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Dear brothers and sisters in
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Christ, in the name of Jesus,
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amen. Hallelujah.
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Christ is coming to judge us.
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That's better than I thought
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it would be.
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Thought you might find that
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a little awkward.
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Maybe it it would be a little
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bit uncomfortable to
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say it like that.
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22 days ago,
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we were in this sanctuary a
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little bit fuller than
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it is today.
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We were gathered for a packed
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house. It was Call Night.
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Of course it was a packed house.
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That's why we're here.
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That's why you study.
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That's why we teach to send
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servants of the Word out into
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the church with the good news
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of Jesus for our salvation.
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Of course. It's a great night.
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My favorite part of call night,
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actually, is the processional.
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When we come in,
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it starts down in the basement.
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You fourth years know this.
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All the students line up on
00:01:09.448 --> 00:01:10.174
one end of the hallway,
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and the faculty and the council
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presidents line up on a
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different end of the hallway.
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And then we file out down the
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hallway, up those stairs,
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through the Northex,
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and finally we come down this
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aisle. It's a slow walk,
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and I actually kind of like it
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that way. I like walking in.
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It's usually third or fourth
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verse of our opening hymn by the
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time I get up the aisle.
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And so I enjoy taking that
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walk up the aisle in.
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And I especially like it when I
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get to right about where
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you're sitting, Josh,
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to about the 6th row back,
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because then as I'm walking up,
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that's where the students who
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are taking their calls are
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standing in their tidy black
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shirts and their blue
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outfits up front.
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And so I like to slow down there
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and just look down each aisle.
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It fills me with a mash of
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pride and thanksgiving
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and occasionally a
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little relief.
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I'd like to just stop,
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but people are coming behind me,
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so I got to keep moving.
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So I come up the rest of the
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aisle, and then I turn right.
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And as I turn right,
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I look back across
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all the students,
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and they're usually looking up,
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and I usually catch a couple
00:02:28.988 --> 00:02:29.542
of their eyes.
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It's kind a special moment I
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have just briefly with a couple
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of students. And then I finish.
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I get to the end of the pews,
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and then I look to the north,
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and there He is.
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There's that face.
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I'll be honest with you.
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I have a conflicted relationship
00:02:57.892 --> 00:03:00.750
with the Judgment Window.
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The face of Jesus in that
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window perplexes me.
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It's not the face of Jesus in
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this window. In this window,
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his face is filled with grief.
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He is the man of sorrows,
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suffering for those he loves.
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In this window, he's the victor,
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the vindicated one,
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the one who has burst forth from
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the tomb and is ready to share
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his resurrection with all
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who will follow him.
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I like that face.
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And then there's that face.
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It's a very serious face.
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You might even call it stern.
00:03:52.220 --> 00:03:53.531
It's the face of someone
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you don't mess with.
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It's the face of the judge.
00:04:05.160 --> 00:04:05.572
Now,
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I don't know if it's
00:04:06.512 --> 00:04:07.540
intentional,
00:04:08.860 --> 00:04:09.704
and I don't know who
00:04:09.742 --> 00:04:10.900
made this decision,
00:04:11.060 --> 00:04:12.904
but it strikes me well,
00:04:12.942 --> 00:04:14.136
it just strikes me that the
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faculty, during call service,
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sit right underneath the
00:04:17.278 --> 00:04:18.360
judgment window.
00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:22.300
It must be the faculty marshal,
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which actually would
00:04:25.618 --> 00:04:26.670
make some sense.
00:04:28.080 --> 00:04:29.544
But if it is intentional,
00:04:29.592 --> 00:04:30.876
I'll just point out that the
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council president is sitting
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right next to us.
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And as long as we're at it,
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you know who else is right in
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line of the judgment window?
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The candidates.
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I want to say thank you to our
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Dean of the Chapel for indulging
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me and roping off some of
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the seats in the pews.
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I'd like for all of us today to
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experience life beneath
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the Judgment Window.
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In fact, if you can't see it,
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if you happen to have
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come in late,
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there's plenty of seats up here.
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You're welcome to make your
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way up here if you'd like.
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Otherwise, you can just imagine.
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But we're going to be reflecting
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on that window throughout
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the sermon this morning.
