Sermon On The Mount - Part 8

Amen. Hallelujah. For the blood and the lamb that was slain. I just want to greet everybody in Jesus' name. It's good to be assembled again. Yeah, I was blessed with that opening, Micah. I guess that's okay. It's kind of interesting, because I've thought through the years, or I remember long ago thinking about this, and every now and then since. I think if I take time, I could draw a comparison with each plague and a certain bondage that applies spiritually. And I just never took the time to do that. So, that was nice. All right. Well, we'd like to take another look here at the Sermon on the Mount, continue through this teaching that Jesus gave. The next teachings that he gave, the next two teachings that he gave, is the teaching, the first one, what we call the teaching of non-resistance, the second one, loving our enemies, and they're really closely related, and they kind of overlap. But we're only going to look at the first one. It's such a big subject. There's so much to talk about. And they are different. They are a little different, too. And I've already been trying to weave the lesser important things that we could talk about the portion today, just to hopefully not make it too late. So, we're going to look at Matthew 5, verses 38 to 42. Why don't we stand, and we'll read these, and pray, and then we'll get started. You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, do not resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. And whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him, too. And give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for this word from the Lord Jesus Christ, and we believe that there is life, truth, grace, spirit found in these words. And I pray, Lord, that you would help us as we look at them and explore them, that you would help us to see why you gave these things to us, and help us to live this out in a real way, and to find the blessing that you've given with this teaching, as hard as it might be. So we pray that you would help us today, and be with each one of us, and be with those who can't be with us today, and minister to their needs, and bless them as well. In Jesus' name, amen. So, one of my goals in going through this sermon has been to let Jesus address. Why did Jesus address the things he did? If he came and his purpose was to lay the axe at the root of problems, why did these subjects that we've been looking at, and that we'll be looking at as we go through this sermon, why did these subjects make it into this, into this first sermon, as the king of a new kingdom? We could call this teaching, we could call the constitution of a new nation of people under God's rule. I've been wanting to recognize, us to recognize, the solutions that Jesus gives are the only true ways to overcome the problems he's addressing. And also why salvation is found in these teachings. They are the way of a new creature that's been born again to a new life. They are grace and truth. And that's what I'd like to look at today in this teaching as well. So it seems to me it's been a while since we've done the last message. It really hasn't been all that long. There's just a lot of things that have happened here between then and now. So let's remember the settings. We have Jewish people, Israelite people. It's been ingrained in them that someday a deliverer would come and he would sit on the throne of David and he would restore the kingdom to what they used to have. And that kingdom would last forever. And every generation of Israelite people has been waiting and waiting and thinking, maybe, maybe, maybe in my day, This deliverer longed for the return of the glorious days of King David and Solomon when they lent to many nations but didn't borrow. When the enemy came in one way and fled seven ways and when they were the head and not the tail. And so when Jesus comes here, the Israelite people are under the iron rule of the Romans. They were debt slaves in their homeland. They were working as slaves in the vineyards and the olive groves that their great, great, great, great grandfather had owned. Now they're the slave working this same land, these same fields. It's not a good thing. Now this era in the history books, this era is called the Pax Romana era. And it's sometimes referred to as a golden age. It was a long period of time with no major wars. It was considered a time of peace. But it was the kind of peace that the world gives. It was a peace that was established by force and power. And so the Romans were way too powerful for anyone to mess with. And so it created an outward appearance of a peaceful era. But it was not. The majority of the people in this era, the majority of the people were slaves. And therefore those who were in authority were harsh and strict in order to prevent revolts from taking over. Matthew Arnold wrote a long poem describing this era of the Romans and then its fall. It's a long poem. But here's a couple of verses out of it. And he's describing how things were in that era. He says, Stout was its arm, each few and poisoned and alive, but, ah, its heart, its heart was stone, and so it could not thrive. On that hard pagan world, disgust and secret loathing fell, deep weariness and sated lust made human life a hell. And so it's in that kind of an environment, that kind of a world that Jesus came and he proclaims, peace on earth, good will to men. But Jesus, I think maybe we had this verse already. Somebody read this verse already this morning. Jesus described his peace as, Not as the world give I peace, but my peace