Jan. 16, 2025

Mishandlling Isaiah 40:9-11

Mishandlling Isaiah 40:9-11

A review of a sermon on Isaiah 40:9-11

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A review of a sermon on Isaiah 40:9-11

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Looking at our world from a theological perspective.

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This is the Theology Central podcast, making Theology Central.

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Good evening everyone. It is Wednesday, January the fifteenth, twenty

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twenty five. It is currently nine o two pm. I

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almost said twenty twenty four, I did did you hear it?

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Did you hear it? Did you hear me? Kind of

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stumble there just slightly did you hear it? In my mind?

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So that messed me completely up? So let's do that again.

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Should I just start completely over? I'm not going to

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start completely over? Good evening everyone. It is Wednesday, January

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the fifteenth, twenty twenty five. It is currently nine three

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pm Central Time, and I am coming to you live

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from the Theology Central studio located right here in Abilene, Texas.

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I hope you're having a great evening if you're listening

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to us live, and if you're not listening to us live, well,

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I hope you're having a great time. Whenever it is

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that you choose to listen, morning, afternoon, evening, late at night,

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whenever it may be. Hopefully things are going well for you,

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and hopefully by the time you're done listening to this,

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we can all say things are still going well, because

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sometimes when we do what we are about to do,

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by the time it's over, I hate to say it,

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sometimes by the time it's over, it's so very frustrating.

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But I am hoping that this will go. What I'm

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going to try to do with what we are about

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to do is I'm utilizing this as well, basically sermon

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prep time, and you're just kind of invited along. And

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one of the ways I'm going to do sermon prep

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in this particular moment is I'm going to listen to

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a sermon on the very text that I did a

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little bit of preaching on last Sunday, and I'll be

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doing a lot more preaching on it this coming Sunday.

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And you should know what that text is. If you've

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been with us, you know we are. We are in

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a series on Isaiah chapter forty, going all the way

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to Isaiah chapter fifty five. We are taking apart verse

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by verse, section bi section. We are digging in as

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deep as we can. And the reason we're really really

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working on this section of scripture is because I have

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grown to say frustrated would be an understatement to say angry.

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Maybe getting a little closer to the truth, maybe if

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I say, if I'm getting to the point I'm just discouraged,

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depressed and want to just scream and give up, that's

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really where I have reached. And I've reached that point

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due to sermons on Isaiah chapter forty through Isaiah chapter

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fifty five. Because sermon after sermon after sermon after sermon,

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what do they do. They tell you to open your

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bibles to Isaiah chapter forty or Isaiah chapter forty one,

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or Isaiah forty two or forty three or forty four

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or forty five. You just named the chapter, and immediately

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what they insert us into the text, and we're not there,

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ladies and gentlemen, Isaiah chapter forty through fifty five is

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about those in Babylonian captivity. Is about those who are

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about to be released from Babylonian captivity. It's not about you,

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it's not about me. But for some weird reason, they

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insert us in and move the original recipients out. Now

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they'll take just a second, they'll mention them, they'll throw

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in a little bit of historical background, so they sound

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like they're really handling the text. But inevitably it becomes

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about you and becomes about me, and it's so irritating,

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it's so just I want to just scream because I

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don't understand why it's so difficult to handle this text

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in any meaningful way. And this has also led to

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a lot of our discussion about artificial intelligence. Why is

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it that artificial intelligence, over and over and over and

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over and over and over and over and over again

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can well it demonstrates on me state this way. Why

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is it that, over and over and over again, AI

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handles the text of Scripture far better than well us

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human Bible teachers and human preachers. The AI and every

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single case, has handled the text better, more accurately, more factually,

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more in context. And it's kind of depressing. But here

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we are, and we're gonna listen to another sermon, in

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this case Isaiah Sermon on Isaiah chapter forty, verses nine

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through eleven. And the reason we're doing this is because

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of an email that I received a couple of hours ago.

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And the email states this, this sermon is by a

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sovereign Grace preacher. You have not done an AI review

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of a sermon with their theological point of view. They

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tend to spiritual a lies the Old Testament text to

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make them relevant and downplay the historical setting of the

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text and see allegory and every passage. They're the opposite

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of literal dispensational list. Whether they go through a book expositionally,

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it depends sometimes they sometimes they do, and sometimes it

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is more topical. And then they give me another link

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to this preacher and they say, I did not realize

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how many times this person has spoken from Isaiah chapter

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forty and I haven't gone to look at all of those.

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I just went with the very first sermon that they

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gave me, and we're gonna go with that. Now that

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already sounds, you know, like, hey, we're gonna be going

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in the wrong direction. Now. I did have a this

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is what I did. I didn't have Ai review this sermon.

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I what I did is simply asked Ai, hey, you

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break down Isaiah chapter forty, verses nine through eleven. You

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break it down. I did ask Ai to give me

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the most com comen mistakes preachers make in the handling

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of Isaiah chapter forty nine through eleven. I did ask

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Ai to go ahead and do that. So let's look

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at that. Because I wanted AI to just go ahead

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and see what they would say. So let me let

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me get through this all right. Common ways the text

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is mishandled. Right, So according to Ai, this is the

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way human beings commonly mishandle Isaiah Chapter forty, verses nine

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through eleven. They give me four ways. Number One, they

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over spiritualize the passage. Some interpretitions ignore the historical context

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of Babylonian exile and apply the text solely to spiritual

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deliverance or some event, and eschatology number two misapply the

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shepherd imagery. The shepherd imagery is sometimes applied narrowly to

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church leaders or pastors without recognizing its primarily refers to

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God himself as the shepherd of his people. Number Three

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neglecting the ordinary means of deliverance. Now I find that funny, right,

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AI said, Hey, One of the most common ways people

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mishandle this is they ignore the ordinary means of deliverance.

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And what did I spend all of last Sunday doing

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talking about the ordinary means of deliverance versus the supernatural means?

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So I spent an entire hour plus talking about ordinary means.

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Ai says. One of the most common ways pastors mishandle

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it is they don't talk about that. So I feel

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pretty good. If AI was to review my sermon from

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last week, it would be like, hey, now, it would

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probably still rip me apart and tear me apart, but

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it would at least say I got that part right.

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This is what AI says. Many failed to recognize that

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God's deliverance in this context came through Cyrus, a human king,

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rather than supernatural intervention, leading to an over emphasis on

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Maraki lists expectations number four, isolating the passage from the

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larger narrative the passages. This passage is sometimes treated as

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a standalone promise without connecting it to the broader themes

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of Isaiah forty through fifty five, including God's sovereignty over

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nations and his contrast with idols. And I made sure

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we contrasted it with idols as well last week. So

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I feel like I've tried everything I can to avoid

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that mishandling. But that's what Isaiah said. That's what Isaiah.

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That's what AI says about many pastors and how they

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mishandle Isaiah chapter forty nine through eleven. So that's what

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AI says pastors typically do well. Someone said, we've never

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reviewed a sermon on Isaiah forty from this particular theological

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point of view. Here we go. Let's just find out

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what I don't know, what's going to happen. Now. The

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goal here, let me make it very clear, the goal

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here in this moment is not to do a review

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of the entire sermon or not. We're not even going to.

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Now the title, I'm already concerned. The title is Lord,

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be our shepherd. Oh you are are now Wait a minute,

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Isaiah forty nine or eleven. It's not about you or me.

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It's about them. It's about God being their shepherd in

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Babylonia captivity, and they're coming out of so already I'm

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concerned because the title is about be our shepherd. No, no, no, no,

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no no. The text is about them, so already I'm

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worried already. So what we're gonna do is this, instead

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of trying to do a review of the entire sermon.

