Matt Colby – Reasons to Believe – Class 6 – Reasons to Believe

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In 1964, a group of well known
psychologists performed a famous

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experiment.
They recruited university

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students as participants and and
the students were told that they

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were going to be participating
in discussions about subjects

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that that were relevant to them
as students.

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And each one of the participants
was put into a small room.

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Nobody else was in the room,
There were no windows.

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There was a microphone in front
of them and a speaker on the

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wall and they were to be
involved and participate in a

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conversation in this way.
So their microphone would be

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turned on for two minutes when
it was their turn to speak, and

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then it would be cut off and
they’d have to listen to the

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other participants speak.
And the conversations were to

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take place in groups of between
2:00 and 6:00, varying sizes.

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Unknown to the participants,
every single person in this

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study was the only real live
person in the conversation.

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So, for example, if there were
supposed to be 6 people in this

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conversation, then there was one
real person, and all the other

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voices of the other five people
were simply recordings.

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So in every case, in the first
round of discussion, one of the

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other people in the
conversation, which was we know

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but they didn’t know, a pre
recorded voice would say I’m

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prone to severe epileptic fits.
So severe that that if I have

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one that’s bad enough I could
die.

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And then the next time the
conversation came around to that

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same voice, they would start to
have a seizure and they’d say,

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this is a bad one, this is it.
I I think I’m going to die.

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I’m dying.
Please help me.

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Somebody please go find help.
And the point of the study was

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to see how many of the
participants actually left the

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booth to go find help.
And the results were shocking.

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Only 31% of the participants
actually left the booth to find

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help.
You see, this was known as the

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bystander apathy experiment, and
the point of it was to try to

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figure out why it is that.
So often we’ll see a group of

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people standing around somebody
who needs help for whatever

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reason.
They’re in trouble and people

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will.
Everyone will stand around and

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do nothing.
Nobody helps.

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Why?
Psychologist wanted to know.

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Why does this happen?
It’s called bystander apathy.

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Or perhaps the most illuminating
part of the experiment was this

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that for those people who
thought that they were the only

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other person in the
conversation, this was supposed

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to be, in their case, a
conversation with just two

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people. 85% of those people left
the booth to go find help.

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And psychologists learned a
number of things from from this

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experiment, and some phrases in
psychology were coined.

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One of them was this diffusion
of responsibility.

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If there’s a group of people and
you’re standing in that group

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and you see that something is
wrong and somebody needs to act,

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well, if there are a lot of
people around, then you think

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perhaps somebody else will help.
I don’t need to do anything.

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There are a lot of people here.
So you don’t feel as responsible

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for the situation because there
are a lot of people there.

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Another phrase that was coined
as pluralistic ignorance.

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So you look at the situation, it
looks bad.

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It looks like this person needs
help.

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But the fact that there are
other people standing around

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watching the same thing happen
suggests to you that maybe I’m

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wrong, nobody else is doing
anything.

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So maybe I’m wrong about the
severity of the situation.

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Maybe it’s not as bad as I
think.

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And the two things that
psychologists learn from from

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these discoveries are this That
feeling like you’re not

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important, like nothing you do
really matters, leads to

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laziness.
It can be a comfortable feeling

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in the moment because you don’t
feel that burden of

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responsibility on your
shoulders, but it never ends up

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that way when you reflect on it.
You end up feeling guilty in the

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long run when you realize you
should have done something and

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you didn’t.
And the other thing we learned

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from this experiment is that
what we call apathy, not taking

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responsibility when you should
take responsibility for

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something is in a sense
contagious.

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If you’re surrounded by people
who are also apathetic, then

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you’ll tend to feel that way as
well.

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We talk about apathy.
Apathy is defined as a loss of

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fundamental hope that personal
happiness or fulfilment is

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possible.
Or put another way, it’s when we

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lose faith in our ability to
achieve our goals.

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And so apathy is very much
connected with the strength of

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our faith, whatever that faith
might be in, but especially that

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faith and our own ability to
achieve our goals.

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And I’m sure all of us in this
room have found ourselves in a

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state like this before.
If you’re like me, you found

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yourself in this dark place
where you wonder if it’s even

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worth getting up in the morning
and and there are a number of

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reasons why you may find
yourself in this mental

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condition.
You might have negative thoughts

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about yourself or your prospects
and maybe you’re afraid to act

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because of fear that you might
fail, maybe because of recent

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failures on your part.
And so you think, why bother?

