Third Sunday in Advent: Isaiah 40:1⁠–⁠8 (9⁠–⁠11)

Did the unjust judge show up in you last week? The old judge used to judge everyone according to the law, but not necessarily the law of God. The Pharisees made up their own laws and used the letter of the law - twisting it around to control people. I wonder who Pharisees are. Aren't you glad God loves Pharisees? Where would you be if He didn't? But He does.

Matthew 16:13-25 (KJV) When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? [14] And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. [15] He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? [16] And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. [17] And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. [18] And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. [19] And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. [20] Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

[21] From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. [22] Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. [23] But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

[24] Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. [25] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

Who do you say He is? Be careful, you implicate yourself in your answer. Peter wanted Jesus to be what Peter wanted him to be and so he rebuked Jesus. Peter rebuked Jesus! Jesus told Satan to get behind him. Satan lived in a neighbor of Jesus, even one who had a revelation that Jesus was the Christ.

Peter did not care about the things of God, but the things that are of men, which are things that save your life - telling God what he can and cannot do and how he is to run things - this is the mind of Satan.

Have you lost your life? Yes - by trying to be in control and avoid the Word of God.

How many of you ever got sick or angry and avoided the Word? It really isn't you, it's Satan. People refuse to be healed. They want their excuse.

Matthew 16:26-27 (KJV) For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? [27] For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Christians do good works, but not for righteousness. If good works aren’t flowing out of you to your neighbor, why not? Who is your neighbor? The one who fell down on the highway, or was it the one who bound him up? You never know where Jesus is going to hide out.

Matthew 16:28 (KJV) Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

So who do you say He is? What do you call him? How many of you call him Lord? How many of you don't call him Lord?

Luke 6:46 (KJV) And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

The love of God loves the unlovely. You know, the one He chose as his bride, she's bald, hasn't taken a bath in 2 months, has some problems, etc. This is who He loves. He loves everyone, but only total losers reciprocate.

When you have some losing children, some sinners, you get free of having any reputation, or some false hope.

From the book, Against Christianity: There are three types of Churches: Catholic (don't bother going there as they are into heresies) , Charismatic (they produce more atheists for children than anyone, because they present the law in a wrong way. Their children can never measure up so they hate God, hate the Church, and hate you), and Reformational churches (one of them has an atheist for a pastor, but he does preach out of the bible and administers the sacraments correctly).

We're all charismatic until we are drowned - baptized. People can't love Jesus because they “have to”, or believe because they “have to,” as this isn't faith. Okay, don't believe - that will definitely work. God says that your own backslidings will correct you. Some of you say, "Well, I got away with it." Have it your way.

Jeremiah 2:19 (KJV) Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.

He still asks, "Who do you say that I am?"

In Alice in Wonderland, one of the characters says, “Words mean what I want them to mean, exactly this and nothing else.” The word “Christ” means exactly what you want it to mean, and only that and nothing else. The word “Lord” means only that and nothing else to you. Titles are a convenient way to avoid death.

Peter said, "You're the Christ," right before 5000 people were fed and many people were healed - it was fun to be with Jesus. People want a bread king, don’t you? You'll bow down to anything that gives you money, won't you - anything that lets you save your life, doctrine or title? Save your life rather than give broken bread and poured out wine to your brethren.

Hebrews 6:1 (KJV) Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

Leave the elemental doctrines of dead works. Everything must be done for the edification of the Body; for the building up of your brothers and sisters. You have been given a gift. You can love your neighbor through your vocation. Homemakers are especially blessed.

Somehow, we've gotten reduced down through our titles. We give one another titles, strange titles.

The kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe the good news. How do I repent and believe? I receive it. His words did not do him any good, they only got him killed. Jesus was killed for what he said. It has been said that if you're not, every day, accused of preaching cheap grace, there's a very good chance you're not preaching the gospel. You can take that as license to do what you want, but it is still death/life language. At one point it is so wild, God's gospel, that if you preach it to people where we're at today, and you get to where there is nothing left to do, you'll awaken Adam because he has a stake in what he's going to do.

Theology is for Proclamation, by Gerhard O. Forde, Beginning at Page 58

The Stone the Builders Rejected

“Jesus came preaching. According to the Gospel writers, he said: “The time is up! The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news!” But his words did not do him any good; they only got him killed. It is vain for us to rummage around in our systematics or sift through the literary remains in order to construct or discover a Jesus we would not have killed had we been there.”

