Participants:
Series Code: PME
Program Code: PME241026S
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00:01 ♪
00:11 ♪ 00:21 >> Okay, I'm going to ask you 00:23 to repeat after me, alright? 00:25 Hallelujah. 00:26 >> Hallelujah. 00:27 >> Hallelujah. 00:28 >> Hallelujah. 00:29 >> Thank you, Jesus. 00:30 >> Thank you, Jesus. 00:31 >> Thank you, Jesus. 00:32 >> Thank you, Jesus. 00:33 >> You are worthy. 00:34 >> You are worthy. 00:35 >> You are worthy. 00:37 >> You are worthy. 00:37 >> As we continue praising, this 00:39 is a very easy song -- 00:40 "He is Exalted." 00:42 Sing along with us, please. 00:46 Ready? Come on. 00:48 >> ♪ He is exalted 07:13 >> ♪ Holy forever 07:17 >> Amen. Amen. 07:19 He is holy. 07:20 He is the only one 07:21 who's truly holy. 07:23 Now, this next song -- 07:26 this next song 07:27 is going to require 07:28 all your mind 07:29 and musical abilities. 07:31 We're singing total praise. 07:32 We're singing total praise 07:34 to the King of Kings. 07:35 So please, please sing along 07:35 with us. 07:36 Let's be a huge choir today. 13:15 >> If you have a Bible, 13:17 would you turn, please, 13:18 to Matthew 3:1? 13:22 It's on page 650 13:23 in the red pew Bible, 13:24 somewhere around 13:25 where you're sitting. 13:26 Matthew 3, 13:28 beginning with verse 1. 13:32 Now, being the third chapter 13:33 of Matthew, 13:34 this is obviously quite early 13:35 in the ministry of Jesus. 13:36 In fact, He has not yet 13:37 even officially begun. 13:38 His baptism is 13:39 just about to happen. 13:41 But there is someone 13:43 who has come before Him, 13:44 and that is John the Baptist. 13:46 John is preaching out 13:48 in the wilderness, 13:49 and this is a little bit 13:51 of what happened. 13:52 Matthew 3:1. 13:54 "In those days, 13:55 John the Baptist came preaching 13:58 in the desert of Judea 13:59 and saying, 14:00 'Repent, for the kingdom 14:02 of heaven is near.' 14:05 This is he who was spoken 14:06 of through the prophet Isaiah. 14:08 'A voice of one calling in 14:09 the desert, 14:10 "Prepare the way for the Lord. 14:12 Make straight paths for him.'" 14:13 John's clothes were made of 14:14 camel's hair, and he had a 14:16 leather belt around his waist. 14:17 His food was 14:18 locusts and wild honey. 14:19 People went out to him 14:21 from Jerusalem and all Judea 14:24 and the whole region 14:25 of the Jordan. 14:27 Confessing their sins, 14:28 they were baptized by him 14:30 in the Jordan River." 14:32 Pause there, please. 14:35 This was extraordinary. 14:37 Now, itinerant preachers, 14:38 you know, having a little bit 14:39 of a following, 14:40 that kind of a thing, 14:40 that was pretty standard-issue 14:42 Palestine in those days. 14:43 But the idea of one guy 14:46 attracting this many people -- 14:48 From all over Palestine, 14:49 they came to see him. 14:50 By the thousands, they came. 14:52 And so, naturally, 14:54 the Jewish leaders said, 14:57 "Hmm, we should check this out." 15:00 And so they do. 15:01 Verse 7. 15:03 "But when he --" 15:04 John the Baptist -- 15:05 "saw many of the Pharisees 15:08 and Sadducees --" Who did he 15:09 see? 15:10 Pharisees and Sadducees, 15:12 these two groups. 15:13 "The Pharisees and the 15:13 Sadducees coming to 15:14 where he was baptizing, 15:15 he said to them, 15:17 'Welcome to my sermon. 15:18 I'm so glad 15:18 that you could make it this 15:19 afternoon and join us for...'" 15:23 I've been warned 15:23 about this translation. 15:24 Sometimes, it veers 15:26 a little bit from that. 15:27 Here's what I think 15:28 it actually says. 15:30 "When he saw many 15:31 of the Pharisees and Sadducees 15:32 coming to where he was 15:33 baptizing, he said to them, 15:34 "You brood of vipers!" 15:36 What's a viper? 15:38 That's a snake. 15:39 This is not a compliment, 15:41 alright? 15:42 He says, "You brood of vipers! 15:43 Who warned you to flee 15:44 from the coming wrath? 15:45 Produce fruit 15:47 in keeping with repentance. 15:49 And do not think you can say 15:50 to yourselves, 15:51 'We have Abraham as our father.' 15:53 I tell you, out of these stones, 15:55 God can raise up children 15:56 for Abraham. 15:57 The axe is already at the root 15:59 of the trees, and every tree 16:01 that does not produce good fruit 16:02 will be cut down 16:04 and thrown into the fire.'" 16:10 Wow. 16:13 The Pharisees and 16:15 the Sadducees -- are these 16:18 not the iconic enemies of Jesus? 16:20 And they are famous. 16:22 I mean, let's just be honest. 16:23 How many groups 16:25 from the first century -- 16:26 how many of their names 16:27 can you still remember, right? 16:30 But we remember the Pharisees 16:31 and the Sadducees. 16:32 We even have songs 16:33 that we sing about it. 16:34 ♪ I don't want to be 16:35 a Sadducee ♪ 16:36 Right? 16:37 We teach our young people this 16:38 so that they can 16:39 remember to not be them, right? 16:44 But if you ask most Christians 16:45 a few more details 16:46 about the Pharisees 16:47 and the Sadducees, 16:48 they have no clue. 16:50 It's just, "Okay, 16:51 they were the enemies of Jesus. 16:51 We got that part down. 16:52 But beyond that, 16:53 we have no idea." 16:54 Which is unfortunate, because, 16:57 as it turns out, 16:59 the Pharisees and the Sadducees 17:02 have a great deal 17:03 to teach us about 17:05 the Christian and politics. 17:10 Welcome to Part 2 17:11 and the final part 17:12 of this brief series entitled 17:14 "The Christian and Politics." 17:15 If you missed Part 1, 17:16 what was it? 17:17 Three weeks ago or so? 17:18 You can go to our church 17:19 website, pmchurch.org, 17:20 click on the archive there, 17:21 and you can see Part 1. 17:24 Part 1 was primarily aiming at 17:27 the season we are in, this 17:29 current election season. 17:31 Part 2, yes, 17:34 it will have some application, 17:37 but we are also going to 17:38 be looking beyond whatever is 17:40 going to happen on November 5. 17:43 Because, you see, it's 17:45 not just before the election. 17:47 Sometimes, it's 17:48 even more important after 17:49 the election that we understand 17:51 how the Christian is 17:53 to interact with politics. 17:56 Now, with that in mind, 17:58 I want us to take a deep dive 17:59 here into 18:01 these Sadducees and Pharisees. 18:04 There's a reason for that, 18:05 and let me get to 18:06 that reason here by asking 18:07 a question. 18:08 For the Jews of Jesus' day, 18:09 how much separation was there 18:11 between church and state? 