passes understanding. It's something that is beyond. Jesus's way is not necessarily common sense. It's uncommon sense. His way is something that passes common understanding. And hardly anywhere is that more evident than in today's text that we read. And yet, if we embrace this principle of nonresistance to the evildoer, then it's a liberty and a freedom and a peace that surpasses any freedom that we could gain by having a longer fist than the other person, by having a longer sword or a quicker gun or a stronger military or anything like that. We can find a peace that is not established by having force or more power or a more dangerous weapon or making the other person too afraid because of our strength. Jesus did indeed come to free us. He came to deliver us, but not from the Romans and not from King Herod. He didn't come to deliver us from ISIS or China or Russia or any angry neighbor or any thief or any other evildoer. That's not what he came to deliver us from. But he came to free us from evil itself. The only way to overcome evil is to overcome it with good. The only way to conquer violence is to absorb it. And history just is repeating this. It tells us over and over. It's in the Israelites' histories. It tells us that the people in power oppress the less fortunate. They will oppress the weaker people. And so there's always people under the injustice of other people. But what history tells us is that tables turn around. And the people who are oppressed gain their footing. And they get to this place where they have power. They become the oppressor over the people or other people instead of being the oppressor. Through power, they claw their way up. And it's always at the expense of others. Our natural tendency is to hate those who hate us, to curse those who curse us, to treat others the way they treat us with just a little bit extra forgiveness. That's our natural tendency. And the startling truth is that if we follow our natural inclinations, we will become like the person we despise. So God wanted Israel. We just heard in the opening about Israel being in bondage under the Egyptians. And when God led them out, he led Israel out there. And he gave them a place to rise up. And guess what happened? With some generations, they became the oppressors of the poor. And prophets after prophets had to rebuke them. But if you look at the laws that God gave to them, he wanted them to remember that they had been bondmen in Egypt. And he wanted them to keep this vengeful spirit that's in us to keep it in check. And so in the Mosaic Law, he dealt with this a little extra forgiveness problem. He dealt with that and he wanted Israel to govern with a fair and square kind of punishment. And so he gives them this teaching that it shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe, fracture for fracture, donkey for donkey. Just have it fair and square. If somebody is mad at me and he chops off my hand, you chop off his hand, but only his hand. Not his two hands. Or not the finger on the other hand more. Or something like that. Fair and square. You gouge out one eye, you get to gouge out one of his eyes. But not more. Not both of them. Okay? And so that is how they were to respond. It is how they were to punish the evildoer. A command that allowed for vengeance in check. And this command is actually a reasonable way for a government to govern civilians with evil hearts. But it never solves the problem. It never solves the evil heart. Even if the violent action gets stopped because of it, it never solves the desire to do violent actions. And as we have been seeing, Jesus has been teaching over and over that whether the problem is murder, whether the problem is adultery, whether the problem is swearing oath, the root of the problem is in the desire of the heart. And the root of violence is no different. Violence begets violence. And it is not conquered with more violence. I think it was Gandhi who said, an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. So here on the sermon, Jesus addresses this problem and he gives a really profound solution. He quotes the Torah in verse 38. He says, you have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, don't resist an evil person. And then he follows it with some hypothetical scenarios and how the people in his kingdom should respond when this kind of violence or evil happens. And so he says, instead if someone smites you on one cheek, you offer him the other. If someone comes and takes your coat away, forbid him not to also take your cloak away. And if someone commands you carry or walk with him a mile or carry a pack a mile or whatever, just go two miles with him. And if someone asks you for something, give it to him. And if he would like to borrow something, don't turn away from that man. What do you think is going on in the minds of Jesus' audience? I mean, these are people who have deeply longed to be delivered from oppression. I'm sure there were people who just kind of grit their teeth under this. Did whatever the minimum was that they had to do. Whatever they grittingly and begrudgingly did that. There were some who kind of worked the system a little more and they became somebody like a tax collector or somebody who could kind of get into favor by pleasing the Romans or serving them in some way. There were others who joined little bands and they became the zealots and they hoped to overthrow the Roman government. And I'm sure there were many, many people who wished that this large population of slaves could just unite together and end the Roman government. I'm