Mouthpiece of truth and justice David Chang

Series: FRONTLINE

Speaker: Steve Jeffrey

Date: 12th March 2016

00:00:00 --> 00:00:05 Thank you, brothers and sisters, for this opportunity to study God's Word together this morning.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:07 Before we begin, let us pray.
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for your Word,
00:00:11 --> 00:00:16 and we pray that you give us understandings that we may know you better through your Word.
00:00:17 --> 00:00:19 And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
00:00:21 --> 00:00:27 Okay, so today we will continue our preaching series on the fruitfulness on the front line.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:35 And in this series, we are learning about how to live out our Christian faith in every part of our lives,
00:00:35 --> 00:00:37 including work and family.
00:00:38 --> 00:00:40 And today, as Debbie has already mentioned,
00:00:40 --> 00:00:48 we will focus particularly on how we can become the mouthpiece for truth and justice.
00:00:49 --> 00:00:53 In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus said to his followers,
00:00:53 --> 00:00:56 You are the salt of the earth.
00:00:56 --> 00:01:02 And by that, he meant for Christians to live a life that can influence their surroundings,
00:01:02 --> 00:01:07 like salt that can preserve and season the things that it is in contact with.
00:01:08 --> 00:01:14 So Christians can influence their surroundings through their actions and characters,
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 as we've seen in previous weeks.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 And there's a Chinese proverb that says,
00:01:20 --> 00:01:22 It is better to educate by deeds than by words,
00:01:23 --> 00:01:27 which points out the importance of what we do over what we say.
00:01:28 --> 00:01:32 But important as our actions and our characters are,
00:01:33 --> 00:01:36 it is also indispensable to use our words sometimes,
00:01:36 --> 00:01:39 especially when we're ministering to others,
00:01:40 --> 00:01:43 especially in confrontation with sin and evil.
00:01:43 --> 00:01:48 And 2 Samuel 12 gives us a good example of this.
00:01:50 --> 00:01:57 2 Samuel 12 is a story about Prophet Nathan confronting David and his sin.
00:01:58 --> 00:02:01 I believe most of us are familiar with this passage,
00:02:02 --> 00:02:04 as well as the background in 2 Samuel 11.
00:02:04 --> 00:02:10 So I won't go into the details here about chapter 11,
00:02:10 --> 00:02:13 because the story is very intricate and complex.
00:02:14 --> 00:02:20 But the gist of the story is that David had an affair with a married woman called Bathsheba,
00:02:21 --> 00:02:25 and then he killed her husband Uriah by the sword of the enemy.
00:02:26 --> 00:02:31 David devised scheme after scheme to cover up his crime.
00:02:31 --> 00:02:32 He did quite well.
00:02:32 --> 00:02:38 Uriah's death on the battlefield seems like nothing but an unfortunate accident.
00:02:40 --> 00:02:43 And marrying his widow Bathsheba makes David look like a godly king
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 who looks after orphans and widows.
00:02:47 --> 00:02:53 Although David used or misused his power to cover up things,
00:02:54 --> 00:02:58 God sold everything and sent his prophet Nathan to deal with this.
00:02:58 --> 00:03:05 And I believe today's passage shows us that there are three things we need to know
00:03:05 --> 00:03:08 in order to be the mouthpiece for truth and justice.
00:03:09 --> 00:03:14 And those three things are first, to know God's holiness, verses 1 to 4.
00:03:15 --> 00:03:22 And also, under that heading, we need to beware of the log in our eye, verses 5 to 6.
00:03:22 --> 00:03:28 The second thing we need to know is to know God's disciplines, verses 7 to 12.
00:03:28 --> 00:03:32 And lastly, we need to know God's mercy, verse 13.
00:03:33 --> 00:03:36 So firstly, to know God's holiness, verse 1 to 4.
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 The first verse tells us,
00:03:40 --> 00:03:43 And the Lord sent Nathan to David.
00:03:43 --> 00:03:49 And this particular action reveals to us that God is a holy and righteous God.
00:03:49 --> 00:03:50 He cannot tolerate sin.
00:03:52 --> 00:03:58 So when David tries to hide his sin under the carpet, God must do something about it.
00:03:59 --> 00:04:04 It is imperative that God's people should live a life that exemplifies God's holiness.
00:04:04 --> 00:04:07 As it says in 1 Peter 1,
00:04:08 --> 00:04:12 As he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.
00:04:14 --> 00:04:20 God even sets physical boundaries to restrain sin, such as laws and disciplines,
00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 that is established in society and in churches.