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It's about thirty minutes long. We know that means basically

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it's about twenty five minutes, maybe twenty, because it's depending

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on how quickly they actually get into the sermon and

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how long they use to the end. To simply summarize,

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repeat the points and pray you may really only have

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about twenty twenty minutes of teaching, but the goals, we're

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just gonna listen to see first how quickly they insert

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us into it to get a basic thesis, basic idea

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of how they're going to handle the text. And then

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we may look at how AI handles the text, and

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then we'll just go from there. And then Sunday, I've

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got to determine do I return back to the ordinary

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versus supernatural because I didn't even cover everything I wanted

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to cover, or did that do a sufficient enough job?

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I think I did, So we may just dive right

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into Isaiah forty nine through eleven on Sunday and see

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how far we can get. But here we go. Let's

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see a little after nine pm Central time. I know

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it's a little later for others. Let's just sit back

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this evening, kick back, grab something to drink, Let's do

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a little well sermon review. Let's do a little bit

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of work on Isaiah forty nine through eleven, and we

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will compare it to see does it do all the

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things Ai says humans typically do with the text. It's

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pretty sad when AI's like, here's how humans mess up

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the t I find that humorous, so you may not.

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All right, are you ready? Here we go?

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Turn with me if you would back to Isaiah forty.

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Isaiah forty, let's read verses nine to eleven again, Oh Zion,

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that bringest good tidings, and that means those who tell

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good tidings to Zion, get thee up in to the

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high mountain. Oh Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings. Lift up

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thy voice with strength, lift it up. Be not afraid say,

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unto the cities of Judah, behold your God. Behold the

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Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm

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shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him,

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and his work before him. He shall feed his flock

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like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with his

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arm and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently

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lead those that are with young.

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All right, now, I always want to say I want

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to always say anything positive I can possibly say, because

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some people again try to say that my reviews are

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too negative. But you know my reviews are. I go

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in blind. So it's not like you can accuse me

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of picking sermons that I'm I've got something against. I'm

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just listening to sermons. In many cases, just trying to

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learn myself. All right, but here the first thing I'm

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going to obviously say they do very well is that's

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very he reads very well, right, very methodical, clear, enunciates

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good slow pace. Where I have a tendency to say,

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all right, let's read Isaiah forty verses nine through eleven.

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Oh sorr, yeah, that bring us good time. He's good

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to the up in hih Mountain Juman and yeah, and

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I just kind of mumble it all together. And so

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I try to slow myself down and and do better.

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But it is important when you're reading it publicly to

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try to read it in a good way. And I

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always get challenged and convicted that, man, I could do

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better when I read, I could do better when I read,

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I just yeah, I just read so much quicker in

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my head and when I yeah, so, but I'm just

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making excuses. Obviously I could do better. So that's so far,

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so good. All right. Now let's see where we go.

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He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall

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gather the lambs with his arm, and shall carry them

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in his bosom. That sounds so nice to me. That

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sounds so so nice to me. I want the Lord

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Jesus Christ to be my shepherd.

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Oh boy, oh boy. Okay, so he did such a

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good job reading that, and immediately now he wants the

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Lord Jesus to be his shepherd. Okay. I don't know

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how in the world we're getting there from Isaiah forty

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verse eleven. I have no idea. I have no idea,

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because that's not about you. It's not about me. That's okay,

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But all right, all right, all right, let's just say

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maybe he's saying this just to kind of draw the people.

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Maybe we'll just this is his kind of like you know,

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I hate to use the term because it sounds fleshly,

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but the hook, you know, you got to put that

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hook to grab the people's attention. I mean, I hate

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to say it. Preaching utilizes every fleshly technique you can

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imagine typically, So is this the hook to go over?

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All right? Yeah, and everybody's like, yeah, I want the

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Lord to be my shepherd too. All right, there we go.

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But he's gett to go into then in a sense,

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real in the hook and go all right, guys, I

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know I got your attention, But in this particular case,

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it's not about you or me. It's about them. Is

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that what's getting ready to happen?

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Let's see, I really do I sincerely do I think

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about scriptures that say He will give you the desires

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of your heart. If any of us have that desire,

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he put it there. We don't take credit, we don't

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boast in anything. But I want the Lord Jesus Christ

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to be my shepherd.

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Major theological and kind of philosophical issue. If God puts

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the right desires inside of us, then why doesn't everyone

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who Clay who is a Christian? Why don't we all

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have then only desire for good thing? If God gives

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me the desire, if I don't have the desire for something, well,

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then that would be God. God has to give me

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the desire for scripture, God has to give me the

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So are you going to say he gives everyone the

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same desires? If he gives everyone the same desires, then

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there should be some equality, There should be some unity,

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and there should be some equality across the board of

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everyone pursuing the same spiritual things to the same level,

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because they would all have the exact same desire from God. Clearly,

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not all people have the same desire, So if they

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don't have the same desire is it is that on God? Like?

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How how do you process that? Hey, if you've got desire,

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if you've got a right desire, God put the right

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desire in you, you can take no credit for it. Great,

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But I have wrong desires? Why do I have wrong desires?

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I mean, all right, we could stay right there. I

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almost want to go to Ai and start a discussion

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with Ai right now about that whole subject. I really do,

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I really do. But but right now we'll just we

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want to We want to see where how he's going

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to handle this text.

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I want him to feed me. I cannot feed myself.

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I cannot feed you. You know, the command is, if

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you love me, feed my sheep. I Peter knew he

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couldn't feed anybody. I cannot feed. I can't even feed myself.

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He must feed. Hmmm, so we can't. God has to

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feed us. I'm assuming he means spiritually. So when God,

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when God told Peter to feed the flog, Peter couldn't

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do it. When pastors are told to feed the flow,

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we can't do it. When you're told to desire the

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sincere milk of the Word and to read it and

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desire it, you're not You can't really feed yourself. God

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has to be the one to feed you. Now does

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God feed me through my effort? Or does God feed

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me irregardless of my effort. So, according to what we

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have so far, God puts the right desire inside of you,

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and God is the one who feeds you. So any lie,

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so any spiritual mouth. You know, if you're if you're

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if you're not nourished properly right, if you're not properly

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spiritually nourished, is because God failed to feed you. And

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if you have wrong desires, it is because God has

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not given you the right desire. Is that where we

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end up. Any malnourishment is the result of God. God

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is the one who feeds you. Well, if God is

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the one who feeds me and pastors aren't the one

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who feeds me, then what's the point of going to

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church because they're not the one who feeds me. I've

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got questions. You may want to be writing these things down.

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You may you may want to open up a notebook

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right now and write these downs. That is God the

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one who gives us the right desires. And if God

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is the one who gives us the right desires, why

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doesn't everyone have the same level of desire and the

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same desires. And if we don't like so, like, who's

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to be blamed?

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There?

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And if God is the one doing the feeding and

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pastors can't actually feed you, a pastor can't feed you,

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you cannot feed yourself. How does God feed you? Does he? Just? Well?

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Does God feed you by giving you the desire for

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the word? And then when you study the word? But

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is that you feeding you? Or is that God feeding you?

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Got lots of questions here.

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He must do all the feeding. And I want by

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his grace, I want him to feed me. I want

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him to feed.

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My soul.

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I want him to lead me.

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Okay, Now, now, just do you realize all the pronouns I, I, I, ME, ME, me,

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it's not about them the immediately just so, what has happened?

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Once again we have another sermon on Isaiah forty where

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instantaneously we us I, ME, you were inserted into the

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text and them not even mentioned at the beginning. How

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how can you start a sermon on Isaiah forty nine

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through eleven and just immediately leave out the people it's

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actually written to. Okay, So God gives the desire, God

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does the feeding. How I guess God does the leading.

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How does God do the leading? Let's see if we

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find out, if we're going to get some idea how

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God does the leading.

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You know, there's a time in every person's life when

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they don't want anybody to lead them but themselves. I'll

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lead myself, thank you. I'm past that.

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I'm over that. Honestly, Wow, that's a big claim. I

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don't know how you've accomplished reaching a point where you're

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over leading yourself. You just want God to lead you.