18:14 Okay, essentially none. 18:15 You might be able to make a case 18:16 that, as far 18:17 as the Romans were concerned, 18:18 you know, there was a little bit 18:19 of separation 18:19 because the Romans weren't Jews, 18:20 et cetera, et cetera. 18:21 But as far as the average Jew, 18:23 average daily life of the Jew, 18:24 church and state were combined. 18:26 Absolutely. 18:28 If you were a religious leader, 18:29 you were also 18:30 a...political leader. 18:32 The two went 18:33 together hand in a glove. 18:34 And by the way, 18:35 that had some pretty good roots. 18:37 You've heard of the theocracy 18:38 in the Old Testament, right? 18:39 The idea of these 18:40 two things being combined -- 18:41 it had some decent starting 18:43 points, but things had changed a 18:45 bit by the first century. 18:47 And as it turns out, 18:50 the first century, 18:51 to be a Christian 18:52 in the first century 18:53 was to live in a 18:54 hyper-political environment. 18:57 Hyper-political. 18:58 You think politics are thick 18:59 and fast now? 19:01 I tell you what, 19:01 if you were a Jew 19:02 in the first century, 19:03 you lived this stuff, 19:04 you breathed it. 19:04 Any religious leader was 19:05 a political leader. 19:06 Political leaders were 19:07 religious leaders. 19:07 They were one. 19:09 And thus, as it turns out, 19:11 what was difficult for them 19:13 at times, living in that 19:14 hyper-political environment, 19:16 does have the silver lining 19:18 in that we can learn some 19:19 very important things from them. 19:22 Now, I need to warn you, 19:24 you're going to have to pay 19:25 attention to what comes next. 19:28 As somebody told me after 19:28 Part 1 -- 19:29 they said, "Pastor Shane, 19:31 that sermon was dense." 19:35 I took that as a compliment. 19:39 And it was packed. 19:40 And, indeed, this one is going 19:41 to be, as well, 19:42 so fasten your seat belts. 19:43 If someone is sleeping next 19:44 to you, hit them now. 19:45 They'll need to be awake. 19:45 Ready? Begin. 19:49 Let's start with the Pharisees. 19:51 The Pharisees -- political, 19:52 religious leaders, definitely. 19:54 Very, very prominent. 19:56 Let me put some stuff here 19:56 on the screen for you. 19:57 What do 19:57 we know about the Pharisees? 19:59 Well, we know 20:00 that the Pharisees had 20:01 a high commitment to morality 20:03 and the teachings of Scripture. 20:04 That was very clear. 20:05 Whatever their execution was, 20:07 we're going to set that aside 20:07 for just a moment. 20:08 But as far as what they 20:09 professed, 20:10 this was at the top of the list. 20:11 High commitment to morality 20:12 and the teachings of Scripture. 20:14 Speaking of Scripture, they were 20:15 great memorizers of Scripture. 20:17 You know, Jesus actually pointed 20:18 this out in 20:19 not necessarily a positive way. 20:21 Matthew 23:5, Jesus said, 20:22 "Everything they --" 20:23 the Pharisees -- "do is done 20:25 for people to see. 20:26 They make their -- 20:27 What's that next word? 20:29 Phylacteries, right? 20:30 "Phylacteries wide 20:32 and the tassels 20:32 on their garments long." 20:33 Now, a phylactery -- 20:34 many of you know, 20:35 it was often a leather-covered 20:36 box that, for instance, 20:38 could be placed on the forehead. 20:40 And inside of the phylactery 20:41 was the memorization 20:43 that that particular 20:44 Pharisee had done. 20:45 So a lot of Scripture 20:47 memorized, big phylactery. 20:48 Not much Scripture memorized, 20:50 a little phylactery, alright? 20:52 And I would imagine 20:53 that some people probably 20:54 stuffed the ballot box, right, 20:55 to kind of get the phylactery 20:56 there a little bit wider. 20:58 This was done 20:59 so that people would see them, 21:01 and it led them to a conclusion. 21:03 Point number two 21:04 about the Pharisees. 21:05 They not only 21:06 had a high commitment 21:07 to morality -- Or excuse me. 21:08 They had a high commitment 21:09 to morality 21:10 and the teachings of Scripture. 21:10 Number two, 21:11 they were highly nationalistic. 21:14 Now, this is really important, 21:15 and it's probably one of the 21:16 most outstanding characteristics 21:17 of the Pharisees. 21:18 They were highly nationalistic. 21:20 You see, 21:20 the scriptures weren't 21:21 just there, in their minds, 21:23 to teach them facts and things 21:24 like that about God. 21:25 It was to remind 21:26 them that they were 21:28 the chosen people of God. 21:31 And, again, there's obviously 21:32 some truth to that, right? 21:32 I mean, 21:33 God did, indeed, choose them 21:34 from among all the nations. 21:35 We can find that verbiage 21:36 in the Old Testament, 21:37 no doubt about it. 21:38 But, again, they had taken it 21:40 and they had twisted it in 21:42 that they added this to it. 21:43 Not only were they 21:44 highly nationalistic, 21:45 the Pharisees were 21:46 deeply committed 21:47 to cultural purity. 21:50 And this was not just, again, 21:52 the things that God had asked 21:53 them to do to be distinctive. 21:54 No, no, no, no, no. 21:55 You see, over the centuries, 21:56 a wide body of tradition 21:59 had grown up, and the Pharisees 22:02 saw these traditions 22:03 as every bit as important 22:05 as the actual Scriptures of God. 22:06 And so when they talked about 22:08 culture and wanting to preserve 22:09 it, that's what 22:10 they wanted to preserve. 22:11 It was onerous. 22:13 And, oh, 22:14 were they passionate about it. 22:15 Cultural purity was 22:16 at the top of their list. 22:18 They resisted conforming 22:19 to any of the surrounding 22:20 non-Jewish cultures 22:21 in favor of preserving 22:22 a unique culture 22:23 of their own creation, 22:25 and that at almost any cost. 22:29 The Pharisees were also 22:31 deeply influential 22:32 in local "church" life. 22:34 What was the local church 22:35 back in those days? 22:36 Synagogue. That's right. Okay? 22:37 And the Pharisees, 22:39 they were not the ones that, 22:40 like, chose exactly 22:41 how the service would flow. 22:43 But the Pharisees, by far, 22:45 were the most numerous 22:46 political religious leaders 22:48 in all of Palestine, as far 22:49 as the Jews were concerned, 22:50 and thus, they had 22:51 immense influence 22:52 on what happened inside 22:53 local congregations 22:54 of the Jewish faith. 22:56 They were immensely influential. 