00:04:25 --> 00:04:29 But in cases where these laws and disciplines are unable to reach,
00:04:29 --> 00:04:36 or when sins are intentionally covered up, as in David's case,
00:04:36 --> 00:04:38 God will sometimes himself intervene.
00:04:40 --> 00:04:44 God knows every sin, whether big or small, in the open or in the dark,
00:04:45 --> 00:04:48 and God will bring each one of them into account.
00:04:49 --> 00:04:50 As it says in Romans 12,
00:04:51 --> 00:04:53 He will render to each one according to his works.
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 We never know when God will intervene,
00:04:57 --> 00:05:01 but judgment will eventually take place for each and every sin,
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 whether in this life or in the next.
00:05:04 --> 00:05:06 According to Revelation 20,
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 there will be a day of judgment when everyone will be judged
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 according to what they have done.
00:05:12 --> 00:05:17 This judgment is universal and will happen to each one of us.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 The only way to survive this judgment
00:05:20 --> 00:05:21 is not by money,
00:05:22 --> 00:05:23 not by high moral standards,
00:05:23 --> 00:05:27 and not even by piety or religiosity.
00:05:27 --> 00:05:29 But through Jesus Christ,
00:05:29 --> 00:05:31 who has died on the cross for our sin.
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 But before this judgment day comes,
00:05:36 --> 00:05:37 Christians have the obligation
00:05:37 --> 00:05:40 to be the mouthpiece of God
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 for truth and justice on the earth.
00:05:44 --> 00:05:47 As the mouthpiece for truth and justice,
00:05:47 --> 00:05:49 it is also important to know
00:05:49 --> 00:05:50 that we do not speak
00:05:50 --> 00:05:53 of our own values or opinion,
00:05:53 --> 00:05:55 but we speak the word of God.
00:05:56 --> 00:05:59 Nathan did not tell David of his own opinion.
00:06:00 --> 00:06:02 Nathan did not even criticize David's action,
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 although we all know that it was very wrong.
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 He only spoke of what God wanted him to say.
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 The job of a mouthpiece is not to express
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 his or her own opinion.
00:06:15 --> 00:06:18 The job of a mouthpiece is to pass on the message
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 that had been entrusted.
00:06:21 --> 00:06:24 The message that God has entrusted to us
00:06:24 --> 00:06:25 is in the Bible.
00:06:26 --> 00:06:29 The Bible provides all that we need
00:06:29 --> 00:06:31 to be the mouthpiece for truth and justice.
00:06:33 --> 00:06:35 2 Timothy 3, Paul says,
00:06:35 --> 00:06:46 So back to the passage.
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 This passage shows Nathan's
00:06:49 --> 00:06:51 incredible courage and wisdom.
00:06:52 --> 00:06:54 He did not expose David straight away,
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 but he sets a trap for him.
00:06:58 --> 00:06:58 He said,
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 There were two men in a certain city,
00:07:02 --> 00:07:03 the one rich and the other poor.
00:07:03 --> 00:07:07 The rich man had very many flocks and herds,
00:07:07 --> 00:07:09 but the poor man had nothing
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 but one little ewe lamp,
00:07:11 --> 00:07:12 which he had bought.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:18 The expression here creates a huge contrast.
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 The rich man,
00:07:21 --> 00:07:23 he had so many flocks and herds,
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 but the poor man only had one little lamp.
00:07:28 --> 00:07:29 The passage does not say
00:07:29 --> 00:07:32 how the rich man got his flocks and herds,
00:07:32 --> 00:07:35 so we can presume that it is an inheritance,
00:07:36 --> 00:07:38 which means that he made no effort
00:07:38 --> 00:07:39 in getting this.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 But the poor man had to buy
00:07:42 --> 00:07:43 his own little lamp.
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 And this little lamp meant everything to him.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 He had nothing except this little lamp,
00:07:50 --> 00:07:53 and he treats it as if it were his own daughter.
00:07:54 --> 00:07:55 Verse 4,
00:07:56 --> 00:07:59 Nathan continued to say that,
00:07:59 --> 00:08:02 Now there came a traveler to a rich man,
00:08:02 --> 00:08:06 and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 to prepare for the guests who had come to him.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:10 But he took the poor man's lamp
00:08:10 --> 00:08:15 and prepared it for the man who had come to him.
00:08:16 --> 00:08:18 Now this story is very telling.
00:08:19 --> 00:08:23 Nathan used this story to stir up David's sympathy
00:08:23 --> 00:08:24 towards the poor man.
