Matthew 13:1-17

[0:00] Good morning all. First of all, welcome newcomers. Hey, it is such a blessing to see you.! Whether you come once, every now and again, or whether you make this your home, I just pray that you will be truly, truly blessed.

[0:19] And that together we will grow in the Lord. And you'll find that as a church we dearly love God's word. And I hope you'll also find we dearly love each other.

[0:33] And I think those two things are the, one could argue, the only essentials really for a church. If you love his word and you love each other, you've kind of got everything else sussed.

[0:44] We're still in Matthew's gospel. For those of you who are new, we've been going through Matthew's gospel verse by verse. And we are in chapter 13 this morning, starting in chapter 13, so 13 verse 1.

[0:59] And before we read some of the chapter, I'm not going to try to do the whole chapter. I'm going to probably do to verse 17.

[1:11] But the other rule of thumb that I have is if I run out of time, because we tend to try to keep to about 45 minutes for the sake of the children. Which is enough anyway, because if you haven't struck oil by 45 minutes, you should stop boring everyone.

[1:27] So before we get into chapter 13, can you recall that what we discovered was that chapter 12 was a turning point in Matthew's gospel.

[1:45] It was the point at which Jesus challenged the Jews over his messiahship. He did a messianic miracle. They said he was doing it by the power of Satan.

[2:00] He refuted them absolutely and made them look very small. They were seeking how they could destroy him. So it's the point at which there was a final and official rejection of Jesus by the Jews.

[2:17] Not necessarily by all individual Jews, but by the Jewish religious leaders. And so therefore you would say by the Jewish government.

[2:29] So there was a national rejection of Jesus at this point. And because of the Jewish tradition of following after the rabbis, which, if you recall, we said they still do today.

[2:40] Somebody mentioned that, what's his name? Ben Shapiro on the telly was making comment about the fact that, I think it was John MacArthur that was talking to him about Jesus.

[2:56] And he said, well, if Jesus was the right one, how come the rabbis don't recognize him? And so right up to today, they're still reliant upon what the rabbis tell them rather than on what the word of God tells them.

[3:10] And Jesus said, for best part, I guess it must have been over a year and a half, maybe as much as two years. He'd been constantly fulfilling God's word before their eyes, teaching them in a way that no one had ever taught before.

[3:25] And they reached this point where there was this final rejection. And so the difference that that made was that instead of, from here on, instead of doing miracles before them to convince them of his messiahship, to give them the evidence that they should have responded to and they should have said in, he's come and he's healed a man born blind.

[3:48] He must be messiah. He's come and he's healed the deaf mute, cast out the dumb spirit. Only messiah can do this. And instead of responding with this in the right way to this evidence, they continue to reject him.

[4:02] And so suddenly all opportunities have ceased. And his teaching takes on a different basis from this point. Up to this point, he is taught by discourse.

[4:13] It's been really, really plain. In fact, sometimes you would argue too plain. You brood of vipers, how can you produce anything good? You know, very, very unequivocal, direct statements where you cannot mistake the meaning.

[4:30] And all of that happens up to the end of chapter 12. And in verse 1 and 2 of chapter 13, what you're going to see is he starts to teach in parables. And what I intend to do this morning is, whether I'll succeed remains to be seen, but what I intend to do is to try to approach it the way Jesus did on the day and to put ourselves in the shoes of the Jews receiving this.

[4:56] So we're not going to go through the explanation of the parable of the sower today. We're going to go through Jesus' first statement of the first few verses of the parable of the sower.

[5:09] And then we're going to deal with this really awkward group of verses from, I think, verse 11 through to 17, which I've never heard preached.

[5:24] Now, that's not quite true. If I Google it, I can hear people preach it, but I've never heard it from a pulpit because it's awkward. It's one of those bits of scripture we kind of ignore, needs a bit of explanation.

[5:37] But the principle we follow is that we don't ignore the awkward bits. We thank God for the awkward bits because they always unearth a gem for us if we are diligent to pursue him in his word.

[5:50] So starting at verse 1. So this is this transition.

[6:10] He's not used parables up to this point. And you'll find parables in the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. You won't find any parables in the Gospel of John. Different purpose for the Gospel of John.

[6:22] But there are no parables in John. There are 30. I think there are 13 in the book of Matthew, but there are seven in Matthew 13 alone. So he's speaking by parables.

[6:32] Verse 3. Verse 3b. Behold, the sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road and the birds came and ate them up.