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You have no sinful nature, because I guarantee if you

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have a sinful nature, the sinful nature still wants to

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lead itself. The sinful nature still doesn't want to be

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led by God unless you somehow have eradicated the old nature.

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If you ever reached that point, then by all means,

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you should be preaching and you should write a book

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and tell everyone how you reach the point where you now.

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I only want to be led by God and there

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is nothing in you that wants to lead itself. Because

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that is a massive accomplishment, that is that is a

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major I will just confess to everyone. I still want

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to lead me time and time again, and there's time

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and time again I don't want God to lead me.

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I want to go my direction way more than I

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probably should, way more than I probably should even admit.

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But I'm going to admit it because it's true. And

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I know that becomes a shock to everyone. But you know, hey,

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w if we're talking in private, you could probably be

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a little honest with yourself as well.

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I want him to lead me. I don't want to

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take one step without him moving my foot. I want

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him to carry me through this life. That's what I want.

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I want him to carry me through this life, this

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very difficult life. I want met him to carry me

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all the way home. That's what I want. If the

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Lord is willing, and just a moment, we're gonna close

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this service with the song Savior like a shepherd lead us.

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That song is a prayer, if you think about it,

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that song is a prayer. That song is the crying

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out of a desire. It's a request from God's people

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to him.

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Okay, you can kind of see the overall direction this

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is going. This is all more kind of emotional experiential.

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We're going to sing this song, right, there's a very

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like this is not at all worried about the text

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at this point, we're gonna sing this at the end.

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It's gonna be a prayer because we're gonna take uys

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forty verse eleven, and we're gonna make it about us.

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It has nothing to do with you. But okay, okay,

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all right, now, he's still got plenty of time here

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to flip it. He's got plenty of time. Let's see,

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let's see. I don't know how far we're gonna have

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to go. But sometimes what happens is I keep waiting,

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keep thinking, Okay, we're gonna get to the original recipients.

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He will mention them, because every sermon at least mentions

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the original people, at least for a moment. I always wait,

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and sometimes I wait and wait and wait, and then

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when finally they mention them, I'm kind of like, that's it.

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But I always try to maintain some level of being positive.

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But considering this is just right out the gate, him,

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I I, I, I I. We are gonna seeing this

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about this, and well, yeah, I mean the original recipients

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just as well. You know who cares about that. But

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I'm going to believe they're gonna be mentioned.

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Listen to these words. I'm going to quote this song

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to you, and see if this is not the desire

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and the requests of your heart. Savior, like a shepherd,

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lead us much. We need thy tender care in thy

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pleasant pastures. Where's that? It's the pleasant pastures of his word,

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the very, very pleasant pastures of his word. In thy

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pleasant pastures, feed us, feed me, feed me your word

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by your spirit, through your means. Feed me your word

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in thy pleasant pastures. Feed us for our use. Please

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thy folds, prepare even us, even us, Let thy blessing

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fall on us. Prepare a place for us. That thief

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on the cross said, Lord, prepare a place for me.

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When you enter into your kingdom, remember me blessed Jesus.

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Blessed Lord, Jesus, Thou hast bought us thine we are.

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You bought us, You paid for us, and we belonged

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to you. What did he buy us with his own

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precious blood? We belong to you.

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I mean, if you want to go back to the

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beginning of this sermon, you should and just take a

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piece of u and you should do it with all sermons,

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and Isaiah forty to fifty five, you really should. You

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just take a piece of paper and just keep track

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of how when you listen to these sermons, how many

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times it's me, you, I, US, WE me, you us,

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Why it's all, it's over and over and it's again.

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I know I make this a joke, but I I

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I'm more serious than probably people think. But even though

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I try to say it in a joking manner, Christians

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get so up in arms about pronouns. Oh, I'm you

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gotta use the right pronoun. I'm not going to recognize

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your false pronoun because it's me ignoring reality. No, I

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will use only these pronouns. But when it comes to preaching,

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we don't care. Forget they forget them. It's me, it's us,

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it's I, it's we. We don't even care about the

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actual pronouns, about what the text it's about them. I mean,

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the text even identifies, Oh Zion, that bring us good tidings.

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Get thee up into the high mountains, Oh Jerusalem, that

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bring us good tidings. Lift up thy voice with strength,

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lift up, be not afraid say onto the cities of Judah.

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Say unto the cities of Judah. Pray comes to preaching,

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we can do whatever we want with pronouns. We only

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care about pronouns when it deals with other people. When

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it comes to preaching, we'll use whichever stinking pronoun we want. Now,

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remember what AI said. The way this is these passages

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are typically mishandled over spiritualizing the passage, misapplying the shepherd imagery,

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neglecting the ordinary means of deliverance, or isolating the passage

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from the larger narrative right now, so far, I don't

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know if we can say it's over spiritualizing. It's misapplying

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the entire passage to be about us. And at least

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they make the shepherd Jesus, So at least they do that.

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That's a good thing. They're not even talking about the

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deliverance here, and it's definitely isolating the passage from the

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larger narrative. I mean, clearly that's happening. Now. Maybe they're

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going to get to the large narrative, but so far

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it's been completely isolated.

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Has brought us Thine we are? The prayer continues by

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saying we are thine. Do thou befriend us, Oh friend

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of sinners, do thou befriend us? Be the guardian of

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our way, keep thy flock from sin, the sin of unbelief,

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you know, Our Lord said, all manner of sin shall

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be forgiven, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, the

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sin of unbelief. Keep thy flock, keep us from unbelief,

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keep thy flock from that great sin. Defend us from that.

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Seek us when we go astray? Not if not, if

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seek us? This is what I want when I go astray?

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Would you please seek me?

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Now? If God is the one who gives you the

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right desires, and God is the one who feeds you,

461
00:30:08.480 --> 00:30:12.039
then how are you going astray? To go astray would

462
00:30:12.079 --> 00:30:15.200
mean you would have a different desire than God's desire.

463
00:30:15.440 --> 00:30:16.920
But you said God is the one who gives us

464
00:30:16.920 --> 00:30:19.000
the right desire. So why did God and I give

465
00:30:19.039 --> 00:30:21.359
you the right desire? And now you want to stray?

466
00:30:26.599 --> 00:30:30.240
They don't understand. They don't understand. Okay, I'm just going

467
00:30:30.279 --> 00:30:32.440
to be patient, going to be patient. I'm going to

468
00:30:32.519 --> 00:30:33.000
be hopeful.

469
00:30:37.319 --> 00:30:42.880
Blessed Jesus, Blessed Lord, Jesus. Hear, oh, hear us. When

470
00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:47.559
we pray, Please hear me. Please give me a heart

471
00:30:47.680 --> 00:30:52.240
to cry out to you in sincerity, not just with lip. Serface. Lord,

472
00:30:52.480 --> 00:30:56.559
put a prayer in my heart, cause my tongue to

473
00:30:56.680 --> 00:30:59.640
speak it. And then please hear me and answer me.

474
00:31:02.039 --> 00:31:05.519
The song goes on to say, thou hast promised to

475
00:31:05.759 --> 00:31:06.640
receive us.

476
00:31:09.880 --> 00:31:12.160
I have no idea how we have the word of

477
00:31:12.240 --> 00:31:14.559
God right here in front of us Isaiah forty nine

478
00:31:14.599 --> 00:31:17.480
to eleven. And somehow the sermon has turned into an

479
00:31:17.559 --> 00:31:23.519
exposition of a song, not the text. Okay, I don't

480
00:31:23.559 --> 00:31:26.599
know how that happened. How about the text? How about

481
00:31:26.640 --> 00:31:29.680
the text? You've already made it about us, ignoring who

482
00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:32.960
it's actually about. And now you're going to a song

483
00:31:33.079 --> 00:31:36.559
and you're exeguting. I'm not doing a full exegesus of

484
00:31:36.559 --> 00:31:39.279
the song, but you're more preaching the song now than

485
00:31:39.319 --> 00:31:41.839
the text. Now help obviously revert back to the text.

