59.800 --> 00:12:00.259
 Father,

00:12:00.340 --> 00:12:01.139
 help all of us

00:12:01.139 --> 00:12:01.779
 right now

00:12:01.779 --> 00:12:05.019
 to evaluate

00:12:05.019 --> 00:12:06.259
 just how faithfully

00:12:06.259 --> 00:12:07.420
 we are living

00:12:07.420 --> 00:12:10.639
 under your authority,

00:12:11.920 --> 00:12:14.560
 under King Jesus.

00:12:16.259 --> 00:12:17.060
 And if there's changes

00:12:17.060 --> 00:12:17.920
 that we need to make,

00:12:17.980 --> 00:12:18.840
 help us to make them

00:12:18.840 --> 00:12:19.539
 now.

00:12:20.539 --> 00:12:21.180
 And in an attitude

00:12:21.180 --> 00:12:21.740
 of prayer,

00:12:21.740 --> 00:12:23.580
 let's all just listen

00:12:23.580 --> 00:12:24.019
 to the Lord

00:12:24.019 --> 00:12:25.519
 and respond to him

00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:25.919
 in the way

00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:26.759
 that we need to.

00:12:27.299 --> 00:12:27.820
 I'd be happy

00:12:27.820 --> 00:12:28.419
 to pray with you

00:12:28.419 --> 00:12:30.039
 here at the front

00:12:30.039 --> 00:12:31.000
 in the next few minutes.

00:12:31.600 --> 00:12:32.299
 Let's just listen

00:12:32.299 --> 00:12:32.700
 to the Lord

00:12:32.700 --> 00:12:33.379
 prayerfully,

00:12:33.799 --> 00:12:34.200
 carefully,

00:12:34.639 --> 00:12:35.620
 and respond to him.