[6:44] Others fell on rocky places where they did not have much soil. And immediately they sprang up because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched.

[6:54] And because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among the thorns and the thorns came up and choked them out. Others fell on good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty.

[7:10] He who has ears, let him hear. Now, imagine that you're a Jew and you've just heard that. What are you thinking?

[7:22] Forget the fact that you've all had before explanations of the parable of the sower. You've never had an explanation. And Jesus, who has so far been really nailing your feet to the floor on scriptural matters.

[7:35] I'm the Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was not created. Man was not created for the Sabbath, but Sabbath was created for the man. He's been unequivocally direct the whole time up to this point.

[7:51] And suddenly he says, the sower went out to sow. And when he sowed his seed, some went on this kind of soil and some went on that kind of soil. And then he says, if you've got ears, hear.

[8:05] And he walks off. And you're left thinking, what on earth is he talking about?

[8:15] And as later students of the word as we are, 2,000 years later, if you didn't have the next bit or the bit after next, the explanation of the parable, you'd still be thinking, what on earth was that about?

[8:33] And I would suspect that traditional Jews today, who don't read the New Testament because Jesus wasn't the Messiah and all that, so we don't even look at it, would still be thinking, what was that all about?

[8:48] There's nothing in there for you to grab and I'll wrestle a spiritual truth out of this without some further knowledge. Which leads to the question, why did Jesus do this?

[9:03] Why did he use parables? Parables. And the answer, I have to tell you, is somewhat harrowing and contains a dire warning for us who come later.

[9:22] This generation of Jews, and those of us who've done a little bit of, we were studying the rapture of the church on a Thursday night for a while, and we're going to go back to that at some point, but one of the things that comes from that is that there is this period of time which we live in, which is an interim period, there's an interim plan going on called the church.

[9:47] The Jews, and if you read through Romans, you'll find in Romans 9 you have Israel elected, if you go to Romans 10, you'll have Israel rejected.

[10:01] Now that rejection causes some church leaders to say, Israel's been rejected, therefore the church is the new Israel.

[10:11] No, the church is the interim plan. God doesn't have temporary plans, and doesn't abandon people because they sin. Sometimes it would be easier for us to fathom if he did abandon people when they sinned.

[10:25] But he didn't abandon Israel, he has an everlasting covenant with Israel. So when you get to Romans 11, you get Israel restored, or I'm trying to think what the rhyming couple of words, elected, rejected, accepted.

[10:46] Romans 11, Israel accepted. So, we need to ask ourselves, at what point did this start, this transition from accepted, sorry, from elected to rejected?

[11:07] Where did that cut-off point happen? Where were they rejected? You're at it now in Matthew. That's why it's such a profound, I mean, this morning's study gave me a lot of pause, because I'm just thinking, this is awful.

[11:25] This whole nation, because of one stupid act of the national leadership, which the whole nation got behind, barring the elect, or barring the elect as a poor choice of words, because Israel is the elect, so barring the remnant, is what I should have said.

[11:52] The whole of Israel, barring the remnant, went with these leaders, and officially rejected Messiah, at which point, Messiah also rejected them, for now at least.

[12:09] And so, what we're reading about, is actually the age, the time really, although the official beginning of the church, happened at Pentecost, this is the point at which, the shift in mind and ministry happened, that brought about the church, a little while later, after the crucifixion, and after the resurrection, and when Pentecost happened, but the rejection of Israel, happened here, and the plans that were made, for the interim period, the church, began.

[12:41] So, we've got these verses, and we'll read on, from verse 10, and the disciples came, and said to him, why do you speak to them, in parables?

[12:58] Jesus answered them, to you it has been granted, to know the mysteries, of the kingdom of heaven, but to them, it has not been granted, for whoever has, to him, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance, but whoever does not have, even what he has, shall be taken away from him.

[13:19] therefore, I speak to them in parables, because while seeing, they do not see, and while hearing, they do not hear, nor do they understand, in their case, the prophecy of Isaiah, is being fulfilled, which says, you will keep on hearing, but will not understand, you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive, for the heart of this people, has become dull, with their ears, they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see, with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand, with their heart, and return, and I would heal them, but blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear, for truly I say to you, that many prophets, and righteous men, desired to see, what you see, and did not see it, and to hear, what you hear, and did not hear it.

