A Colossal Faulty Assmption

[0:00] To get into our mirror, I just want to make an explanatory remark. Some folks have asked what was meant by a comment that I made last Sunday, and I said that what we are now beginning to study, I plan to be my last hurrah.

[0:17] And that was interpreted in different ways, but as I mentioned a few weeks earlier, that this would be probably my last series. And I explained to people then, those who have been with us for some time, know that my series tend to be somewhat extended.

[0:35] And I well recall, I think it was maybe in the 80s, I'm not sure. Anyway, then we did Genesis verse by verse, and it took us five years.

[0:51] And it took us five years to get through John's gospel, verse by verse. So when we engage and we engage a series, it doesn't mean that it's going to be four or five messages.

[1:04] It's usually a lot more extensive than that. And when you called and asked me to return as your pastor after having been here for 35 years and then retired, and then Barbara passed away, as you know, just three months afterwards, I said yes, that I would be glad to return.

[1:27] And then retirement had lost all of its appeal with Barbara being gone. And the question was asked, well, if you come back as our pastor, how long can we expect you to be here?

[1:40] And I told you then, as long as I am physically and mentally able to do the job, I'll be here. And I still feel that way. However, since that time, Marie and I have married, been married almost six years now.

[1:57] So she is someone that I have to take into consideration that I did not have to take into consideration when I made that statement. So, no, we aren't talking about it, if that's what you're wondering.

[2:09] But I just wanted you to know that when we engage a series, it's going to be quite involved. And this one is going to be involved, if the Lord pleases.

[2:22] I am struck by the fact that when the Apostle Paul penned his last letter to young Timothy, his protege, he had every reason to believe that it would be the last letter he would ever write.

[2:40] He knew that his execution date was looming near. And that means that he is not going to engage in trivia when he writes his final letter to Timothy.

[2:55] You want to focus on things that really matter, things that count. And that's the way I feel about this message or this series of messages that we are currently engaging.

[3:08] We are calling it the discovery of faulty assumptions. And we've given it that name because virtually all of the erroneous doctrine that exists today in what is generally called Christendom, if it is erroneous doctrine, and by that I mean it is not supported by the Bible at all, you can almost be sure that it was doctrine that was based on someone's faulty assumption.

[3:42] And that was nothing more than a misinterpretation of some passage of Scripture, the interpretation of which they developed, even though it was not true, and they propagated it.

[3:59] And they were people who were well respected in positions of authority, usually very articulate and very convincing, and very honest in their position.

[4:11] But being honest and sincere does not guarantee that your conclusion is going to be accurate. It is important to be sincere, and it's certainly important to be honest, but that does not guarantee that your finding is going to be accurate.

[4:28] So there's a lot of doctrine that is in Christendom today that is not biblical at all. It was just based on faulty assumptions.

[4:41] Then they become ingrained in statements of faith, and they become accepted as fact traditionally. And let me tell you something. Whenever truth and tradition confront each other in conflict, it's almost always that tradition wins out.

[5:09] That's too bad. That's tragic. But it so often does. Tradition can be so ingrained in people that they will not consider anything that does not comport with that tradition.

[5:24] This must be true because this is what I've always believed. This is what my family has always believed. This is what my church has always believed.

[5:36] That makes it true. Well, no, it doesn't. It might make it very sincere and very earnest, but that doesn't make it true. So, as indicated in your bulletin, we are examining the impact of hundreds or even thousands of years of faulty assumptions.

[5:56] Today's focuses on Israel and Judaism. Future faulty assumptions will deal with those of Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.

[6:09] There is no shortage of faulty assumptions. We are all susceptible to making them, including Grace Bible Church. Right division of Scripture is the only safeguard, as we shall see.

[6:23] So, simply put, a faulty assumption is something that is believed to be true, but is not true at all.

[6:36] So long as something not true is believed to be true, yet is not acted upon, then it merely remains stored in one's mind as misinformation.

[6:51] It can be added to other untruths stored there and will contribute to that person's overall mindset, thinking process, and ultimate worldview.