00:08:24 --> 00:08:28 And indeed, David became very angry
00:08:28 --> 00:08:29 as the story is being told.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:32 So in verse 5,
00:08:32 --> 00:08:35 Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man,
00:08:36 --> 00:08:36 and he said to Nathan,
00:08:37 --> 00:08:38 As the Lord lives,
00:08:39 --> 00:08:41 the man who has done this deserves to die,
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 and he shall restore the land fourfold,
00:08:44 --> 00:08:45 because he did this thing,
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 and because he had no pity.
00:08:48 --> 00:08:51 Now the literal translation of verse 5
00:08:51 --> 00:08:54 is similar to the ESV translation,
00:08:54 --> 00:08:57 David's anger greatly burned against the man.
00:08:57 --> 00:08:58 He's very, very angry.
00:09:00 --> 00:09:01 He's very angry,
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 but he also forgot that, you know,
00:09:03 --> 00:09:06 what he did was even more evil than that rich man.
00:09:07 --> 00:09:11 The Bible says that Uriah was a Hittite,
00:09:12 --> 00:09:14 and Hittite was one of the ethnic groups
00:09:14 --> 00:09:17 that originally occupied Canaan.
00:09:17 --> 00:09:20 When God gave Canaan to the Israelites,
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 they were meant to drive out all the Hittites
00:09:23 --> 00:09:24 and all the Canaanites,
00:09:24 --> 00:09:25 but they didn't.
00:09:26 --> 00:09:30 So some Hittites and Canaanites remained within Israel.
00:09:32 --> 00:09:35 So Hittites are likely a minority group
00:09:35 --> 00:09:38 that has little status in the Israelite society.
00:09:39 --> 00:09:41 And by the time of Solomon,
00:09:41 --> 00:09:45 he subjected entire Hittite and Canaanite population
00:09:45 --> 00:09:46 to hard labor,
00:09:46 --> 00:09:48 and they set Israelites to rule over them.
00:09:50 --> 00:09:53 So Uriah the Hittite probably grew up
00:09:53 --> 00:09:56 in this ethnically discriminated
00:09:56 --> 00:09:57 and even oppressed condition.
00:09:58 --> 00:09:59 And his wife, Beersheba,
00:10:00 --> 00:10:02 is probably the only blessing in his life.
00:10:04 --> 00:10:06 But David coveted even this little blessing
00:10:06 --> 00:10:08 and took it away from him
00:10:08 --> 00:10:09 and even killed him.
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 David is just like this rich man
00:10:13 --> 00:10:14 of the inner story, but worse.
00:10:15 --> 00:10:17 Being selfish and self-serving,
00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 he did not consider at all the rights
00:10:19 --> 00:10:21 and the life of the marginalized.
00:10:22 --> 00:10:25 He can see the speck in other people's eyes,
00:10:25 --> 00:10:28 but he cannot see the log in his own eye.
00:10:28 --> 00:10:31 So in Matthew 7, Jesus said,
00:10:32 --> 00:10:34 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye,
00:10:34 --> 00:10:37 but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 Or how can you say to your brother,
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 Let me take the speck out of your eye
00:10:42 --> 00:10:44 when there is a log in your own eye?
00:10:45 --> 00:10:46 You hypocrite.
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 First take the log out of your own eye,
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 and then you will see clearly
00:10:50 --> 00:10:52 to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
00:10:52 --> 00:10:56 So as a mouthpiece for truth and justice,
00:10:56 --> 00:11:01 we have to notice the log in our own eye.
00:11:02 --> 00:11:04 And before we speak to others about his or her sin,
00:11:05 --> 00:11:07 do we see ourselves in that person?
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 According to Romans 3,
00:11:10 --> 00:11:13 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
00:11:13 --> 00:11:16 I am no better than the person I am about to speak to.
00:11:18 --> 00:11:21 And as we seek to take out the speck in the eyes of others,
00:11:21 --> 00:11:24 let us humbly come before God first
00:11:24 --> 00:11:27 and ask him to show the log that is in our own eye.
00:11:29 --> 00:11:32 It is only when we see the log that is in our own eye
00:11:32 --> 00:11:33 and repent for it,
00:11:34 --> 00:11:36 can we speak the truth in love
00:11:36 --> 00:11:40 rather than criticize in our own self-righteousness.
00:11:44 --> 00:11:48 The second thing we can learn from this passage
00:11:48 --> 00:11:50 is to know God's discipline.
00:11:51 --> 00:11:56 When Nathan saw that David has fallen into his trap
00:11:56 --> 00:11:58 and he turned his own words against him,
00:11:59 --> 00:12:00 Nathan said to David,
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 You are the man.