[14:14] Well that clears it all up, doesn't it? Um, and I've already, strayed way away, from my own notes, but then, so, why do you speak, to them in parables?

[14:36] This, this quotation, from Isaiah, comes from Isaiah chapter 6, interesting, downstairs I do, in Isaiah chapter 5, uh, if we turn to Isaiah chapter 6, and I'm going to continue to, avoid my notes, unless I, have to use them, um, because, there's something about this, that makes you want to, not be harnessed, by a set of notes, but have your heart, harnessed by God, to what's going on, so, keeping in mind, our own introduction, this, uh, this group of verses, goes from, uh, I think about verse 8, but, when we get a quotation, from the Old Testament, given in the New Testament, our habit, which I intend to continue, this morning, is that you don't just, read the selected verses, you read the Old Testament, passage in its context, because otherwise, you'll find it difficult, to get the meaning, from, the quoted verses, so, if we start, at the beginning, of chapter 6, which says, in the year, of King Uzziah's death,

[16:00] I saw the Lord, so this is, this is Isaiah himself, I saw the Lord, sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of his robe, filling the temple, seraphim stood around him, sorry, stood above him, each having six wings, with two he's covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew, and one called out, to another, and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth, is full of his glory, and the foundations, of the thresholds, trembled at the voice, of him who called out, while the temple, was filling with smoke, then I said, woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man, of unclean lips, and I live among, a people of unclean lips, for my eyes, have seen the King, the Lord of hosts, then one of the seraphim, flew to me, with a burning coal, in his hand, which he had taken, from the altar, with tongs, and he touched, my mouth with it, and said, behold, this has touched, your lips, and your iniquity, is taken away, and your sin, is forgiven, so what we're looking at, is the very beginning, of Isaiah's ministry, as a prophet, and the point, at which,

[17:19] God gets a hold, of this man, who is only, too aware, that he is, the most abject, of sinners, and the presence, of the King, convicts him, and I, I can't, speak for anyone, else here, but certainly, the day I got saved, I was utterly, convicted, I had this, strangest of times, where, the presence, of God, came to me, and I knew, that that presence, loved me, and yet, I'd seen me, for what I really was, and I could not, understand, how, he could love me, and it must have been, something like this, that Isaiah was going, through here, where he's suddenly, confronted, with the presence, of almighty God, and he knows, he's forgiven, so as a small aside, to what we're going, to look at, when we go on, to the next verse, verse eight, then I heard, the voice of the Lord, saying whom shall I send, and who will go for us, and then I said, here I am, here am I, send me, sometimes I've heard, this preached, as if it's a bit Rambo-esque,

[18:55] I'm here Lord, send me, oh that is not, what it's like at all, this was a man, who was aware, of his abject, sinfulness, and the fact, that he was only, standing there, because the king, had forgiven him, and he said, in humility, Lord send me, and that should be, the way we approach, ministry, there is no room, for pride, and people who strut up, and down stages, saying, I have the anointing, and all of that stuff, there needs to be, a knowledge, in whoever ministers, at any time, whether to, ones and twos, or to thousands, there needs to be, a humility, that says, I am nothing more, than a forgiven, abject sinner, and without that, you've got nothing, to offer, because whatever, you are offering, is something, out of your goodness, and you don't have, any goodness, goodness, so, going on, through this then,

[20:08] I want you to make, a little mental note, that what we're going to read, is a prophecy, of something future, and what we read, in Matthew, is about the fulfilment, of something, that was prophesied, so we've got, both ends of, we've got both bookends, here, we've got a prophecy, of something, that's about to happen, although it doesn't say, when in Isaiah, and of course, when is, in Matthew 12, and that's a real privilege, isn't it, we should latch, onto the privilege, of God, showing us, that he had a plan, because he knew, he had foreknowledge, and he knew, that Israel, were going to go, right off the rails, and there would come, a time, when Israel, would be rejected, and there would need, to be a plan B, in place, thank God, that I'm part, of plan B, so verse 10, render the hearts, of this people, insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim, otherwise, they might see, and this is God, telling Isaiah, what to say, right, here I am Lord, send me, what shall I say, read that again, what I want you, to do Isaiah, is, render the hearts, of this people, insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim, otherwise, they might see, with their eyes, and hear, with their ears, understand, with their hearts, and return, and be healed, then I said,