22:57 And, lastly, 22:59 the Pharisees were generally 23:00 very well respected. 23:04 Now, that last one seems 23:05 a little bit counterintuitive 23:06 for Christians 23:07 in the 21st century. 23:09 And it is true 23:10 that neither Jesus nor 23:11 John the Baptist 23:12 had pleasant things 23:13 to say about the Pharisees, 23:14 but you need to know this. 23:16 Jesus and John the Baptist 23:18 were by far the exceptions 23:19 in the first century. 23:20 Most people highly, 23:22 highly respected the Pharisees. 23:25 They looked at the Pharisees 23:27 as people that they needed to 23:29 respect, and 23:30 this included Jesus' disciples. 23:32 In fact, 23:33 this comes up, you know, 23:33 Matthew 15:12. 23:35 In that section there, 23:36 Jesus has made a comment about 23:38 what makes a person unclean 23:40 in the sight of God. 23:41 And the Pharisees 23:42 don't agree with it. 23:44 And as soon 23:45 as that little scene finishes, 23:47 this is what happens. 23:48 Now, Matthew 15:12. 23:57 Like, "Uh, why'd you have to 23:58 cast shade on our heroes? 24:00 You know, don't you know? 24:00 They're powerful. 24:01 They're influential. 24:02 We like them." 24:02 This kind of stuff. 24:04 The Pharisees 24:05 were of the people. 24:07 They were the common man's 24:09 preacher, the common man's 24:10 Sabbath school teacher, 24:12 even the common man's counselor. 24:13 And even 24:14 though the Pharisees could be 24:15 harsh on the people -- 24:16 Make no mistake, 24:16 yes, they could be, you know, 24:18 chastising them, 24:19 trying to push them back 24:20 into "the right direction." 24:21 They were almost universally 24:24 respected amongst the Jews. 24:28 And yet... 24:30 And yet, these well-respected 24:32 men of the people 24:34 were deeply criticized by Jesus 24:36 and His followers. 24:38 Again, we just read 24:38 a few moments ago, Matthew 3, 24:40 John the Baptist refers to them 24:41 as "You brood of vipers." 24:43 Jesus echoes this. 24:44 Matthew 23:33, He says, "You 24:46 snakes, you brood of vipers." 24:50 How come? 24:52 Why did John and Jesus 24:55 condemn the Pharisees? 24:58 As it turns out, 25:00 the answer is actually centuries 25:02 old, centuries before 25:04 the time of Jesus. 25:06 You see, 25:06 way back in the middle 25:08 of the fifth century, B.C., 25:10 the Jews have just returned 25:11 from captivity in Babylon. 25:13 They're there for 70 years. 25:14 They're set free. 25:15 You know, 457 B.C., 25:17 the major decree goes out 25:19 to restore and rebuild 25:20 Jerusalem, the temple, 25:21 et cetera like that. 25:22 And, so, mid-fifth century B.C., 25:24 and, naturally, 25:25 as they're building stuff 25:26 and they're getting -- you know, 25:27 clearing away debris 25:28 and getting things back to 25:29 "normal," the question comes up, 25:31 "How can we avoid 25:32 this happening again? 25:34 What can we do so that we will 25:37 not go into captivity again?" 25:38 Because you see, 25:39 they knew why they went. 25:40 Jesus -- God had made it clear 25:42 They had broken the Sabbath. 25:43 They had broken 25:44 God's law in general. 25:45 They had committed idolatry 25:46 over and over again. 25:47 That's why 25:48 they went off into captivity. 25:49 And so a group 25:52 that became ultimately 25:53 the predecessors 25:54 of the Pharisees, 25:55 because the Pharisees aren't 25:56 quite around yet, 25:57 but their predecessors said, 25:58 "I have the answer. 26:00 We will build walls around 26:04 God's law. 26:06 Not walls made of stone 26:07 or of wood, 26:09 but walls made of traditions. 26:12 And it will be like a ring 26:13 around a ring around a ring. 26:14 God's law will be in the middle. 26:15 And we'll have 26:16 all these traditions. 26:17 So if you don't break 26:18 the traditions, 26:19 you'll never even get close 26:20 to breaking God's law. 26:23 Now, it's interesting, 26:24 because this took -- 26:26 This building process 26:27 of these traditions 26:28 to safeguard God's law, 26:29 it took centuries to do. 26:31 In other words -- 26:32 notice carefully -- these walls 26:33 of tradition 26:34 were built in at least two ways. 26:36 Number one, gradually, 26:38 bit by bit, century by 26:43 century, tradition by tradition. 26:44 And secondly, they were built 26:46 with the best of intentions. 26:50 You know, it's easy 26:51 for us to look at the Pharisees 26:52 from the stories in the Gospels 26:52 and say, 26:53 "Oh, you know, what a bunch 26:53 of fools. 26:54 You know, how could they 26:55 possibly do that?" 26:56 They started out 26:57 with the best of intentions -- 26:58 to save the nation. 27:01 "We sinned before. 27:02 We broke God's law. 27:03 That's what got us into trouble. 27:04 So we're 27:05 not going to do that again." 27:06 That sounds good. 27:07 Those are very good 27:08 intentions -- to save the 27:09 nation. 27:10 And by the time of Jesus, 27:12 the Pharisees had become 27:13 the guardians of this 27:13 gradually built, 27:15 well-intended body of tradition. 27:18 But as it turns out, 27:20 even the best of intentions, 27:23 if we are not careful, 27:25 can lead to unintended 27:26 and profoundly 27:27 negative consequences. 27:31 And this is, indeed, what 27:32 happened with the Pharisees. 27:35 By the time of Jesus, 27:36 the Pharisees had come 27:37 to the place where 27:38 they had failed to live God's 27:39 Word from the heart. 27:41 They had come to the place 27:42 where they knew God's law, 27:44 but they did not know God. 27:46 They had God's rules, 27:47 but no relationship. 27:48 And for anyone 27:50 who attempts to carefully follow 27:51 God's rules without 27:52 also developing 27:53 a meaningful relationship 27:54 with Him or tries to force 27:56 others to do that, sooner or 27:57 later, this will breed 27:58 resentment, 28:00 and resentment unresolved, 28:02 when combined with a respect 28:03 for law, 28:04 leads inevitably to hypocrisy. 28:06 This is why Jesus -- He 28:08 repeated this sad refrain 28:09 in Matthew 23. 28:11 Six times, 28:12 Jesus uses there the phrase, 28:14 publicly, "Woe to you, 28:15 Pharisees, you hypocrites!" 28:21 This was 28:22 the sad state of the Pharisees 28:23 as a religious and political 28:24 party in Jesus' day. 28:27 What about the other 28:30 religious political party? 28:36 We know relatively little 28:37 about the origins of 28:38 the Sadducees. 28:39 It's hard to track. 