sure there was many people like that there. And what is Jesus saying? He's saying, here's what you do. You give more to the oppressor than he's even asking or demanding. This is so contrary to our flesh. It is so contrary to our natural tendency. But somehow, I think in spite of the fact that it's so contrary to our flesh, somehow this concept has a ring of truth that echoes in our hearts. It's an otherworldly problem. But while I expect the same thing went on in these people's minds that go on in the people's minds who we introduced this teaching to for the first time. And in spite of the fact that there's a ring of truth that echoes in our hearts, our brain is doing all kinds of, what if? What if such and such? What if this scenario? What if that scenario? I mean, there is no passage in scripture that raises as many what if questions as this one. Well, what if I turn the cheek and he hits that one too? Should I just turn the first one again? What if he hits that one? What if he knocks my head off? What if I give him my coat and then he takes my cloak and then he wants more? Do I just keep giving more? What if this? What if that? And it keeps going, it keeps going, it keeps going. We think of all kinds of scenarios that could happen. And I think it is good for us to think through some of these possible scenarios. But instead of trying to come up with the right answers to all these scenarios that never quite happen the way we think them anyway, let's today think about why did Jesus teach this? And what is the purpose of why he taught this? And let the basic principles of that guide us through all the what ifs that we could think in our mind. So, Jesus came to teach and to show humanity that the way of life is through the cross. Now, that's paradoxical because the cross... Jesus knew that the cross was the only way to the throne of God and he invites us to take up our cross and follow him. This is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it's the power of God. This is an important part of... Maybe we... It's more than just important. This is such an all-encompassing part of what the new covenant is about. Irenaeus wrote something like this. He said, the new covenant that brings back peace, together with the law that gives life, have both gone through the whole world, as the prophet said. Christians... and their spears into pruning hooks for reaping grain, that is, into instruments for peaceful purposes. So now they are strangers to fighting. When they are struck, they offer the other cheek. So think about this. Jesus... We all believe Jesus overcame evil, but he overcame evil through this principle of non-resistance. He conquered evil and he proved himself to be more powerful than it by resisting against the evil that he was smitten from him. And it didn't end there. They kept going. They spit, they mocked, they cursed, they put crowns of thorns on his head, they nailed him to a cross, they plunged that cross into a hole, they ran spears into his side. They didn't end with those couple things. And he bore it all patiently. And in the end, through what he did and how he dealt with all the evil that was coming at him, he defeated the violence of Satan by not bowing to violence himself. And that's the way of Jesus. And he says, follow me. That is, follow my example. When Jesus gives this teaching here in the Sermon on the Mount, he's taking a broad stroke that reaches into just about every area of our life. A life that is willing to suffer injustices, and not only suffer injustices, but to offer more to the evildoer than he expects. That includes, as we see, the way Jesus worded this, it includes suffering, whether it's bodily pain, like a beating on the cheeks. It includes the loss of your clothes, like your coat or your cloak. It includes our work and our service. It includes our money when someone asks from us. I know the passage probably isn't just as narrow as money, but I get the impression, by the way Jesus says that, if someone asks money from you, give it to them. If they want to borrow money from you, borrow from them. I'm sure it doesn't just include money, but it seems like that's what he's implying too. It also seems to me that the way Jesus worded this, that he creatively just about took in every class of people that could do some violence to us. So whether it's just an angry neighbor or stranger, or somebody that's just angry and just takes his fist and gives us a blow in the cheek, or whether it's the thief, the robber who just wants to take something from us. Now in Matthew's account, it says if someone wants to sue you at the court, so it's almost like a court setting. If someone wants to sue you at the court and do something. But in Luke's account, it sounds like if somebody by force takes your coat away. So we've got just the angry person who's angry at you for no reason. You've got the thief. You've got somebody who wants to drag you to court. You've got the person that's in authority over you, like an officer or somebody who demands that you take his load and carry it. Authority over you, it includes those people. And then it includes the beggars. The person who just says, hey, can you give me money? The person that's under you. It includes all those people. So in any situation, in any and all situations, do good to those who do evil, and suffer the pain and loss that the evildoer inflicts. And God wants all people to be treated as someone that he created. He wants all people to be treated as if they deserve to have salvation offered to them. He wants all people to be treated