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Wherever you're sitting,
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however,
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I'd like to spend some time
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thinking about what
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this life is like
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when you stand beneath
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the judge.
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Because make no mistake,
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we all live beneath the
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Judgment Window,
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not just when we're sitting
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in this sanctuary.
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And this life beneath the
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Judgment Window is a conflicted
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life. It's a life of struggle.
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It's a life of paradox.
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You guys remember paradox,
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right? From Intro to Systems?
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Okay? Two truths,
00:06:02.506 --> 00:06:04.266
two biblical truths that seem
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to contradict each other,
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that do contradict each other.
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But you hold them in common.
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You hold them in tension.
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Both affirmed, both confessed,
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both maintained.
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Paradoxes,
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now not yet
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perfectly free from all.
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A dutiful servant to all. We
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love paradoxes, right?
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Well,
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we love to talk about them.
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Back to the window.
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On the one hand,
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life
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beneath the Judgment Window is a
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life that is filled with hope.
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The window centers on Jesus,
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for goodness sake.
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How can it not be hopeful?
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There you have him, Christ,
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the eternal Lord,
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whose promise here we claim,
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whose gifts of grace are freely
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poured on all who name his name.
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And you see who he is, right?
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He carries with him that
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window and that window.
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His hands rich wounds
00:07:21.082 --> 00:07:22.590
yet visible above.
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The crucified, the risen,
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the reigning one,
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the one who will come to judge
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by his death,
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salvation won for every
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child of earth.
00:07:40.920 --> 00:07:42.144
Every child of earth,
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including you.
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This window fills me with hope
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because of the promises
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it proclaims.
00:07:53.690 --> 00:07:56.406
There's the river coming out of
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the city of God jerusalem,
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the golden.
00:08:02.670 --> 00:08:04.150
There's the new creation
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bursting forth with colorful
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splendor down at the bottom.
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In those blossoms.
00:08:12.050 --> 00:08:13.354
There's the multitude,
00:08:13.402 --> 00:08:16.062
the multitude of believers from
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every tribe, every nation,
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every race, every people.
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If you look really closely,
00:08:21.210 --> 00:08:22.446
there's even a couple of
00:08:22.467 --> 00:08:23.950
Germans in that window.
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I look at that window,
00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:35.500
and my faith is strengthened in
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the promises of God.
00:08:37.882 --> 00:08:39.844
The promises that are
00:08:39.882 --> 00:08:41.190
all in Christ,
00:08:41.799 --> 00:08:43.990
that await us at his return.
00:08:47.240 --> 00:08:48.800
And looking at the promises
00:08:48.880 --> 00:08:49.856
depicted in those windows
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is really important,
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because there are plenty of
00:08:52.602 --> 00:08:55.476
other judgment windows that
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aren't so gracious.
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I'm thinking of
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the judgment window on your
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laptop when you flip it open
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to log into SIMNET,
00:09:05.930 --> 00:09:07.550
to check your grades,
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assuming the professors actually
00:09:11.028 --> 00:09:12.640
post them at some point.
00:09:14.770 --> 00:09:16.346
There's no promise attached
00:09:16.378 --> 00:09:17.550
to that window.
00:09:20.210 --> 00:09:21.374
I'm thinking about the little
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windows we carry around
00:09:22.532 --> 00:09:23.790
in our pockets,
00:09:24.610 --> 00:09:25.954
those little judgment
00:09:26.002 --> 00:09:28.498
windows with every picture,
00:09:28.594 --> 00:09:31.474
every post. We invite judgment,
00:09:31.522 --> 00:09:32.994
and there are plenty of judges
00:09:33.122 --> 00:09:34.550
who will oblige.
00:09:37.130 --> 00:09:38.902
I'm thinking about that judgment
00:09:38.966 --> 00:09:42.074
window that hangs above the
00:09:42.112 --> 00:09:44.330
sink in your bathroom.
00:09:48.230 --> 00:09:50.290
The judge in that window
00:09:51.430 --> 00:09:53.240
is at the same time
00:09:54.090 --> 00:09:55.590
far too harsh,
00:09:57.130 --> 00:10:00.390
recalling things long forgiven,
00:10:02.250 --> 00:10:04.200
and yet at the same time
00:10:04.590 --> 00:10:06.250
far too lenient,
00:10:07.390 --> 00:10:09.514
excusing things that need
00:10:09.552 --> 00:10:10.890
to be confessed.