[7:07] Now, that's really, really important. I just feel in my being so strongly how much I want you to understand these concepts, because they are so critical.

[7:22] Let me repeat that. So long as something that is not true is believed to be true, but it is not acted upon, it merely remains stored in one's mind as misinformation.

[7:38] Now, they haven't done anything about it, but they've still lodged it, and they consider it as truth. It will then be added to other untruths stored there.

[7:49] And by the way, are you aware that we all have these? I trust you are aware that you are right now believing something.

[8:01] I'm not saying what it is. I have no idea. It could be anything from soup to nuts. You are right now believing something that isn't so. Just isn't so.

[8:13] But you regard it as true. And we all do this. We all do this. Because every one of us is a vessel, a recipient of information.

[8:25] And we get all kinds of information from all kinds of sources. The internet, and the TV, and the neighborhood, and the school, and the church, and everywhere. We are all absorbing information.

[8:36] It's just flying at us all the time. Little wonder this is called the information age. And it is. It's everywhere. You can't escape it.

[8:48] And all the while, we are absorbing content. And a lot of it is true. And a lot of it isn't. There's fake news.

[9:01] And there's real news. And someone has said, most advertising is legal lying. It is. For Pete's sake, you know that, don't you?

[9:16] I mean, you see the commercials, don't you? You know what the claims are. And a lot of commercials, a lot of advertising, in print and electronic, a lot of advertising is legal lying.

[9:31] And if every advertiser, absolutely had to tell the pure, the truth, their sales would want overnight.

[9:43] They know that. They know that. Not too long ago. Well, maybe when I say that, it was probably 20 years ago. Congress came up with a new thing.

[9:54] And it was called, I think they passed a bill. And it was called Truth in Advertising. What a joke. What a joke. That's like Congress passing the Act, the Reduction in Paperwork Act.

[10:10] What a joke. You know, I suppose they mean well. But anything that Congress tinkers with, it's just, well, I'm not going to go there.

[10:20] All right, let's, all information, all information, all data is processed by the recipient toward the reaching of conclusions.

[10:31] And these conclusions are the building blocks of beliefs. If these beliefs are strongly held, they become convictions.

[10:43] A conviction is a belief that includes a commitment on behalf of what is believed.

[10:54] It may be based on truth or untruth. It may be based on a faulty assumption. When someone in a negative way engages in action or behavior contrary to civilized society, is physically arrested and incarcerated for their action, we call these people convicts.

[11:25] They are convicts because they have been convicted. And they were convicted because they made a faulty assumption. What is the faulty assumption that almost every criminal makes?

[11:39] That he can get away with it. I don't think anybody says, now, I'm going in here to rob this bank. But I know very well I'm not going to get away with it. The FBI will probably be on my tail within hours.

[11:51] And I'll spend who knows how many years in jail. Nobody realizes. He works out the scheme. He plans it. He does this. Unless, of course, he's on drugs. And then he's not in his right mind anyway.

[12:03] But the anticipation is he's going to be successful in getting away with that. That's a faulty assumption. And almost every criminal makes one.

[12:13] So, it is a subject that is so pervasive and so extended and so involved and so interrelated, I almost despair tackling it.

[12:29] Because, as some of you know, I have difficulty organizing my material anyway into something that is cohesive and coherent. And more than anything else, I want you to understand what we will be saying.

[12:43] And not only understand it, but understand the implications thereof. And if you do, you will be forever armed in a way that, sad to say, most Christians are not.

[13:00] Most Christians, God bless them, God love them, we're going to be in heaven together. But most Christians don't have a clue as to what is really involved in what we're going to be talking about.

[13:15] And I say that to our shame as clergy because, in general, it's not a very good job that has been done of really informing the laity with content that matters.

[13:32] The entire universe is awash in truths and errors. And I say universe because this involved created beings called angels before it involved created beings called humans.

[13:52] The angelic sphere has invaded the human sphere and through deception has compromised it. This appears to be the genesis of the faulty assumptions we have been pursuing.

[14:08] Faulty assumptions abound historically and presently. They are nothing more than things believed to be true that are not true at all.

