breaking down the bible
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Hello, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Christ with Coffee on Ice. I am your host, Allie Yost, and I am so thrilled to be here with you guys. Happy Friday. Happy Christmas.

Happy Christ with Coffee and Ice Friday. Thank you guys so much for tuning in this week. I just pray that this episode blesses you guys, that we are looking forward to spending some time together with Jesus. And the plan for today is we are going to be reading scripture. We've been doing that a lot this season, which is actually really fun. I just feel like I've had this revelation with the Lord lately that we have a lot of sermons.

available to us, right?

There's a lot that are available, you know, on podcasts. There's a lot that are available on YouTube. And as much as those things are so good, I've said that even here on the podcast, you know, it's good when Allie talks and gives feedback and we talk about certain topics and we back it up with scripture. I think that that's always good, but there's just not a lot out there for our generation. That's one relatable doesn't make us want to fall asleep.

That is just reading scripture.

So I'm excited to do that again today. I know that it honors the Lord. I know that the Lord is really excited about us sitting down and reading his word because more importantly, the thing that we should all be rooted in is the word of God. I think that it's obviously really good to respect and look up to certain spiritual leaders in our generation and generations from the past, of course, but most importantly, word of God.

Word of God. So I'm excited. I think it's going to be fruitful. We are going to be reading from the gospels today. I felt it on my heart that we were going to be starting the book of John in this episode. I don't think we've read the book of John. Girl, I don't know. If we have, we're going to read the book of John many times in our lifetime. We're not just going to read it once or twice or three times, even 10 times. We're going to read it multiple times because the word is what? Alive.

right the word is living and it is alive and so it doesn't matter how many times you've read john i know it's gonna hit you right in your spirit man because that's what it's made for the word of god is alive and it will always speak to us it will never grow old it'll never grow numb at least if it does we need to pray that away in jesus name we should never become numb to the word of god

It should be refreshing and life-giving every time we read it. No matter if the scripture is the same scripture we've heard a million times before. John 3, 16, y'all, we know it, but it should never grow old to us. So actually, I really love that. Wait, let me take a sip of my coffee, all of us together.

Whether it's caffeinated, decaf, you got your tea, girl, matcha, boy, whatever. Let's pray into that, actually. I really like that. I'm not wearing my rings today. You guys can't hear my spirit fingers. Okay. Ah, I forgot to put them on. Let's pray into that, actually. Let's pray against just feeling numb to the word of God and becoming familiar with it. Obviously, we want to be familiar with the word, but we don't want to become familiar to it. Do you know what I mean? We

We want to know the word of God, but we don't want to become familiar to the point where it's like, ah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The Lord will fight for me. I need only to be still. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So let's pray for that. Lord, I just thank you for bringing us all here together.

God, I thank you that we are joining together from all over the world. It is such an honor to just sit here and to be in your presence, God, as we talked about in our last episode. We know that that's not how it always was, that before Jesus came and died and tore the veil from top to bottom, we did not have access to you like we do today.

And so, God, we thank you that we have access to you whenever we want, however many times a day we want, and that the veil was torn. So we just honor you, God. We honor your son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus, thank you for the sins that have been forgiven through your sacrifice, Lord. And I just pray that as we're reading the word today, God, I pray for a softening of our hearts, God. I pray that no matter the obstacles, like no matter what's going on in our day, no matter the things that are kind of hovering over our minds,

that we are able to just be free and we are able to have peace and we are able to have open ears and open eyes to the word. I rebuke any spirit of pressure in feeling like we need to understand every single word that is read to us today.

Lord, I just pray that however you want to speak to us, you speak to us individually and personally. God, I pray for revelations for every single one of us, God. I pray that something clicks for us in this scripture, whether it's scripture we've read before or haven't. I just pray for a refreshing, almost as if we have read this scripture for the very first time.