Who is your Jesus? Which Jesus’ are lifted up today? Which one do you lift up? Conservative, mean Jesus - never satisfied Jesus, moralistic, liberal nice Jesus (so nice that he is worthless)? What about the Jesus of Scripture? Do you bother to find out what he's about? You could.

Peter says, "You're the Christ." So we try to construct or discover a Jesus we would not have killed if we had been there. Sometimes you might want to kill your brother because Jesus is in your brother and he's not very nice.

“The time is up. The cock has crowed. We killed him. God (“whoever out there is messing with us”) has turned the tables on us again and done a new thing. God has raised Jesus from the dead and so taken on a new name: the Father of Jesus Christ. So Jesus is now proclaimed as raised from the dead, the true and only-begotten Son of the Father. The stone that the builders rejected has become the head of the corner (Ps. 118:22; Mark 12:10 and parallels; Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7). Of all the shocking and offensive things God has done to us, this no doubt tops them all! God accepts and vindicates the one whom we reject! This is a stumbling block. Nevertheless, it is not only the impetus, the reason and the authorization for the proclamation, but also its essential content.

We endeavor to construct out of the ruin of our misdeed a Christ who is amenable to us: a Christ who would be approved by reasonable and free beings,…”

The one thing the church is afraid of is what the world things. If we could just make Jesus a little more reasonable, amiable.

“Just as we try to make God “nice” by our theologizing, so also are we inclined to make Jesus into a “gospel” suitable to our taste. We forget that we killed him, and that God, not theology, raised him up.”

Jesus was a great threat because if you loved your enemies it would be all over. The Pharisees wanted to kill him because he would cause them to lose their place – their function.

There is only one master thief who can rob you of your stories, your guilt, your condemnation, your reputation; and that is Jesus. He comes to rob you of your theology every day, the theology that enables you to judge your brother. He robs you of your condemnation.

How many of you have said, "Thou art the thief, the Son of the Living God." How many call him, "The Lamb whose wrath is manifest." He comes as a thief to steal

”Such constructions, however, serve only to tame Jesus, and if Jesus is turned into a domesticated house pet, it makes little difference from the perspective here what sort he turns out to be: orthodox, fundagelilcal, conservative, liberal, leftist, rightist, or middle-of-the-road. In any case, he is no real crisis or death threat for old beings. He becomes one we might be persuaded to choose if sufficiently cajoled.”

“Jesus cannot be proclaimed as the One who comes pandering to our religious conceits. He cannot be preached as though he were the object of our choice. He must be preached as Lord, as the one who comes to dispose of our case, to decide the matter. He must be preached as the end of us, for only then can he also be a new beginning. He must be preached, that is, as the death of us before he can be new life. The encounter with him as proclaimed Lord is not such that we simply go on as continuously existing subjects making our “religious preferences” felt, but rather that we are put to death to be made new. The proclamation brings radical discontinuity into our lives. We are to be turned into those who hear the word gladly - “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you” – and learn to stammer “Amen, so be it Lord!” We are indeed to be made new, re-created as beings who can finally speak the truth about God: “O Lord, open thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise” (Ps. 51:15).

YOU to preach him as the old, not me; I do what I do. You are to preach Him; the Spirit of Him is upon you to preach deliverance to the captives - the captives of the continually existing subject

John 8:37 (KJV) I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

Flesh is flesh. All flesh is grass. The flesh of my children is just as much grass as anyone’s in the whole world. All flesh is grass. You must be born again, of the Spirit. No flesh is better than any other flesh.

The Pharisees liked to call him master and rabbi, but they were just trying to trap him. They knew they could not write him off, he was too heavy. One man came to Jesus and asked him what he must do to enter the kingdom of heaven, and the man called Jesus, Good Master. You can only judge people on the basis of your goodness and Jesus is going to hang out with people you would not want him to hang out with.

The older brother was angry and would not come in.

In the movie, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, people trying to get one up on the others in a race so they will get the prize. This happens in families. You can be the loser family, or the dumb family, or the really in-the-know family, the cute family, etc.

I'm so glad I've got sinners for children. Jesus messes things up royally, when will we?