486
00:31:41.920 --> 00:31:46.960
But okay, here we go, poor and sinful though we be,

487
00:31:48.640 --> 00:31:53.039
Thou hast mercy to relieve us. I tell you what

488
00:31:53.359 --> 00:31:56.279
mercy does for me. It relieves me.

489
00:31:58.880 --> 00:32:01.480
What's interesting is he taking the words of the song

490
00:32:02.240 --> 00:32:06.920
and speaking them as if the song is like the

491
00:32:07.119 --> 00:32:10.359
inspired scripture, that when the song says something, this is

492
00:32:10.440 --> 00:32:14.759
the way it is. But it's a song, right when

493
00:32:14.839 --> 00:32:18.799
you have to then justify you being so dogmatic about

494
00:32:18.839 --> 00:32:23.160
what the song is asserting by giving some scriptural justification

495
00:32:23.519 --> 00:32:25.759
for it. I mean, don't you think maybe I don't

496
00:32:25.759 --> 00:32:28.079
know what that's just the thought.

497
00:32:30.519 --> 00:32:34.640
It relieves me all of that, all of my wrong everything,

498
00:32:34.720 --> 00:32:37.400
I am, everything that stacks up against me, And I think,

499
00:32:37.640 --> 00:32:42.000
why am I? Thus? You know the relieving factor mercy

500
00:32:42.079 --> 00:32:47.079
and the blood. Thank God for the blood. There's no

501
00:32:47.319 --> 00:32:52.680
fixing this. Thank God for the blood. Thou hast mercy

502
00:32:52.799 --> 00:32:58.839
to relieve us, grace to cleans and power to free. So,

503
00:32:59.000 --> 00:33:04.240
blessed Jesus, blessed, Lord Jesus. Early, let us turn to

504
00:33:04.400 --> 00:33:11.720
THEE early in life, early in the trial, early in

505
00:33:11.799 --> 00:33:16.279
the morning, early every morning, let us turn to THEE.

506
00:33:16.440 --> 00:33:21.559
Not I will turn to THEE. Would you please let

507
00:33:21.759 --> 00:33:24.119
me turn me and I'll be turned?

508
00:33:27.160 --> 00:33:30.160
So God does the giving you the right desire. God

509
00:33:30.240 --> 00:33:38.119
does the feeding, and God does the turning. If God

510
00:33:38.160 --> 00:33:39.759
gives me the right desire and he feeds me and

511
00:33:39.880 --> 00:33:44.359
he turns me, then why are we just then? Not perfect? Like?

512
00:33:44.920 --> 00:33:46.839
I've got so many questions here?

513
00:33:50.759 --> 00:33:55.799
Early, let us seek thy favor. Early, let us do

514
00:33:56.000 --> 00:34:00.319
thy will. What is his will? Bow to the son,

515
00:34:02.200 --> 00:34:10.920
Kiss the son, hear him, believe on him, trust him,

516
00:34:11.760 --> 00:34:16.800
look to him, follow him. Lord, Early, let us do

517
00:34:17.000 --> 00:34:23.360
thy will. Let me bow to you, Blessed Lord and

518
00:34:23.519 --> 00:34:30.840
only Savior, with thy love, our hearts, souls, innermost beings

519
00:34:31.400 --> 00:34:37.760
fill blessed Jesus, Blessed Lord Jesus. Thou hast loved us,

520
00:34:39.159 --> 00:34:43.719
love us still? Would you love me still? You think

521
00:34:43.760 --> 00:34:49.760
about that? Would you please still love me? Even though

522
00:34:49.840 --> 00:34:53.840
I'm still what I am? I'm still that same cinner

523
00:34:53.920 --> 00:34:57.199
I always was? Would you still love me? That's what

524
00:34:57.320 --> 00:35:00.679
I want. I want for you to please still love me.

525
00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:09.719
Thou hast loved us? Love us still? Now? Honestly? Is

526
00:35:09.760 --> 00:35:15.239
that our prayer to him? That is the desire of

527
00:35:15.360 --> 00:35:18.440
our heart. That's the request that we cry out to him.

528
00:35:18.920 --> 00:35:24.800
We want him to be our shepherd. I want you

529
00:35:24.880 --> 00:35:30.280
to be my shepherd. We want him to lead us.

530
00:35:30.519 --> 00:35:33.320
We want him to feed us. We want him to

531
00:35:33.639 --> 00:35:38.039
carry us in his arm all the way home.

532
00:35:40.480 --> 00:35:43.320
He's making the promises in Isaiah forty eleven, which is

533
00:35:43.360 --> 00:35:47.880
specifically about those in Babylonian captivity, and making them about us.

534
00:35:49.239 --> 00:35:54.039
I'm baffled at how scriptures are handled in churches all

535
00:35:54.199 --> 00:35:57.199
across the world. I just I don't. We can do

536
00:35:57.360 --> 00:36:00.719
whatever we want with scripture, that's the thing. Look, no

537
00:36:00.840 --> 00:36:03.280
matter what everyone said, Oh, we want preaching and we

538
00:36:03.400 --> 00:36:06.960
want it extuchetical, and we want it expositional. That church

539
00:36:07.039 --> 00:36:09.360
does it wrong, and that church doesn't wrong. The bottom line,

540
00:36:09.400 --> 00:36:11.599
anyone can do whatever they want with scripture. There is

541
00:36:11.719 --> 00:36:14.119
no one guiding it, there is no one regulating it.

542
00:36:14.199 --> 00:36:15.880
It's just a free for all. And we see it

543
00:36:15.960 --> 00:36:19.119
every single time, especially in Isaiah forty to fifty five.

544
00:36:19.159 --> 00:36:20.559
You can just do whatever you want. Just go to

545
00:36:20.639 --> 00:36:23.159
the text and make it about you. Forget the context,

546
00:36:23.239 --> 00:36:26.360
forget who it's about. Just do whatever you want with it.

547
00:36:26.760 --> 00:36:29.360
The Bible is nothing more than Plato in the hands

548
00:36:29.440 --> 00:36:34.320
of preachers, and we just molded here you go, boom,

549
00:36:34.760 --> 00:36:36.519
I'm gonna make this about you. I'm gonna make it

550
00:36:36.599 --> 00:36:41.400
about me, even though it has nothing to do with us. Now,

551
00:36:41.800 --> 00:36:44.360
as I've demonstrated over and over and over, whenever I

552
00:36:44.440 --> 00:36:46.159
say that, people are like, oh, you're telling me there's

553
00:36:46.199 --> 00:36:50.360
no application. There is always application, but the application comes

554
00:36:50.800 --> 00:36:53.800
way after we've dealt with everything in his historical context,

555
00:36:53.840 --> 00:36:56.880
and then we have to make sure that the application

556
00:36:57.159 --> 00:37:01.360
flows and is accurate too the true meaning of the text.

557
00:37:05.280 --> 00:37:09.119
I want to enter all the way in Lord, carry

558
00:37:09.199 --> 00:37:13.360
me all the way home, don't leave me in the way.

559
00:37:18.079 --> 00:37:20.719
That is honestly what I want. That is honestly the

560
00:37:20.840 --> 00:37:23.000
request and desire of my heart. I know it is

561
00:37:23.079 --> 00:37:26.480
yours too. I know it is, and we all know

562
00:37:26.639 --> 00:37:29.679
that the reason that is the request and the desires,

563
00:37:29.719 --> 00:37:30.679
because He put it there.