Lord, I pray against any distractions in the mighty name of Jesus. I just plead the blood of Jesus over our minds, over our time, over the spaces that we are sitting in, God. I just pray that it is productive. It is uninterrupted in the name of Jesus. I just pray that we can give you our undivided attention, Lord. Help us to stay focused, to keep our eyes locked on you. And I just pray for clarity. I pray for clarity. I pray for clarity.

I pray for peace over my brothers and sisters who are tuning in right now. And let us never become numb. Let us never become familiar with scripture. Let us know scripture. Let us be written on our hearts, God. I pray that it becomes embedded in our hearts after today. But let us not become familiar or numb to it. I just seal this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, y'all.

I love that we just covered that. Let's go. Holy Spirit activate. We rebuked the enemy. He has no right. He has no space here. That's for sure. All right, y'all. Let's go to the book of John. We are obviously going to start from, well, I guess not obviously, because sometimes we don't do this, but we're going to start right at the beginning of the book of John. As a reminder,

Per usual, I am reading the NLT version translation. We are going to start at John 1, 1. And like we've said before, and always, if you have your Bible with you, read along. I think it would be really impactful. And it's super effective when you actually physically have the word of God in front of you. I'm really excited. Okay, guys. So in the beginning, the word already existed.

The word was with God and the word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him and nothing was created except through him. The word gave life to everything that was created and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it. That alone is beautiful. I guess if you had to sum up who Jesus Christ is,

In a very, very, very short form, that would be John 1 through 5. So in the beginning, the word already existed.

In the beginning, the word already existed. That means that in the beginning, the Lord had a plan and what was already a part of the plan and existed was the word of God, was the Bible. Before any prophet started writing it, before anyone had revelations, visions, words from the Lord to write it down and to make it a physical thing, the word already existed. The word was with God.

and the word was god he existed in the beginning with god jesus existed in the very beginning before the earth was ever created he existed in the beginning with god god created everything through him and nothing was created except through him the word gave life to everything that was created

And his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it.

That was just so good we had to read it again, y'all. All right, John 1, 6. God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light. He was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. So what the scripture is saying is that John the Baptist, his job,

was to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. So John the Baptist was his mission, his job sent from the Lord was to pave the way and prepare the hearts of the people for Jesus's coming. John himself was not the light. He was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, Jesus, who gives light to everyone was coming into the world.

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn't recognize him. He came to his own people and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn, not with a physical birth resulting from a human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

So the word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the father's one and only son. John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds. This is the one I was talking about when I said someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.

From his abundance, we have all received one gracious blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses, but God's unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the unique one who is himself God is near to the Father's heart. He has revealed God to us.

So what this passage is saying is that the word became human, who is Jesus, that he actually came into the very world that he created in human form. He was actually unrecognized by his own people. So imagine creating a world, being birthed into it, coming into that same world that you literally created and molded and your own people not recognizing you.

not accepting him and rejecting him. But to all who did believe him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. So we are not children of God until we are not adopted into the kingdom of glory and righteousness, right? We are not actually children of the Lord until we have accepted him as our Lord and savior.

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But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. And so that is when we are reborn, born again, right? They are reborn, not with a physical birth, right? We already go through our first birth, which is just coming into the world, right? A physical birth from our mommies.

Resulting from human passion or plan. Okay. But a birth that comes from God. So this is a second birth. This is a rebirth of our spirit. For the law was given through Moses, but God's unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. So we didn't truly see. Listen, guys.

Up until that point, we honestly hadn't seen the Lord. We hadn't seen his unfailing love and his faithfulness until Jesus came to represent that in physical form. No one had ever seen God, but the unique one, Jesus, who is himself God, he is also God, is near to the Father's heart.

He has revealed God to us. So Jesus came to reveal God to us. His unfailing love, his faithfulness, his goodness, right? This was John's testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and temple assistants from Jerusalem to ask John, who are you? He came right out and said, I am not the Messiah. Well, then who are you? They asked. Are you Elijah? No, he replied. Are you the prophet that we are expecting?