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I’m just going to fail again.
Or maybe something has happened,

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Something bad has happened to
you or a loved one.

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Or maybe on a global scale, you
look at the events of the world

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and and it just makes you feel
like nothing you do will ever

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make a difference, makes you
feel powerless, and you ask why

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even bother?
Or maybe you just get burnt out.

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You’ve worked and worked to
achieve your goals and it feels

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like you’re actually not making
progress at all.

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You’re you’re taking two steps
back for everyone.

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Step forward and and you just
resign yourself to a lifetime of

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tedium.
There are a number of reasons

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why we can find ourselves in
this mental condition, and

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there’s a book in the Bible
that’s written by somebody who

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was very much struggling with
apathy.

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I’d like you to turn with me to
the book of Ecclesiastes.

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And we’re going to start in
Ecclesiastes chapter one.

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And many people believe that
Ecclesiastes was written by King

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Solomon in large part because of
verse one of Ecclesiastes

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chapter one.
It says the words of the

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preacher, the son of David king
in Jerusalem.

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So here’s a man who says was the
son of David who was also a king

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in Jerusalem.
But interestingly, the the

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writer of Ecclesiastes is never
specifically named.

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He’s just referred to as as the
preacher.

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In the Hebrew, the word is
kohala.

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Over and over again the preacher
is referred to, and regardless

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of whether or not Solomon
actually wrote this book, and he

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may well have, I think one thing
that we can know for fairly

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certain is that it was intended
to be written from the point of

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view of King Solomon.
But interestingly, the book

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contains A-frame of a narrator
who must have come along and and

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discovered this writing and and
written sort of a preface and a

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prologue to it.
And you notice that in the first

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chapter you notice that the 1st
11 verses of chapter one are

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written in the third person and
then and then in verse 12 of

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chapter one it switches to the
first person.

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You see verse 12, it starts out
I the preacher.

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But up to that point it’s
talking in the third person

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about the preacher and in those
first 11 verses of Ecclesiastes

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chapter one.
The The editor of this book who

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wrote this preface describes the
mindset of the preacher.

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I’m going to start reading a
verse 2 Vanity of Vanities, says

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the Preacher.
Vanity of vanities.

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All is vanity.
What does man gain by all the

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toil at which he toils?
Under the sun?

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A generation goes and a
generation comes, but the Earth

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remains forever.
The sun rises and the sun goes

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down and hastens to the place
where it rises.

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The wind blows to the South and
goes around to the north.

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Around and around goes the wind,
and on it circuits.

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The wind returns.
All streams run to the sea, but

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the sea is not full to the place
where the streams flow.

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There they flow again.
All things are full of

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weariness.
A man cannot utter it.

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The eye is not satisfied with
seeing or the ear filled with

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hearing.
What has been is what will be,

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and what has been done is what
will be done, And there is

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nothing new under the sun.
Is there a thing which it is

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said, see, this is new.
It has been already in the ages

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before us.
There is no remembrance of

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former things, nor will there be
any remembrance of later things

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yet to be among those who come
after.

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And the mindset of the Preacher
is that why bother doing

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anything?
It will all come to nothing.

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In the end, nothing really
matters.

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It’s all been done before, so
why even try?

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And if you were to read the 1st
11 Verses of Ecclesiastes

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chapter 2, you’ll get the story
of how the Preacher came to this

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point.
We won’t read those all those

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verses for the sake of time, but
but he says due to his due to

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his position and his wealth and
his power, he partook in all of

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the things that the world had to
offer.

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And at the end of it, this is
what he found in verse 11 of

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Ecclesiastes chapter two, he
said.

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Then I considered all that my
hands had done and the toil I

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had expended and doing it, and
behold, all was vanity and

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striving after wind, and there
was nothing to be gained under

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the sun.
I did it all, and I felt empty.

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At the end.
I didn’t feel fulfilled at all.

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I did everything that anybody
could hope to do in this life,

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and I still felt empty.
And if you go on to read the

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rest of the book of
Ecclesiastes, you don’t find

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much hope there.
It’s all pretty depressing, the

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preacher going on at length
about how pointless everything

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is.
But in the next chapter, in

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Ecclesiastes Chapter 3, there’s
a key to everything, I think in

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those opening verses of
Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 is that

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famous passage where the
preacher talks about how God has

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said everything perfectly in its
place and there’s a time and a

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place for everything and he
comes to.

