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In the name of Jesus.
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Amen.
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One of the wonderful things that
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happened during my presidency
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was receiving the gift to
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install these stained
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glass windows.
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And I had the opportunity then
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to appoint a committee.
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And I thank the committee and
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also the stained glass company
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of Lynchburg of Virginia.
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For the countless countless
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hours they put in for these
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magnificent windows which are an
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enhancement of our worship life.
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Throughout all the windows
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there are figures of faith.
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Some of them we know by name,
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others are unknown.
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What I want to ask you this
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morning is where in these
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windows do you find yourself?
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As I was preparing the sermon,
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I asked myself, dale,
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where do you think you
00:01:05.752 --> 00:01:07.038
fit into the windows?
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And I want to ask you that
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personally put in your name,
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where do you find yourself in
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these figures of faith?
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Let me tell you where I am not.
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I am not in the south windows.
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That's history.
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It's super important history.
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We study it all the time.
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But it's museum. I'm not there,
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and I'm not on the north side
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in the back window,
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the very back window
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on the north side.
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That's super important history
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but I'm not there either.
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I am in the north window
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on my left.
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I am gathered around
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with others,
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the Eucharistic tree of life.
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I'm there.
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I'll get more specific where
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exactly, In a minute.
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And I want you to notice that
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all those who are gathered
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around the Eucharistic tree of
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life are not looking at the
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table. There's two I think are,
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but the rest of them
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are looking up.
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They're looking past the table.
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Psalm 121 I lift up my eyes unto
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the hills from whence
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cometh my help.
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My help cometh from the Lord.
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The means of grace
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are not the goal.
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The means of grace
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are not the end.
00:02:52.790 --> 00:02:54.180
They are the means
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for you and me to receive
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from God the
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Grace that leads to the goal,
00:03:03.690 --> 00:03:06.990
the eschatological salvation
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of our souls.
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Retirement.
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Strange.
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I'm not sure if I'd advocate it,
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but hey, it comes.
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Retirement has given me plenty
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of opportunity to reflect upon
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my own ministry and also upon
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the ministry of the Lutheran
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Church Missouri Synod.
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And I am very convinced that
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at least I probably we,
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but at least I have not
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presented Jesus in the
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best way possible.
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Now,
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I'm not saying that we have
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presented Him falsely,
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not at all.
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There will be millions and
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millions of people who will be
00:03:59.028 --> 00:04:00.554
in heaven because of the gospel
00:04:00.602 --> 00:04:01.866
that they heard from Missouri
00:04:01.898 --> 00:04:04.302
Synod pastors, teachers,
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deaconesses, church workers,
00:04:06.206 --> 00:04:07.438
laypeople.
00:04:07.614 --> 00:04:09.314
So I'm not saying that we have
00:04:09.352 --> 00:04:10.894
presented Jesus falsely,
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not at all.
00:04:12.103 --> 00:04:14.786
But I'm convinced we have
00:04:14.808 --> 00:04:16.950
not presented Him fully.
00:04:18.649 --> 00:04:21.029
Have not presented him falsely.
00:04:21.769 --> 00:04:23.398
But I'll go to the wall
00:04:23.484 --> 00:04:25.510
on this statement.
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I at least have not presented
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Him fully.
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Where are you?
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Where am I in the figures
00:04:40.404 --> 00:04:41.580
of faith? Okay,
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that's a timeline question.
00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:46.364
But let's ask ourselves now,
00:04:46.562 --> 00:04:49.884
where is our Lord Jesus on the
00:04:49.922 --> 00:04:52.924
timeline of God's plan of
00:04:52.962 --> 00:04:56.370
salvation for you and for me?
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He's not there.
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He's not on the cross.
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He's been off the cross for 2000
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years. Been there, done that.
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My salvation depends upon it.
00:05:05.861 --> 00:05:07.156
But that's not where
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he's at right now.
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And if you look at the
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Chancel window and think that
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that's simply about the
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resurrection 2000 years ago,
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he's been out of the tomb 2000
00:05:28.214 --> 00:05:30.832
years, been there, done that.
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And if that's all you see is a
00:05:32.698 --> 00:05:34.276
historical museum event
00:05:34.378 --> 00:05:35.620
in that window,
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you might very well be
00:05:39.770 --> 00:05:41.700
a Lutheran Deist.
00:05:43.240 --> 00:05:46.100
And I'm quite convinced that
00:05:46.169 --> 00:05:48.096
there are a lot of Missouri
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Synod Lutheran Deists
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in the church today.