AKA Jesus, the Messiah. Yeah. No. Then who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself? John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah. So now y'all, this is so cool. This is what makes the Bible so legitimate is that this was written over an extensive amount of years through multiple different human beings and the cross references are

I want to try to find this for y'all because it's crazy. Have y'all ever seen the like rainbow? Oh, if my editor Katie could be so slay and put it up on the screen for anybody who's physically watching, you can see it, but there's a visualization of the Bible's cross references with all of these different lines. Do you see it? Just Google it. If you're just audibly listening to me and you don't see anything on the screen, but it's

insane. There's never been a book that's been written like this in the history of mankind because it's just the word of God and it's true. There are 63,779 cross references in the Bible, which are places where the same thing is mentioned in more than one place. In 2013, a Lutheran pastor named Christoph Romhild

created a visual representation of these cross references using an arc diagram. The diagram includes a bar graph at the bottom that shows the chapters of the Bible with Psalm 119 in the middle. Each cross reference is represented by an arc, and the color of the arc indicates the distance between the two chapters it connects. The result is a rainbow-like effect.

So I bring that up because we just heard one of them. This is one of the 63,779 cross references in the Bible where it says, John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah. Okay. And we know about the gift of prophecy. We talked about that. It means that this person gets a

A download from the Lord. It's a word of knowledge, seeing into the future. It's straight wisdom from God. Isaiah the prophet had already said before this moment that these words would have been spoken. So John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah, I am a voice shouting in the wilderness, clear the way for the Lord's coming.

Then the Pharisees who had been sent asked him, if you aren't the Messiah or Elijah or the prophet, what right do you have to baptize?

John told them, I baptize with water, but right here in the crowd is someone you don't recognize. Though his ministry follows mine, I'm not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal. The encounter took place in Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River, where John

was baptizing. There's different translations of this. I know sometimes the word slave can feel kind of weird in the Bible, but essentially what John is saying is I'm not even worthy to be a servant to him. Like I'm not even worthy to be in assistance to

to untie the straps of his sandals, right? I'm not even worthy to touch even though his ministry follows mine. Even though his ministry is coming after mine, I still don't hold any more authority over him. John the Baptist is just simply explaining how big of a deal Jesus is. He's like, listen, I'm not the Messiah. I'm not the prophet you all have been waiting for. I know it feels a little backwards because technically this guy is coming after me, but I'm telling you he's it.

Also, can we talk about the three different ways of baptism? And the people who are listening to John the Baptist at this point probably didn't understand what he was talking about here, where he was like, I simply just baptize in water. They're like, yeah, right.

what do you mean? Is there like, are there other ways of being baptized? What are you being baptized in mud? Like in sand? Like I know if I were to envision this conversation, I feel like they would really be scratching their heads. Like, is there another way to be baptized? And there is, that's what John was revealing in that moment is he said, well, I just simply baptize in water. That's all I can do. It's a, it's a big deal being baptized in water. It

It's beautiful. But he's like, that's all I can humanly do. I can't do anything more than that. So there's three baptisms. We get baptized in water, which is most likely the baptism that you would think of where you're baptized in water, right? But there's two more baptisms that only God can do. There's baptism in fire and there's baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Being baptized with fire would refer to an event of being made more holy, like increasing in the fruit of the spirit. So being baptized in fire is probably one of the last things that you can be baptized in out of the three baptisms, right? If I were to say more common than not, we get baptized in water, then we get baptized in the Holy Spirit, then we're baptized in fire.

I guess depending on the individual, maybe. And this is me learning. So if I'm wrong, y'all correct me. Sometimes being baptized in the spirit could come before water, but I want to say more likely than not, it comes after you've been baptized by water.

The purpose of a water baptism is truly dedicating and declaring your dedication to the Lord publicly. And it's also a symbolization of needing our sins of our past to be washed clean. It represents the truth that our old person is gone and the new has come.