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Or we come to verse nine of
Ecclesiastes chapter 3, which

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says what gain has the worker
from his toil.

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I have seen the business that
God has given to the children of

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man to be busy with.
He has made everything beautiful

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in its time.
Also, he has put eternity into

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man’s heart yet so that he
cannot find out what God has

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done from the beginning to the
end.

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Now I’m reading from the ESV.
If you’re reading from the King

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James, you may have.
I think he’s put the world into

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their heart.
The word for eternity or the

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world is in the Hebrew Hola.
It has multiple meanings in the

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Hebrew, just like in our
language.

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Like many words that we find in
the Hebrew, it depends on the

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context as to what it truly
means.

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You may have come across this
word oh long before it actually

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often talks about the end of an
age or an era.

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It can mean several other
things.

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It can mean the world or it can
mean ignorance.

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But eternity by far, is the most
common translation of this

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world, and it fits the context
best.

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Here the preacher said that God
has put eternity into the heart

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of man.
We exist in this reality where

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everything passes away, where
the law of entropy holds true.

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Everything is in the state of
deteriorating into its base or

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parts.
We will eventually die,

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everything will eventually fade
away.

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But inside of us we have this
yearning for something eternal.

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Sometimes it’s subconscious, and
that’s why sometimes you’ll hear

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somebody, maybe even who’s an
atheist and doesn’t believe in

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God, but they’ll still say there
must be something more to life

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than this.
This is a characteristic that

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separates us from the animals we
yearn for something eternal.

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And This is why sometimes you’ll
you’ll hear reports of some

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famous person who had all the
money and fame that anybody

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could ever wish for, and they
overdose in a hotel room

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somewhere and kill themselves
and you think they had

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everything.
Why would they end it all

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suddenly, prematurely, like
this?

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Because, like the preacher, they
had experienced everything the

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world had to offer and found out
it wasn’t enough and they still

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yearn for something else.
They said there’s got to be more

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to life than this, and they
never feel fulfilled.

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And they’ve seen and experienced
it all, and they still feel

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empty and in the preachers,
exhaustive research he has

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00:13:56,920 –> 00:14:00,680
uncovered Nothing in this
earthly realm that can satisfy

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the human heart, intellectually
or practically.

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And the very nature of our state
can defeat us in this way as we

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yearn for something greater.
But we’re stuck in this current

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reality, and this is what we
call apathy.

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That feeling like nothing we do
matters.

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Why even bother to try?
But we here in this room are

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fortunate because we’ve been
given the key to defeat it.

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Now, I want to say now, as we
talk about some things that the

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Bible tells us is going to
happen in the future, that when

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the Bible talks about the
future, it often uses sign and

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00:14:43,760 –> 00:14:46,680
symbol and metaphor to describe
what it’s going to be like in

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that future era when Jesus
returns to the earth.

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And maybe you’ve asked the
question, why does it have to

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speak symbolically?
It makes it difficult to

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understand.
Why not just use plain language?

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00:14:57,760 –> 00:15:00,480
And the answer is the future
that we read about, that God has

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00:15:00,480 –> 00:15:04,400
planned for this earth.
We have no frame of reference to

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00:15:04,400 –> 00:15:06,440
understand it.
We’ve never seen anything like

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00:15:06,440 –> 00:15:07,960
it.
Things will be much different

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than they are now.
We don’t have the language to

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00:15:11,240 –> 00:15:14,640
describe it, and it’s only
through the use of symbols and

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00:15:14,640 –> 00:15:17,480
metaphors that we can talk about
a future that contains things

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00:15:17,480 –> 00:15:20,720
that we’ve never seen before,
that no one has seen before.

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All of our language about the
future is is like a signpost

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that’s pointing into a bright
mist.