28:41 Furthermore, in A.D. 70, 28:42 when the temple was destroyed 28:43 in Jerusalem, most, 28:45 if not all, of the Sadducees' 28:46 writings, whatever they were, 28:47 were destroyed, as well. 28:48 And so trying to figure 28:49 out details about the Sadducees, 28:51 it takes a bit of detective 28:52 work. 28:53 But if we take what we know 28:54 in the Bible 28:56 and we look at the writings 28:57 of Josephus, the Jewish 28:58 historian, and bits and pieces 28:59 found in other historical 29:00 sources, we can surmise, 29:01 with reasonable certainty, 29:03 some important points. 29:05 After the exile from Babylon -- 29:07 So going back now 29:08 mid-fifth century, B.C. 29:10 The Jews come back. 29:11 They are rebuilding. 29:13 The predecessors 29:14 of the Sadducees, 29:16 much like the predecessors 29:18 of the Pharisees, 29:19 asked the very important 29:20 question, "How do we avoid all 29:22 of this mess happening again?" 29:24 And the Sadducees 29:26 and their predecessors 29:27 were particularly 29:28 drawn to the temple. 29:29 So they didn't just ask 29:31 the question, "How can we 29:32 preserve the nation?" 29:34 They asked a more 29:35 pointed question -- 29:36 "How can we preserve 29:38 this building, this temple, 29:41 this place of worship?" 29:42 Because their reasoning was, 29:43 if the place of worship can be 29:44 preserved, then the nation 29:45 will be saved, as well, okay? 29:48 And their answer -- 29:49 their answer to that problem 29:51 of how to prevent this problem 29:53 from happening again 29:54 was actually quite simple. 29:55 They said, 29:56 "We're going to relax 29:58 our theology and mix 30:01 in a strong dose 30:03 of national politics. 30:06 We're going to relax 30:07 our theology and we're going to 30:08 mix in a strong dose 30:09 of national politics." 30:10 In other words, 30:11 to save the nation, 30:12 they would do essentially 30:13 the opposite of what 30:14 the Pharisees would do. 30:15 While the Pharisees would 30:17 tighten things up dramatically, 30:18 theologically speaking, 30:19 the Sadducees 30:20 would loosen things up, 30:22 theologically speaking. 30:23 While the Pharisees had 30:24 little interest in the force 30:25 of political office, 30:27 the Sadducees exalted 30:28 in the force of 30:29 political office. 30:31 And notice what this led to. 30:33 Some things about the Sadducees. 30:36 Number one, the Sadducees were 30:38 generally wealthy 30:39 and intelligent, 30:40 the keepers of higher education. 30:42 I mean, these were the elite. 30:44 They were the cream of the crop, 30:46 intellectually speaking, 30:47 and they were 30:48 the aristocrats of Israel. 30:50 They were this upper class. 30:51 Now, their numbers were far less 30:53 than the Pharisees, 30:54 but their influence was 30:56 powerful, and in part 30:58 because of things like this, 30:59 because of their wealth, 31:00 because of their 31:01 intelligence, their education, 31:02 the way that they headed 31:03 up higher education, 31:04 that type of thing. 31:05 Secondly, the Sadducees 31:07 dominated Jewish 31:08 civil government. 31:09 You've heard of the Sanhedrin? 31:11 So, the Sanhedrin was 31:13 the highest political/religious 31:16 authority for Jews in the world, 31:18 okay? 31:18 Made up of 71 people -- 31:20 you know, 70 leaders, 31:21 plus a main leader. 31:22 There are 71 of them. 31:23 And the Sanhedrin was dominated 31:25 by the Sadducees, again, 31:26 in spite of their lower numbers 31:28 compared to the Pharisees. 31:29 In fact, 31:30 the high priest had been 31:31 a Sadducee for generations 31:33 by that time 31:34 because of the next fact. 31:36 Number three, 31:38 the Sadducees were highly 31:39 favored by the large government 31:41 of the day of the Roman Empire. 31:43 You see, the high priest 31:44 was actually elected 31:46 by the Romans for generations 31:47 by the time that Jesus was born. 31:50 And so Caiaphas, for instance, 31:51 was appointed 31:52 by the Roman government. 31:54 The Sadducees worked incredibly 31:56 closely with the Romans. 31:58 And if you know 32:00 your Jewish history, 32:01 you may be wondering, 32:02 "How could that possibly be?" 32:05 Because the Jews had no love 32:07 for the Romans 32:07 as a general rule, right? 32:09 And the Jews, how is it -- 32:11 how is it that the Sadducees 32:14 could work so closely, 32:15 Jews could work so closely 32:16 with the Romans, 32:17 a people whom the Jews would 32:19 not even eat with, 32:20 and considered them to be 32:21 perpetually unclean? 32:24 Well, the answer was that 32:27 the Sadducees did not believe 32:29 what much of the rest 32:31 of the Jewish nation 32:32 believed in. 32:33 For instance, the Sadducees did 32:35 not accept the oral tradition. 32:37 You say, 32:37 "What's the oral tradition?" 32:38 Well, the oral tradition was all 32:40 of those traditions 32:41 that the predecessors 32:42 of the Pharisees and the 32:43 Pharisees collected, you know, 32:44 the walls around God's law. 32:46 Those centuries' collected 32:47 worth of tradition -- 32:49 that was the oral tradition. 32:50 And the Sadducees said, 32:52 "Nah, nah, we're not into that." 32:55 And if you're a student 32:56 of the Bible, 32:57 you might be thinking, "Well, 32:58 that's a great thing. 32:59 I mean, Jesus was opposed 33:00 to the oral tradition. 33:01 He spent most of His ministry 33:02 in opposition 33:03 to the oral tradition." 33:04 That's absolutely true. 33:05 But this idea, 33:07 this mind-set of disregarding 33:09 sources of authority, 33:11 sadly went much deeper 33:12 than just the oral tradition. 33:13 You see, 33:15 the Sadducees completely ignored 33:17 vast portions of Scripture. 33:20 Vast portions of it. 33:21 Now, they professed to hold 33:23 it in high regard. 33:24 Oh, they did. 33:25 They made a grand 33:25 profession of it. 33:26 But how they actually lived, 33:28 how they actually led 33:29 made it clear that they ignored 33:30 vast portions of Scripture. 33:32 In fact, by our reckoning 33:33 today -- I mean, the 33:34 Old Testament canon 33:35 wasn't completely formed 33:36 by the first century, 33:36 but most of the books 33:37 were there essentially 33:38 as we see them now -- 33:40 the Sadducees ignored about 34 33:43 out of 39 books 33:44 of the Old Testament. 33:46 That, my friends, is a lot. 33:49 They claimed to take 33:50 the first five books 33:51 quite seriously, but even that, 33:52 they were fairly loose with. 33:53 And funny thing -- 33:54 if you don't take most 33:57 of the Bible seriously, 33:58 you will miss something 33:59 about God, right? 