Water baptism is a public declaration of faith in Jesus Christ and a believer's relationship with him. It symbolizes a number of things, including the things that we mentioned. So it really is like once you come out of that water, you are made new. Your old person is gone and you are now reborn. When we're talking about being reborn, they are reborn not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

So a water baptism is a part of that rebirth. It is a symbol and a declaration of your love and your faith for the Lord. But after that moment, it is like we have been washed clean and we are made new through the spirit of God. And then to go back to being baptized in fire, what the difference between that is and being baptized in the Holy Spirit is being baptized in fire is an event of being made more holy, more holy, more

like increasing the fruit of the spirit. So that could even be the gifts of the spirit. If you were baptized in the Holy Spirit and you're receiving gifts of the spirit, right? You're experiencing prophecy, all these other things, but it's when you are actually almost like taken to the next level of holiness. Like you are made even more holy and those gifts have increased.

I can say that I didn't realize. You know what's funny is you don't know until you know. Like I was like, have I been baptized by fire yet?

And it didn't happen until like a month ago. And I've been following the Lord for a little over a year. Well, yeah, over a year now. And I hadn't officially gotten baptized in fire yet until a month ago. And I didn't even know it was happening. But I'm going to tell you this much. It was a heightening of the gifts of the spirit. It was, yeah, it happened. And I didn't even know until I told someone and they were like, girl, you got baptized in fire. I was like, what?

So just know that, yeah, it's all our own individual testimonies, stories, experiences with the Lord. And all of our timing is going to look different when it comes to all three of these baptisms.

I didn't even get baptized in water. You guys know this. I've already said it until almost a year of following the Lord. So maybe I was baptized in the Holy Spirit before then, but a lot of things changed for me after I finally did the water baptism. So I also want to encourage somebody right now, if you are listening and you have not gotten baptized in water, please do it. Please do it. Don't hold it off.

Because it also says in Acts 22, 6 through 16, and now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. I think when it comes to our water baptism, we obviously want it to be special because it's a big deal. It is a big deal. It should be, at least it should be a big deal to you.

But it should never be a bigger deal where we are now idolizing, romanticizing, trying to perfect the experience more so than what it's actually about. Does that make sense? Kind of makes me think of a wedding.

Where it's like, if we're losing the point of why we're getting married by getting caught up in all the other stuff, that does not really matter. Like the way that I got baptized was not actually the way that I thought I would have gotten baptized.

Would i've wanted something more glamorous, especially because I got baptized in california like I could have gotten baptized at pirate's cove I could have gotten baptized in malibu It could have been at sunset on the beach and people have had those baptisms and they're beautiful and special and gorgeous And that was supposed to be their experience. I believe that but apparently that wasn't supposed to be mine Mine was so unbelievably spontaneous and

It was not really planned, but it was because the spirit of God was like, now. Like, it was very clear that the Lord was telling me I needed to get baptized in that moment, in that circumstance. It didn't look the way I expected, but it was just as special. And I know it was supposed to happen unannounced.

on that day at that time. So whether it's in a bathtub or if it's in the ocean, I don't think we should put a ton of pressure on waiting for the perfect timing. Because I know a lot of us listening can probably relate to that where you're like, I really want it to be special though. And I want it to be perfect. And I want it to be the perfect timing. I think the best thing we could do with that is bring it to the Lord and say, okay, God, I'm going to stay awake to your voice.

And whenever the opportunity arises, I ask that you put a fire in my tummy and you say now, because it might come unexpectedly. You might not be able to plan it because the Lord's like, oh, by the way, today's the day. Today's your wedding day. By the way, we're getting married, honey. You're going to be baptized. So don't procrastinate. Don't hold off.

your wedding day with the Lord, your baptism, just because you want it to be perfect. Because ultimately, that doesn't matter. What matters is that you are leaving your old person behind, you are made new in Christ, you are reborn, and you are publicly declaring your love for the Lord. And it is nothing to be nervous about either. I think maybe a lot of our procrastination and anticipation can come from nervousness.

but it's nothing to be nervous about. It's actually like the best decision you could ever make in your life. And it's beautiful. Your heart might be racing up until the moment you go underwater, but oh my gosh, when you come out of that water, you will feel like a different person and you will feel the presence of God. Just do it. Please just do it. Why are you waiting? Just as it says in Acts, y'all. And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

Be made new already. What are you waiting for? Stop carrying that old man that is not who you are. Like, leave it.