as if they have the right to know the knowledge of truth. There's someone who deserves to know that the way is through the cross. And guess what? There's no louder sermon, there's no more powerful message that can be preached than the one that is lived out. Jesus' way of non-resistance to evil is not just a passive, do-nothing, just-let-me-be-run-over type of mentality. That's not what Jesus is saying here. He is rather telling us the only solution to actively overcome evil. And it's not based on a do-nothing mentality, it's based on a do-something mentality. It's a finding within ourselves the ability, no matter how the pain and the loss hurts, finding it within ourselves the ability to love and to have compassion on the aggressor, seeing him as a man who is in need of the Lord, and putting yourself in a position to show that to him, even if it costs you your life. When the Israelites came through the Red Sea, they sang that song, it's called the Song of the Sea, and in that song it says, The Lord is a man of war, the Lord is his name. That has not changed. He still is. But, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of darkness, and against spiritual wickedness. And for that reason, our weapons of warfare are not carnal, they are not guns and spears, they are not the kind of weapons that would destroy someone's flesh and blood, but they are mighty, through the pulling down of strongholds. Because they have the ability to pierce a man right into his soul, and bring him to repentance. When Jesus says here, Resist not the evil person, don't take that to mean, so that it could mean withstand. In fact, the word gets translated as withstand in other places in the scripture. We are to resist the devil, as James says. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Or when Paul writes in Ephesians, about taking on the armor of God, he says, so that you can withstand. And so we withstand these spiritual forces, these powers, these principalities, but our war is not against flesh and blood. And for that reason, we do not resist the devil, we conquer him so that his soul could be saved. When we have in our hearts, when we have a love of Christ toward an aggressor, and we genuinely desire to know God, we genuinely desire that someday, we could sit beside this man at the Lord's table, See, that's the heart of Jesus. That's why he was able to go through this, because he wanted to win these people. And he ended up doing it. I believe that many of the people who were there in that mob, and were saying, crucify him, crucify him, what was it, 40 days later, or something like that? I believe many of those same people were there at Pentecost, and they heard Peter preach about Jesus, and who he really was, and it pricked them to the core. What shall we do? If we have this kind of a love for the aggressor, the man who's making us suffer, the man who's making my family suffer, we have a weaponry far more capable of undoing his evil heart, and harming him from his destructive behaviors than any sword, gun, police, jail, or prison. And we are able, possibly able, to get to the heart of the problem. And this doesn't work. This doesn't work if we have some self-righteous attitude, and we come to a person like, here I come, this great saint to you wicked sinner, doing for you what you don't deserve. That's not going to cut through there. But if we can come, because we really, really do believe this, and we feel this, and we want to know the love of God, that is powerful. You know, as we, as I think, my experience from my thinking, as I think through the many what-if scenarios, I don't know exactly what I'd do. Neither does anybody else. But if I love that person as Christ loved me, and with the love of Christ in it, it certainly rules some things out. I can take that person's life. I can get someone else to take that person's life. It rules out doing violence back to him, because violence just begets more violence. When we, when we, when for people to, to just say something like, well, would you just do nothing? And here's, here's the thing, brothers and sisters. We're not reduced to two options. We don't just have the option of either do nothing or do violence. That's not the only two options we have. First of all, we have the power of prayer. The shadow of God's hand is more powerful than all the world's militaries put together. We have the power of the gospel that can be preached in word and deed. Do we believe in prayer? Do we, do we believe that, do we believe that we can be armed in prayer? Tertullian wrote, said something like this. He said, prayer is the wall of faith, her arms and missiles against the foe who watch over us on all sides, and so never walk we unarmed. By day, be we mindful of station. By night, a vigil. Under the arms of prayer, guard we the standard of our general. Await we in prayer the angel's trump. Origen said something like this. None fight better for the king than we do. Indeed, we do not fight under him even if he demands it, yet we fight on his behalf, forming a special kind of godliness by offering our prayers to God. And so we have that. But, and here's, here's just the reality. In spite of that, in spite of the fact that we believe in prayer, we believe in God's power, we believe in his ability to protect and save, we also know that the ways of God are above our ways and his judgments are not our judgments, and we do not know the judgments of God and the truth is that many good men get killed by evil men. Why? Someday we'll know, but for now our knowledge is in part. We, we, we only see