34:01 You'll miss -- Something 34:02 will be missing, right, from 34:03 your education in who God is. 34:05 You know, Jesus is 34:06 referring to this -- 34:07 You may remember, 34:08 in Matthew 22, 34:10 the Sadducees came to test Jesus 34:12 over the issue of marriage 34:13 at the resurrection, 34:15 and Jesus' response was so, 34:17 so stark. 34:19 I mean, this is what He said. 34:20 Matthew 22:29. 34:21 He says to the Sadducees... 34:27 I think we often read that 34:28 through our 21st century eyes. 34:30 and we think, "Oh, He just means 34:31 that they misunderstood what 34:32 they read." 34:34 Maybe. But more likely, He 34:36 was simply saying, 34:36 "You don't read it. 34:37 You don't have 34:38 any association with most 34:39 of the Bible in there. 34:40 So you really -- you don't know 34:42 the scriptures 34:43 because you don't read them." 34:46 This had some pretty 34:47 impactful consequences. 34:48 Number six, 34:49 the Sadducees believed 34:51 that supernatural intervention 34:52 in the world 34:53 was relatively minimal. 34:55 God kind of created things 34:56 and walked away, basically. 34:58 They did not believe in angels. 34:59 They did 35:00 not believe in evil spirits. 35:01 The physical world, 35:02 essentially, was all one 35:03 needed to be concerned with. 35:04 In fact, 35:05 the Sadducees even discounted 35:07 the work of the Holy Spirit, 35:08 and, thus, holiness was 35:09 to be obtained without 35:11 the intervention of God. 35:13 Very humanistic 35:14 in their approach. 35:16 Number seven, 35:16 they were also unclear 35:18 on eternal consequences for 35:19 how one lived one's life. 35:23 You know the song that we sing, 35:23 you know, 35:24 "I don't want to be a Sadducee 35:25 I don't want to be a Sadducee, 35:26 because they're so --" what? 35:28 "Sad, you see." 35:29 And why do we say that? 35:30 Why were they supposedly sad? 35:31 Because 35:32 there was no resurrection 35:34 from the dead, okay? 35:36 They didn't believe 35:36 in a resurrection. 35:37 They said, "No, 35:37 that's impossible. 35:38 You can't take a human body 35:39 that's decayed 35:40 and put it back together again." 35:41 And so, basically, 35:42 this life was it. 35:44 There was no meaningful 35:45 afterlife, no heaven, no hell, 35:47 none of this type 35:48 of thinking there. 35:49 Would that change 35:50 how you live your life 35:52 if this life was all 35:54 there was to you? 35:55 Yeah, it would. 35:56 It would change your 35:57 priorities dramatically. 35:58 It might even impact 35:59 how you govern. 36:02 And with all of this said, 36:04 it may surprise you, lastly, 36:04 to learn 36:06 that the Sadducees were 36:07 the keepers 36:08 of the Jerusalem Temple. 36:11 Look who's in charge. 36:14 How is it that a group of people 36:17 that took so little 36:18 of the Scriptures 36:19 seriously could run the most 36:21 important site in Judaism? 36:22 And this is pre-crucifixion. 36:24 Can we just say, 36:25 the most important religious 36:26 site in the world. 36:28 And it's run 36:29 by these guys, right? 36:31 How could that possibly be? 36:33 Well, that would take 36:34 a little more time 36:35 than we have this morning. 36:36 But I would point out this. 36:38 It may explain a bit more as to 36:40 why the temple in Jesus' day 36:42 had become a little more 36:43 than a business, 36:44 a marketplace used to fleece 36:47 God-fearing Jews out of their 36:49 hard-earned shekels, because 36:52 this group was in charge. 36:55 To sum it up, 36:57 the Sadducees compromised 36:59 the religion of God and 37:00 scripture 37:00 to get along politically. 37:02 They chose government over God 37:05 as the way 37:06 to keep the nation together. 37:08 They offered religion, yes, 37:09 but it was 37:10 not the religion of the Bible. 37:11 It was, instead, a religion 37:12 that was soft, undemanding, 37:14 and consequently relatively free 37:15 from social stigma. 37:16 The Sadducees scaled 37:18 down theology, turned a blind 37:20 eye to the immorality 37:21 of political leaders, 37:22 both Roman and Jewish, 37:23 in exchange, they thought, 37:25 for preserving 37:26 the Jewish nation. 37:28 And it was this watering down 37:30 of clear biblical principle 37:31 that undoubtedly led 37:32 John the Baptist 37:33 to utter those words against 37:34 not just the Pharisees, 37:35 but the Sadducees, as well. 37:37 "You brood of vipers," he said. 37:43 And notice carefully, 37:45 much like the Pharisees, 37:48 the Sadducees had become 37:50 this way gradually, over time, 37:55 one political compromise 37:57 upon another over a period 38:00 of many, many years. 38:02 And they had done this 38:03 largely with the best 38:06 of intentions -- save the 38:09 nation, save the church, 38:12 save the temple in Jerusalem. 38:17 The Pharisees, 38:18 to save the nation, 38:19 chose rules without 38:20 a relationship with God. 38:22 But the Sadducees, 38:23 to save the nation, 38:24 chose relationships with humans 38:25 without God's rules. 38:27 Rules without relationship leads 38:29 to resentment and hypocrisy. 38:30 Relationship without rules 38:32 leads to permissiveness and 38:33 corruption. 38:34 And both paths lead 38:36 to becoming a brood of vipers. 38:41 Now, just as in nature, 38:44 snakes don't always 38:45 get along with each other. 38:48 As you might imagine, 38:49 the Pharisees and the Sadducees 38:51 also did not get along well 38:53 with each other. 38:54 Because of the profound 38:55 differences in their beliefs 38:56 and their practices, 38:57 they were instead often 38:58 bitter opponents. 38:59 In fact, 39:00 had the Sadducees not needed 39:01 the Pharisees' influence 39:02 with the common people 39:04 and had not the Pharisees needed 39:05 the Sadducees' influence 39:06 with Rome, they 39:07 probably would have never 39:08 even darkened the same doors. 39:12 However, interestingly enough, 39:17 when both parties -- the 39:19 Sadducees and the Pharisees -- 39:20 when they both 39:21 came into contact with Jesus, 39:26 things began to change. 39:29 You've heard the saying, 39:30 "The enemy of 39:31 my enemy is my friend." 39:34 Hmm. 39:36 You see, the Pharisees, 39:37 for their part, 39:38 were appalled at Jesus. 39:40 They were appalled that He was 39:41 so non-nationalistic. 