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We know where we need to go.
But the future, it’s like, to

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00:15:31,320 –> 00:15:34,520
put another way, Biblically,
it’s like looking into a glass

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starkly, or as the ESV
translates it into a mirror,

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dimly.
The mirrors that they had and

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and New Testament times were not
made out of glass like the

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00:15:44,640 –> 00:15:47,240
mirrors we have today.
They were made out of polished

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metal.
If you’ve ever seen your

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00:15:48,760 –> 00:15:51,800
reflection in polished metal,
you know that it’s not a perfect

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00:15:51,800 –> 00:15:53,240
reflection.
It’s all distorted.

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You can sort of make out
yourself in the reflection, but

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it it doesn’t look anything like
reality.

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And that’s what that coming age
will be like.

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So come with me to 1st
Corinthians chapter 15.

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We can only begin to describe
this future, but we have to

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describe it using sign and
symbol, and I think it’s so

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exciting that that is the case
in First Corinthians chapter 15.

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We went to this passage a number
of times in our classes.

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This weekend, the Apostle Paul
is dealing with the problem in

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the Corinthian Ecclesia.
It would seem that some people

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in the Ecclesia are teaching
that there’s not going to be a

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00:16:33,560 –> 00:16:38,400
resurrection from the dead, and
the Apostle Paul addresses that

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with a well thought out
argument.

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He says if there’s no
resurrection from the dead, then

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Jesus was not raised from the
dead, and if Jesus was not

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raised from the dead, then
there’s no forgiveness of sins.

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And if there’s no forgiveness of
sins that everything we’re doing

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is pointless.
We’re just going to die

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eventually and it will be for
nothing.

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And we’re going to pick up in
verse 20 of First Corinthians

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chapter 15, where Paul is in the
middle of his description of

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what things are actually right.
Like after making that eloquent

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00:17:10,040 –> 00:17:15,280
argument, and Paul writes, but
in fact Christ has been raised

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from the dead, the first fruits
of those who have fallen asleep.

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For by a man came death, as by a
man came death, by a man has

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come also the resurrection of
the dead.

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For as in Adam all die, so also
in Christ shall all be made

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alive, but each in his own
order.

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Christ the first fruits, then at
his coming those who belong to

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Christ.
Now there are two things I want

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00:17:38,320 –> 00:17:40,720
to focus on in this passage, And
the first one is this.

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00:17:40,720 –> 00:17:44,040
Did you notice that in two cases
in those verses that we read,

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00:17:44,600 –> 00:17:47,800
Paul refers to Jesus as the
first fruits?

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00:17:49,280 –> 00:17:52,800
And this is a term that may not
immediately have meaning for us,

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but we can understand it.
It would have meant a lot to

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people in at that time.
And of course, we have farming

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00:17:57,400 –> 00:17:59,280
today.
So we can still understand it.

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00:17:59,520 –> 00:18:03,960
You see a farmer, when a crop
was first, the first of that

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00:18:03,960 –> 00:18:07,120
crop grew up and they were able
to harvest it or pluck it,

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00:18:07,120 –> 00:18:09,640
whatever the case may be, they
would take the first of that

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00:18:09,640 –> 00:18:12,800
crop, the first fruits of the
crop into the city and they

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00:18:12,800 –> 00:18:16,240
would set up their market stall
and people would come and buy of

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00:18:16,240 –> 00:18:18,840
the first fruits from that
farmer, the first fruits of his

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00:18:18,840 –> 00:18:23,280
crop.
And if the crop was good, if the

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00:18:23,280 –> 00:18:27,960
fruits were good, then that was
proof that the rest of the crop

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was going to be good too.
And you would continue to go

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00:18:30,680 –> 00:18:33,440
back to that farmers market
stall and buy from him because

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00:18:34,160 –> 00:18:37,080
it had been proven that that
this season the crop is going to

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00:18:37,080 –> 00:18:40,160
be a good one.
But of course conversely, if if

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it’s bad, then you’ll find
somewhere else to shop.

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Now also the first fruits of the
crop tended to be the very best

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00:18:47,440 –> 00:18:50,640
of the crop.
And So what the Apostle Paul is

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00:18:50,640 –> 00:18:54,240
saying when he uses this this
word to describe Jesus, He says

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Jesus is the first fruits from
the dead.