[14:21] And when these untrues are acted upon, the results are always negative, sometimes catastrophic, and they may even be deadly.

[14:33] Lucifer, who is depicted at least in reference, is found as Satan, the adversary in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, in addition to his first appearance in Genesis 3 and his last appearance in Revelation 20.

[14:52] He is a major player between Genesis and Revelation. He is described by Christ as being a liar from the beginning and one in whom there is no truth.

[15:07] Satan, the adversary, is a purveyor of the faulty assumption. All angels and humans who unknowingly follow his lead by believing his lies may be referred to as useful idiots.

[15:26] It's not a complimentary term. It's supposed to be. No Christian ought to be a useful idiot to his infernal majesty, Satan.

[15:37] But many are. They are just unaware, ignorant, uninformed, and all too often completely disinterested.

[15:50] Apathetic. I have more to worry about than that, like what's on television tonight. Columnist Thomas Sowell attributed the term useful idiots to Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin in their influential book called The Communist Manifesto.

[16:21] And at their use of the term useful idiots, because they themselves were that very thing, Satan must have really chuckled. Because those who are writing about people being useful idiots are themselves useful idiots.

[16:39] Marx and Engels and Lenin and so on. It is something that has swept much of the world, and it is continuing apace today.

[16:55] It is beckoning at the doorway of the United States of America in a way that it never has before. And it is called socialism.

[17:07] And most people had no clue as to what is really involved with socialism. Because the word is related to the term society. For crying out loud, don't you care about society?

[17:22] If you care about society, you ought to be a socialist. Because the socialist is the one who is concerned about society.

[17:36] And wants desperately to equalize society. Why should there be any wealthy people and any poor people?

[17:54] If the wealthy people had half the wealth they have and give to the poor, wouldn't that equalize things? This is called wealth redistribution.

[18:04] And there is something about it that sounds very appealing to a lot of people. Especially if you're on the receiving end. Rather than the giving end. And they simply do not realize human dynamics that are involved.

[18:20] Our Lord did when he said, The poor you have with you always. Now that doesn't mean that we're not supposed to care about the poor. That doesn't mean that we have no compassion for poverty or anything of the kind.

[18:34] But it does mean that there is such a thing called human responsibility. And people need to be held accountable. No matter what their station in life is.

[18:44] Whether poor or wealthy. And this is a very involved subject. And I'm not going to go any further than I have. Except to say that Satan is afoot with propagating this great lie.

[18:59] And lots of people are buying into it. And our universities are flooded with this nonsense. This stuff would not have gotten to first base 40 years ago. In our colleges and universities.

[19:11] And the likelihood is the professors that professed it would have been sacked. Except of course those that have tenure. But today we not only have professors earning six figure salaries.

[19:27] Propagating this stuff. They are not doing it from a closet. They are open. Above board. Up front. Bragging about it. Thoroughly. Some even brag that they are a full-blown communist.

[19:42] And that that is the only hope for this nation. Young minds. Young minds. 18 and 20 years of age. Are influenced by the scholarship.

[19:56] By the knowledge. By the articulation of these people. Almost all of whom who have PhD degrees from well-respected universities. And they just lap up this stuff.

[20:08] And when the call is going forth to go out and demonstrate. And create a riot. Or do whatever about whatever. They are looked upon as brave change agents.

[20:20] When in reality. They are useful idiots. A useful idiot doesn't have any idea. He is being used.

[20:33] That's part of the cover up. There is an innocence and a naivete. On the part of the ones who are being manipulated. They think they are contributing mightily to this wonderful cause.

[20:45] They have no idea. They are actually dupes. And Satan is the master at this. He is duping people.

[20:56] And has for centuries. Has for millennia. He continues. That's his game plan. His deception. Is to circulate the lie. And get people to believe it. What do you think is the whole basis for idolatry?

[21:10] People carving idols out of stone. And worshipping them. Making idols out of wood. And worshipping them. Bowing down to them. Giving them names. Offering sacrifices to them.

[21:20] Where do you think this stuff comes from? It comes from man's own fallen nature. That enables him to think with a warped intellect. Plus he is goaded on.

