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Bibles our Focus today will be on the last two verses of chapter 16: 19 and 20 but I'd like to uh read beginning at verse 14 through uh again set the
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context Mark 16:14 and afterward he appeared to the 11 themselves as they were reclining at the table and he reproached them for
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their unbelief and Hardness of Heart because they had not believed those who had seen him after he had risen and he said said to them go into all the world
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and preach the gospel to all creation he who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned and these signs will accompany
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those who have believed in my name they will cast out demons they will speak with new tongues they will pick up serpents and if they drink any deadly poison it shall not hurt them they will
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lay hands on the sick and they will recover so then when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them he was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of
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God and they went out and preached everywhere while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word by the signs that followed let us
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pray again father we do ask that by your Holy Spirit you would teach us you would help us to understand you would help us to meditate on these things as we learn
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to to read the scriptures and learn to let scripture interpret scripture we ask that you would build us up in this way and that you would cause Us by this to
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not only have an understanding and wisdom but wisdom but also greatly increase in our ability to worship and give you honor and Glory we
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ask in Christ's name amen the closing verses of Mark these two verses 19 and 20 complete what I think
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and I was a little disappointed that we didn't read Mark chapter 1 because I think it comes full circle to Mark 1 verse one the beginning of the Gospel of
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Jesus Christ as ja Alexander said in his commentary it would not be easy to find two short sentences containing more than these concluding verses one of which
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describes the whole process of the savior's exaltation and the other the whole missionary work of the Apostles as its necessary fruit and therefore a
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conclusive proof of its reality the shadow things have passed the things the types and someone
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mentioned in their prayers the the book of Hebrews is full of the explanation of those shadows and why they are
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passed Alex uh aw toer in his book entitled Jesus our man in glory gives a helpful illustration of
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what the shadow might be like and I share it with you because I know we have a number of young people we can kind of visualize if we've read Hebrews the the
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priest and the Altar and the blood and the goats and all of those things but the Shadows he explains would be as if you were invited to a dinner
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party and the hostess set the beautiful table the table cloth the the China the silverware the crystal glasses and in the center this
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beautiful flower arrangement as the centerpiece and then as the guests kind of gathered around and thought wow this is going to be a marvelous dinner the hostess brings out a loaf of bread and
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sets it side up on the sideboard and behind it puts a bright light and that bright light casts the shadow of that
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loaf of bread on the beautiful set table and then she turns to her guest and says come sit eat and be
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filled the shadow is not going to nourish anyone the shadow is not going to fill us up it's not going to satisfy us in any way and that is the shadow of
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the Old the Old Testament prophecies the Shadows of the Old Testament High priests and all of the activities of the priest and here we
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now have reality the Shadows are past the Lord has come Mark undoubtedly writing a little
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bit later in time than than Paul and some of the other gospels perhaps certainly knew that one of the words that was common in the church at
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that time was to call Jesus Lord even in some of the other gospels we we hear them using the the words my Lord and my God or or Mary when when she
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encounters Jesus uses that word my Lord but Mark for the first time in his gospel 16 chapters in these two verses
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and twice brings us it's almost as if he brings us to that climax that full circle the Gospel of
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Jesus Christ the son of God and for the first time he calls him Lord and so then when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them
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and the Lord worked with them his sovereignty and his lordship being proved by his resurrection the Risen and ascended
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savior ever living now and working for his people so these two little words at the beginning of 19 so then it it continues
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the the wind up of the whole narrative but but there there explosive and in what is here the density of the Theology
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and the christology that is here in these two verses so then when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them yes this is the wind up this is the commission
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has been given to evangelize the world the accompanying signs that he explained to them would come the Assurance of divine assistance with them
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and the timing here is over the 40 year 40-day period between the resurrection and the Ascension Jesus communicating all that
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he needs to finalize to them about their Ministry and then we read these words he was received up into heaven
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all of these things had now been set in place but now the ministry the culmination of all these
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beginning the father being the agent he was received up into heaven it's a different sort of appearance over that 40 days he had appeared to them sometimes very suddenly they would be
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gathered in the house and suddenly he would appear and he would speak with them but almost just as suddenly he would disappear but now his
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disappearance is when they stood on the mountain and watched him rise into the clouds and they began to understand
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that he would not appear before them in bodily form
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of God now they began to understand as one writer put it the cross has commented upon has been commented upon by this
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Throne as they saw the throne as they realized the throne where he would sit at the right hand of
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really meant Mark tells us what the disciples did after this how they went out and preached everywhere but I believe the emphasis is still on