39:43 He didn't seem to share 39:44 their nationalistic 39:45 arrogance at all. 39:47 They were appalled 39:48 that Jesus cared so little 39:49 for the oral traditions. 39:50 They were appalled 39:51 that Jesus spent almost all 39:52 of His time, in their eyes, 39:54 being ceremonially unclean. 39:56 And the Sadducees, 39:57 for their part, 39:58 they were appalled, too. 40:00 They were appalled at Jesus, 40:01 by the fact that Jesus in no way 40:03 shared their addiction 40:04 to political favor. 40:05 He seemed to have no interest 40:07 in the wealth or 40:08 the aristocracy or fine clothes. 40:10 Jesus seemed to have 40:11 a very different opinion 40:12 than they did on things like, 40:13 say, theft and worship 40:15 and really morality in general. 40:17 And most importantly, Jesus had 40:19 the audacity to clear out 40:22 "their temple" in Jerusalem. 40:27 And in light of these things, 40:29 these two opposite-end parties, 40:31 the Sadducees and the Pharisees, 40:32 found common cause, 40:34 and the unthinkable happened. 40:35 They joined up against their 40:37 common enemy, Jesus Christ. 40:41 Now, at first, this partnership 40:43 was fairly low-grade. 40:45 They sought to somehow trap 40:46 Jesus in his public statements, 40:47 you know, maybe trick Jesus 40:49 into saying something 40:50 that would help Him lose favor 40:51 with the people 40:52 or bring the angst 40:54 of the Roman government 40:55 down on top of Him. 40:56 But then Jesus crossed some 40:59 lines that they felt they 41:01 could not ignore. 41:03 And when that happened, 41:05 they sought to stop Jesus 41:07 from teaching permanently. 41:10 And as many of you know, 41:11 they hatched a plan. 41:12 Judas, one 41:13 of Jesus' own disciples, 41:14 agreed to be part of it. 41:15 Jesus is arrested in the Garden 41:17 of Gethsemane, and then 41:18 He is taken before Congress. 41:22 That's what the Sanhedrin was 41:24 for the Jews in those days. 41:27 And there, 41:29 the Sanhedrin, Caiaphas, 41:30 the high priest, officiating, 41:31 and they're together -- 41:33 The Pharisees and the Sadducees, 41:35 two groups in the Sanhedrin, 41:36 representing polar opposites 41:38 politically and spiritually, 41:40 were instrumental 41:41 in the crucifixion 41:42 of the very Son of God. 41:47 Now, ladies and gentlemen, 41:47 that's astonishing. 41:49 That is astonishing. 41:52 Two very different 41:54 paths becoming one. 41:57 Two paths that, 41:59 bit by bit over the years, 42:00 were fueled 42:01 by the best of intentions, 42:03 yet that led eventually 42:04 to terrible unintended 42:07 consequences, 42:08 for within decades 42:09 of that Sanhedrin trial 42:11 that night came 42:12 the complete loss 42:13 of religious liberty, 42:15 the downfall of their nation, 42:17 and, most tragically, the 42:18 missing of the coming of the 42:19 Messiah. 42:25 Interesting. 42:27 Hmm. 42:29 The complete loss 42:30 of religious liberty, 42:33 followed by the downfall 42:34 of a nation, 42:37 leading to the complete missing 42:39 of the coming of the Messiah. 42:44 I wonder 42:47 if history might repeat itself. 42:57 At the very least, 43:00 surely, we can draw 43:04 the following four lessons 43:06 from this tragic passage 43:08 of salvation 43:08 and political history. 43:11 The Sadducees and the Pharisees, 43:13 I think, 43:14 teach us at least the following. 43:15 Number one, when it comes 43:18 to politics, 43:20 good intentions are not enough. 43:24 They're not. 43:26 Simply being good-hearted, 43:28 closing your eyes, 43:29 and casting a ballot 43:31 is not faithful behavior. 43:34 The Christian 43:35 must carefully consider 43:37 potential consequences 43:38 when they engage in politics. 43:40 This means time, unfortunately. 43:41 I know -- we have 43:42 so little of it, right? 43:43 But these things are important. 43:45 We have to think about 43:46 the potential consequences. 43:48 The political decisions 43:49 a Christian makes, 43:50 such as who to vote for 43:51 or how to vote on 43:52 a particular issue, 43:53 must be based 43:54 on sound biblical principle 43:55 and a sound understanding 43:56 of a relationship with God. 43:58 And as I mentioned in Part 1 43:59 and I say now again, 44:01 all political decisions 44:02 a Christian makes 44:03 must take religious-liberty 44:05 implications into account. 44:08 You have to know 44:09 religious liberty. 44:10 You've got to know 44:11 the principles involved in 44:12 how it works. 44:13 Study them, find them, 44:15 make them a part of who you are, 44:17 that you might be 44:18 the best representative of 44:20 Christ in these turbulent times. 44:24 Lesson number two -- 44:27 when it comes to politics, 44:29 do not remain silent 44:30 until major, catastrophic 44:32 events are in motion. 44:34 Instead, participate now, 44:36 vote now. 44:38 Do your appropriate part 44:39 to keep the nation on track now. 44:43 You see, the history tells us -- 44:45 and not just with the Sadducees 44:46 and the Pharisees, 44:47 but these things are repeated 44:48 over and over in history. 44:50 Rare is the sudden change 44:52 that happens overnight. 44:54 Instead, often what appears 44:56 to be a sudden change, 44:57 even, is the result of years 44:59 of little by little, bit by bit, 45:01 change upon change being done. 45:03 That's how it happened 45:04 with the Pharisees 45:05 and the Sadducees, and they had 45:06 the best of intentions. 45:10 How many Adventists are there 45:11 that are waiting for the mark 45:13 of the beast to be 45:14 explicitly listed on a ballot? 45:18 "Oh, pastor, I'll vote no then. 45:20 That's right. 45:21 You know, won't get 45:22 me voting for the mark." 45:23 Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, 45:25 the mark of the beast 45:26 is not going to burst upon us 45:27 like, you know, 45:27 everything's sunny 45:28 for 1,000 days, 45:30 and then, the next day, poof, 45:30 we have the mark of the beast. 45:31 It will be the result, 45:33 on the whole, 45:35 of people with good intentions 45:37 making bad decisions over 45:39 and over, little bit by little 45:41 bit. 45:42 So don't wait. Vote now. 45:46 You know, I can't make a case 45:47 for you from the Bible 45:48 or from the spirit of prophecy 45:49 that you must vote 45:50 in every single political thing 45:51 that comes along. 