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Let me put it this way.
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I think we all know what
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a green room is.
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A green room is a waiting room.
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If you're going to go on a TV
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set or if you're going
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to go on stage,
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you wait in the green room until
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you're called on the stage
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or on the set.
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And then after you've done
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your performance,
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you go back to the green room
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and you can relax and eventually
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you leave.
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I think a lot of our people
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in the church,
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and maybe you and I sometimes
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think that Jesus is
00:06:30.252 --> 00:06:31.400
in the green room.
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The director sent him down to
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be incarnate, suffer, die,
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rise again.
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And then he ascended and he went
00:06:38.348 --> 00:06:39.482
back into the green room.
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And he's just relaxing right now
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until the director says, son,
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time to go out on stage and
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judge the living and the dead.
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I'm convinced a lot of our
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people think that way,
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and that's why I say they might
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earn the title of
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Lutheran Deists.
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Jesus is not in the green room.
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He's in the control room.
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Right now He is ascended,
00:07:13.510 --> 00:07:14.622
exalted,
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reigning over all the world
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on behalf of the church.
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And He's going to
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come back soon,
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soon,
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and very soon.
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We are going to see the King.
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So I said,
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I see myself in that window on
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the north side around the
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Eucharistic Tree of life.
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And I mentioned that
00:07:40.768 --> 00:07:41.802
the means of grace,
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as precious as they are,
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that's how the grace comes
00:07:44.932 --> 00:07:45.918
to us, through the means.
00:07:46.004 --> 00:07:47.630
But that's not the goal.
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That's not the goal.
00:07:50.850 --> 00:07:54.930
The goal is seeing Jesus
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face to face.
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Colossians, chapter three.
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If then you have been
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raised with Christ,
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seek the things that are above,
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where Christ is seated at
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the right hand of God.
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Set your minds on things
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that are above,
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not on things that are on earth,
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for you have died and your life
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is hidden with Christ in God.
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When Christ, who is your life,
00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:30.178
appears,
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then you also will appear
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with Him in glory.
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If you look above the table,
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you see some faceless
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figures,
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and that's where I am.
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Those faceless figures are
00:08:50.116 --> 00:08:53.550
looking toward the north window,
00:08:54.290 --> 00:08:56.630
the north transept window.
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Looking toward the one who is
00:09:00.090 --> 00:09:01.918
seated at the right hand of God,
00:09:02.004 --> 00:09:04.494
in control of all things in the
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control room for the benefit
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of us and for the Church.
00:09:09.490 --> 00:09:10.894
That's where we're looking,
00:09:11.012 --> 00:09:13.950
or at least that's where
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I am looking.
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I have a quotation here from
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N. T. Wright.
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Belief that Jesus of Nazareth
00:09:31.922 --> 00:09:33.234
has been raised from the dead
00:09:33.282 --> 00:09:34.934
is closely linked in the New
00:09:34.972 --> 00:09:37.366
Testament with a belief that he
00:09:37.388 --> 00:09:38.978
has been taken into heaven,
00:09:39.074 --> 00:09:39.442
where,
00:09:39.516 --> 00:09:41.430
in the words of the Psalm,
00:09:41.590 --> 00:09:43.146
He has been seated at the
00:09:43.168 --> 00:09:44.506
right hand of God.
00:09:44.688 --> 00:09:47.322
We are safe in saying it is
00:09:47.376 --> 00:09:48.986
impossible to collapse the
00:09:49.008 --> 00:09:50.998
ascension into the resurrection
00:09:51.174 --> 00:09:52.794
or vice versa.
00:09:52.922 --> 00:09:54.574
You can't get away with the
00:09:54.612 --> 00:09:56.474
suggesting that Jesus is raised
00:09:56.522 --> 00:09:58.302
from the dead and Jesus is
00:09:58.356 --> 00:10:00.174
ascended into heaven are two
00:10:00.212 --> 00:10:02.000
ways of saying the same thing.
00:10:02.450 --> 00:10:03.262
In fact,
00:10:03.396 --> 00:10:05.054
some kind of belief in Jesus
00:10:05.102 --> 00:10:07.074
ascension has recently been
00:10:07.112 --> 00:10:09.054
shown to be not just a strange
00:10:09.102 --> 00:10:11.550
added extra to Christian belief,
00:10:11.710 --> 00:10:13.650
as has sometimes been thought,
00:10:13.800 --> 00:10:15.810
but it is a central and vital
00:10:15.890 --> 00:10:19.266
feature without which all sorts
00:10:19.298 --> 00:10:21.062
of other things start to go
00:10:21.116 --> 00:10:22.760
demonstrably wrong.