[21:51] Lord how long, and he answered, until cities are devastated, and without habitation, houses are without people, and the land, is utterly desolate, so how long, have I got, to keep saying this Lord, I'm going to, I'm going to put something, in that isn't in scripture, and if there's a bolt, of lightning, Lord please forgive me, about AD 70 maybe, because that's the time, at which, the city of Jerusalem, was raised to the ground, where there were no people, left in the houses, there was starvation, there was cannibalism, there was violence, there was fire, how long Lord, until the city, is burnt to the ground, the Lord, has removed men, far away, and the forsaken places, are many, in the midst of the land, yet there will be, a tenth portion, in it, and it will again, be subject, to burning, like a terebinth, or an oak, whose stump, remains, when it is felled, the holy seed, is its stump, now I'm going to, break one of my own rules here, and I'm going to not deal, with the verses in order, because just, it's almost an aside, to what we've got to say, but, do you remember, the other scripture, which is in the notes, you'll get the notes, and I've lost my place, in the notes, so you can read it for yourself, but, there was, a shoot, that was going to come forward, out of the stump of Jesse,

[23:37] Jesse, the Messiah, was going to come forward, out of the stump, of Jesse, so, this is an, awful prophecy, render their ears, so they don't hear, render their heart, so they don't understand, until, the city is destroyed, and until a seed, comes out, from the root of Jesse, and there will be, a, an eventual restoration, which we know, will happen, at the second coming, so, Isaiah was told, I think Isaiah was around, was it about 700 BC, or something like that, so 700 years, before Messiah, trod the earth,

[24:39] Isaiah was told, tell these people, that I'm going to render them, unable to hear, unable to see, unable to understand, and they're going to be destroyed, and what you have in, in, what you have in, Isaiah, 6 verse 9, keep on listening, but do not perceive, what did they do, with Jesus, what they did was, he came and said, look, I'm here, I'm Messiah, here are the relevant miracles, that the Old Testament, has prophesied, here are the aspects, of my life, the virgin birth, the genealogy, the birth in Bethlehem, all of these, hundreds of, bits and pieces, that were fulfilled, in the life of Jesus, were portrayed, before the Jews, and they kept listening, and what did they do, in chapter 12, just before we, get to this, they said, Lord, we would have you, give us a sign, what, he couldn't possibly, have given them, more signs, but he said, no, enough's enough, and the fact, that this point, came where he said, enough's enough, means that, whilst his, his kindness, and compassion, is undoubtedly, it stretches, a long, long, long, long way, his patience, does have, a point of termination, where he says, enough, and it was true, for these Jews, and we need to pay attention, because it's also true, for us, and we'll look at, one or two scriptures, about that, later on, but turn back, to Matthew 12, sorry, 13, if I start doing,

[26:29] Matthew 12 again, we will be here, a long time, so verse 13, chapter 13, verse 13, therefore I speak, to them in parables, why do I speak, to them in parables, well, you've got these, awkward verses, for Bible teachers, to explain, just before that, he's, let's picture the scene, massive crowd, has followed him, to the beach, he's got into a boat, to avoid the press, of, I don't mean the press, I mean, the pressure, of the crowd, he's gone out, into the boat, and he's preaching, to the crowd, I'm going to assume, I can't see, any other reason, for this being laid out, the way it is, that that crowd, was the same crowd, that had just rejected him, they'd followed him, and it must have been, a mixed crowd, there would have been, some believers in the crowd, the disciples were in the crowd, but there would also have been, a lot of the people, who'd rejected him, and probably, more than a few, religious leaders, so to the same crowd, that he'd been preaching, directly to, for ages, he's suddenly, using a parable, and has left them, at this place, where he says, right, okay, so if anyone's got ears, let him hear, and walked off, or rode off, or something, he's, he's gone, either he's gone, or the crowd's gone, but suddenly, the initial crowd, that followed him, which was a mixed bag, of people, have been left thinking,

[28:02] I wonder what that was about, and may have wandered off, and what we then read, is in verse 11, sorry, in verse 10, the disciples, came back to him, and asked, why are you using parables, and what he said, to those, who clung, onto him, was, this is why, I'm using parables, and if we were, we're not going to do it today, but if we were to go, from verse 18 onwards, that is the crowd, that he explained, the parable to, not the mass of people, who rejected him, but the few, who hadn't, received, that explanation, I can't speak for you, but before I got saved, I'd read large chunks, of the Bible, and it made no sense, to me whatsoever, I was left like they were, thinking, what on earth, is that about, and then I got saved, and suddenly, because I'm pursuing the Lord, I get to understand, the scriptures, scriptures, so it's, there's an enigma, involved, where unless, you are, bestowed, the ability, by the Holy Spirit, to understand, the scriptures, you won't understand, them, and, so what he goes on, to say is, to you, those of you, who are hanging on to me, it has been granted, to know the mysteries, of the kingdom of heaven, but to them, or the other lot, who've gone, who aren't holding on to,