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Jesus as we see him received into heaven and sitting at the right hand of God and working with them we see Jesus
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and it gives us hope it gives us Assurance it gives us just an insight into the into the fact that this is just the beginning
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this is the new Revolution the Lord Jesus the Lord Jesus now seated upon the throne in these two
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little verses what magnificence what grander in Mark's simple recounting of what they saw and what is the meaning the Lord
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seated at the right hand of God well to be at someone's right hand is to be in the highest position of dignity and power here the right hand of dignity and
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Power in the entire universe God's right hand to say it simply is his omnipotent majesty and to sit at the right hand is
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to exercise that Majesty that Majestic omnipotence
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fully when at to trial Jesus before the Sanhedrin the high priests kind of disgusted with the line of questioning and the witnesses not really indicting
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Jesus came before Jesus and asked are you the you the Christ and Jesus answered I am and you
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shall see the son of man sitting at the right hand of power and coming with the Clouds Of Clouds Of Heaven do you understand what he's
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saying there here we read the words of Mark he was received up into heaven who was received up into heaven
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man the high priest had that job of going before God in the holy of holies and he had to do it one day of the year the appointed day of the year and from what I can read for
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a very short period of time because it was a scary thing to go before a holy God in any manner and here a man
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we have this kind of vague notion when we think of Jesus sometimes we we think of him well he's he's 100% God and 100% man he he was
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man but but I think as some of the commentators have commentators have said we we neglect we miss something if we do not understand what that he was a
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man that that he took on flesh like us he he was like us in all respects except without sin he he hungered he thirst he
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he got weary he had nowhere to lay his head he had to rely on helpers he got tired he
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tired he bled he had pain but now we see that he is the exalted man he is the the triumphant man
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or again as toer says he is our man in glory this glory this is majestic this this is unprecedented a
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heaven John writes in his gospel in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the word was God now in his return to
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Heaven Jesus took his manhood with him into heaven as Alexander McLaren writes the true carrying of a real Humanity
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complete in all parts body Soul and Spirit up to the very Throne of God despite all the things that were prophesied of him that that that he
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would be betrayed that he would be arrested that he would be beaten that he would be spit upon that he would be mocked and he would be crucified he conquered death he
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conquered the grave and now our man in glory sits on the throne of
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God and after all the agony of his soul and the blood and the tears was left behind he sits he sits at God's right
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hand he's at rest I think we could say as God was re was resting after creation not because he was exhausted
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not because he was totally worn out not because of all the things he went through he couldn't move anymore because it is
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finished he could rest he's a resting savior in that sense it's a declaration that all that was needed to be done in
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the grave has been done all that was needed for the Regeneration the repentance the renewal of human
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life is life is here a special testimony of his crosswork is complete the satisfaction for sin is
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paid but now the now the consequences of what the cross meant has begun to begun to unfold the building of the church is
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about to begin yes he's a resting savior because that crosswork is finished but we don't have a high priest
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who is who is Idol we we we don't have one who is twiddling his thumbs sitting at the right hand of God the scriptures teach
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us that he's passed through the heavens he's appeared before God for us as our Advocate and our
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friend Hebrews chapter 4 the writer says therefore let us hold firmly to our confession for we do not have a high priest who cannot simp empathize with our weaknesses but one who has been
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tempted in all things just as we are yet without sin that is the man sitting at the right hand of God as our intercessor he
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pleads not on our merits but his is our propitiation he presents not our blood but his is our advocate he
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States his own righteousness and Justice not ours not ours at the right hand of God Jesus wields
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the omnipotence the omnipotence the energy of God over all creation over all dominions over all kingdoms over all
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peoples in most cases in the New Testament when the writers speak of Jesus being at the right hand of God it says and he sat or he is is sitting we get that picture of sitting
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on the on the throne and it's always kind of puzzled me that when I read Acts chapter 7 of that martyr that martyr Steven as he was dying as he was
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being hit with the rocks and stones and being killed it says that Steven looked through the opening into
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heaven and he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God why did he have that special Glimpse
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do you think Jesus standing some of you have those cameras that when you move them to take
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a picture you know you're in a hurry and you take it and when you look at it when you call it back up on the screen it has that motion and then they're frozen I think that Glimpse that Stephen
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had was the everactive Jesus the eager Jesus the helper Jesus the one who saw him and was moving to help him to assure
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him I think it expressed to Stephen the eagerness of Jesus to help his people always ready I I was looking at Psalm
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121 that would have been the alternate Psalm to read this morning he he who keeps you never Slumbers nor sleeps he's always attentive he's never