45:52 I can't do that. 45:52 But I can tell you 45:54 that when it comes to 45:54 major elections 45:55 and major issues, 45:56 the general rule is, you 45:58 need to do something about it. 46:00 I can't help 46:01 but wonder what difference 46:03 might have been made if someone, 46:07 say, 10 or 50 or maybe 46:11 100 years before Jesus was born, 46:15 had said, amongst the Pharisees 46:17 or the Sadducees, "Say, 46:18 why don't we hold on 46:19 for just a moment? 46:21 Maybe we're not doing this 46:22 quite the right way." 46:25 I wonder what difference 46:26 it might have made. 46:29 These are difficult times. 46:31 Seeing the right path 46:32 can be challenging, 46:34 but we must do our best, 46:36 and that rarely means sitting 46:37 at home doing nothing. 46:41 Lesson number 46:42 three -- in Jesus' day, 46:46 genuine biblical teaching 46:48 was tolerated 46:49 by the political right 46:50 and left until it publicly 46:54 clashed with two things -- 46:55 nationalistic arrogance 46:57 and national immorality. 46:59 You see those things there. 47:00 Nationalistic arrogance 47:01 and national immorality. 47:03 We should not be surprised 47:04 if the same thing 47:05 happens in our day. 47:07 Now, I'm not a prophet 47:08 or the son of a prophet, 47:10 but I can't help but think 47:12 that the evidence 47:13 from the Gospels is compelling. 47:15 I find it compelling 47:16 that Jesus' teaching, 47:18 as radical as it was almost 47:19 from the very beginning, 47:21 that it was tolerated 47:22 by both sides of the aisle 47:24 of His day until He crossed 47:26 these two lines publicly. 47:31 Jesus clashed, for instance, 47:32 with nationalistic arrogance 47:33 on at least two occasions 47:34 in His last days 47:35 just prior to His crucifixion. 47:37 First, it was 47:38 with the triumphal entry 47:39 into Jerusalem that did not lead 47:41 to Israel throwing 47:42 off the Roman yoke. 47:45 You know, the triumphal entry -- 47:47 it's this amazing thing. 47:47 You know, 47:48 Jesus is riding on a donkey. 47:50 That was the symbol of the day 47:51 that this was a conquer, 47:52 this was a king coming back. 47:54 If ever there was 47:55 a political statement 47:55 that Jesus makes, 47:56 it's right there. 47:59 And then He refuses to tie it 48:02 to the nationalistic aims 48:04 of Israel. 48:05 In fact, within a matter of 48:06 days, He just left town. 48:09 He refused to 48:11 fuel this nationalistic 48:12 arrogance that the Jews 48:13 had developed over time. 48:15 And secondly, 48:16 Jesus clashed very publicly 48:17 with the Jews' 48:18 nationalistic arrogance 48:19 when He cleansed the temple, 48:21 because for most of Judaism, 48:23 the Temple in Jerusalem 48:24 was the symbol of Israel's 48:26 national supremacy. 48:28 Jesus Himself, you know, 48:29 when He cleaned out that temple, 48:31 it was so audacious 48:33 and so threatening to the Jews. 48:34 Mark 11:18 records this. 48:36 "The chief priest 48:37 and the teachers of the law 48:37 heard this --" 48:38 that is about the cleansing 48:39 of the temple -- "and began 48:41 looking for a way to --" what? 48:43 To kill him. 48:44 Not just because He was 48:45 some random preacher. 48:46 Because 48:47 the very heart of the nation, 48:49 in their minds, was at stake. 48:50 And just in case 48:51 we have doubts about this, 48:53 the head Sadducee himself, 48:55 Caiaphas, had this to say. 48:56 John 11:15. 48:57 "It is better for you that one 49:00 man die for the people -- 49:01 meaning Jesus -- "than 49:03 that the whole nation perish." 49:06 When Jesus took these things 49:08 head on, persecution 49:10 ratcheted up dramatically. 49:13 And what about 49:14 the second one there? 49:15 Not nationalistic arrogance 49:17 only, but national immorality. 49:18 What happened when Jesus 49:19 publicly did those things? 49:20 Well, He did 49:21 this at least twice, again, 49:22 just before His crucifixion. 49:24 First, in Matthew 23, 49:25 I'll let you look 49:26 there on your own. 49:27 There, He pronounces these woes 49:28 against the Pharisees 49:30 and He reveals there 49:31 the exceedingly immoral 49:32 practices of these leading 49:34 men of the nation. 49:36 And secondly, again, 49:38 when Jesus cleansed the temple, 49:40 because cleansing the temple 49:42 not only confronted 49:43 the nationalistic arrogance 49:44 of the Jews, 49:45 but it also confronted 49:46 the national immorality 49:47 as led this time 49:48 by the Sadducees, 49:50 because the temple, 49:51 with its extensive business 49:52 of extortion, 49:53 of robbing the poor, 49:54 of cheating worshippers, 49:55 had, indeed, become 49:56 a symbol of Israel's 49:58 uncleanness and immorality. 50:00 Ellen White summed it up 50:01 like this. 50:02 "Testimonies to Ministers," 50:03 page 267. 50:04 "Jesus, the Lord of life and 50:06 glory, was crucified 50:08 to please the malice 50:09 of the Jews because --" 50:10 here it comes -- 50:11 "because the principles 50:13 He presented did not coincide 50:16 with their own ideas 50:17 and ambitious aims." 50:19 Pause for just a moment. 50:20 The context here, she 50:21 doesn't say specifically, but 50:22 the ambitious aims of Israel? 50:24 Those almost always took 50:26 only one form, and they were 50:27 nationalistically arrogant 50:28 in the extreme. 50:30 I'm pretty sure that's what 50:31 she's referring to. 50:32 The next part, 50:32 she says, "Jesus condemned 50:33 all guile, 50:35 all underhanded work of policy 50:36 for supremacy, 50:37 and every unholy practice." 50:39 In other words, he condemned, 50:40 publicly, national immorality. 50:46 Now hear it and hear it 50:47 well, please. 50:48 Christians are not -- 50:50 I repeat, are not -- to seek 50:53 out public controversy. 50:56 We're not to go agitating 50:57 for this thing willy-nilly. 50:59 But when the time comes 51:01 that we cannot do otherwise, 51:02 when, in the future, 51:03 we are called to publicly 51:05 account for our faith 51:07 and the resulting Word of God 51:09 from our lips runs counter 51:10 to the nationalistic arrogance 51:12 and the immorality running 51:13 rampant in the land, 51:14 we should not be surprised 51:16 when the kind of persecution 51:18 Christ experienced 51:19 comes home to us. 51:23 This is a call for faithfulness. 51:26 What an honor it will be 51:28 to stand for Jesus on that day. 51:32 May the Lord Himself 51:33 prepare us for that day by 51:35 helping us to be faithful now. 51:39 And lastly, lesson number four 51:43 from the Pharisees 51:44 and the Sadducees. 