00:10:24.970 --> 00:10:26.310
Things are going to go
00:10:26.380 --> 00:10:29.180
wrong in our life
00:10:30.270 --> 00:10:31.770
and ministry
00:10:33.870 --> 00:10:35.802
if we don't keep in the
00:10:35.856 --> 00:10:37.834
forefront of our thoughts and
00:10:37.872 --> 00:10:40.650
devotion that Christ
00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:41.526
has ascended.
00:10:41.558 --> 00:10:42.390
He is sitting at the
00:10:42.400 --> 00:10:43.278
right hand of God,
00:10:43.364 --> 00:10:45.069
He is in the control room,
00:10:45.220 --> 00:10:46.750
and soon, and very soon,
00:10:46.819 --> 00:10:47.774
we are going to see
00:10:47.812 --> 00:10:49.120
Him face to face.
00:10:50.610 --> 00:10:52.254
I'll just mention three things
00:10:52.292 --> 00:10:54.286
that can go wrong and I don't
00:10:54.318 --> 00:10:55.426
want to get along
00:10:55.608 --> 00:10:57.569
it's a whole nother sermon.
00:10:58.069 --> 00:11:00.226
But if we don't keep in the
00:11:00.248 --> 00:11:02.130
forefront of our devotion
00:11:03.670 --> 00:11:05.382
Christ in the control room
00:11:05.436 --> 00:11:06.040
now.
00:11:07.690 --> 00:11:10.069
We make it easy for our people
00:11:10.140 --> 00:11:12.280
to doubt the justice of God.
00:11:15.050 --> 00:11:17.110
We create an opening
00:11:18.330 --> 00:11:20.870
for them to be practical
00:11:20.950 --> 00:11:21.718
atheists,
00:11:21.814 --> 00:11:22.634
even though they might
00:11:22.672 --> 00:11:23.510
go to church.
00:11:23.590 --> 00:11:24.458
Because if he's in
00:11:24.464 --> 00:11:25.114
the control room,
00:11:25.152 --> 00:11:26.106
then I guess we've got to take
00:11:26.127 --> 00:11:27.900
care of things ourselves, right?
00:11:28.270 --> 00:11:29.610
And thirdly,
00:11:30.290 --> 00:11:33.310
if we as people of personal
00:11:33.380 --> 00:11:35.694
devotion and preachers and
00:11:35.732 --> 00:11:38.298
teachers do not emphasize
00:11:38.394 --> 00:11:39.658
the dominance,
00:11:39.754 --> 00:11:42.473
the dominance of our Lord Jesus
00:11:42.521 --> 00:11:44.640
Christ in our lives,
00:11:46.370 --> 00:11:48.846
the Church will fill
00:11:49.028 --> 00:11:51.310
that vacuum.
00:11:53.090 --> 00:11:54.030
Ouch.
00:11:54.610 --> 00:11:56.740
If I'm getting close to home.
00:12:03.370 --> 00:12:05.550
Nick read from first Peter.
00:12:06.930 --> 00:12:09.280
And Peter wants you and me,
00:12:11.170 --> 00:12:12.606
at least those of us who are
00:12:12.628 --> 00:12:13.486
gathered around the
00:12:13.508 --> 00:12:14.618
Eucharistic table,
00:12:14.714 --> 00:12:17.966
he wants us to look to Christ in
00:12:17.988 --> 00:12:21.130
the control room to appreciate
00:12:21.210 --> 00:12:22.974
the means for what they do.
00:12:23.012 --> 00:12:23.886
They bring us the
00:12:23.908 --> 00:12:26.040
grace of of God.
00:12:27.290 --> 00:12:29.094
Peter says in chapter one,
00:12:29.132 --> 00:12:29.654
verse three,
00:12:29.692 --> 00:12:30.966
that we have been born to a
00:12:30.988 --> 00:12:33.574
living hope through the
00:12:33.612 --> 00:12:35.000
resurrection of Christ.
00:12:37.530 --> 00:12:39.274
And it is interesting that that
00:12:39.312 --> 00:12:40.854
hope is not the resurrection
00:12:40.902 --> 00:12:41.740
of Christ.
00:12:43.950 --> 00:12:45.466
Peter only mentions the
00:12:45.488 --> 00:12:46.954
resurrection of Jesus three
00:12:46.992 --> 00:12:48.230
times in his epistle,
00:12:48.310 --> 00:12:49.626
and he never mentions the
00:12:49.648 --> 00:12:51.050
general resurrection.