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caught unaware of your need he doesn't fall asleep on the job if I could say it crassly and when Paul prays for the
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people of Ephesus in a passage that talks about Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God and of all the passages that I
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looked at this was the one that kind of stood out to me or kind of grabbed me in Ephesians chapter 1 Paul prays that the Ephesian Christians would
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know certain things he says I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you will know what is I'm going to emphasize that phrase so
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that you'll know what is first of of all what is the hope of his calling second what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints and
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thirdly and the one that caught my attention and what is the boundless greatness of his power toward us who believe he says these are in accordance
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with the working of the strength of his might which he brought about in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the
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heavenly places do do you get it the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and seated him at the Heavenly places is ours he says if you have the
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King James to us word it's to us the power is God's unlimited energy it's the might of God it's a
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power it's how we come to believe do did you have any part in Saving yourself no it is the power of God it's how we come to believe if we were to
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translate the the language he says this is in accordance with the working of the strength of his might what he really means is this is as a result of his working of his
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power we are nothing without the energy and power of God we cannot believe we're not able the scripture says to do
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so it is a result of his working and Paul says for it is God who is at work in you both to Will and to work for his good
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pleasure it's not as if Paul is saying okay there's this power that God used to raise Jesus and see Fe him at the right hand and and if you ever feel
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that need you need to to get on your knees and you need to pray for it he no that's not what is here he says I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you will know what
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is so that you will know what is given to you what you already have you don't pray for it you use it
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God is working in us to overcome the obstacles and this again in the light of this passage the context here the Lord worked with them here's the energy
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here's the power here's God's might working with them that they have and Paul's enlightening us and saying see this same power that was work
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at work that day is at work still today to overcome obstacles to overcome resistances to overcome persecutions to
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overcome troubles yeah you can be sure he will rebuke if we need rebuking he will discipline when we need disciplining and sometimes he'll work in
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Us in ways that we have no idea that he's working he's working in but he will never leave us or forsake us he ever lives to make intercession
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us he's a working Lord and here we see him he was working with them in verse 20 and 20 and yes I've heard it too and I I just think
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it's awful sometimes you read we are his hands we are his feet God doesn't need us this this is a
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gracious this is a gracious use use of human agents to do God's work it it's not as if God cannot save if humans aren't
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confirming again those evil ones who would use the snakes and be the showman and try to confirm that's not what it means confirming the word fortifying
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them strengthening them corroborating what they said rendering effective yes at that point by Miracle miraculous Deeds but what do we see over the book
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of Acts and by the way it's not the book of Acts of the Apostles it's the book of the acts of the Holy Spirit but what do we see happening man to man city by City
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Country by country men and women and children are being saved they're planting the seed and it's Landing in good soil and then there is a
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harvest and so in all of these things all that we've read in Mark let us examine ourselves does Mark's gospel simply
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represent what people heard and saw of this man this man Jesus or does Christ the lord Jesus
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dwell in our hearts by faith is Jesus our high priest our man in glory the exalted
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Savior again in Hebrews 4 I left out this part of the passage when he teaches us let us hold firmly our confession before that he
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says therefore let us approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find Grace for help in our time of
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need but I would add this warning is Christ your high priest are you in you in Christ if not be
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aware you have no confidence to draw near the writer of Hebrews also wrote Our God is a consuming
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fire no one approaches a holy God except through Christ you cannot approach a holy God on your own without
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permission and without protection but if he is your lord and savior and high priest therefore let us
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approach with confidence this throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find Grace for help in time of
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need I close with with this as a toer closed his book he is our great high priest and
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intercessor in heaven he is the worthy Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world by his blood he has consecrated forever the way into God's
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presence he is our man in glory let us pray our heavenly father
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in these two little verses we see the culmination of the Incarnation and the
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cross and the heavens opened to what comes next and what we live in the future our Lord in
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glory interceding for us helping us guiding us guarding us and building his church For Your Glory and Honor in
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Christ's name we pray amen you please rise for the
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chapter 3 John writes of the Church of leod deia Those whom I love he says Jesus says I reprove and discipline be zealous
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therefore and repent behold I stand at the door and knock if anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into him and will dine with him and he will with me he who
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overcomes I will grant to him to sit down with me on my Throne as I also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne he who has an ear to hear Let Him