[29:38] Christ, it hasn't, this is, a deliberate, keeping, of kingdom, knowledge, from them, and you might think, how callous, in fact, it gets worse, if we read on, for whoever has, to him, more shall be given, and he will have, an abundance, but whoever does not have, even what he has, shall be taken away, and you might think, how mean, take someone, who's got nothing, and even that, and take away from them, that really sounds, callous and horrible, but if you have, a little bit of a dig, into the language, you'll find, that that's a misrepresentation, the verb used, where it says, to him who has, and to him who has not, the verb, the verb used, if you, if you look it up, in your Strong's Concordance, or whatever, it will say, the verb is to hold, it's not something, you already possess, it's something you choose, to hold on to, so, to those, who choose to hold on, you can understand, the mysteries, of the kingdom of heaven, and to those who don't, which of course, the majority of them, had not, they'd actively, thrown it away, so they weren't, holding anymore, what did they, actually have, well they had, a knowledge, of Old Testament, theology, that should have, brought from them, a heart response, to Messiah, and didn't, so even the little, that they had, which was, some knowledge, of the coming Messiah, would be taken, from them, and mostly, it is still absent, from that nation today, they still believe, in the same God, as we do, and they've rejected, they're still waiting, for Messiah, so, this is,

[31:39] God saying, enough is enough, now there is a view, do I subscribe, to this view, I'm actually not sure, but there's one view, that I've heard, many preachers, speak on this, which says, one of the reasons, for this, is an act of mercy, because, what it, what it does, is it provides, a, a merciful outlet, if, if God, if Jesus, had carried on teaching, in the way he was, and carried on doing, the miracles, they would have, heaped upon themselves, judgment, upon judgment, upon judgment, it, it sounds plausible, I'm not going, to write it off, but it doesn't, sit right with me, because I think, what Jesus, has come to here, is a final judgment, and he's obeying, his own word, where he says, do not cast, your pearl, before swine, that, he stopped, doing what he was doing, because there is, no longer a point, that's my take on it, but I'm open, for you to tell me, otherwise, because the scriptures, the scripture doesn't say, it's an act of mercy, what the scripture says, it's,

[32:51] I'm going to deafen you, and blind you, and, I love this phrase, it says, make your heart dull, which if you look at, both the Hebrew, and the Greek, it means, make your heart fat, you have an overweight heart, but it's, kind of, a fat heart, if you're, if you're estranged, from God, a fat heart, would be full of, self importance, self righteousness, self self self, it's, feel, when we get fat, we've been eating, the wrong things, for too long, haven't we, and I, I'm not, I'm not looking at anyone, but, but there is that sense, that we get fat, because we spend too long, eating the wrong stuff, so, what he's saying is, you've blown it, and he's done it before, we shouldn't be surprised, he did it, in Genesis, with Noah's flood, he did it, in the days of,

[33:58] Kadesh Barnea, when they, he didn't allow them, to enter the promised land, there was a final judgment there, that wasn't an act of mercy, that was, an act of punishment, for faithlessness, did the same, in the days of Manasseh, because of all the child sacrifice, that was going on, God reaches points, where his patience, runs out, so what about us, what's the application for us, how am I doing time wise, 12, 12, 12, 12 whole minutes, maybe I should have done, the whole chapter, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, what about us, I want to, draw our attention, to the fact, that, Israel at this point, was given over, to 2000 years, of rejection, because of the way they handled Messiah and because of the way they handled the truth of God's word.

[35:01] If you turn with me to Romans chapter 1. Starting at verse 18.

[35:35] For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. There are a lot of people who claim to be believers and who claim to be God's ministers who reject the truth and suppress it in unrighteousness.

[35:55] They stand up before people and preach for their own sordid gain. Verse 19. Because that which is known about God is evident within them for God made it evident to them.

[36:08] For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made so that they are without excuse.

[36:20] For even though they knew God, and this is just like the Jews in that day, wasn't it? Even though they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks, but became futile in their speculations and their foolish heart was darkened.