through a glass darkly and someday that'll change, but for now that's all that we can see and the only thing that will carry us through into eternity is love. Because we, because we don't know the judgments of God, it is even, that we do not fight back and that we do not resist the evildoer. Paul talks about this in Romans 12, starting in verse 17 he says, Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but let room for the wrath of God. For it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, save the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Notice that he says there, If it's possible, live peaceably with all men. As much as you are capable of doing in this situation, live peaceably with all men. That this is not always possible, but then he follows it up with this, but never take your own revenge. Leave that to God. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay. When we commit ourselves to Christ, we commit ourselves to Christ even unto death. We count the cost, and we prepare to follow His teachings though it costs us father, mother, brothers, sisters, wife, children, lands, houses, and our own life. And once we give ourselves up in such a way as a child of God, and we recognize that our life and our death are in the hands of Him, we experience a freedom and a liberty that passes understanding. If we can surrender or just release ourselves, ourselves and our families and our possessions into the hand of God, we know nothing can happen that He does not allow to happen. We are released from a burden that was never meant for us to carry anyway. It's a burden that belongs on God. Dean Taylor wrote in his book The Change of Allegiance, he says, The more I studied the life of Christ and the testimony of the saints who have gone before us, the more I realized that the Christian's most ultimate weapon, his most formidable instrument of force, his most indestructible garrison against all attacks, and his most fierce arsenal against all enemies, is the cross. As Paul said, it is the power to salvation. And those who belong to Jesus, to Christ, Jesus have crucified the flesh with its possessions and desires, with its passions and desires. He says, If you are living according to the flesh, you must die. But if by the Spirit you are putting to death your body, you will live. In other words, if you have already died, if we've already died to ourselves, in other words, if we live this cross-bearing life willingly and joyfully, suffering and death has no power over us. We can see beyond the bodily pain of a blow on our cheeks We can see beyond the fleshly arm that dealt the blow and we can see other forces at work and we can receive it like Jesus did. He did it to seek and to save that which was lost. We can suffer joyfully the spoiling of our goods if we've already forsaken them in our hearts. We can suffer joyfully if we've committed our time and energy to the service of God. Jesus did not come to deliver us from suffering. He came to give us a life and a purpose worth suffering for. He came to give us a life that no amount of suffering can separate us from, neither tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword. But for His sake, we are killed all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. We are accounted as sheep. That in itself means a whole lot. Tertullian writes around 190 A.D., he says, The Lord will save them in that day even if they are dead. No one gives the name of sheep to those who fall in battle with arms in hand or those who are killed when repelling force with force. Rather, it is given only to those who are slain, yielding themselves up in their own place of duty and with patience rather than fighting in self-defense. Non-resistance against evildoers has been a mark of true Christianity through all the ages. Beating our swords into plowshares has been a mark of the true church ever since the apostles started preaching the good news of the gospel. In the revelation of John, John saw, I think it's chapter 12 or 13, John saw this war in heaven where Michael the archangel was making war against the dragon and the dragon was cast out and came to the earth. To those on the earth, it says, they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony and they loved not their lives even unto death. Lay down your swords and spears or your walls or whatever kinds of things you use to defend yourself. When Jesus said, he that lives by the sword dies by the sword, He's again putting forth a broad principle. You might think, well, okay, I won't keep a sword, but maybe can I keep some other weapon just not a lethal weapon? Can I keep a dog to guard me? Can I shoot some shots into the air to scare people off? Can I use tear gas? Brethren, we need to accept this theology of dying, of being willing to suffer for the sake of Christ. This is not the way of Jesus. Those things are not the way of Jesus and the apostles. We could not imagine that. James and John and the apostles were once... wanted to go through Samaria. How was that? They were on the way to Jerusalem. They wanted to go through Samaria. Samaria shut the doors to them or something like that. And James and John were like, are they going to do that to us? Why don't you fire down from heaven and destroy these people? And Jesus said, you don't know what spirit you are of. I didn't come to destroy life. I came to save it. When John writes in the Revelation about this prince, see, Jesus had said, he that lives by the sword dies by the sword. And John writes in the Revelation in chapter 13, he says, hear. Let him