00:10:14.330 --> 00:10:15.654
It's because of all these other
00:10:15.692 --> 00:10:17.846
judgment windows that we have to
00:10:17.867 --> 00:10:19.322
keep our eye on this
00:10:19.376 --> 00:10:20.342
Judgment Window.
00:10:20.406 --> 00:10:22.902
Because under this Judgment
00:10:22.966 --> 00:10:24.778
Window, there is life.
00:10:24.944 --> 00:10:26.266
There is life because there
00:10:26.288 --> 00:10:28.090
are promises of Jesus.
00:10:29.950 --> 00:10:31.238
That's where we live.
00:10:31.344 --> 00:10:33.165
Looking forward to the
00:10:33.188 --> 00:10:35.470
promises of Jesus.
00:10:37.090 --> 00:10:37.710
You see,
00:10:37.780 --> 00:10:39.006
the common problem with those
00:10:39.028 --> 00:10:40.766
other judgment windows is that
00:10:40.788 --> 00:10:42.319
there's no grace in them.
00:10:44.150 --> 00:10:46.114
But this judge this judge is
00:10:46.152 --> 00:10:48.478
merciful, and he's kind hearted,
00:10:48.574 --> 00:10:50.574
and he's slow to anger,
00:10:50.622 --> 00:10:51.742
and he's quick to forgive.
00:10:51.806 --> 00:10:52.994
He's abounding and
00:10:53.032 --> 00:10:54.500
steadfast love.
00:10:56.569 --> 00:10:59.560
Paul nailed it in Romans eight.
00:11:00.090 --> 00:11:02.550
There is therefore now no
00:11:02.620 --> 00:11:04.086
condemnation for those who
00:11:04.108 --> 00:11:05.634
are in Christ Jesus.
00:11:05.762 --> 00:11:07.634
You are in Christ Jesus.
00:11:07.762 --> 00:11:09.334
There is no condemnation
00:11:09.382 --> 00:11:10.140
for you.
00:11:12.430 --> 00:11:14.165
And so life beneath the judgment
00:11:14.198 --> 00:11:15.766
window is a life filled
00:11:15.798 --> 00:11:16.700
with hope.
00:11:21.280 --> 00:11:22.990
But that's not all it is.
00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:27.420
Remember the paradox?
00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:32.860
100% forgiven
00:11:35.040 --> 00:11:37.030
and yet at the same time,
00:11:39.160 --> 00:11:41.670
100%
00:11:42.680 --> 00:11:43.620
sinful.
00:11:48.030 --> 00:11:49.660
I wish it weren't so.
00:11:52.270 --> 00:11:53.642
I wish there was no
00:11:53.696 --> 00:11:55.514
paradox here.
00:11:55.712 --> 00:11:57.286
I wish we could just dissolve
00:11:57.318 --> 00:11:59.800
the paradox and rejoice in our
00:12:00.090 --> 00:12:00.910
forgiveness.
00:12:04.360 --> 00:12:05.588
That will happen actually,
00:12:05.674 --> 00:12:08.212
one day that will happen.
00:12:08.346 --> 00:12:09.588
One corinthians 15.
00:12:09.674 --> 00:12:11.364
Scott just read about it.
00:12:11.562 --> 00:12:12.996
Did you notice what Paul said
00:12:13.018 --> 00:12:14.144
to the Corinthians?
00:12:14.272 --> 00:12:16.688
We shall all be changed
00:12:16.864 --> 00:12:17.668
in a moment,
00:12:17.754 --> 00:12:19.776
in the twinkling of an eye
00:12:19.808 --> 00:12:21.088
at the last trumpet.
00:12:21.184 --> 00:12:22.500
For the trumpet will sound,
00:12:22.570 --> 00:12:23.792
and the dead will be raised
00:12:23.856 --> 00:12:24.768
imperishable,
00:12:24.864 --> 00:12:26.632
and we shall be changed.
00:12:26.736 --> 00:12:28.444
You know what that change is?