[21:31] And encouraged. By satanic influence. And anything and everything that has to do with untruth. There is a comportment. There is a compatibility.

[21:45] Between satanic influence. And human reasoning and thinking. Which comes from a warped intellect. These make wonderful bed partners.

[22:00] And they create the kind of world that we are living in today. And by the way. I want to make it very clear. Not blaming the devil for everything. We are more than capable on our own.

[22:13] Of creating all kinds of mischief. And evil. And crime. And everything that goes with it. We don't need satanic influence. But it's there.

[22:24] And it's operative. And there are plenty of times when people delve into it. So the useful idiot thing. Are those who naively propagate a false premise or belief.

[22:36] All the while thinking it is true and worthy. And every human being is capable of being a useful idiot. We are all subject to being manipulated.

[22:50] What can prevent that? You have to arm yourself. With the bodyguard of truth. You have to renew your mind.

[23:02] You have to know this book. You have to understand the principles that are set forth in it. You have to understand what it means to rightly divide the word of truth. Otherwise you are going to be confused.

[23:13] Because the Bible is going to come. Well it says one thing here. And it says something else here. And isn't that a contradiction? Now we know the Bible contradicts itself. And it was just written by a bunch of old men.

[23:24] Who wore nightgowns years ago. And they wrote this stuff. And you know there's all kinds of crazy things. And all of these things. Are part of the faulty assumptions.

[23:35] That people make. So that's what we're going to be engaging. And we are going to begin. With the false assumptions. Of the Jews. No.

[23:47] I'm certainly not. Those of you who know me. Know that I am anything but anti-Semitic. I love the Jewish people. And I don't just love the Jewish people.

[23:59] Who have come to faith in Yeshua HaMashiach. As their Messiah. I love the Jewish people who haven't. I love the Jewish people. Who do not accept the New Testament.

[24:10] I love the Jewish people. Who reject Jesus Christ. As their Messiah. Because we are called upon to love. The Jewish people. We're called upon to love one another.

[24:22] We're called upon to love. Muslims. We're called upon to love Jehovah's Witnesses. We're called upon to love all of those people. Because God loves them. And God's demonstration of his love for them.

[24:35] Is that he sent his son. To die for them. Jesus died just as much for people who don't want anything to do with him. As he did for those who love him dearly.

[24:49] He died for everybody. We're obligated to love everybody. And probably the greatest demonstration of our love to people that we can give them.

[25:05] Is the truth. The truth. The gospel. Of course. Many will not receive it. But that does not lessen our obligation to give it.

[25:16] We're not commanded. Give the gospel to those who receive it. We are commanded to give the gospel wherever we can. However we can. Be instant in season and out of season. Always ready for the word of truth.

[25:28] If people reject it. It may. It may germinate in their soul. And it may come to light years later. That which they rejected when you gave it to them.

[25:40] So we have no control over that. We're just told to give out the word. And this is what Paul meant when he said. I'm determined to know nothing among you. Except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

[25:53] And folks. What else is it that really matters? Besides that. What else is it that has. Eternal consequences.

[26:05] Besides that. Nothing I know of. You know. You can. You can be. Right. About a lot of things.

[26:16] But if you're wrong about Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter what you're right about. That overshadows everything. If you do not know.

[26:29] Who he is. Why he came. Who sent him. What he did. What he accomplished. Why it matters so very much. If you don't understand those things. It doesn't make any difference.

[26:40] What you know. It doesn't make any difference. How many degrees you hold. Or what schools you've attended. It doesn't matter. This is exactly why. Paul said.

[26:50] I determined. And know nothing among you. Save Jesus Christ. And him crucified. I am satisfied. That there probably is no area.

[27:03] Of impediment. Or unbelief. That is so pervasive. And so deep. And so satanically inspired.

[27:16] As well as being coupled with. People's fallen intellect. People's fallen intellect. And warped thinking. As that which exists. Between the Jewish people.

[27:29] Worldwide. And Jesus. Their Messiah. We're going to.