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He was the first human being to
be raised from the dead and

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given an incorruptible body.
He was the first of the crop of

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humanity.
And he’s proof that God can and

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00:19:09,480 –> 00:19:15,280
will raise people from the dead
because we saw it happen with

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00:19:15,320 –> 00:19:20,200
Jesus the first fruits.
And over and above that he is

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also the very best of us.
The other thing I wanted to

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focus on in these verses is is 1
particular word in verse 23 it

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00:19:30,720 –> 00:19:34,320
says about the resurrection that
each will be resurrected in his

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00:19:34,320 –> 00:19:39,280
own order, Christ the first
fruits, then at his coming those

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00:19:39,280 –> 00:19:43,920
who belong to Christ.
And we often talk about the

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00:19:43,920 –> 00:19:47,360
second coming of Jesus and it’s
we we say that it’s it’s based

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00:19:47,360 –> 00:19:51,320
upon verses like this one,
Christ at his Coming, the second

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00:19:51,320 –> 00:19:53,600
coming of Christ.
In the Greek the word for coming

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00:19:53,760 –> 00:19:57,760
is Perusia.
And Paul and a number of the

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00:19:57,760 –> 00:20:01,040
other apostles who were very,
very clever, cleverly used this

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00:20:01,040 –> 00:20:04,920
word, commandeered this word to
be used in Christian thought

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00:20:05,600 –> 00:20:09,720
because before they ever used it
to describe the coming of Jesus,

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00:20:09,960 –> 00:20:13,840
it already had two different
meanings in non Christian

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00:20:13,840 –> 00:20:16,600
thought.
So the word Perusia.

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00:20:17,160 –> 00:20:20,000
Before this time could be used
to describe the the mysterious

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00:20:20,000 –> 00:20:24,720
presence of a God or a divinity,
particularly when the power of

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00:20:24,720 –> 00:20:28,200
that God or divinity is revealed
within an act of healing and

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00:20:28,200 –> 00:20:32,360
people suddenly become aware of
a divine presence because of

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00:20:32,360 –> 00:20:34,120
miraculous things that are
happening.

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00:20:36,080 –> 00:20:40,080
Pelusia could also be used to
describe when a person of high

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00:20:40,080 –> 00:20:43,680
rank came to visit a subject,
province or state.

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00:20:45,120 –> 00:20:47,840
So for example, it could be used
to describe if if the Roman

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00:20:47,840 –> 00:20:51,160
Emperor were to leave the
capital city of Rome behind and

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00:20:51,160 –> 00:20:53,960
go to visit Corinth, which was a
subject state of the Roman

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00:20:53,960 –> 00:20:57,240
Empire.
The word to describe that would

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00:20:57,240 –> 00:21:00,920
be Perusia.
So suppose that Paul wanted to

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00:21:00,920 –> 00:21:04,240
say that Jesus was near in
spirit but absent in body, but

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00:21:04,240 –> 00:21:07,640
that one day he would be present
in body with the whole world

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00:21:07,640 –> 00:21:10,400
would know the transforming
power and the healing power of

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00:21:10,400 –> 00:21:13,520
that presence.
Then the word he would use to

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00:21:13,520 –> 00:21:17,600
describe that would be Padusia.
And suppose that at the same

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00:21:17,600 –> 00:21:20,840
time he wanted to say that Jesus
is the true King of the world,

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00:21:20,840 –> 00:21:24,600
and that one day he’s going to
appear and rule in person on

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00:21:24,600 –> 00:21:27,920
this earth, which is but the
footstool of God.

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00:21:27,920 –> 00:21:30,040
Heaven is His throne, the earth
is his footstool.

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00:21:30,720 –> 00:21:34,200
His subject state, if you will,
Jesus will come the true King of

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00:21:34,200 –> 00:21:36,800
the world and rule in person
with all of the consequences

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00:21:36,800 –> 00:21:41,000
that would result.
Then once again, the word that

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00:21:41,000 –> 00:21:43,600
Paul would use to describe that
would be parousia.

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00:21:44,520 –> 00:21:48,120
And so he perfectly encapsulates
the meaning of the coming of

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00:21:48,200 –> 00:21:50,520
Jesus and the importance of that
with one word.

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00:21:50,520 –> 00:21:55,560
And I want you to come with me
now to Philippians and chapter 3

364
00:21:55,800 –> 00:21:59,840
and the Apostle Paul so
beautifully ties the threads of

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00:21:59,840 –> 00:22:02,520
his argument together throughout
many of his writings.