564
00:37:31.239 --> 00:37:35.199
We well, I'm glad everyone's got the right desires. Everyone's

565
00:37:35.199 --> 00:37:36.719
got the right desires. I don't know what they're ever

566
00:37:36.760 --> 00:37:38.920
worried about, ever going astray, because then they would have

567
00:37:38.960 --> 00:37:40.639
the right desires. The only way you go astrays when

568
00:37:40.679 --> 00:37:43.199
you desire something other than what God want. I am

569
00:37:43.320 --> 00:37:45.679
so confused by all of it, but I'm glad everyone

570
00:37:45.760 --> 00:37:48.039
in that church has the right desires. They must be

571
00:37:48.519 --> 00:37:52.000
the most perfect church on earth. I just know everyone

572
00:37:52.039 --> 00:37:54.800
in my church, including their pastor, we have wrong desires

573
00:37:54.840 --> 00:37:58.599
and we're sinners. I know maybe your church is perfect,

574
00:37:58.719 --> 00:38:03.599
but you know, at least for me, if I find

575
00:38:03.639 --> 00:38:06.960
a perfect church, I'm not joining it because I'll make

576
00:38:07.039 --> 00:38:07.719
it imperfect.

577
00:38:10.039 --> 00:38:13.800
Know that we know that we give thanks for that.

578
00:38:14.599 --> 00:38:19.480
And the comforting promise of his word is that desire

579
00:38:19.760 --> 00:38:23.880
that he put there. That's our that we're you know,

580
00:38:24.679 --> 00:38:27.760
I could read the song again. This request we're making

581
00:38:27.840 --> 00:38:31.599
to him. This is our hearts cry to you, that

582
00:38:31.880 --> 00:38:35.239
desire that his people have. Because he put it there,

583
00:38:38.480 --> 00:38:42.320
that cry that he has caused his people to request

584
00:38:42.639 --> 00:38:45.400
from him, That is exactly what he's going to do

585
00:38:45.519 --> 00:38:50.440
for them. He put it there because that's what he's

586
00:38:50.440 --> 00:38:53.360
going to do for him. Everything they're come, Please let

587
00:38:53.639 --> 00:38:56.920
this be. That's what it's going to be for them.

588
00:38:59.280 --> 00:39:01.599
Look with me, if you would. Isaiah forty six. Just

589
00:39:01.679 --> 00:39:21.599
a few pages over, Isaiah forty six, Verse three says

590
00:39:23.920 --> 00:39:29.039
hearken unto me old house of Jacob, and all the

591
00:39:29.199 --> 00:39:33.800
remnant of the House of Israel, all of my chosen people,

592
00:39:35.440 --> 00:39:40.760
which are born by me from the belly, which are

593
00:39:41.039 --> 00:39:47.079
carried from the womb, and even to your old age,

594
00:39:48.599 --> 00:39:55.119
I am he, and even to gray hairs. He's saying,

595
00:39:56.039 --> 00:40:02.199
I formed you in the belly you fourth, I separated

596
00:40:02.280 --> 00:40:05.360
you from your mother's womb, and even then before I

597
00:40:05.559 --> 00:40:08.760
formed you in the belly, all the way up to

598
00:40:08.880 --> 00:40:12.559
gray hair verse four, even to your old age, I

599
00:40:12.760 --> 00:40:17.519
am he, and even to gray hairs. Will I carry you?

600
00:40:19.480 --> 00:40:25.119
I have made and I will bear. Even I will

601
00:40:25.400 --> 00:40:31.519
carry and will deliver you. That's the promise of his

602
00:40:31.840 --> 00:40:33.880
pleasant pastures to his people.

603
00:40:36.159 --> 00:40:39.239
Oh man, Okay, I'm gonna lose my mind. Okay, he

604
00:40:39.440 --> 00:40:41.199
just read from a text. Let me just read the

605
00:40:41.239 --> 00:40:43.960
beginning of Isaiah forty. He went to Isaiah forty six.

606
00:40:44.199 --> 00:40:46.280
None of this is being put in its historical context.

607
00:40:46.360 --> 00:40:48.960
None of this is being applied properly. Isaiah forty six,

608
00:40:49.079 --> 00:40:53.239
verse three. Hearken on to me, oh, house of Jacob

609
00:40:53.599 --> 00:40:57.719
and all the remnant of the House of is ray Al.

610
00:40:58.159 --> 00:41:02.800
It's not a fault. I don't understand why this is

611
00:41:03.000 --> 00:41:08.719
so complicated. If someone would have told me that after

612
00:41:09.000 --> 00:41:12.000
all of this time and all of these sermons on

613
00:41:12.159 --> 00:41:14.800
Isaiah forty through fifty five, that we would reach a

614
00:41:14.920 --> 00:41:19.400
point of just total just discouragement, that none of them

615
00:41:19.440 --> 00:41:21.400
are going to handle the text right, none of them.

616
00:41:21.760 --> 00:41:25.840
I would say, that's a little hyperbolic. You're being way

617
00:41:25.960 --> 00:41:28.920
too cynical. You're being way now. I don't think you

618
00:41:29.000 --> 00:41:33.599
can be cynical and negative enough. It seems to be impossible,

619
00:41:34.000 --> 00:41:36.559
all right now. He kept saying about God gives us

620
00:41:36.599 --> 00:41:38.679
the right desire. God gives us the right desire. So

621
00:41:38.800 --> 00:41:40.519
I had to talk to Ai about it while that

622
00:41:40.679 --> 00:41:43.400
was going on, and I said, many preachers say God

623
00:41:43.480 --> 00:41:48.039
puts right desires in us, And Ai says this, you

624
00:41:48.159 --> 00:41:51.400
raise an excellent theological point that challenges the common statement

625
00:41:51.440 --> 00:41:54.320
that God puts right desires in us. While this idea

626
00:41:54.400 --> 00:41:56.960
is often used to encourage Christians to trust that their

627
00:41:57.039 --> 00:41:59.960
good desire comes from God, it can lead to problem

628
00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:04.599
plematic implications if not carefully nuanced. Here's a breakdown of

629
00:42:04.679 --> 00:42:07.880
the issue and how to think about it biblically. Philological

630
00:42:07.960 --> 00:42:11.599
implications of God puts right desires in us. If God

631
00:42:11.719 --> 00:42:16.440
puts all right desires in Christians, why do they still sin?

632
00:42:17.159 --> 00:42:19.960
If Christians only had desires placed in them by God,

633
00:42:20.280 --> 00:42:25.239
they would not sin, as sin arises from wrong desires.

634
00:42:25.559 --> 00:42:29.840
James Chapter one, verses fifteen through fifteen are fourteen through

635
00:42:29.920 --> 00:42:34.199
fifteen the continued presence of sinful desires, and Christians demonstrates

636
00:42:34.239 --> 00:42:37.880
that their hearts are not yet fully transformed Romans seven,

637
00:42:38.039 --> 00:42:40.840
eighteen through twenty five. So Ai is like, well, we'll

638
00:42:40.840 --> 00:42:42.239
wait a minute. Wait a minute, Wait a minute. If

639
00:42:42.320 --> 00:42:45.199
God only gives us right desires, then we should all

640
00:42:45.280 --> 00:42:47.679
have right desires. Therefore we shouldn't sin. Where do sin

641
00:42:47.760 --> 00:42:50.800
comes from wrong desires? Where do the wrong desires come from?

642
00:42:51.039 --> 00:42:55.760
Inside of us? Why are they there if God is

643
00:42:55.800 --> 00:43:02.679
only giving us good desires. So well, okay, then, ay,

644
00:43:02.800 --> 00:43:05.800
Now AI does something here that I strongly disagree with.

645
00:43:05.960 --> 00:43:08.559
Here it says God gives believers a new heart and

646
00:43:08.679 --> 00:43:12.880
new affections, and I quote Ezekuel thirty six. I completely

647
00:43:13.039 --> 00:43:16.840
disagree with that, completely disagree with that. So here's what

648
00:43:16.920 --> 00:43:20.760
I'm gonna do. I'm gonna challenge I'm gonna challenge AI.

649
00:43:20.760 --> 00:43:25.800
I'm gonna challenge AI here because uh, Ezequel thirty six

650
00:43:26.000 --> 00:43:32.400
is not about us. I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna

651
00:43:32.480 --> 00:43:37.039
challenge AI here. I completely disagree with this. All right, Okay,

652
00:43:38.280 --> 00:43:39.400
you said.

