Thomas Goertzen 6/16/24

Good morning it's so good to see you all here this morning on Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there what a what a better Legacy or what better Legacy is there I should say than to bring your children to church on Father's Day model what it is to be a Christian parent I just have a few announcements for us today first off Little Blessings is on June 22nd that is our children's clothing and toys swap meat so be we already had some donations come in today if you've got children's clothes children's toys things of that nature that need to get out of your house and also if you have children who need new clothes or new to well used clothes used toys this is your opportunity to swap them out with the things that you can use and it's also to be a blessing to our community who might need those kinds of things for their kids vacation Bible school is closer than you may think and so grab a prayer shell are they shells a prayer shell over on this table they have specific things for you to pray over during for vacation Bible school as we're getting geared up and ready for that also coming up is National Night Out that's on August 1st it is a an opportunity for our community to meet with First Responders and we're hosting it here at church it's also a great opportunity for us to meet our community and serve them in that way just a couple of things that I was asked to read to you all today the walgets and the Johnson's have both sent thank yous to us as a church for our support in prayer and also some finances and things of that nature so first Vernon Diddy wrote us one of the biggest blessings and encouragements that Vern and I have experienced since being back is you all our church you and your rapid response to the Lord when all of this unexpectedness first happened and up

To this day they will always be a part or we will always be a part of their story the phrase to his praise comes to mind thank you for the missions gift because of what he has done Vern and Denny and then also thank you from the wgts who as you may or may not know they've been in the process of coming back to be with them with Vern and Denny as they're going through their their trials right now it says we've had a long and Loud storm here last night things cooled down it also caused electrical problems all day and now the flying termites are filling the air but they're thankful no matter how different the days and distance between us we'll always be incredibly loved and supported by you we've been overwhelmed by your messages of encouragement and prayers these last weeks and your generosity and intentionality in giving it allows us to stay here and offer help to people with limited resources saving lives in many case and it also allows us to return home when family needs press in your heart for those the shepherd loves is wide and deep we are grateful to you every time we think of you which is often we're looking forward to seeing you all in July so just a couple little updates there that they appreciate our prayers and they need it more so continue to pray for them the WGT as they're traveling and the Johnson's as they're just looking to treatment and healing and now we've got one more announcement and then we're g to ask you to you know greet each other this morning good morning ladies and gentlemen boys and girls okay mostly ladies and gentlemen boys and girls this doesn't affect you so you can go back to coloring I'm glad you're here this morning I'm glad to be here I've been studying acts and you know one of the things that acts teaches us is we need to Fellowship as a church

Agreed what's fellowship mean contrary to what most people would say it doesn't mean a casserole dish it does but it also means carrot cake I knew that's what Beth was thinking what it means is we are to be to come together to Fellowship to share to break bread together but we're also to be to Fellowship spiritually all right Joy group how many of you know what Joy group is Jo y just older youth there analy how many if you know what Joy group is I just told you I need your attention for about 30 seconds to let you know that Sunday June 30th The Joy group is going out to John Wilbur's home we went out the other day it's a great place you're going to have so much fun to have a cookout to Fellowship together to break bread it's kind of the 4th of July before the 4th of July celebration Gathering okay if you have any questions I'm going to ask you to talk to that beautiful lady sitting right over there ra there that one that's my wife going to go to John Wilbur's it's going to be from 4: to 7:00 p.m. It's on a Sunday afternoon the meat and beans will be provided needs bring side dish and it's bring your own beverage okay bring something to drink Gatorade water iced tea please don't bring anything alcoholic if you do bring it up no just don't do it all right yeah thank you remember this you can sign up online at the Planning Center and please or you can come by the church office and call and get it done we want to come together for the summer and to just a fellowship as the church is commanded to do there's your guilt for the morning okay so there we are come on let's make this happen thank you for being here this morning thanks for putting up with

Me I just love you all and stand up and greet one another be nice come on stand up there you go no w [Music] BL and Gra good morning well good morning again church I hope you had a great opportunity to greet one another in the name of the Lord today I'd like to invite us now to just take a moment to ask the Lord to prepare us for corporate worship together now though it happens every week this is not just some mundane chore that we have to get over on Sunday so that we can get into Monday morning right this is a special time a time where we've been called together to worship as one in one Spirit one truth that we share together in our Lord Jesus Christ amen so I invite you to Bow your heads and to close your eyes and ask the Lord to prepare you for corporate worship Lord there are so many things that distract us from your beauty Lord we put so many things in front of us that take our minds and our eyes and our thoughts off of your Holiness I pray Lord that you would help us to put those aside help us this morning to focus back in on our creator and Savior Lord remind us of who it is that we're singing to today remind us of who it is that we're learning about and who it is that we're seeking to serve better and to love more Lord remind us of the cross that while we were still sinners Christ died for us and Lord help us to make that into worship not just to be something that we know but Lord something we act upon it's in Jesus name we pray