hear. And he makes it broader. He says, he that leads into captivity shall go into captivity. He that kills by the sword shall be killed by the sword. And then he says hear and send the faith of the saints. Some of the translations would say, for perseverance or for patience of the saints. The only way to overcome evil is to overcome it. Lactantius wrote, when provoked by injury, if a man returns to his assailant, he is defeated. The early Christians took a really straightforward approach to these teachings of Jesus. One of them wrote, we have learned not to return blow for blow nor to go to law with those who plunder and rob us, to those who smite us on one side of the face. We have learned to offer the other side. To those who take away our tunic, we have learned to give them a robe also. Clement of Alexandria wrote, Christians are not allowed to use violence to cleanse themselves of sin. Concerning the teaching, give to him who asks of you, and from him who would borrow of you, turn not away. Hermas gives this counsel. Freely give to all the needy, not hesitating as to whom you are to give and not to give. Give to all, for God wishes his gifts to be shared among all. Those who receive will render an account to God for what they have received. The needy who received will not be condemned, but those who received on false pretence. Yet, he who gives is guiltless. There's more quotes with a similar counsel or advice. Giving without... I know if you all find it the way I find it, you can't... There's so many people that ask that you can't even give to everybody that asks. And so, if a person uses some judgment on which is the better place to give, I can't fault that. How can you not if you're being asked for more than what you can give? But I've just found when we over-concern ourselves in trying to... Well, is this for sure a good cause? Is this guy possibly lying to me? What if he's going to use it for something he's not saying? I've just found it to be super freeing to not overburden myself with trying to figure those things out. A few more things before we wrap. To not embrace this teaching of non-resistance is to reject one of the very core teachings of Christianity. It is to reject one of the foundation stones on which Christ-like life is built. Jesus sent His disciples out into a world that was full of evil and that was full of violence. And how did He send them out? Armed to defend themselves? No, He said, I send you out as sheep among wolves. Suffering, pain, and loss is normal Christianity. Jesus had said the disciple is not above his master nor is he that is sent greater than him who sent him. He did not come to destroy us. He came to bring us something that is worth losing. And let's be about our Father's business as ambassadors, as conquering the evil of the world by spreading the good news of the gospel. Let's preach this word in deed and in truth and with words and with life, with intention, with purpose. I think what we'll find is that when we set a single eye on Christ, and we dedicate our life and our families and everything we have to the purpose of furthering the kingdom of God and to serve Christ, I think if we do that and we go about, we try to restore light and life and the order of God without discrimination against who, whether he's Jew or Gentile, whether he's black or white, or whether he's a neighbor or a foreigner. When we do that, the purpose and meaning of Christ's teaching about resist not evil will take on a whole different meaning. Then if we sit down and we take it easy and we build our own little kingdoms and we try to acquire more possessions and build bigger businesses and preserve an earthly heritage and make life comfortable for us and then we spend our lives building and planting and gathering and then we start squirming around all these what-if questions, I think there's a really big difference in how we find these teachings a blessing. In 1527, two years after the Anabaptist movement in Europe, in Augsburg, Germany, they had a meeting. And the purpose of this meeting for the Anabaptists was they wanted to strategically send out people through various parts of Europe to take the gospel of the kingdom there. And there were 60 people, 60 young men, probably mostly in their 20s and 30s, showed up to this meeting. And they figured out who goes where to preach the gospel. Five years later, there were two of them left. Out of 60, who just left what they had to go to... there's two left. They loved not their lives even unto death. The cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us, it is the power unto salvation. One more thing. In Revelation, in the Revelation of John, in chapter 5, there's this scene that John sees. And he's seeing the throne of heaven and lots of amazing things that he's seeing there. And then he sees the one on the throne that is sealed with seven seals. And he heard a loud voice that said, Who is worthy to open the seals to break open this book? And they looked. They started looking. John sees his vision and they started looking. And there was no one. There was no one in heaven and earth who was able to open this book. I get the impression that whatever is contained in this book is like a... It's like... is what is... to set things back into the way God wants them to be and no one is there who can open it. And it says John starts weeping. He starts weeping... because no one's worthy. And then one of the elders comes over and touches him and says, Stop crying. Stop weeping. And listen to what he says. He says, The Lion of the tribe of Judah is