653
00:43:40.719 --> 00:43:40.760
This.

654
00:43:46.599 --> 00:43:59.400
The problem is the Ezekuel passage is clearly speaking about

655
00:43:59.719 --> 00:44:00.880
what God.

656
00:44:02.480 --> 00:44:12.920
Will do for Israel. It isn't about us. It isn't

657
00:44:14.400 --> 00:44:28.920
about us or the Church correct question mark. All right, okay,

658
00:44:29.079 --> 00:44:33.760
So AI says you are correct that Ezekiel thirty six,

659
00:44:33.880 --> 00:44:35.840
twenty six through twenty seven is part of a prophecy

660
00:44:35.880 --> 00:44:39.920
specifically addressed to Israel, promising restoration and renewal after their exile,

661
00:44:40.079 --> 00:44:42.280
and its immediate context. It is not directly about the

662
00:44:42.400 --> 00:44:44.840
Church or individual Christians, but about what God will do

663
00:44:44.960 --> 00:44:48.840
for the nation of Israel and fulfillment of his covenant promises.

664
00:44:50.840 --> 00:44:56.679
All right, so it does say so, so well, it

665
00:44:56.760 --> 00:44:58.639
goes back and forth. Now, now it would turn into

666
00:44:58.719 --> 00:45:03.119
a long and turn. It would turn into a long discussion. Here,

667
00:45:03.440 --> 00:45:05.519
it would go into a long discussion. But they admit

668
00:45:06.119 --> 00:45:09.880
that the passage is not about us. So we again,

669
00:45:10.039 --> 00:45:11.519
I don't wh when it says we're gonna get a

670
00:45:11.559 --> 00:45:14.039
new heart. The new heart is for Israel, and they

671
00:45:14.079 --> 00:45:16.920
get the new heart right when they are restored back

672
00:45:17.000 --> 00:45:21.320
to the land. The passage screams that, so I would

673
00:45:21.360 --> 00:45:23.360
I would have to have a long discussion with Ai here.

674
00:45:23.440 --> 00:45:25.840
Now let's go back to what it said prior to this,

675
00:45:26.639 --> 00:45:38.400
all right, So okay Ai goes on to say claiming

676
00:45:38.440 --> 00:45:40.360
that all good desires come from God can lead to

677
00:45:40.400 --> 00:45:43.960
confusion or self deception. For example, a person might justify

678
00:45:44.119 --> 00:45:47.760
selfish or harmful actions by labeling labeling them as God

679
00:45:47.960 --> 00:45:54.400
given desires. Scriptures cause believers to test their desires against

680
00:45:54.440 --> 00:45:56.199
the word of God. You just don't say, oh, I

681
00:45:56.239 --> 00:45:58.360
think this desire is good, it must come from God.

682
00:45:59.440 --> 00:46:04.440
It doesn't work that way, all right. So, so already

683
00:46:04.519 --> 00:46:07.559
there's problems with that. There's there's theological problems with this,

684
00:46:07.800 --> 00:46:10.320
all right, So this sermon, there's a million other issues.

685
00:46:10.599 --> 00:46:13.519
Now I did ask Ai to just review the whole sermon.

686
00:46:14.039 --> 00:46:16.199
I'm gonna go back here. I did. I gave it

687
00:46:16.400 --> 00:46:19.039
the entire transcript. What I'm gonna do is play just

688
00:46:19.079 --> 00:46:20.320
a little bit more of a sermon to see if

689
00:46:20.360 --> 00:46:23.000
he ever returns back to us. He took that Ezekiel

690
00:46:23.039 --> 00:46:27.159
forty six passage again, a passage where it literally it

691
00:46:27.239 --> 00:46:29.320
says who is speaking of, just like he did in

692
00:46:29.440 --> 00:46:32.159
Isaiah forty a passage that literally says who it's speaking to,

693
00:46:32.559 --> 00:46:35.239
and in both cases he made it about us. Then

694
00:46:35.280 --> 00:46:37.519
he does this desire thing where there's all kinds of

695
00:46:37.599 --> 00:46:41.320
theological problems that requires a lengthy discussion that we don't

696
00:46:41.320 --> 00:46:42.960
have time to get into. But let me just tell

697
00:46:43.000 --> 00:46:45.360
you there's all kinds of problems with that. Now, let's

698
00:46:45.360 --> 00:46:46.320
see where it goes.

699
00:46:48.519 --> 00:46:54.760
Has pleasant pastures, he said, I will care for you,

700
00:46:55.000 --> 00:46:57.880
and I will carry you all the way home. That

701
00:46:58.079 --> 00:46:59.079
relieves my soul.

702
00:47:01.320 --> 00:47:03.280
Okay, we get the idea. I mean, we could go

703
00:47:03.360 --> 00:47:06.000
on for another hour. I mean, let's just let's just

704
00:47:06.239 --> 00:47:10.079
call it right. This sermon is not going to return

705
00:47:10.440 --> 00:47:14.719
to the original context. So I gave the I downloaded

706
00:47:14.800 --> 00:47:16.960
the transcript and gave it to Ai. And this is

707
00:47:17.000 --> 00:47:20.320
what AI said, Number one, this sermon number one, it

708
00:47:20.440 --> 00:47:24.239
fails to address the historical and literary context. This sermon

709
00:47:24.400 --> 00:47:28.360
largely ignores the historical context of Isaiah forty nine through eleven,

710
00:47:28.639 --> 00:47:32.079
which was addressed to the Jewish exiles and babylon. Instead,

711
00:47:32.119 --> 00:47:36.320
it applies the text directly to individual Christians without exploring

712
00:47:36.440 --> 00:47:41.239
its meaning for the original audience. Why is this problematic?

713
00:47:41.480 --> 00:47:44.239
Isaiah forty nine through eleven was written to exiles who

714
00:47:44.320 --> 00:47:48.480
needed reassurance that God was sovereign over their situation and

715
00:47:48.519 --> 00:47:53.760
would deliver them even through ordinary means cyrus. By bypassing

716
00:47:53.880 --> 00:47:57.559
this context, the preacher risk reducing the text to vague

717
00:47:57.599 --> 00:48:03.320
spiritual encouragement rather than addressing its specific philological and historical significance.

718
00:48:03.599 --> 00:48:06.400
AI said. This is what should be done better. The

719
00:48:06.519 --> 00:48:10.960
pastor should explain the historical context, the Babylonian captivity and

720
00:48:11.000 --> 00:48:15.079
the promise of deliverance through SIUs. The pastor should emphasize

721
00:48:15.320 --> 00:48:18.400
the original call to behold your God as a command

722
00:48:18.480 --> 00:48:21.719
to recognize God's sovereignty and faithfulness even in the midst

723
00:48:21.880 --> 00:48:24.880
of suffering. The second thing the sermon does wrong. It

724
00:48:25.000 --> 00:48:28.880
over spiritualizes the shepherd imagery. The sermon focuses heavily on

725
00:48:28.960 --> 00:48:31.679
a shepherd imagery and verse eleven as a metaphor for

726
00:48:31.840 --> 00:48:35.920
Jesus' role as a personal shepherd to individual believers. Oh

727
00:48:36.719 --> 00:48:40.159
why is this problematic? Ai says? While the shepherd imagery

728
00:48:40.280 --> 00:48:43.119
can point to Christ, its primary meaning in Isaiah forty

729
00:48:43.199 --> 00:48:45.079
is about God's care for the nation of Israel as

730
00:48:45.119 --> 00:48:48.800
a whole during their deliverance from exile. Over spiritualizing the

731
00:48:48.880 --> 00:48:54.639
text risk ignoring its corporate and covenantial dimensions. The pastor.