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00:22:02,520 –> 00:22:06,120
And this is just another example
of that in Philippians chapter

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00:22:06,120 –> 00:22:08,680
3.
And I’m going to start reading

368
00:22:08,680 –> 00:22:14,080
to you from verse 17 and Paul
wrote Philippians chapter 3

369
00:22:14,080 –> 00:22:18,080
starting at verse 17.
Brothers join in imitating me,

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00:22:18,080 –> 00:22:20,920
and keep your eyes on those who
walk according to the example

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00:22:20,920 –> 00:22:25,040
you have in us.
For many of whom I have often

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00:22:25,040 –> 00:22:29,960
told you and tell you now even
with tears, walk as enemies of

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00:22:29,960 –> 00:22:32,360
the cross of Christ.
Their in this destruction their

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00:22:32,360 –> 00:22:35,320
God is their belly and their
glory and their shame with mind

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00:22:35,320 –> 00:22:40,480
set on earthly things.
But our citizenship is in

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00:22:40,720 –> 00:22:44,040
heaven, and from it we await A
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

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00:22:44,040 –> 00:22:47,800
who will transform our lowly
body to be like his glorious

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00:22:47,800 –> 00:22:52,360
body by the power that enables
him even to subject all things

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00:22:52,360 –> 00:22:56,360
to himself.
And Paul said our citizenship is

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00:22:56,360 –> 00:23:01,440
in heaven because we believe
that our King is currently in

381
00:23:01,440 –> 00:23:04,240
heaven, that is the capital city
of God.

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00:23:05,760 –> 00:23:09,080
If you were to ask a Roman
citizen living in Corinth, are

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00:23:09,080 –> 00:23:12,480
you a citizen of Corinth?
They’d say no, I’m a citizen of

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00:23:12,480 –> 00:23:15,360
Rome.
And if you were to ask a

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00:23:15,360 –> 00:23:18,960
follower of Christ, are you a
citizen of Canada or the United

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00:23:18,960 –> 00:23:23,200
States or wherever you happen to
live, the answer should be no.

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00:23:24,360 –> 00:23:27,920
I’m a citizen of heaven.
That’s where my king lives.

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00:23:27,960 –> 00:23:31,120
And one day he’s going to leave
that capital city of God and

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00:23:31,120 –> 00:23:36,480
come to earth to reign.
And you see how Paul has has

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00:23:36,480 –> 00:23:40,400
woven this thread into his
message to the Philippians now.

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00:23:42,440 –> 00:23:45,240
And in Revelation chapter 21, we
won’t turn there, but in the 1st

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00:23:45,240 –> 00:23:48,720
4 verses we have this beautiful
picture with painted and

393
00:23:48,720 –> 00:23:52,080
symbolic language of of New
Jerusalem coming down out of

394
00:23:52,080 –> 00:23:57,880
heaven to earth and a voice says
in wonderment.

395
00:23:57,880 –> 00:24:00,280
Now God is dwelling with
mankind.

396
00:24:00,400 –> 00:24:03,560
It’s as if earth and heaven are
going to be joined together in

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00:24:03,560 –> 00:24:06,360
that moment and nothing will
ever be the same.

398
00:24:09,680 –> 00:24:12,920
Now I’m going to turn and I ask
you to turn with me to Romans

399
00:24:12,920 –> 00:24:19,120
chapter 8, which is probably my
favorite chapter in the Bible

400
00:24:19,120 –> 00:24:21,960
and I’m going to read to you
starting from verse 18.

401
00:24:21,960 –> 00:24:28,680
It’s probably my favorite
passage in the Bible, and Paul

402
00:24:28,680 –> 00:24:32,880
wrote that I consider the
sufferings of this present time

403
00:24:33,280 –> 00:24:36,520
are not worth comparing with the
glory that is to be revealed to

404
00:24:36,520 –> 00:24:38,840
us.
For the creation waits with

405
00:24:38,840 –> 00:24:42,800
eager longing for the revealing
of the Son sons of God.

406
00:24:42,880 –> 00:24:46,400
For the creation was subjected
to futility, not willingly, but

407
00:24:46,400 –> 00:24:50,480
because of him who subjected it,
in hope that the creation itself

408
00:24:50,480 –> 00:24:53,680
will be set free from its
bondage to corruption and obtain

409
00:24:53,680 –> 00:24:56,160
the freedom of the glory of the
children of God.