All my friends are gay, or junkies, or republicans, or conservatives, etc - whatever would offend you. None of these things are truly the issue today.

You have to be grasped and captivated in the Spirit by the proclamation of what God has done in Jesus. He died for us while we were yet sinners, enemies, without hope, separated from the promises, alienated from the promise. What is God withholding from you?

It does not good telling people Jesus loves them and that He died for them. Law has to be preached, sin made so big that you see how it is choking you and killing your children. God hates sin. Myself, I'm enjoying my life as a sinner. I didn't say I was enjoying sin. If you’ll enjoy your life as a sinner, you'll hate sin. When you're wretched with sin, you can enjoy your life without condemnation.

It is vital for the proclamation to come to grips with discontinuity.

“He must be preached as Lord, as the one who comes to dispose of our case, to decide the matter. He must be preached as the end of us, for only then can he also be a new beginning. He must be preached, that is, as the death of us before he can be new life.”

Has he disposed of your case today, or do you still want to avenger yourself against your adversary?

People want the approval of men, the applause of men. You're winning the race, Jesus says, but you're running towards hell. What do you use to be in first place? Do you tramp on the toes of others?

Are you ashamed of Him and his words? He said, "I come as a thief."

In the Book of Mark there is a party, in Luke 14 there is a party, and in Matthew 21 there is a party - a supper, a wedding feast. The ones who were invited don't come. Why? You're busy. Some people are so hung up on money; they work really hard and you can't tell them anything.

Discontinuity - are you going in the right direction? Where's that? Under. Going up is the wrong direction. Jesus said he was going to Jerusalem to be killed. Peter says, "May it never be." Jesus said, "Get thee behind me, Satan." Peter was ashamed of Jesus’ actual words.

We make him into the stone the builders accepted. Don't you want an acceptable Jesus? Stop and think about it today?

There are 200 million Christians today, and people are flipping out trying to get another 100. We are called to do the work of an evangelist every day, but evangelizing them into what? If there are so many Christians in this nation, why are things the way they are?

Book: Against Christianity, written by a Christian. Real Christians are against Christianity. The minute you are against Christianity, the local church will become a culture. By not going along with the program you, the Church, will become a threat.

Hearing they hear not, seeing they see not, least they should turn, be converted and I would heal them. The people's hearts are waxed hard. When I have a hard heart, it will also work. Every morning, every afternoon I need Him. When He comes, will He be welcome? “ Well, this couldn’t be my Jesus, because his words threaten me which would mean the end of me. I would cease to exist if I heard this proclamation.” Your Christ has been constructed as a detour around death.

I am about building up my neighbor. May you always be doing those good, kind things.

“The general result is the same. Just as the systematic attempt to make God over results in a bowdlerization, so also the attempt to make Jesus over produces a legalistic or sentimentalized Jesus hardly worth bothering about. We forget that he was, after all, despised and rejected, and that we crucified him.”

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Why do we act as we are still living in the age of law - you might as well go to the synagogue, keep the Sabbath, and keep the law.

Our theology goes wrong when we produce a Jesus who only exemplifies the titles that keep us in business.

We look for a Jesus who identifies with us. Which Jesus do you have?

Jesus is the one that you and I crucified. Anyone that threatens us is in trouble even if he is the Word of God. Jesus was the one whom none identified with in the end. We all fled and though we did not choose him; he chose us. We think "Jesus" is the one who meets our needs. We really are failures we are too weak.

Jesus is made into the free choice of old begins because he meets their needs.

He was of no use - wasted - so bad that he got killed by the likes of us. How about that?

Continuity -

Peter gave him a title and a minute later he denied him. You can construct a Jesus you can't disobey - he's so nice. Is Jesus making you prosperous? If you won't exercise what God's given, bury your talents, you won't prosper and then you'll blame God.

It would be nice if we could have a Smorgus Board Jesus, a Drive-In Pick-Your-Own Jesus - Jehovah Jeri - your provider - pick and choose your provider today.

Luke 6: why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do what I say?

Good master, what must I do?

You'd have to lose some titles to get a hold of Jesus. Is Jesus the one who fights in your battle to prove that you're right? "You're rejecting me, but Jesus hung out with sinners and harlots." Whose side is God on anyway? Ask Joshua.