And be made new in the Lord. Okay. Sorry for that rant. I just felt that. I was like, hey, if anyone's listening and you're holding off baptism, do it, please. Trust the Lord and his timing. Of course, it took me a minute to get baptized. I know it was perfect, the timing of when I got baptized, but don't hold it off longer than you need to. Okay. So anyway, that was fun. We just talked about baptism for so long, the three different types. Okay. Let's read just a little bit more of scripture. Where did we leave off?

Okay, John is saying I am not worthy to untie the straps of his sandals. We are in John 1 29 now. The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one I was talking about when I said a man coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.

I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel. Then John testified, I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. So John the Baptist is talking about his experience of baptizing Jesus, right? So John the Baptist says,

baptized Jesus in water. And this is what he's testifying, the experience of what happened when he baptized Jesus. Okay. It's crazy. I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. I didn't know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me the one on whom you see the spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.

I saw this happen to Jesus. So I testify that he is the chosen one of God. So John the Baptist said, oh no. So I know that Jesus is the son of God and the Messiah and the one that we've been waiting for the chosen one of God. Because before I started baptizing in water, meaning before I started all of this, right? Cause God told me that this was going to be my job. I was going to baptize people in water. I was going to pave the path, prepare the hearts of people for the Messiah for when he comes, right? He's

He said, "Before God sent me to baptize with water, he told me," God told John, "The one whom you see the spirit descend and rest on is the chosen one." So God said, "You're going to be baptizing people, but when you come to this one individual, this one person,

and you see the spirit come down and rest on him like a dove, just know that that is my son. That's the chosen one. That is the Messiah that you have all been waiting for. There's another part in the Bible. Where is it? Is in the book? Is it in Matthew? It's in the gospel where it also said that heaven opened up. So as John was baptizing Jesus Christ,

Heaven opened up and the spirit of God descended on him like a dove. Um, okay. So you're the one we've been waiting for. Cool. This is incredible. The time is here. Oh my gosh. Like I can only imagine the hype of John the Baptist in that moment, knowing that the Lord gave him that word and he's been waiting however long baptizing person after person, after person, after person eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Messiah. And then it happens.

And so he's freaking out and he goes, yo, yo, yo, I saw the Holy Spirit descend like a dove from heaven resting upon him. So I testify that he is the chosen one of God. That is so...

That's cool. That's so cool. So the following day, John was again standing with two of his disciples. As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, look, there is the lamb of God. When John's two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus. Jesus looked around and saw them following. What do you want? He asked them. They said, rabbi, which means teacher, where are you staying? Come and see, he said.

It was about four o'clock in the afternoon when they went to him.

to the place where he was staying. And they remained with him for the rest of the day. Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, we have found the Messiah, which means Christ. Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, your name is Simon, son of John, but you will be called Peter.

Peter, right? We know Peter. So that's Peter. The Lord renamed him. The next day, Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, come follow me. Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter's hometown. Philip went to look for Nathaniel and told him, we have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about. His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.

Nazareth, exclaimed Nathaniel. Can anything good come from Nazareth? Y'all, that's such a slay of the Lord. He will take the lowly. He will take the unexpected places and bring miracles out of them. Can anything good come from Nazareth? Oh yeah, only the Lamb of God, only the savior of the entire planet and world can come out of Nazareth. Yep, believe it. You better believe it.

So Nathaniel was like, oh wait, no, you saw me sitting under that fig tree? No one was there, by the way.