00:12:52.110 --> 00:12:53.534
Now, he believed him.
00:12:53.652 --> 00:12:55.182
He believed what happened
00:12:55.316 --> 00:12:56.378
in that garden,
00:12:56.474 --> 00:12:57.886
and he certainly believed that
00:12:57.908 --> 00:12:58.878
there's going to be a general
00:12:58.964 --> 00:13:00.862
resurrection in which you and I
00:13:00.915 --> 00:13:03.934
will all see Jesus face to face.
00:13:04.052 --> 00:13:05.394
So I'm not putting that down
00:13:05.432 --> 00:13:06.834
and Peter wasn't. I mean,
00:13:06.872 --> 00:13:07.742
without the cross,
00:13:07.806 --> 00:13:08.782
without the resurrection,
00:13:08.846 --> 00:13:11.678
we have nothing. But in Peter,
00:13:11.854 --> 00:13:13.214
and not only in Peter,
00:13:13.262 --> 00:13:14.702
but other New Testament
00:13:14.766 --> 00:13:15.650
epistles,
00:13:16.490 --> 00:13:19.670
the hope is the ParusÃa.
00:13:20.890 --> 00:13:23.382
When you and I will see
00:13:23.516 --> 00:13:26.440
Him face to face.
00:13:27.950 --> 00:13:30.506
And that's why the way we are to
00:13:30.528 --> 00:13:32.074
conduct ourselves on this
00:13:32.112 --> 00:13:34.010
side of eternity
00:13:35.950 --> 00:13:38.970
is to be in the context of
00:13:39.040 --> 00:13:41.018
waiting to see the King.
00:13:41.194 --> 00:13:42.602
Humble yourself, therefore,
00:13:42.665 --> 00:13:44.078
under the mighty hand of God,
00:13:44.164 --> 00:13:45.710
so that at the proper time
00:13:45.780 --> 00:13:47.294
he may exalt you,
00:13:47.412 --> 00:13:49.614
casting all your anxieties on
00:13:49.652 --> 00:13:52.750
him, not on museum Jesus,
00:13:53.090 --> 00:13:54.386
and thank God for what
00:13:54.408 --> 00:13:55.810
he did in the museum.
00:13:56.230 --> 00:13:58.962
But Jesus wants to receive all
00:13:59.016 --> 00:14:02.194
our anxieties and cares now,
00:14:02.392 --> 00:14:04.258
as He is at the right hand of
00:14:04.264 --> 00:14:05.617
God in the control room.
00:14:05.704 --> 00:14:06.674
Be sober minded.
00:14:06.722 --> 00:14:08.354
Be watchful your adversary,
00:14:08.402 --> 00:14:08.914
the Devil,
00:14:08.962 --> 00:14:10.354
prowls around like a roaring
00:14:10.402 --> 00:14:12.706
lion, seeking someone to devour.
00:14:12.818 --> 00:14:15.826
Resist him, firm in the faith,
00:14:16.018 --> 00:14:17.526
knowing that the same kinds of
00:14:17.548 --> 00:14:19.206
suffering are being experienced
00:14:19.238 --> 00:14:21.318
by your brotherhood throughout
00:14:21.414 --> 00:14:22.300
the world.
00:14:24.510 --> 00:14:26.300
Soon, and very soon,
00:14:26.830 --> 00:14:29.050
we are going to see the King.
00:14:30.290 --> 00:14:33.165
And we need a church and we need
00:14:33.188 --> 00:14:36.286
a ministerium that not only
00:14:36.388 --> 00:14:38.560
looks to the events of the past,
00:14:39.810 --> 00:14:43.150
but also sees in that past,
00:14:43.300 --> 00:14:44.960
that sacred past,
00:14:45.569 --> 00:14:47.726
a reason for all of us to look
00:14:47.748 --> 00:14:49.434
to the future with confidence
00:14:49.482 --> 00:14:50.750
and optimism.
00:14:52.930 --> 00:14:54.640
We're going to see him.
00:14:56.330 --> 00:14:58.440
Let me wrap this up
00:14:59.530 --> 00:14:59.780
and.
00:15:00.650 --> 00:15:01.200
Hey,
00:15:02.450 --> 00:15:03.386
you get older,
00:15:03.418 --> 00:15:05.360
your filters all go you know.