[27:40] Be examining. Some of the earliest. Examples. Of this. Unbelief. And how it is. And why it is. That they came to it. And why they still hold it. To this day.

[27:53] We. Of course. As Christians. Are convinced. That Jesus. Is the Messiah. And that the scriptures. Prove it.

[28:05] Our Jewish friends. Whom. Whom we love. Whom we should love. Whom. And I have a heart. I have a heart. For Israel. Been there twice.

[28:17] Spent six weeks. There at one time. And I just. Would recommend it. To anybody. Just. Life changing experience. Wonderful. Wonderful. Incredible people. Incredible place. And I have extolled.

[28:29] The virtues. Of the Jewish people. In times past here. How many times. Have I told you. About. The statistics. Involving the Jew. They do not make up.

[28:40] One percent. Of the world's population. They make up. Two tenths. Of one percent. Of the world's population.

[28:54] Yet. The Jewish people. Are responsible. For having received. Twenty percent. Of the Nobel prizes.

[29:05] That have been awarded. What do you do. With a statistic. Like that. How do you account. For that. And you know what. Most of those. Many of those. Prizes. Were awarded.

[29:16] For the people. Who earned them. Were working. Under duress. And persecution. And isolation. And. You name it. The tiny state.

[29:28] Of Israel. To this day. Has been. Fighting. For its very. Existence. From May 15. 1948. To the present. And when they declared.

[29:39] Their independence. They were summarily attacked. By seven. Of their neighbors. That wanted to simply. Drive them into the Mediterranean Sea. And yet. Under that kind of duress.

[29:50] And persecution. And rockets. And bombs. And mayhem. And everything. They have. They have. They have succeeded.

[30:01] In ways. That are beyond reason. In. Medical. And engineering. Sciences. That are just. Unbelievable.

[30:13] And they did all this. While fighting for their lives. It's amazing. There's no people. On the face of the earth. Like the Jew. They are.

[30:26] God's. Chosen. People. And do you. Realize. Why it is. That they do not. Accept. Jesus. As their Messiah. Well.

[30:38] Because the scriptures. Say. In their estimation. That. He did not. Meet the qualifications. And the first one. I want you to come to. Is found in Psalm 2.

[30:50] Psalm 2. Psalm 2. This is quite.

[31:02] Quite a passage. It is referred to. As a messianic psalm. Of course. It means. It is prophetic. And Psalm 2.

[31:14] Says. Why are the nations. In an uproar. And the peoples. Devising. A vain thing. Kings of the earth. Take their stand. And the rulers. Take counsel together. Against the Lord.

[31:24] And against his anointed. Let us tear their fetters apart. And cast away their cords from us. He who sits in the heavens. Laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. Then he will speak to them.

[31:37] In his anger. Well. Come down. If you will. To verse. Verse 8. Ask of me. Ask of me.

[31:47] And I will surely give the nations. As thine inheritance. And the very ends of the earth. As thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron. Thou shalt shatter them.

[31:58] Like earthenware. Understand. That the book of Psalms. Is the Jewish hymnal. They set all of these Psalms.

[32:09] All 150 of them. To music. And that helps them to memorize them. And learn them. And they go over them. And over them. And over them. And this is one of them. And one of the reasons.

[32:21] They do not believe. That Jesus of Nazareth. Was the Messiah. Is because. He didn't fulfill these things. This is what the Messiah.

[32:32] Is going to do. When he comes. And verse 8. Says. Ask of me. I will give the nations. As thine inheritance. The very ends of the earth. As thy possession. Thou shalt break them.

[32:42] With a rod of iron. Thou shalt shatter them. Like earthenware. Did Jesus of Nazareth. Do that? No. Clearly he didn't.

[32:55] And they say. See. This is one reason. Why. He. He doesn't. He doesn't fit. He doesn't have the credentials. Jesus of Nazareth. He.

[33:06] He. He might have been a great rabbi. And a good teacher. And all of that. But. This is not true of him. And. Isaiah. Chapter 9. A very familiar passage.

[33:17] Also referred to. As messianic. And the Jews. Consider these passages. To be. Messianic. Isaiah.