found worthy to open the book. I tend to think... Look up. And he was going to see... He was going to see a lion come and open this book. And what did he see? Lo, there was a lamb that as if it's been slain was there. And that had the power, the authority, the ability to unlock what everyone else was unable to do. And all of heaven started singing and saying, You are worthy to take the book and break the seals. This ultimate power is not given as we would think to the lion with all its strength and jaws and claws, but to the slain lamb. I think in this scene, in this scene, is the entire... I think this scene includes the entire message of Christianity. The whole of what Christianity is about is all tied up in this scene. I'll end that and I'll open it up for any comments and corrections as well as questions. God bless you all. This you must follow steadfastly until the day is done. And as you are of the flesh what heav'n beholds inside you must be armed with love and faith with virtue, truth, and right. The myth of Abraham will despise whose arm holdeth the sea, who lives with regions and disguise and walks with favor key. The Lord will purge the barren tree, reject the worthless vine. So let your righteous fruitful be, filled with God's love divine. Christ therefore is the only way this kingdom shall endure. For you has known salvation's day now and forevermore. Joyful, joyful, we adore thee, God of glory, Lord of love. Heart of gold, I bow before thee, heavenly as the sun above. Now the clouds of sin and sadness drive the dark of doubt away. Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day. All thy works with joys surround thee, earth and heaven reflect thy rays. Stars and angels sing around thee, center of unbroken praise. Field and forest, dale and mountain, lasting bay of threshing sea. Trending firm and flowing fountain, call us to rejoice in thee. Thou forgiving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blest. Wellspring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest. Thou the father, Christ our brother, all who live in love are thine. Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine. Portals join the mighty chorus, wish of morning stars demand. Father of His reigning chorus, brother of life's man-to-man. Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife. Joyful music lifts us onward in the triumph song of life. O sing aloud, rejoice, o earth, for summer and winter forever, and its floodings gift unfurl. Our birth, and life, and friendful youth, adoring winter's bare and few, fair and lovely green, a fair rule. A million flowers in these vines, of silk we'll hear each day more fine than some of those great splendors. The trees and foliages are dead, wherein the mother heard her death, and lies her blessings tender. The larks and turtledoves appear, they ride the air and sing with cheer, they praise and love their Maker. The hen, her little flock, they rest, the spawn, the soot, and gash in sand. Some fly by their caretaker. The frost is gone, the brook looks fresh, the shepherds leap to let us watch their skidding flocks and fleeces. In the dust there's peace, the blue limbs hold, a nectar for their honey-straws. Thou weep, the pain freezes. Oh, why my soul has scarcely rest from all the joy within my breast? Ah, the surge of gladness raises. I sing our love creation's song, the prayer that to my God belongs. Oh, how my heart embraces. The Lord is my light, is my life, my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength, is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? The Lord should tell the world, me, my heart shall not fear. The Lord shall rise again, me, in this I will be confident. One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek after, that I also love the Lord. That I may lay my soul in Him, that I may serve the Lord, that I may lay my soul in Him, that I may serve the Lord, all the days of my life. That I may lay my soul in Him, that I may serve the Lord, that I may lay my soul in Him, all the days of my life. All the days, all the days of my life. Alleluia! Sing, planting fountain, for the lamb hath been slain, and the ransom price paid. Holy castle was the debt, when on Calvary's mountain, all the sins of this world upon Jesus were laid. There was no one to save, there was no eye to pity, until Jesus our Savior from glory came down. He was mighty to save, He was strong to deliver, He hath brought us salvation, the robe and the crown. Alleluia! Alleluia! Sing the triumph of strength, Alleluia! Alleluia for the blood, and the lamb that was slain. Alleluia for the blood, sing for joy all ye nations, and rejoice at the word of redemption is done. Here is pardon free for all, and a perfect salvation through the sin-penting blood of the crucified one. There was no one to save, there was no eye to pity, until Jesus our Savior from glory came down. He was mighty to save, He was strong to deliver, He hath brought us salvation, the robe and the crown. Alleluia! Alleluia! Sing the triumph of strength, Alleluia for the blood, and the lamb that was slain. Alleluia for the blood, Alleluia forever, we shall sing it anew, in the kingdom of God, where the anthems of delight shall be silent no never, evermore, Alleluia for Christ and the blood. There was no one to save, there was no eye to pity, until Jesus our Savior from glory came down. He was mighty to save, He was strong to deliver, He hath brought us salvation, the robe and the crown. Alleluia! Alleluia! Sing the triumph of strength, Alleluia for the blood, and the lamb that was slain.