So if you saw me there, you actually must be the son of God. Oh, so you're God. Because how in the world did you know that I was in the middle of nowhere sitting under a fig tree contemplating my life, whatever it was that Nathaniel was going through in that moment. And Jesus was like, oh yeah, so that moment I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you. In that moment, I saw you. I saw you.

Nathaniel exclaimed, said, oh my gosh, rabbi, you are the son of God, the king of Israel. Like that was all the proof he needed. He said, oh, oh, got it.

Jesus asked him, do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this. Then he said, I tell you the truth. You will all see heaven open up and the angels of God going up and down on the son of man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth. He's the cornerstone. Jesus is the stairway. He is the connector between heaven and earth.

He said, you believe this just because I told you I saw you under a fig tree? Well, you better buckle up because you will see greater things than this. Like Jesus literally was like, oh, you were impressed by that? Just wait. He's so savage for that. He's so savage. He said that was enough to convince you. Well, first off, great. Love that. But just wait because you're going to see greater things than this.

Okay, now we're in John 2. The next day, there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus' mother told him they have no more wine.

"'Dear woman, that's not our problem,' Jesus replied. "'My time has not yet come.' But his mother told the servants, "'Do whatever he tells you.' Standing nearby were six stone water jars used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold 20 to 30 gallons. Jesus told the servants, "'Fill the jars with water.' When the jars had been filled, he said, "'Now dip some out and take it to the master of ceremonies.'

So the servants followed his instructions. When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was not wine, not knowing where it had come from, though of course the servants knew, he called the bridegroom over. A host always serves the best wine first, he said. Then, while everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now.

This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory and his disciples believed in him. After the wedding, he went to Capernaum for a few days with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples.

And I wrote on the side, cause I wanted to do a little bit of fun math. I think I did this math correctly, but it says that, um, I was just curious how much wine the Lord had actually made in that moment and any other translation I didn't see. I've never really read the details of it being like exactly how much each of those, um, stone water jars held.

But there were six stone water jars, which each could hold 20 or 30 gallons, which means that Jesus turned between 120 and 180 gallons of water into wine. Can you imagine that?

And so that was actually the first physical miracle that the Lord had done and people were a witness to. This miraculous sign was the first time Jesus revealed his glory to people. It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration. So Jesus went to Jerusalem. In the temple area, he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifice. He also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money.

Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the temple. He drove out the sheep of cattle, scattered the money changers' coins over the floor, and turned over their tables.

Then going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, get these things out of here. Stop turning my father's house into a marketplace. Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the scriptures. Passion for God's house will consume me. So as we were talking about with the crossovers, cross references to other scriptures, the

The disciples remembered that this was actually another moment that was already foreshadowed in scripture. That passion for God's house will consume me. But the Jewish leaders demanded, what are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it. All right, Jesus replied, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. What? They exclaimed.

It has taken 46 years to build this temple and you can rebuild it in three days. But when Jesus said this temple, he meant his own body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this and they believed both the scriptures and what Jesus had said. Okay. And we're just going to finish off John 2. This is John 2, 23.

Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn't trust them because he knew all about people. No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person's heart. And that is the end of John 2.

love the book of John. I don't know about y'all, but I thought that was really fruitful. And yeah, I'm really grateful that we got to read this together. So I hope that you guys enjoyed it. I hope that it spoke to you. I hope that you felt the presence of the Lord. And I'm just so grateful that you guys enjoy reading scripture along together. We're all being held accountable in spending our time in the word of God.

And yeah, it's just an honor. It's an honor. So thank you guys for letting me read that to you. And I hope that you guys have a great rest of your week as well. And hey guys, can we do something cool today? Can we show somebody how cool Jesus is today? Let's spread his love. Let's spread his hope. Let's spread his joy today. I challenge you to love a stranger as the Lord would.

Give to somebody who needs it and let's just work towards having more of a heart like the Lord today Let's have hearts like Jesus. I love you guys. I'm so proud of you Thank you for being here, and I will see you guys next week. I'll see you next Friday

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