732
00:48:55.039 --> 00:48:57.920
Here's the better approach. The pastor should acknowledge the immediate

733
00:48:58.000 --> 00:49:00.719
meaning God's tender care for his people as he led

734
00:49:00.760 --> 00:49:03.639
them back to their land. Then he should connect the

735
00:49:03.679 --> 00:49:06.400
imagery to a broader biblical theme of God as shepherd,

736
00:49:06.559 --> 00:49:09.079
culminating in Jesus as the good Shepherd. The point is

737
00:49:09.119 --> 00:49:12.360
he to ignore the entire historical context. He then could

738
00:49:12.400 --> 00:49:15.840
have said, well, as God did this, this is the

739
00:49:16.000 --> 00:49:18.159
ways in which God may do that for us. But

740
00:49:18.280 --> 00:49:20.280
remember it's going to be very different than the way

741
00:49:20.320 --> 00:49:21.920
He did it for them, because the way He's doing

742
00:49:21.960 --> 00:49:25.480
things for them is going to be what very material,

743
00:49:26.079 --> 00:49:32.039
physical fleshly an actual deliverance from an actual nation brought

744
00:49:32.119 --> 00:49:36.320
back to an actual land to actually rebuild a physical temple.

745
00:49:37.559 --> 00:49:39.639
That's that we can. We got to be very careful

746
00:49:39.639 --> 00:49:41.639
when God's going to do things, We're going to have

747
00:49:41.679 --> 00:49:44.559
to understand how it would work for us. It's not

748
00:49:44.760 --> 00:49:48.480
going to be the same way as a third thing

749
00:49:48.559 --> 00:49:52.119
the sermon does wrong. According to AI, it misinterprets the

750
00:49:52.199 --> 00:49:55.800
phrase Behold your God. The phrase behold your God is

751
00:49:55.920 --> 00:50:00.679
interpreted primarily as a call to individual reflection on Jesus's

752
00:50:00.760 --> 00:50:04.119
personal savior. The preacher also describes it as a warning

753
00:50:04.199 --> 00:50:08.239
of judgment to unbelievers. Why is this problematic? AI says,

754
00:50:08.440 --> 00:50:11.119
in its original context, behold your God is a proclamation

755
00:50:11.199 --> 00:50:15.320
of God's glory, sovereignty, and coming deliverance for the exiles. Well,

756
00:50:15.360 --> 00:50:18.239
it does call people to recognize God's majesty. It's not

757
00:50:18.480 --> 00:50:21.039
a warning of judgment. There is not a warning of

758
00:50:21.159 --> 00:50:24.719
judgment in this passage. You know why, because Isaiah one

759
00:50:24.800 --> 00:50:27.320
through thirty nine did all the judgment in forty through

760
00:50:27.360 --> 00:50:30.119
fifty five is a book of comfort. It's not about

761
00:50:30.199 --> 00:50:35.559
warning in that particular case. So they completely misinterpret that

762
00:50:37.039 --> 00:50:41.000
number four, The sermon neglects the ordinary means of deliverance.

763
00:50:41.199 --> 00:50:43.840
The sermon does not address the fact that God's deliverance

764
00:50:43.880 --> 00:50:46.559
in Isaiah forty could come through Cyrus, a human king,

765
00:50:46.719 --> 00:50:50.480
rather than supernatural miracles. Why is this problematic? Ignoring this

766
00:50:50.639 --> 00:50:54.239
aspect miss is a key theological theme. God often works

767
00:50:54.280 --> 00:50:58.000
through ordinary means to accomplish his extraordinary purposes. The exiles

768
00:50:58.000 --> 00:51:00.239
were called to trust in God's sovereignty even and his

769
00:51:00.320 --> 00:51:03.840
deliverance did not come from a dramatic miracle like the Exodus.

770
00:51:04.280 --> 00:51:07.840
A better approach the pastor should emphasize how God used

771
00:51:07.920 --> 00:51:11.400
Cyrus and demonstrated his control over history and his ability

772
00:51:11.440 --> 00:51:15.039
to work through ordinary events. Encouraged listeners to trust God's

773
00:51:15.039 --> 00:51:17.239
providence in their own lives even when his work is

774
00:51:17.320 --> 00:51:21.280
not immediately visible. Next, the next thing the sermon did

775
00:51:21.360 --> 00:51:25.920
wrong It disconnected. It was disconnected from the broader context

776
00:51:26.000 --> 00:51:29.639
of Isaiah forty. The sermon isolates verses nine through eleven

777
00:51:29.719 --> 00:51:33.000
from the rest of Isaiah forty, neglecting the chapter's emphasis

778
00:51:33.239 --> 00:51:37.920
on God's incomparability and power over creation and idols. Why

779
00:51:38.039 --> 00:51:41.239
is this problematic without the broader context The message of

780
00:51:41.320 --> 00:51:44.840
Isaiah forty nine tough eleven can be reduced to sentimentalism

781
00:51:45.239 --> 00:51:49.000
rather than a robust proclamation of God's greatness. And that's

782
00:51:49.039 --> 00:51:50.920
what I was saying. It's more he was turning it

783
00:51:51.000 --> 00:51:57.519
into this like emotional thing. It's sentimentalism. It's not a

784
00:51:57.679 --> 00:52:04.079
robust teaching of the text. Number six it over instance,

785
00:52:04.199 --> 00:52:08.159
there's an over emphasis on personal application. The sermon focuses

786
00:52:08.400 --> 00:52:12.719
almost exclusively on personal applications, such as wanting Jesus to

787
00:52:12.840 --> 00:52:16.000
carry us all the way home, without engaging with the

788
00:52:16.079 --> 00:52:20.000
corporate and historic dimensions of the text. Why is this problematic?

789
00:52:20.199 --> 00:52:23.000
While personal application is important, it should flow from a

790
00:52:23.039 --> 00:52:26.639
proper understanding of the text original meaning and philological message.

791
00:52:26.920 --> 00:52:30.119
Over emphasis on personal application can obscure the broader themes

792
00:52:30.159 --> 00:52:36.800
of God's covenant, faithfulness, and his work in history. There So,

793
00:52:37.039 --> 00:52:40.280
AI gave us six things that the sermon did wrong,

794
00:52:40.639 --> 00:52:44.320
six things, and of course it was able to do

795
00:52:44.480 --> 00:52:48.760
that in five seconds. Ai and I didn't even go

796
00:52:48.880 --> 00:52:52.280
through how AI broke down the entire chapter, the entire section.

797
00:52:52.599 --> 00:52:56.239
I got an entire, in depth exegetical study of Isaiah

798
00:52:56.280 --> 00:52:58.519
forty written by Ai, and it did it in five seconds.

799
00:52:58.599 --> 00:53:01.679
And it's a million times better than that sermon. If

800
00:53:01.760 --> 00:53:03.920
you care about the text, now, if you want something

801
00:53:04.000 --> 00:53:09.039
that's sentimental, touches the heartstrings, kind of gives you, oh

802
00:53:09.199 --> 00:53:11.440
Jesus is going to carry me and all of that,

803
00:53:11.559 --> 00:53:14.039
well then great, you got what you wanted. Now that

804
00:53:14.239 --> 00:53:16.880
just then, just admit you don't care about the text.