[33:28] Chapter 9. For child. Verse 6. Familiar to all Christians. I think. For child. Will be born to us. A son. Will be given to us. The government.

[33:39] Will rest on his shoulders. His name. Will be called. Wonderful. Counselor. Mighty God. Eternal. Prince of Peace. And no end. To the increase. Of his government. Or peace. On the throne of David. And over his kingdom.

[33:50] To establish. And an uphold. Of a justice. And righteousness. From then on. And evermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts. Will accomplish it. Was this true of Jesus of Nazareth? No.

[34:04] No. There's no way. That you can say. That these things. Were fulfilled. That Jesus of Nazareth. Is sitting on the throne. David over his kingdom. No.

[34:17] He isn't. Chapter 11. Then a shoot.

[34:30] Will spring. From the stem of Jesse. And the branch. From his roots. Will bear fruit. And the spirit. Of the Lord. Will rest on him. The spirit. Of wisdom. And understanding.

[34:41] And we Christians. We point to this passage. And we say. Aha. You see this? The stem of Jesse. Do you know? Do you know who Jesse was? Jesse was King David's father.

[34:56] Jesus is the stem. From Jesse. Our Jewish friends look at this. And say. Well. But. He did not. Do.

[35:08] What this chapter says. And as you look. At verse. Six. Of Isaiah. Chapter 11.

[35:20] This is Messianic. The wolf. The wolf. Will dwell. With the lamb. And the leopard. Will lie down. With the kid. And the calf. And the young lion. And the fatling. Together. And a little boy.

[35:31] Will lead them. Do you see any of that. Taking place today? Did Jesus. Accomplish these things? Did he. Affect the earth.

[35:42] In such a way. That these things. Are real life? No. Clearly not. So they feel. That they are. Quite. Solid. In their convictions. And in their rejection.

[35:53] Of Jesus. As the Messiah. Now. Christians of course. Look at this. And we say. Well. This is Messianic. But these references.

[36:05] Are in connection. With the second coming. Not the first coming. And we have a number.

[36:16] Of references. That we point to. Which we will be looking at later. Especially this month. That reveal. His first coming. But our Jewish friends.

[36:28] Quite honestly. Quite sincerely. Believe that. Their Messiah. Has never yet come. He will one day.

[36:41] But he has not yet come. The Christian position. Of course. Is. He has come. And he was rejected. But he has promised.

[36:52] That. He is coming again. And the things. That he did not. Accomplish. In his first coming. He did put.

[37:03] In position. To give him. The right. To accomplish them. In his second coming. And that's when he will. But they do not see that.

[37:14] They do not understand that. Partly because. As Paul pointed out. In the book of Romans. That blindness in part. Is happened unto Israel. Until the fullness of the Gentiles.

[37:25] Become in. So the Jew. The Jew. Really has a double whammy on him. And the first is. That the Jew. Has to use.

[37:37] His human intellect. Which is warp. And skewed. Just like. Everybody else's. And that's working. Against him. Plus. He's got satanic influence.

[37:48] That wants to direct. The Jew. In every. In any way. He can. Away from the Messiah. Messiah. Plus. He refuses. To consider. The validity.

[37:58] Of the New Testament. Which provides. In depth. In detail. Who Jesus. Really was. And what will be affected. In his second coming. So he not only has. A double whammy.

[38:08] He has a kind of. A triple whammy. Against him. The Jew. Is really hard pressed. And yet. He would be the first one. To deny. All of this. And say. Everything that I have just said.

[38:20] Is not true. It's just nonsense. Numerous other passages. That will not take time. To explore now.

[38:30] But we will. Later. Because. This faulty assumption. Business. Began. Even. Before. The Garden of Eden.

[38:41] And Genesis 3. It began. With Lucifer. In heaven. And what was. What was Lucifer's. Faulty assumption. It was simply.

[38:52] That. He could realize. He could fulfill. His ambition. And actually. Displace. The almighty. And this is referred to.

[39:03] In Isaiah chapter 7. With the famous. Seven. I wills. I will be. Like the most high. I will exalt myself. Beyond. And on and on it goes. And he really.