410
00:24:57,160 –> 00:24:59,720
For we know that the whole
creation has been groaning

411
00:24:59,720 –> 00:25:02,440
together in the pains of
childbirth until now.

412
00:25:04,280 –> 00:25:07,600
And not only the creation, but
we ourselves, who have the first

413
00:25:07,600 –> 00:25:10,920
fruits of the spirit, groan
inwardly as we wait eagerly for

414
00:25:10,920 –> 00:25:14,520
adoption as sons, the redemption
of our bodies.

415
00:25:15,320 –> 00:25:17,880
And Paul says it’s as if all of
creation that were creation

416
00:25:17,880 –> 00:25:20,360
doesn’t just mean the earth, it
means the cosmos, it means the

417
00:25:20,360 –> 00:25:22,640
universe, all things that have
been created.

418
00:25:22,880 –> 00:25:25,720
It’s as if they’ve just been
waiting for that moment when

419
00:25:25,720 –> 00:25:28,960
heaven will join with earth,
when nothing will be the same

420
00:25:28,960 –> 00:25:34,720
again, when the corruptible will
pass away.

421
00:25:36,440 –> 00:25:39,440
And all creation, he says, is
eagerly waiting for that moment

422
00:25:40,200 –> 00:25:42,440
when the whole universe will be
changed.

423
00:25:43,880 –> 00:25:47,760
And did you know?
Did you notice in verse 22 that

424
00:25:47,760 –> 00:25:50,480
he compares it to the pains of
childbirth?

425
00:25:51,240 –> 00:25:55,040
He says This is what it’s like
our existence now compared to

426
00:25:55,040 –> 00:25:59,200
what it will be like after that
moment in that future era in the

427
00:25:59,200 –> 00:26:05,120
Kingdom age, he says.
It’s like childbirth and along

428
00:26:05,120 –> 00:26:08,600
with many of you in the audience
today, I can say I I’ll never

429
00:26:08,600 –> 00:26:11,880
know what it’s like to
experience childbirth, but I

430
00:26:11,880 –> 00:26:16,360
have had a front row seat and he
said this is what it’s like.

431
00:26:18,600 –> 00:26:25,160
The woman is having her first
child and the pain is exquisite.

432
00:26:25,200 –> 00:26:27,200
It’s like nothing she’s ever
felt.

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00:26:29,000 –> 00:26:34,120
And she thinks it can’t get
worse, but it gets worse and it

434
00:26:34,120 –> 00:26:37,800
gets worse.
And the seconds feel like

435
00:26:37,800 –> 00:26:40,640
minutes and the minutes feel
like hours.

436
00:26:40,960 –> 00:26:45,840
And she thinks it’s never going
to end until the moment when the

437
00:26:45,840 –> 00:26:49,960
child is born.
And she never could have

438
00:26:49,960 –> 00:26:51,680
prepared herself for that
moment.

439
00:26:53,520 –> 00:26:55,520
It’s like nothing she’s ever
experienced.

440
00:26:56,600 –> 00:26:59,840
And if you were to ask her in
that moment, would you go

441
00:26:59,840 –> 00:27:02,760
through it all again?
All of the pain for all of that

442
00:27:02,760 –> 00:27:08,200
time?
She’d say in a heartbeat, No

443
00:27:08,200 –> 00:27:11,800
question.
Every second of it was worth it.

444
00:27:12,400 –> 00:27:15,760
And in that day, in that
Kingdom, if you were to ask us,

445
00:27:15,840 –> 00:27:17,560
would you go through it all
again?

446
00:27:17,640 –> 00:27:21,560
That feeling of powerlessness,
of emptiness, the pain, watching

447
00:27:21,560 –> 00:27:29,480
our loved ones die, We’d say in
a heartbeat we could not have

448
00:27:29,480 –> 00:27:31,200
prepared ourselves for that
moment.

449
00:27:32,720 –> 00:27:35,520
It will be better than we could
have ever imagined.