00:12:02 --> 00:12:06 And in Hebrew, there's only two words in this phrase.
00:12:06 --> 00:12:08 It's very direct and very powerful.
00:12:10 --> 00:12:12 Nathan is very courageous to speak in this way
00:12:12 --> 00:12:15 to a person who has the power to kill him.
00:12:15 --> 00:12:18 But as a prophet of God,
00:12:18 --> 00:12:20 he does not fear those who kill the body
00:12:20 --> 00:12:21 but cannot kill the soul.
00:12:22 --> 00:12:27 Rather, he fears him who can destroy both soul and body in hell,
00:12:27 --> 00:12:28 namely God.
00:12:28 --> 00:12:34 And God not only rebuked David through Nathan,
00:12:34 --> 00:12:36 he also gave him some real discipline.
00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 Verse 11,
00:12:39 --> 00:12:39 Nathan says,
00:12:39 --> 00:12:40 Thus says the Lord,
00:12:41 --> 00:12:44 Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house.
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 I will take your wives before your eyes
00:12:46 --> 00:12:47 and give them to your neighbor.
00:12:48 --> 00:12:53 And he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this son.
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 For you did it secretly,
00:12:56 --> 00:12:59 but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the son.
00:13:01 --> 00:13:04 There are consequences that comes with every sin.
00:13:05 --> 00:13:08 And even these consequences are limited and temporal.
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 God is compassionate and gracious,
00:13:12 --> 00:13:15 slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth.
00:13:15 --> 00:13:18 But that doesn't mean there are no consequences for sin.
00:13:18 --> 00:13:22 Christ died for us on the cross
00:13:22 --> 00:13:25 and made us righteous before God.
00:13:25 --> 00:13:27 It is eternal and spiritual.
00:13:27 --> 00:13:29 But in this present world,
00:13:29 --> 00:13:32 we still have to bear the pain and brokenness
00:13:32 --> 00:13:33 that comes with sin.
00:13:35 --> 00:13:36 And for Christians,
00:13:36 --> 00:13:38 some of these are considered as God's discipline.
00:13:40 --> 00:13:42 God disciplined David very severely
00:13:42 --> 00:13:45 and partly because of his high profile.
00:13:45 --> 00:13:48 Luke chapter 12,
00:13:49 --> 00:13:49 Jesus said,
00:13:49 --> 00:13:51 Everyone to whom much is given,
00:13:51 --> 00:13:52 of him much will be required.
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 God has higher expectation
00:13:55 --> 00:13:57 for those he put in high places.
00:13:58 --> 00:13:59 Moses is another example.
00:14:01 --> 00:14:02 And that's why in James 3,
00:14:03 --> 00:14:05 we see that not many should become teachers
00:14:05 --> 00:14:08 knowing that we will receive stricter judgment.
00:14:09 --> 00:14:12 So God brought many troubles to David later on.
00:14:12 --> 00:14:16 And he saw the death of three of his own sons.
00:14:16 --> 00:14:19 And his wives were violated publicly.
00:14:19 --> 00:14:22 And he was persecuted by his own son at an old age.
00:14:24 --> 00:14:26 So what he did to others in secret,
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 God multiplied unto him in broad daylight.
00:14:31 --> 00:14:32 By doing this,
00:14:32 --> 00:14:34 God is showing the whole world
00:14:34 --> 00:14:36 that his holiness and righteousness
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 cannot be compromised,
00:14:38 --> 00:14:41 even for a man after his own heart like David.
00:14:42 --> 00:14:46 As Christians,
00:14:46 --> 00:14:47 I think we need to take God
00:14:47 --> 00:14:50 and his word very seriously.
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52 The book of Hebrews says
00:14:52 --> 00:14:54 that God is a consuming fire.
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 And as Paul warns us in Galatians,
00:14:57 --> 00:14:58 that God is not mocked.
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02 But besides all this,
00:15:02 --> 00:15:03 we need to remember
00:15:03 --> 00:15:04 that every discipline
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 is an act of God's love for us.
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 Hebrews 12,
00:15:08 --> 00:15:09 the author says,
00:15:09 --> 00:15:11 the Lord disciplines the ones he loves
00:15:11 --> 00:15:13 and chastises every son
00:15:13 --> 00:15:15 whom he receives.
00:15:16 --> 00:15:17 So finally,
00:15:17 --> 00:15:20 being a mouthpiece for truth and justice
00:15:20 --> 00:15:23 means to uphold God's mercy and love.