Joshua the high priest had some soiled garments. The Devil tried to condemn him. The Lord said he put upon him a robe of righteous and the dirty garments are all covered.

Who is your Jesus? The one who understands you and explains how misunderstood you are today? Is He the one who fights for your lusts? He is the one who gives you whatever you want, isn't he? Do you ever tell your children, No!? It's like you get dethroned on the spot. There are a great variety of titles, and with each title comes a world of meaning. Meaning usually has to do with my just - what I want. I'm going to create a god and call it Jesus because it is a popular name today for God. What do you mean you love Jesus? You love your construct of Jesus. You are what you construct.

The bad boy Jesus comes to take away cases. "I don't want to let go of my offence because that would mean the end of me." Has the lizard been whispering blame in your ears you whole life and you still don't want it to be killed?

Hearing they hear not, and seeing they hear not least they turn and I would heal them. If you hear Him and not your little construction, and turn, you will be healed of death, once and forever - the deathliness of saving your life. He is the end and that is why he is hated. Because he is the end of you and me he is hated. Because you're not letting your self be ended each day, you think you can make a better end. You're wasting your precious time. He's already put an end to all of that. What are the things in your life now that you refuse to let go of, refuse to be ended, and refuse to take to the cross?

My sinner grandchildren make me look bad. This is good news because it frees me from thinking I had to look good.

O Happy Fault - sin of Adam. The younger brother could finally admit it. God is smart - that's why he gave him all the money. He knew he would never admit it until he got all the money and did what he did. Is there an older brother in you? He's a good guy!

Get paper on the older brother. Ron Rosenblatt talking about the importance of the Sola's. The most important thing in the reformation was the four Sola’s. A theologian said there was something more fundamental than these - total depravity.

If you have law in your house, wiped out with their heads down; and if you have fearful and weepy boys, you have never come to grips with your total depravity, only something lesser than total depravity.

Boyce - had a whole convention, 7-8 thousand people, the most important thing in the reformation is simul iustus et peccator. Simultaneously justified and sinner. This is what the heresy of one hates. Some of you don't know it. You still think you have to look good, make a show in the flesh.

God justifies wicked people - we would not have a god like that. The Pharisees flipped out. The only problem is, there's none good but God. The real issue today comes down to a righteousness of the law that enables you to judge your neighbor or a whole family in the church. There's something in you a little higher on the ladder. You've managed to tramp on enough fingers that you look pretty good. The devil has a cheer leading section cheering you on.

Do you want to get bragged about, how great you are? The party is always made up of something you would hate - losers. The older brother is a winner. What makes him a winner? "All these years... and never once have I broken one of your commandments?" The good news is, the father, since he was such a creep and so angry that he wouldn't go to the party, the father went out and entreated him. Aren't you glad he did? What would have happened if God hadn't loved older brothers?

We are here because God loves younger brothers, older brothers, and worse yet. You must become as a child, a little child. They are free of judgment. They sin boldly.

As far as judgment goes, comparing yourselves among yourselves is unwise. You don't know what you're doing.

Do you have save, tame predictable God? No wonder you love Him so much. He is the end of all of it.

Psalm 50:21-22 (KJV)

These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. [22] Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.

Any righteousness we would find in anything we have done is as filthy rages. If anything is to be a good work, we're passive and Christ is the active one in it.

God gave me a family of sinners and I'm not ashamed. I blame God for giving me the family have, how could I be ashamed? You take too much blame upon yourself. If they are the elect, give God the glory. Have you got any vanity in your life? How did it get there? God subjected you to it. If god has subjected you to it, why should you take all the glory or the blame? Of course, God subjected you to it, younger brother. He joined himself to a person, a citizen of another country (a pig man). Many have done this. They have a little food for the pigs, and even that runs out. The pigs can't stand them at one point. The love the world has is "What do I get?" It is not agape, it's how can I use you and get the best.

The idols we mad had hands, ears, eyes and tongues. They couldn't speak. We construct gods who are selfish. They can't be that merciful and loving towards sinners. I admit I've done some wrong, but I did love Psyche. You did. You loved her to death.

Some people construct a god they think is hard. They know something about God - that he's a hard man. They are stingy and suspicious. They bury their gifts and talents and become turned in on themselves, their flesh, or their flesh and blood. God's hard and so I'm just going to grind out the rest of my life. This is disgusting - an idol, an image people put on thinking that in that they can save their continuity and bring a better end to their life. They are deceived.