[39:15] Thought. He could pull off. That was his. Faulty assumption. And of course. The lie. That was given to it. Was revealed.

[39:27] And then. Eve. And Adam. Had their own. Faulty assumptions. And they assumed. That what. Satan. Told them.

[39:38] Was true. You will be as gods. Knowing good and evil. Timotic. Useful. Useful. Idiots. Began. In the garden of Eden.

[39:50] Satan. Manipulated them. And used them. And no. Don't congratulate yourself. In saying something really stupid. Like you would have never fallen for that.

[40:00] Because you're a lot smarter. No you're not. None of us are. We were just. We're made of the same stuff. As they are. So. In a sense. In a sense.

[40:12] The deck. Is stacked against us. And this is. Exactly what. Jesus Christ. Came to provide. A real solution. A real answer.

[40:23] That was based upon truth. And. And the world still. Kind of holds it at arm's length. We're celebrating. The Christmas season.

[40:33] Now. You have any idea. How many people. Really understand. What Christmas is all about. Yeah. They don't. They go shopping. And they buy their presents. And they see the specials on TV.

[40:44] And things like that. And the Christmas carols. And everybody seems to be a little more jovial. Maybe a little more. You know. Maybe. Maybe a little more. Civil. One to another. And the gift giving.

[40:57] The gift giving. Look at the commercials. Look at the. Wow. It's all of this stuff. You know. You can get all this for Christmas. And. And. And. And. What is all this gift giving.

[41:10] What's it really predicated on. Well. It's just tradition. You know. We do this at Christmas time. Christmas only comes once a year. And so. Very many people. Never connect.

[41:20] The simple thing. Of gift giving. With God's unspeakable gift. Now. The ACLU. Would really have a cow.

[41:31] If you're going to. Tie that in with it. You know. But that's. That's. What this thing is. Built on. That's what Christmas is all about. Is God so loved. That he gave.

[41:44] He gave. How many times. How many times. Have I told you. That you can. You can give without loving. That you cannot love without giving. And.

[41:54] God loves. And God gives. And that's what Christmas is all about. You know. The. The tinsel. And the bright lights. And all the rest of it. And I enjoy those things too. You know. We've been down to Clifton Mill.

[42:06] And saw all the lights down there. Dazzling. Incredible. Beautiful. Wonderful. But that's. Just a drop in the bucket. To what Christmas. Is really all about.

[42:17] Christmas is all about him. That's what it's all about. But it's gotten so obfuscated. It's kind of like the gospel. It's gotten so obfuscated. And so.

[42:28] Confused. And confounded. Confounded. And misrepresented. Sometimes. In churches. Where it should be made crystal clear. It is lost.

[42:39] In all the trappings. And all the tradition. And all of that stuff. So we've just. Barely. We haven't even scratched the scratch. Of the scratch.

[42:50] On the surface. So when I say this. Going to be my last hurrah. Don't hold your breath. It's going to take a while. We're going to be into this. Because. We're going to look.

[43:00] At the. False assumptions. Of the Jews. And then the false assumptions. Of the Roman Catholics.

[43:11] And then the false assumptions. Of the Protestants. So there are plenty. Of faulty assumptions. To go around. The bright spot. The bright spot.

[43:22] Of all of these. In. Identifying them. And locating them. As faulty assumptions. The bright spot. Is they will be combated.

[43:33] With the truth. Of the word of God. That you will be able. To look at. For yourself. And decide. For yourself. Whether it really is true. And that's what the text is saying.

[43:44] Or. Whether Pastor Wiseman. Is just making a faulty assumption. Of his own. So you'll have opportunity. To do that. Our work is cut out for us. And I'm excited about it.

[43:55] Because I know. What a life changing. Thing this can be. And I trust that. It will be that for you. Would you stand please. And now unto him.

[44:08] Who is able to keep you from falling. And to present you faultless. Before his throne. With exceeding joy. To the only wise God. Our Savior. Be glory. Majesty. Dominion.

[44:19] And power. Both now and evermore. Amen. You are dismissed.