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 Verse 13,
00:15:27 --> 00:15:28 David said to Nathan,
00:15:28 --> 00:15:30 I have sinned against the Lord.
00:15:30 --> 00:15:32 And Nathan said to David,
00:15:32 --> 00:15:34 the Lord also has put away your sin.
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 You shall not die.
00:15:36 --> 00:15:39 When David confessed his sin,
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 God forgave him straight away.
00:15:41 --> 00:15:42 Yes,
00:15:42 --> 00:15:43 as children of God,
00:15:43 --> 00:15:45 we will be disciplined when we sin.
00:15:46 --> 00:15:48 But it is called a discipline,
00:15:48 --> 00:15:48 after all,
00:15:49 --> 00:15:49 and not punishment.
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 The motivation for discipline
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 is love
00:15:53 --> 00:15:55 for the purpose of maturity
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 and sanctification.
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 As one Puritan puts it,
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 the worst thing God can do
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 to his children
00:16:02 --> 00:16:04 is to whip them into heaven.
00:16:04 --> 00:16:08 This is God's mercy
00:16:08 --> 00:16:08 in the Old Testament,
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11 and it is even more radical
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 in the New Testament.
00:16:13 --> 00:16:15 God sent Jesus Christ
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 to die on the cross
00:16:16 --> 00:16:18 and declared that his son
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 has borne the sins
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 of the whole world.
00:16:22 --> 00:16:24 So for all who believe in Jesus,
00:16:24 --> 00:16:25 Nathan's word to David
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 is also to us.
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 Because of Jesus,
00:16:28 --> 00:16:31 the Lord has put away your sin.
00:16:31 --> 00:16:32 You shall not die.
00:16:32 --> 00:16:36 Just as Paul says in Romans 8,
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 there is now no condemnation
00:16:38 --> 00:16:40 for those who are in Jesus Christ.
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 In conclusion,
00:16:44 --> 00:16:45 the text shows us
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 that there are three things
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 we need to know
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 as we seek to become
00:16:48 --> 00:16:48 the mouthpiece
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 for truth and justice.
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 The first is to know
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 God's holiness
00:16:52 --> 00:16:54 and also beware of the log
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 in our own eyes.
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 The second is to know
00:16:57 --> 00:16:58 God's discipline,
00:16:58 --> 00:17:00 and the third is to know
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 God's mercy.
00:17:01 --> 00:17:01 God's mercy.
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 Furthermore,
00:17:04 --> 00:17:05 today's passage
00:17:05 --> 00:17:06 also reveals to us
00:17:06 --> 00:17:07 human frailty
00:17:07 --> 00:17:08 and weakness.
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 David was undoubtedly
00:17:10 --> 00:17:12 the greatest king
00:17:12 --> 00:17:12 of Israel.
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14 He was especially chosen
00:17:14 --> 00:17:16 and blessed by God.
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18 But even a king
00:17:18 --> 00:17:18 such as David
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 can still disappoint us
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 deeply with his behavior.
00:17:22 --> 00:17:24 He does not deserve
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 our absolute allegiance.
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28 There is only one king
00:17:28 --> 00:17:29 who truly deserves
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 and indeed demands
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 our total allegiance.
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 And that king
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 is Jesus Christ,
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 who loved us
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 and redeemed us
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 from the bondage
00:17:37 --> 00:17:38 of sin and darkness.
00:17:39 --> 00:17:41 Jesus is the promised king
00:17:41 --> 00:17:43 in 2 Samuel 7.
00:17:43 --> 00:17:43 His kingdom
00:17:43 --> 00:17:45 will be established
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 forever,
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 and we have no end.
00:17:48 --> 00:17:49 Isaiah prophesied
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 about this Jesus
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 and called him
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 the wonderful counselor,
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 mighty God,
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 everlasting father,
00:17:54 --> 00:17:55 and the prince of peace.
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 And Psalm 2 says,
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 blessed are all
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 who take refuge in him.
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 Hebrews says,
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 after making purification
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 for a sin,
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 he sat down
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 on the right hand
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 of the majesty on high.
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 And he will come again
00:18:10 --> 00:18:10 from there
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 to judge the living
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 and the dead.
00:18:14 --> 00:18:14 Revelation 19
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 calls him that
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 he is the king of kings
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 and the lord of lords.
00:18:18 --> 00:18:20 So let us today
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21 put our trust
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 in this king of kings
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 and lord of lords,
00:18:23 --> 00:18:25 who loves us deeply
00:18:25 --> 00:18:27 and will never disappoint us.
00:18:28 --> 00:18:28 Amen.