51:47 If the level of fear 51:49 is sufficiently high, 51:53 any person, any group, 51:56 any politician, 51:57 and any political party 51:59 that is not grounded 52:00 in a proper view 52:01 of religious liberty 52:03 will put aside their differences 52:04 and join forces 52:06 with whomever promises 52:07 to solve the crisis. 52:09 Thus, do not follow 52:10 people or parties. 52:11 Follow Jesus and His Word. 52:14 This really is the bottom line, 52:15 isn't it? 52:18 If you're wondering 52:19 which path today 52:20 represents the greatest threat 52:21 to religious liberty, 52:22 the Pharisee path 52:23 or the Sadducees path, 52:24 the answer 52:25 most certainly is "yes." 52:33 And thus comes 52:34 my brother's frustration. 52:38 You know, after Part 1, 52:39 a number of people asked me, 52:40 you know, kind of 52:41 hoping for that secret gem, 52:42 "So, Pastor Shane, 52:43 who are you going to vote for?" 52:48 My answer is, that's none 52:49 of your business, right? 52:52 And who you're going to vote for 52:53 is not my business either. 52:54 Okay? Right? 52:57 My job is to present 52:58 the principles that I find 52:59 in Scripture, that I find in 53:01 the spirit of prophecy. 53:03 I understand the frustration. 53:04 This is not the first 53:05 election -- We'll see if it's 53:07 the last -- 53:09 where this type of frustration 53:11 abounds amongst God's people, 53:13 honest people, sometimes coming 53:15 to different conclusions as to 53:16 how the vote ought to be cast. 53:18 Brothers and sisters, 53:20 the bottom line is that 53:21 we are called to be watchful. 53:23 We are called not just 53:24 to sit back and flip a coin 53:26 and to just, you know, hope 53:27 something works out, 53:29 but instead to take 53:30 the principles 53:31 that we have seen here, 53:32 even in this brief little 53:32 series, and apply them 53:35 to the best of our ability. 53:38 Jesus is not looking for a soft 53:41 people at the end of time. 53:43 Jesus is not looking 53:45 for people that get sucked 53:46 up into political controversies 53:48 that really have 53:49 no ultimate bearing 53:50 on the Kingdom of God. 53:52 He is instead looking for people 53:54 that are filled with the spirit, 53:56 that are prayerful people, 53:57 that seek to be as wise 53:59 as they can possibly be, 54:01 and then, in faith, 54:02 cast their vote 54:04 and leverage their influence 54:05 to the best of their ability, 54:07 knowing that there may 54:08 not be, at this stage 54:09 in the game, perfect answers. 54:12 You may remember one 54:13 of the principles in Part 1 -- 54:15 when there's not 54:16 an ideal candidate 54:17 or an ideal choice in an issue, 54:20 make the choice 54:21 that will lead to the end 54:22 of time 54:23 at the slowest possible rate. 54:28 And one last thing. 54:32 The question has come up 54:33 repeatedly, and 54:33 not just during this series. 54:35 It's a question 54:36 that gets asked a lot. 54:37 "Pastor Shane, why don't 54:40 we just vote for the mark?" 54:47 You know the question, right? 54:48 "Why don't we just vote 54:49 to get this over with? 54:51 Instead of picking the candidate 54:52 that will honor religious 54:53 liberty the most, 54:54 let's pick the one 54:55 that we think won't," right? 54:56 And we'll 54:57 just hurry this thing up. 54:57 We'll get off the planet. 54:58 We'll all be done. 54:59 Everything will be finished 54:59 then." 55:02 Here's -- I understand 55:03 it's a natural tendency, right? 55:04 We don't like pain. 55:05 Let's get it over with. 55:06 That kind of thing. 55:06 I understand. 55:07 But here's why 55:08 we must not do that. 55:11 Here's why we must not do that. 55:13 Number one... 55:17 the end of time 55:18 will be worse than you think. 55:21 Not a soul alive during 55:23 the very end of time 55:24 will say, "Boy, I sure wish we'd 55:26 made this happen faster." 55:28 Not a soul. 55:29 Ellen White says clearly, 55:31 many people think that -- 55:32 many people experience that 55:34 the anticipation of difficulties 55:35 and the anticipation 55:37 ends up being worse 55:38 than the actual difficulty 55:38 itself. 55:40 She says that's not the case 55:41 with the very end of time. 55:42 The time of trouble 55:43 will not be that way. 55:44 You don't 55:45 want to speed this one up. 55:49 And secondly 55:50 and more importantly, 55:52 there are people that I love 55:54 and that you love and people 55:56 that we don't even know that 55:58 still need to hear about Jesus. 56:02 And the only way 56:03 that's going to happen is 56:05 if we have sufficient 56:06 religious liberty to do it. 56:09 And so that is why we do 56:11 not just vote to end things. 56:12 We vote for Jesus 56:13 as best we understand. 56:15 So let us be wise as we can. 56:18 Let us be filled 56:19 with the Holy Spirit, 56:20 that we might do our best 56:22 to avoid unintended consequences 56:27 and keep the door open as long 56:28 as possible 56:29 for religious liberty and 56:31 the proclamation of the Gospel. 56:33 May God help us to be faithful. 56:35 Amen. 56:36 [ Applause ] 56:47 Thank you for joining us today. 56:49 You know, 56:50 our goal with every worship 56:51 service at Pioneer Memorial 56:53 is that our listeners will come 56:54 to know Jesus Christ as their 56:56 personal friend and savior. 56:58 Have you taken this step 56:59 in your life, 57:00 or would you like to know more 57:01 about what this step looks like? 57:03 If so, I have a special gift 57:05 that I would love 57:06 to put in your hands. 57:07 It's this little book 57:08 called "Steps to Christ." 57:11 Now, it's not a very long book. 57:12 As you can see, 57:13 it's only this thick. 57:15 But don't let the size fool you. 57:17 This is one powerful book. 57:19 In fact, 57:20 this book is so powerful, 57:21 so life-transforming 57:22 that it's become a favorite 57:24 for millions all over the world, 57:25 making it one of the most 57:26 translated and most published 57:27 books in history. 57:29 It can be yours for free 57:31 by calling the number on your 57:32 screen, 877-HIS-WILL. 57:35 That's 877, the two words 57:36 "his will." 57:38 Call today. 57:39 You can also download 57:40 a free copy at 57:41 pmchurch.org/stepstochrist. 57:44 That's 57:45 pmchurch.org/stepstochrist. 57:48 Don't wait. 57:49 Get your copy today. 57:50 a forever friendship with Jesus 57:52 is waiting for you. 57:59 ♪ 58:08 ♪ 58:18 ♪ |
Revised 2024-11-04