Grasped by the proclamation of what God has done in Chris t- this is faith. Faith is saying, "I am passive." Proclamation - by deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified? There is none righteous in his sight. If you re saved, like the book says, the boasting would be in God - a proclamation all the time of what he has done - by my very face and my life.

The most offensive thing of all is that there is nothing left for you to do. This means death to you, death to me, death to the Adam in me that wants to approach god on that basis, be ahead in the race and tramp on some fingers, etc.

Praise - proclamation - being grasped. By works of the law shall no flesh be justified? It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

What about the title, "Jesus gives me..." You didn't choose him.

The Catholics left out the word alone from: We are saved by grace through faith alone.

Religion says that when you're good enough, then you can get saved 0 loved by God. You can't get good until goodliness lives in you and God has already done this. You're saved and you can't help do good works - they will flow out of you. There will always be a residue of you in everything you do. If not, I would glory in what I do and judge you.

ADOPTION doesn't happen when you get better - be good enough. Think of all the people in the world you can adopt and not wait until they are good enough.

Good boys can’t go to the party. Who is at the party? The adopted - bad boys. The father runs out as soon as he sees him and it is the end of the son's story. He kisses him and puts a robe on him and there's nothing left to say. When will you kiss all the bad boys in the world and put a robe on them? The explosion starts with your neighbor. If you're holding back there, you haven't heard the gospel.

When you adopt, you don't wait for children to grow up and bring you a profit before you love them. God doesn't love you because you are profitable. If you did everything you should you'd still be unprofitable.

God adopts us, not worrying whether we'll be profitable or not.

The Bride- selfish, hasn't taken a bath in a moth, has acne, size 14 feet, and he says, "You've ravished my heart." Besides, she is a Moabites and has served Chemosh her whole life. God is going to inter-marry with another nation. Besides that, there's going to be

A baby born through her lineage.

Maybe God adopted you because he knew some day you would be profitable. That's what the devil wants you to think.

Psalm 27 When your mother and father forsake you. How do you know they forsake you? Because they were born in Adam. Adam always forsakes - he's just too selfish. Some of you are still judging your parents comparing them to someone else, and that's your sin and you will pay for that.

Isaiah 40:1-2 (KJV)

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. [2] Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.

Sometimes you act like your warfare hasn't been accomplished and that you haven't been pardoned.

You're pardoned and you've paid double - proclaim it.

Isaiah 40:3-8 (KJV)

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. [4] Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: [5] And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. [6] The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: [7] The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. [8] The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

The voice of him who lives in you if you live in a wilderness says, "Prepare the way of the Lord."

When you go to a feast, don't take the upper seat; take the low seat by someone you wouldn't want normally to talk to.

All flesh is grass. Your goodliness is of the flower. You may have a day when you think you're looking pretty good.

Isaiah 40:9 (KJV)

O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

Zion is not the one who is blaming God for what a hard life you have - blaming God because you don't have a husband, a father, good children, etc.

Be grasped by the proclamation of what God has done.

Isaiah 40:10-11 (KJV)

Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. [11] He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

You've been in this church all these years - historical continuity - doesn't this count for something? No! It works negatively.

This is only for the barren, not those who have 90 million members, all flesh.

A church 50 miles wide and 50 miles long and an inch deep.

It takes faith, the Hannah type faith, and the kind of faith that rejoices in the evidence of things not seen. This is why your children are so hung up. Are they useful? That's all over. The only law now is to love your neighbor and even in that, Christ has poured his love our in our hearts to love our wives, sons, brothers, etc.

Isaiah 54:1-8 (KJV)

Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord. [2] Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; [3] For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. [4] Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. [5] For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. [6] For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. [7] For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. [8] In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.

God hides his face from the bride - for a little while. He has to. Well, I'm having a hard day, a hard time. Well, sing O Barren!

Who have you adopted?

Mark 3:31-35 (KJV)

There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him. [32] And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. [33] And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? [34] And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! [35] For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

Who is going to do the will of God? Christ. And if he's in you and you're not quenching his spirit, you've got a lot of brothers, sisters and mothers. You have more children than she that is married. If someone says you're not evangelizing enough. You could say, I've been too under the law, or too uptight, or I just bought some land or an ox, or have to bury your father, etc. Your lifestyle proclaims this gospel.