450
00:27:37,680 –> 00:27:46,010
And in verse 28 of First
Corinthians chapter 15, which I

451
00:27:46,010 –> 00:27:49,570
won’t turn to right now, it says
that in that time God will be

452
00:27:49,570 –> 00:27:55,560
All in all and it’s as though
the entire universe was designed

453
00:27:55,560 –> 00:27:58,920
as a receptacle for God’s love.
And when the time is right, he

454
00:27:58,920 –> 00:28:01,640
will come and fill all of it,
all of that emptiness that we

455
00:28:01,640 –> 00:28:04,560
see out there in space.
We wonder why it’s empty.

456
00:28:04,840 –> 00:28:09,240
It was designed with a purpose.
It will be filled and it will be

457
00:28:09,240 –> 00:28:13,040
transformed.
And the Apostle John wrote in

458
00:28:13,040 –> 00:28:15,360
first John chapter 3 and the 1st
3 verses.

459
00:28:15,360 –> 00:28:19,280
He said, see what kind of love
the Father has given to us, that

460
00:28:19,280 –> 00:28:21,360
we should be called the children
of God.

461
00:28:22,280 –> 00:28:25,080
And so we are.
The reason why the world does

462
00:28:25,080 –> 00:28:27,080
not know us is that it did not
know Him.

463
00:28:27,680 –> 00:28:32,240
Beloved, we are God’s children
now, and what we will be has not

464
00:28:32,240 –> 00:28:35,640
yet appeared.
But we know that when He appears

465
00:28:36,480 –> 00:28:41,240
we shall be like him, because we
shall see him as he is.

466
00:28:41,920 –> 00:28:46,840
And everyone who thus hopes in
Him purifies himself as He is

467
00:28:46,840 –> 00:28:49,000
pure.
He said.

468
00:28:49,000 –> 00:28:51,320
We cannot comprehend what it
will be like when we are

469
00:28:51,320 –> 00:28:55,040
transformed to be like our Lord,
but know that we will be like

470
00:28:55,040 –> 00:29:00,320
Him and this is our hope and we
will see him as he is.

471
00:29:03,240 –> 00:29:05,920
I wouldn’t want that future to
be anything like the world that

472
00:29:05,920 –> 00:29:09,280
we live in now.
And the Bible message is that it

473
00:29:09,280 –> 00:29:12,520
will not.
We do not even have the language

474
00:29:12,520 –> 00:29:16,960
to describe it, but in that
moment we will say that it was

475
00:29:16,960 –> 00:29:20,360
all worth it, Everything that we
might have gone through to get

476
00:29:20,360 –> 00:29:24,400
there, as hard as it might have
been at the time, it will have

477
00:29:24,400 –> 00:29:27,280
been worth it.
And in the very last verse of

478
00:29:27,280 –> 00:29:31,800
First Corinthians, chapter 15,
Paul writes, Therefore my

479
00:29:31,800 –> 00:29:35,240
beloved brothers, be steadfast
and movable, always abounding in

480
00:29:35,240 –> 00:29:39,760
the work of the Lord, knowing
that in the Lord your labor is

481
00:29:39,760 –> 00:29:45,200
not in vain.
Anything else we can do in this

482
00:29:45,200 –> 00:29:49,400
life will eventually be empty
and meaningless, and it will not

483
00:29:49,400 –> 00:29:52,120
satisfy us.
But God has given us an

484
00:29:52,120 –> 00:29:56,000
incredible gift that even now,
in this lifetime, we have a job

485
00:29:56,000 –> 00:30:00,360
to do that actually means
something, work to do, that

486
00:30:00,360 –> 00:30:04,400
really, truly matters.
If our destiny is here on this

487
00:30:04,400 –> 00:30:07,160
earth, and what we do here
matters, we’re building for

488
00:30:07,160 –> 00:30:08,920
something that will last
forever.

489
00:30:09,480 –> 00:30:13,480
Every act of love, gratitude and
kindness, every work of art or

490
00:30:13,480 –> 00:30:17,000
music inspired by the love of
God, every act of care, nurture,

491
00:30:17,000 –> 00:30:20,440
comfort, and support for our
fellow human beings, every deed

492
00:30:20,440 –> 00:30:24,360
that spreads the gospel, builds
up the believers, embraces

493
00:30:24,360 –> 00:30:27,920
holiness rather than corruption
and honors God and imitates

494
00:30:27,960 –> 00:30:31,680
Jesus, will find its way into
the new creation.

495
00:30:33,640 –> 00:30:37,400
And surely that is something
worth living for.