00:12:28.642 --> 00:12:30.140
No more sin.
00:12:31.520 --> 00:12:33.340
No more paradox.
00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:36.504
Only forgiveness. Only glory.
00:12:36.632 --> 00:12:39.810
Only life as God intended it.
00:12:42.180 --> 00:12:43.324
But all those verbs
00:12:43.372 --> 00:12:44.960
are future tenses.
00:12:47.380 --> 00:12:48.464
All of that is still
00:12:48.502 --> 00:12:51.010
to come. For now
00:12:51.560 --> 00:12:53.668
as Paul pointed out,
00:12:53.754 --> 00:12:57.332
death still stings and
00:12:57.386 --> 00:13:00.580
sin still clings.
00:13:02.040 --> 00:13:03.350
To your life
00:13:04.460 --> 00:13:05.930
and to my life.
00:13:07.500 --> 00:13:10.490
And to our life together.
00:13:12.700 --> 00:13:14.410
I wish it weren't so.
00:13:19.670 --> 00:13:22.046
This sin will go with you
00:13:22.168 --> 00:13:23.480
to your first call.
00:13:24.330 --> 00:13:26.322
All of you who just took calls
00:13:26.466 --> 00:13:29.080
22 days ago. It'll go with you.
00:13:29.850 --> 00:13:31.058
There will already be plenty
00:13:31.074 --> 00:13:31.846
of sin there from your
00:13:31.867 --> 00:13:32.710
congregation.
00:13:33.230 --> 00:13:34.250
You'll deal with that.
00:13:34.319 --> 00:13:35.258
But I want to think about the
00:13:35.264 --> 00:13:37.020
sin that's going to go with you.
00:13:39.550 --> 00:13:43.260
Your pride will go with you.
00:13:45.730 --> 00:13:47.200
Trust me on this one.
00:13:50.170 --> 00:13:54.306
Your willingness to let noble
00:13:54.418 --> 00:14:00.220
ends justify ignoble means
00:14:01.950 --> 00:14:03.340
will go with you.
00:14:05.310 --> 00:14:08.314
Your insecurity that makes you
00:14:08.352 --> 00:14:09.334
really super sensitive
00:14:09.382 --> 00:14:10.410
to criticism.
00:14:11.569 --> 00:14:13.200
It'll go with you,
00:14:15.250 --> 00:14:17.946
as will your baser instincts.
00:14:18.138 --> 00:14:20.234
That will invite you to abuse
00:14:20.282 --> 00:14:21.950
the freedom of the gospel,
00:14:23.569 --> 00:14:25.502
and that will tempt you to play
00:14:25.636 --> 00:14:28.510
in the dark, antinomian shadows.
00:14:35.460 --> 00:14:37.090
I know what I'm talking about.
00:14:40.100 --> 00:14:41.464
And I think you do, too.
00:14:46.450 --> 00:14:48.080
Well, Paul sure did.
00:14:49.250 --> 00:14:50.542
Paul was on to us.
00:14:50.596 --> 00:14:51.920
Paul was on to this.
00:14:52.690 --> 00:14:53.454
Which is why,
00:14:53.492 --> 00:14:54.798
in his next letter to
00:14:54.804 --> 00:14:55.950
the Corinthians,
00:14:56.530 --> 00:14:58.062
he's talking in chapter five
00:14:58.116 --> 00:14:59.006
about how we should make
00:14:59.028 --> 00:14:59.740
it our aim to please.
00:15:00.250 --> 00:15:00.846
God.
00:15:01.028 --> 00:15:02.522
And then he gives this warning.
00:15:02.586 --> 00:15:03.646
He's encouraging us to live
00:15:03.668 --> 00:15:04.334
the Christian life.
00:15:04.372 --> 00:15:04.894
And then he gives
00:15:04.932 --> 00:15:05.950
us this warning.
00:15:06.290 --> 00:15:08.830
For we must all appear before
00:15:08.900 --> 00:15:11.854
the judgment seat of Christ so
00:15:11.892 --> 00:15:13.886
that each 1 may receive what is
00:15:13.908 --> 00:15:14.846
due for what he has
00:15:14.868 --> 00:15:15.840
done in the body,
00:15:16.610 --> 00:15:18.510
whether good or evil.