[36:34] Professing to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and for birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

[36:46] Now we get to the consequences. Therefore, God gave them over in the lust of their heart to impurity. Sorry, who gave them over?

[36:58] God gave them over. So they started to stray, they started to sin, they started to behave in a worldly way, they started to reject God's truth and in the end, God himself gave them over.

[37:12] I look at our nation and I wonder whether nationally we have been given over because of some of the choices we make. And I praise God for the example from Matthew's gospel.

[37:25] The example is that there is still a remnant and I trust God that I'm part of that remnant. God gave them over.

[37:38] The word is paradidomi, which kind of means to imprison or to influence in a way that you can't resist, I suppose is one way to put it.

[37:50] It's okay, have your way. But once God gives you over, you can't do it right after that. There comes a point where even repentance becomes impossible because God has, for the time being, rejected you.

[38:08] Now, I'm not saying that that necessarily means that you will never get an opportunity to come back. What I am saying is, you will not know what it's like to live in the good things of God at all after that.

[38:19] Once you've finally and completely rejected him, you are in a right mess. There is nothing you can do to stave off God's judgment.

[38:32] And he goes on. Verse 25, For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

[38:43] For this reason, God, paradidomi, gave them over to degrading passions. For their women exchanged the natural functions for that which is unnatural. And in the same way also, the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another.

[38:59] Men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own bodies the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over.

[39:14] There's a finality in this. Turn with me to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2.

[39:35] 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. And verse 5. I think I may have got the wrong reference.

[40:03] Right. Right. Yes, got it. So we read from verse 5, which sets the context for the key verse, which is verse 11.

[40:20] Do you not remember while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know that what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed.

[40:33] For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains, and there's a whole Bible study on that, little three words, but he is the Holy Spirit here.

[40:44] So he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of his mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of his coming.

[40:57] That is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

[41:13] For this reason, God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false. This whole idea of being given over to something that's false and delusional and deceptive by God is a direct consequence of rejecting God and rejecting his way.

[41:34] And I know many Christians who struggle in life because they remain in rebellion. And eventually, God says, well, okay, have it your way.

[41:49] And when you are miserable enough, it's a bit like the prodigal son, when you're miserable enough, you will come back. Because living in sin for someone in whom the Holy Spirit dwells is utterly miserable.

[42:09] Oh, I was going to refer to Psalm 81, because in Psalm 81, what we read is that this is a common way for Jesus to administer things.

[42:23] Psalm 81, which, of course, we'll be reading again next week. Verses 11 and 12.

[42:35] But my people did not listen to my voice, and Israel did not obey me. So I gave them over, paradidomai, I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart to walk in their own devices.

[42:53] There's a principle that God uses, and it's something we sometimes do with our own children. They're going to do it, they're going to do it, and you say, don't do it, don't do it, don't do it.

[43:05] And in the end, you say, okay, do it. Don't come crying to me when you get the consequences. And they do it, and they come crying to you when they get the consequences. But it's God's parenting.

[43:17] And sometimes the quickest way to get us back on the right track is to let us go down the wrong track for a while and realise how miserable it is.

[43:33] So we shouldn't be surprised, we should actually expect it. Let's finish with the good stuff, though. 1 Peter 1.

[43:45] Turn to 1 Peter 1. There's a bit more than I've said in the notes. As you can tell, it's a subject that deeply affected me in the heart.

[44:06] 1 Peter 1. Verses 10 and 12. Peter says this to the churches to whom he was writing, as to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

[44:37] It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you in these things, which now have been announced to you through those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit, sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

[44:56] look.

[45:26] but you're going to be miserable. But he has given us things into which angels, they don't even get it. We can get it.

[45:39] Is that not an incredible privilege? Let's not, in our own lives, make the same mistake as this generation of Jews did. Father, thank you so much for this word, a word of both warning and encouragement.

[45:55] Lord, I think I speak for us all when I say we want, we want to be men and women who can grow in their faith and can grow in their relationship with you and as a result of loving you, grow in their relationships with one another.

[46:15] Lord, the love that you have set in this place, I pray that you would grow that love. I pray that people would come and see the way we love you and the way we love each other and as a result of that, know that the Father sent Jesus.

[46:33] Father, thank you so much for this word and I pray that you would pour out your blessing on every person that's heard this this morning. In Jesus' name, Amen.