00:15:12.580 --> 00:15:14.080
Every spring
00:15:15.780 --> 00:15:20.050
we are conditioned to hear
00:15:21.140 --> 00:15:22.780
Christ is risen.
00:15:22.940 --> 00:15:24.944
And then we are conditioned to
00:15:24.982 --> 00:15:27.840
respond, He is risen indeed.
00:15:28.260 --> 00:15:29.440
Hallelujah.
00:15:30.940 --> 00:15:32.730
It's fine.
00:15:33.420 --> 00:15:34.490
That's true.
00:15:35.820 --> 00:15:37.240
He is risen.
00:15:37.900 --> 00:15:39.160
And by the way,
00:15:39.310 --> 00:15:40.792
if you think that that's just
00:15:40.846 --> 00:15:42.184
the resurrection of
00:15:42.222 --> 00:15:43.820
2000 years ago,
00:15:43.970 --> 00:15:44.856
look at that window
00:15:44.888 --> 00:15:45.864
more closely.
00:15:45.992 --> 00:15:48.284
That is already Christ in
00:15:48.322 --> 00:15:50.140
the state of exaltation.
00:15:52.800 --> 00:15:55.164
But I'll tell you this Christ
00:15:55.202 --> 00:15:57.256
has risen. He has risen indeed.
00:15:57.448 --> 00:15:59.470
It doesn't resonate with me.
00:16:00.160 --> 00:16:01.676
It's kind of hollow.
00:16:01.868 --> 00:16:03.308
And I'm not saying it's
00:16:03.324 --> 00:16:04.400
not true. It is true.
00:16:04.470 --> 00:16:05.968
I'm not saying don't do it.
00:16:06.054 --> 00:16:06.896
Go ahead and do it.
00:16:06.918 --> 00:16:08.044
If I were a parish pastor,
00:16:08.092 --> 00:16:10.020
I'd plan it for Easter.
00:16:11.640 --> 00:16:13.460
But that's not exactly
00:16:13.610 --> 00:16:16.230
where I'm at.
00:16:19.790 --> 00:16:21.420
I'm looking at that.
00:16:22.210 --> 00:16:25.086
And so Peter says at the
00:16:25.108 --> 00:16:26.670
end of the reading,
00:16:29.090 --> 00:16:30.942
after you have suffered a little
00:16:30.996 --> 00:16:33.600
while, that's where we are now,
00:16:35.590 --> 00:16:37.890
the God of all grace.
00:16:39.110 --> 00:16:39.617
Remember,
00:16:39.704 --> 00:16:42.562
the means of grace are not
00:16:42.616 --> 00:16:44.190
the end or the goal.
00:16:44.350 --> 00:16:47.414
They are the means of the God of
00:16:47.452 --> 00:16:50.165
all grace who has called you to
00:16:50.188 --> 00:16:52.150
his eternal glory in Christ
00:16:52.300 --> 00:16:55.062
will still to come,
00:16:55.196 --> 00:16:57.938
will himself restore, confirm,
00:16:58.034 --> 00:17:00.280
strengthen and establish you.
00:17:01.390 --> 00:17:02.938
Soon, and very soon,
00:17:03.024 --> 00:17:04.965
we are going to see the King.
00:17:05.078 --> 00:17:06.362
And at least that's where
00:17:06.415 --> 00:17:08.502
this figure of faith,
00:17:08.646 --> 00:17:10.614
this struggling figure of faith,
00:17:10.662 --> 00:17:12.521
this guy was trying to figure
00:17:12.576 --> 00:17:14.046
out how do I make it on
00:17:14.068 --> 00:17:15.680
my own pilgrim way.
00:17:16.290 --> 00:17:17.934
That's where I'm looking.
00:17:18.132 --> 00:17:19.454
And I think that's where
00:17:19.492 --> 00:17:20.526
you're looking too.
00:17:20.627 --> 00:17:21.581
You know what really
00:17:21.636 --> 00:17:22.925
resonates with me?
00:17:23.028 --> 00:17:24.602
It's when my Lord Jesus,
00:17:24.665 --> 00:17:26.478
sitting at the right hand of God
00:17:26.644 --> 00:17:29.920
tells me, I am coming soon.
00:17:30.450 --> 00:17:34.030
And I say and we all say amen.
00:17:34.450 --> 00:17:36.750
Come quickly, Lord Jesus.
00:17:37.050 --> 00:17:38.038
To Him
00:17:38.204 --> 00:17:39.682
be the dominion forever
00:17:39.746 --> 00:17:41.990
and ever. Amen.