00:15:20.610 --> 00:15:23.626
Life beneath the Judgment Window
00:15:23.818 --> 00:15:26.290
with a stern face of a judge
00:15:26.370 --> 00:15:29.270
like our righteous Lord Jesus,
00:15:30.090 --> 00:15:32.022
is a very uncomfortable place
00:15:32.076 --> 00:15:34.566
to be for those who
00:15:34.588 --> 00:15:37.510
are 100% sinful.
00:15:41.140 --> 00:15:42.370
So we live
00:15:43.560 --> 00:15:45.060
in this tension,
00:15:46.440 --> 00:15:49.232
in this perplexing paradox,
00:15:49.376 --> 00:15:50.816
fully forgiven,
00:15:51.008 --> 00:15:52.308
drenched in the waters
00:15:52.324 --> 00:15:53.332
of baptism,
00:15:53.476 --> 00:15:55.240
fully righteous before God,
00:15:55.310 --> 00:15:56.490
and yet also
00:15:58.380 --> 00:16:00.040
hopelessly corrupt,
00:16:01.900 --> 00:16:03.720
drowning in sin,
00:16:05.680 --> 00:16:07.480
constantly and desperately
00:16:07.560 --> 00:16:08.350
in need
00:16:09.520 --> 00:16:11.832
of God's gifts of grace.
00:16:11.976 --> 00:16:14.830
So what shall we do?
00:16:17.060 --> 00:16:18.752
What shall we do in our life
00:16:18.806 --> 00:16:20.352
together beneath this
00:16:20.406 --> 00:16:21.628
Judgment Window?
00:16:21.724 --> 00:16:24.720
Do we repent or do we rejoice?
00:16:25.780 --> 00:16:28.268
Do we hang our heads in shame?
00:16:28.364 --> 00:16:30.260
Or do we lift our voice?
00:16:32.440 --> 00:16:33.830
You know the answer.
00:16:35.319 --> 00:16:36.390
It's yes.
00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:39.044
It's yes, we do
00:16:39.082 --> 00:16:39.670
both.
00:16:40.840 --> 00:16:43.590
Paradoxically at the same time.
00:16:49.770 --> 00:16:50.706
Remember the theme
00:16:50.738 --> 00:16:51.830
of these windows?
00:16:52.890 --> 00:16:53.826
Remember the theme
00:16:53.858 --> 00:16:54.870
of these windows?
00:16:56.170 --> 00:16:59.130
It's the Te Deum Laudamus,
00:17:00.750 --> 00:17:02.346
the ancient hymn back to
00:17:02.367 --> 00:17:03.542
the fourth century.
00:17:03.686 --> 00:17:05.980
This praise to Christ.
00:17:08.210 --> 00:17:11.021
What shall we do when we are
00:17:11.076 --> 00:17:14.430
soaked and saved in our baptism?
00:17:15.810 --> 00:17:17.866
What shall we do when we partake
00:17:17.978 --> 00:17:20.126
of the foretaste of
00:17:20.147 --> 00:17:21.540
the feast to come,
00:17:22.069 --> 00:17:25.422
when we hear the angels playing
00:17:25.485 --> 00:17:27.470
that distant triumph song?
00:17:27.550 --> 00:17:28.994
What shall we do when we look
00:17:29.032 --> 00:17:31.426
through this window out into a
00:17:31.448 --> 00:17:33.502
creation that is still groaning,
00:17:33.646 --> 00:17:35.306
that longs to be restored?
00:17:35.358 --> 00:17:36.886
What shall we do when we hold on
00:17:36.908 --> 00:17:38.662
to these promises that have
00:17:38.716 --> 00:17:40.054
always been more than
00:17:40.092 --> 00:17:41.030
just words?
00:17:41.180 --> 00:17:43.702
What shall we do as figures of
00:17:43.756 --> 00:17:46.034
faith who walk by sight?
00:17:46.162 --> 00:17:48.262
What shall we do when we
00:17:48.316 --> 00:17:50.389
contemplate the crucifixion
00:17:51.850 --> 00:17:53.606
and when we gaze at
00:17:53.628 --> 00:17:54.594
the resurrection,
00:17:54.722 --> 00:17:56.966
this explosion of Jesus from the
00:17:56.988 --> 00:17:59.066
tomb as a phoenix rises
00:17:59.178 --> 00:17:59.770
from the dead?