You should read sometime, "Are You the Good News" Lev 25. God is making it a law to have a fest for seven days, three times a year, or else.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted. Who brings good news to the afflicted? The Spirit. "Well, I don't "feel" the spirit." If ye being evil...

If somebody doesn't have the spirit today what is their excuse? They've been evil.

Luke 11:13 (KJV)

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

Go ahead! Don't put a name on your children; give them good gifts, for another 10 years. Do what you want!

If you're suspicious, you might not get much from the Lord. The dwarves don't get what they don't get. They got nothing, the same thing the older brother got. They got to stay angry. Surely this is not you - you wouldn't want anything to do with anger, which is really wrapped up in blame.

Psalm 30:11 (KJV)

Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;

Deut 16 - Thou shalt rejoice because a son called Adam was dead and is no alive. There is a brother in here who doesn't want to rejoice. But God wants an unpoopable party and this is why he has a built in mechanism for older brothers. They cannot because they will not, because they refuse to be no angry and have an offence against God for being unjust. God had the audacity to give a party to "that sinner." The older brother has been building up points for the last 20 years being good, but hating his father all the time. He wanted control of the farm himself.

What would you do at your party? Read your ledgers books about all the things "they haven't done, or did.

He refused to be justified and receive the free gift of righteousness because he thought he could do a better job of bringing himself to an end.

What are you dead to? Reputation? Family reputation?

We thought the law was our enemy but really all along, either you party three times a year for seven days each, and every other Sabbath, or there will be some consequences. The consequences will ultimately being that you won't party.

God is permitting that everyone be altogether joyful. In the jubilee year you would have to forgive everyone you had locked up in unforgiveness, a concept, etc. Soliari really isn't mad at the younger brother, he's mad at God for giving 4 million dollars to the younger brother who is sitting there, in the wheelchair - the loser - the sinner.

Heb. 3-4 Who enters into God's rest? Anyone who ceases from their own works.

God gets angry if you won't party - if you won't have a Sabbath. If my children aren't having enough fun, I give them work to do.

Be sure while you're under the water of baptism, reckon yourself dead to sin. God no longer has any remembrance of your sin, not because you've been good, but because he justifies really wicked people.

Jesus came along and messed the whole thing up - he

The kingdom of God is more like a banquet than a moral rearmament movement. Do you have moral rearmament movement in your house, or a banquet?

Where are you today? In Candy Land. You've got the Church, the mother of us all, Mary - Sarah. Mary is blessed. Generations to come will call her blessed and I'm one of them. Joseph got to hold the babe. He may be one of the greater saints because he bore the reproach.

How shall we then live? Just one thing - the father wants to come out in your house today and say, "Son, everything I have is now yours and I will be with you forever, but it is right that we celebrate because my son ______ was dead and now she is alive, through the Gospel." It is only necessary that we celebrate. How is the world going to know if we don’t? At least we should celebrate for seven days, three times a year.

The Jubilee was just pointing - the flow. You were stopped up for years. Proclaim liberty throughout the land. Christ has been made liberty and freedom. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is an hourly, minutely jubilee.

I don't care how bad you've been - you've paid double. Some of you wouldn't want the Lord blessing you with money, the power to get wealth, because it would mess up your case - you couldn't blame him any more. He does heal your finances. I'm committed and he lives in me.

How many of you have been judged unfairly by your spouses this week? Hopefully you have been. Remember when people judged based on fairness.

We need to celebrate and invite everyone - you become the living epistle of Christ, the minister of reconciliation wherever you go, in whatever disguise you put on - dent repairman, sign salesman, secretary, teacher, nurseryman, etc. Some of you could make work of anything when it could be a party.

What is there to do now? God is the "party animal." God is insisting, even to the older brother, that he let it go - let go of the books he had on everyone. God wants an unpoopable party so he set it up so that anyone who doesn't believe him won't go in. Why won't they go in? They just can't stand who is in the party - the total loser.

God wants us to party seven days, three times a year, on the Sabbath, the 50th year. I want to bless you so that I get glory and so that the world will see that I am the light to the gentiles.