805
00:53:17.079 --> 00:53:18.800
You just want to be encouraged. You just want to

806
00:53:18.800 --> 00:53:21.239
feel good, even though if you're being handed promises that

807
00:53:21.400 --> 00:53:23.360
doesn't have anything to do with you. And you can

808
00:53:23.440 --> 00:53:26.199
run home trying to claim all of these promises, and

809
00:53:26.320 --> 00:53:28.920
you may be sorely disappointed because well, none of that

810
00:53:29.079 --> 00:53:36.559
has anything to do with you. It won't end, ladies

811
00:53:36.599 --> 00:53:42.559
and gentlemen, it will not. It is absolutely like, how

812
00:53:42.719 --> 00:53:45.880
many sermons are we going to review on Isaiah forty

813
00:53:45.920 --> 00:53:49.119
through fifty five before we just I mean it's almost

814
00:53:49.159 --> 00:53:51.679
like we're in a you know, a you know, a

815
00:53:51.840 --> 00:53:54.280
UFC match and I'm ready to tap out. I'm tapping,

816
00:53:54.760 --> 00:53:57.880
I'm tapping, I give up, I give I surrender, Like

817
00:53:58.280 --> 00:54:02.800
how many more? And just remember all of the sermons

818
00:54:02.880 --> 00:54:06.400
that have been reviewed have been chosen at random. There's

819
00:54:06.480 --> 00:54:08.480
been no like, oh I'm gonna choose this. I know

820
00:54:08.519 --> 00:54:09.920
this one is a bad one. This is a bad

821
00:54:10.119 --> 00:54:13.519
We've covered now every every philological point of view, We've

822
00:54:13.599 --> 00:54:16.920
looked at it from reform point of view. Even the

823
00:54:17.000 --> 00:54:21.880
dispensational preachers have have mishandled the text. They will at

824
00:54:21.960 --> 00:54:25.480
least and part mention the historical part, but in many

825
00:54:25.519 --> 00:54:28.400
cases they slide right over into it's about us. It's

826
00:54:28.400 --> 00:54:35.400
about us, it's about us. It is it is fascinating. Now,

827
00:54:35.559 --> 00:54:37.440
someone at some point is going to be like, look,

828
00:54:37.679 --> 00:54:41.679
here's a good one. Well great, Even if you send

829
00:54:41.760 --> 00:54:44.199
me a good one, it's gonna be one good one.

830
00:54:44.480 --> 00:54:46.960
And at this point I'm well over one hundred. I

831
00:54:47.039 --> 00:54:49.840
think some of the other listeners have also listened up

832
00:54:49.880 --> 00:54:53.079
too close to one hundred. We're probably well over a

833
00:54:53.280 --> 00:54:56.639
hundred sermons that we've yet to find one. So even

834
00:54:56.679 --> 00:55:00.880
if you know of one great one, that can't make

835
00:55:00.960 --> 00:55:04.960
up for the one hundred bad ones. And what's amazing

836
00:55:05.119 --> 00:55:07.840
is is in all of these sermons where this happens,

837
00:55:07.880 --> 00:55:11.760
they're literally read they're just literally reading around the verses

838
00:55:12.079 --> 00:55:15.480
that say although well, in many cases they will literally

839
00:55:15.559 --> 00:55:18.960
read the words where the text is saying Judah Israel,

840
00:55:19.360 --> 00:55:23.000
Jacob Jerusalem, and then they will read it and then

841
00:55:23.079 --> 00:55:26.360
immediately ignore that in the sermon. How can you do that?

842
00:55:30.320 --> 00:55:32.880
I don't know, ladies and gentlemen, I give up. But

843
00:55:33.000 --> 00:55:37.360
once again, this is another example now where AI versus

844
00:55:37.440 --> 00:55:41.239
another sermon. AI wins again hands down. In fact, AI

845
00:55:41.639 --> 00:55:45.039
tore that sermon into shreds. It pointed out six things

846
00:55:45.079 --> 00:55:48.239
that it did wrong. That's AI, that's not me. AI

847
00:55:48.360 --> 00:55:52.679
doesn't have any agenda there. AI was like, here, No,

848
00:55:52.800 --> 00:55:55.199
the whole thing's messed up. And I just love how

849
00:55:55.239 --> 00:55:58.199
AI keeps pointing out in Isaiah forty nine to eleven,

850
00:55:58.360 --> 00:56:01.440
ordinary means, ordinary means. That's why I spent all of

851
00:56:01.519 --> 00:56:07.480
that time on it. Now, me and Ai, I still

852
00:56:07.599 --> 00:56:10.480
get upset with the way AI because it pulls from

853
00:56:10.679 --> 00:56:13.440
you know, Christianity at large, and the way it handles

854
00:56:13.480 --> 00:56:17.239
Ezekiel thirty six drives me crazy. No. I argue with

855
00:56:17.320 --> 00:56:20.039
it every single time, and it will admit that I'm

856
00:56:20.119 --> 00:56:23.039
right about how to interpret it, but it constantly still

857
00:56:23.199 --> 00:56:26.320
refers to the way most of Christianity handles it. I

858
00:56:26.360 --> 00:56:28.880
don't care. I don't care if ninety nine percent of

859
00:56:28.960 --> 00:56:32.199
Christianity handles it that way, You're all wrong. Okay, you

860
00:56:32.320 --> 00:56:34.960
go to Ezekiel thirty six the text makes it clear

861
00:56:35.079 --> 00:56:38.679
who it's about. I don't care how many people tell

862
00:56:38.719 --> 00:56:41.039
me I'm wrong. One hundred percent of Christianity can tell

863
00:56:41.039 --> 00:56:44.639
me I'm wrong. You know you are wrong. Factually reading

864
00:56:44.800 --> 00:56:49.400
comprehension says you're wrong. The text literally says who it's about,

865
00:56:49.760 --> 00:56:51.760
just like it does in Isaiah forty, just like it

866
00:56:51.800 --> 00:56:59.199
did in Isaiah forty six. Now if you want to

867
00:56:59.239 --> 00:57:01.599
look at zekel Well thirty six, and if it's referred

868
00:57:01.599 --> 00:57:04.719
to in the New Testament, now we could have that discussion.

869
00:57:10.920 --> 00:57:13.199
All right, There's much more I want to say, but

870
00:57:13.320 --> 00:57:16.480
we're gonna stop. Thanks for listening. Everyone, have a good evening.

871
00:57:16.519 --> 00:57:18.719
And if you're just as frustrated and ready to give

872
00:57:18.800 --> 00:57:21.639
up as I am, I can completely understand. But what

873
00:57:21.800 --> 00:57:24.880
if we we're only in We're January the fifteenth, twenty

874
00:57:24.960 --> 00:57:28.280
twenty five. We're fifteen days into twenty twenty five, and

875
00:57:28.400 --> 00:57:33.440
we have already clearly demonstrated that in almost every situation

876
00:57:33.679 --> 00:57:37.920
so far, every single situation we've looked at, AI does

877
00:57:38.079 --> 00:57:43.360
better than any sermon that we can find. AI is

878
00:57:43.480 --> 00:57:51.960
better than any sermon we can find. I don't even

879
00:57:52.000 --> 00:57:56.800
know how to process that. I don't even know like

880
00:57:57.000 --> 00:58:00.360
my brain. I don't know what that means means for

881
00:58:00.440 --> 00:58:02.400
the future, and that's what we've been talking about in

882
00:58:02.480 --> 00:58:06.400
our series about AI. People are gonna have to wake up. Look,

883
00:58:06.480 --> 00:58:09.159
I look, somebody's gonna wake up and go wait a minute.

884
00:58:09.559 --> 00:58:12.239
AI can do better than any sermon. Then what's the

885
00:58:12.360 --> 00:58:16.079
point of sermons? Now? You could say sermons could be

886
00:58:16.159 --> 00:58:19.760
improved dramatically if they would use AI. Okay, you could

887
00:58:19.960 --> 00:58:23.280
argue that maybe are we gonna reach the golden age

888
00:58:23.360 --> 00:58:27.599
of preaching where preaching is much better because of artificial intelligence,

889
00:58:29.559 --> 00:58:31.880
But then it would just be preaching what AI is saying.

890
00:58:31.960 --> 00:58:34.039
So then do you really need the preacher If all

891
00:58:34.079 --> 00:58:36.320
the preacher is gonna do is put a sermon together

892
00:58:36.360 --> 00:58:39.559
with AI, Like see, you just reach another problem. So

893
00:58:39.800 --> 00:58:41.400
all right, thanks for listening everyone, of a great night,

894
00:58:41.440 --> 00:58:41.880
God bless