00:18:00.650 --> 00:18:02.000
What shall we do?
00:18:06.130 --> 00:18:07.200
We sing.
00:18:09.090 --> 00:18:11.150
We sing the Te Deum.
00:18:14.290 --> 00:18:17.022
We don't sing it because it
00:18:17.076 --> 00:18:18.926
benefits us in any way.
00:18:19.108 --> 00:18:20.142
Not because we love
00:18:20.196 --> 00:18:21.600
Matins so much.
00:18:23.890 --> 00:18:26.310
And not only in this sanctuary.
00:18:28.170 --> 00:18:30.274
We make a life of singing
00:18:30.322 --> 00:18:32.200
the Te Deum to God.
00:18:35.770 --> 00:18:37.590
It's your theme song,
00:18:38.110 --> 00:18:40.118
your walk up song,
00:18:40.294 --> 00:18:42.010
your fight song,
00:18:43.470 --> 00:18:45.850
your swan song.
00:18:49.630 --> 00:18:52.394
Our life beneath this Judgment
00:18:52.442 --> 00:18:54.160
Window is life.
00:18:54.770 --> 00:18:56.474
It's life beneath the Judgment
00:18:56.522 --> 00:18:58.426
Window because the Judge
00:18:58.538 --> 00:19:01.870
gives us His own life,
00:19:02.020 --> 00:19:03.966
and He puts a song in our hearts
00:19:03.998 --> 00:19:05.986
that pours out of our lips so
00:19:06.008 --> 00:19:07.314
that our entire life
00:19:07.432 --> 00:19:10.210
is one long Te Deum.
00:19:11.590 --> 00:19:13.854
We don't sing for our benefit.
00:19:13.902 --> 00:19:15.406
We don't sing for God's benefit.
00:19:15.438 --> 00:19:16.850
He doesn't need our song.
00:19:16.930 --> 00:19:18.902
Creation is doing just a good
00:19:18.956 --> 00:19:20.166
job praising his name
00:19:20.188 --> 00:19:21.080
without us.
00:19:21.690 --> 00:19:22.150
No.
00:19:22.220 --> 00:19:26.182
We sing the Te Deum for those
00:19:26.236 --> 00:19:27.586
people who are up in the right
00:19:27.628 --> 00:19:29.130
corner of that window.
00:19:35.300 --> 00:19:37.456
The people separated from
00:19:37.478 --> 00:19:38.880
the love of Jesus,
00:19:40.660 --> 00:19:41.072
who,
00:19:41.126 --> 00:19:42.204
without the proclamation
00:19:42.252 --> 00:19:42.944
of the word,
00:19:43.062 --> 00:19:45.460
will be separated for
00:19:45.530 --> 00:19:47.700
all eternity.
00:19:49.480 --> 00:19:51.460
We sing for their sake.
00:19:52.520 --> 00:19:54.240
We sing and we preach.
00:19:54.320 --> 00:19:55.632
We sing and we witness.
00:19:55.696 --> 00:19:57.052
We sing and we forgive.
00:19:57.136 --> 00:19:58.372
We sing and we promise.
00:19:58.436 --> 00:20:00.410
We sing. We sing.
00:20:00.940 --> 00:20:02.010
We sing
00:20:04.780 --> 00:20:07.560
for their sake. You and I,
00:20:07.630 --> 00:20:09.572
sinner saints through
00:20:09.646 --> 00:20:10.590
and through.
00:20:11.360 --> 00:20:14.172
We do what this seminary has
00:20:14.226 --> 00:20:16.220
done for all of its existence.
00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:20.716
The reason we exist here is to
00:20:20.738 --> 00:20:23.420
sing a lifelong Te Deum,
00:20:23.840 --> 00:20:26.044
in deed and in Word,
00:20:26.162 --> 00:20:28.188
so that all may honor Christ
00:20:28.274 --> 00:20:32.376
today and follow Him as Lord.
00:20:32.568 --> 00:20:35.570
We rise to sing now.