Amen I invite you now to stand and join us as we sing that'll [Music] help Come All You Weary come all you thirsty come to the well that never runs dry drink of the water come and thirst no more Come All You SN come find his Mercy come to the table he will satisfy Taste of his goodness find what you're looking for God so loved the world that he gave us his one and only son to save us whoever beles in him will live [Applause] [Music] forever bring all your failures bring your addictions come lay them down at the foot of the cross Jesus is waiting there with open arms [Music] for God so loved the world that he gave us his one and only son to save us whoever believes in him will live [Applause] [Music] forever the power of Hell forever defeated now it is well I'm walking in Freedom for God so love God of the world praise God praise God from whom all blessings flow praise him praise him for the wonders of his love praise God praise God from whom all blessing praise him praise him for the wonderers of his love for God so loved the world that he gave us his one and only son to save us whoever believes in him will live [Music] forever the power of Hell forever defeated now it is well I'm walking in freom for God so love God so love the

[Music] world bring all your failures bring your addictions come lay them down at the foot of the cross Jesus is waiting God all of the [Music] world that is who we worship this morning amen and because of that atoning sacrifice that horrific death it's hard even to imagine because he bore the punishment for our sins we now have a hope that starts now and lasts eternally [Music] what is Our Hope in life and death Christ Alone Christ Alone what is our only confidence that to him belong who holds our days within his what comes aart from his command and what will keep us to the end the love of Christ in which we stand [Applause] oh sing [Music] Hallelujah Our Hope Springs Eternal oh sing Hallelujah now and ever we confess Christ Our Hope in life and [Music] what truth can Cal the TR Soul God is good God is good where is his grace and goodness known in our great Redeemer's blood who holds our faith when fears arise who stands above the stormy Tri who sends the waves that bring us unto theore the rock of Christ oh [Music] singu our H brings Eternal oh sing Hal Hallelujah now and ever we can Christ Our Hope in life [Music] and unto the grave what will we

Sing Christ he lives Christ he lives and what reward will Heaven bring everlasting life with him there we will rise to be the Lord then s and death will be destroyed and we will feast in and Destroy when Christ is our forever more oh sing Hallelujah our hopes Eternal oh sing [Music] hallelu now and ever we confess Christ Our Hope in life [Applause] and oh sing Hallelujah our hop Springs Eternal oh sing high [Music] hallelu now and we confess Christ Our Hope life and now and ever we can bless Christ Our Hope in life and you can be seated as our ushers come forward I don't know if you've heard of a song by Ivan Parker called when I get carried away but some of the words in that song are I'm going to get beside of myself when I get beside the king that day I'm going to have the time of my life when the time of my life is over and I'm going to get carried away when I get carried away great song let's pray thank you Lord for your many blessings thank you for all these folks here today and as this offering is taken May glorify and honor you and bring those that are lost to you Lord we ask this in your name amen this next song we're going to sing is taken from the 62nd Psalm and it's a direct correct response to what we've just been singing about so we confess that our Lord lived a perfect life and died the death that we deserved bearing our punishment so that we might be reconciled to God we know that our Hope Springs Eternal it starts now and lasts forever

And so the words of this next song we're going to sing My Soul finds rest in God Alone Oh Praise Him Hallelujah my delight in my reward Everlasting never failing My Redeemer my [Music] God my soul finds rest in God alone my rock and my salvation a fortress strong against my f and I will not be Shen though lips May bless and hearts curse and lies like arrows me I'll fix my heart on righteousness I'll look to him who hears me oh pra Praise Him hallelu might delight and my reward Everlasting never failing My Redeemer my [Music] God I'll set my find rest my soul in God alone the world's tempt when evil seeks to take a hold I'll cling to my salvation for riches come and riches come don't set your heart upon them fields of Hope in which I s are harvested in heaven Oh Praise Him Hallelujah Mighty light and might reward Everlasting never failing My Redeemer my God [Music] I have set my Gaze on God alone and trust in him completely with every day pour out my soul and he will prove his Mercy for life is but a bleeding breath to meure my King has crushed the curse of death and I am his forever Oh Praise Him Hallelujah my delight and my reward Everlasting never failing my

Redeemer my [Music] God oh praise Him Oh Praise Him hallelujah hallelujah oh praise Him Oh Praise Him Hallelujah Hallelujah Oh Praise Him Oh Praise Him [Music] hallelu hallelu Oh Praise Him Hallelujah my delight and my reward Everlasting never failing my Redeemer my God [Music] J Jesus said that if I thirst I should come to him no one else can [Applause] saisi I should come to him Jesus said if I am weak I should come to him no one else can be my strength I should come to him he's good for the Lord is good and faithful he will keep us day and night we can run to Jesus Jesus strong and [Music] kind Jesus said that if I fear I should come to him no one else can be my shield I should come to him for the Lord is good and Fa he will keep us day and night we can run to Jesus Jesus strong and [Music] kind Jesus said if I am lost he will come to me and he showed me on that cross he will come to me for the Lord is good and faithful he will keep us day and night [Applause]

We can run to Jesus Jus strong and kind for the Lord is good and faithful he will keep us day and night we can always run to Jes Jesus Jesus strong and kind Jesus strong and [Music] kind let's sing that chorus one more time just our voices for the Lord is good faithful he will keep us day and night we can run to [Music] Jesus Jesus strong and kind amen what a God we serve let's pray together Lord we thank you for allowing us to be here together to worship you through singing through hearing your word preached through Fellowship Lord we thank you for the great gift it is that we're able to gather together openly and to sing loud God we pray that you would use Thomas this morning to bring your word Faithfully Lord that you would help him to preach to preach your word to say those things which you would have him to say and Lord we pray that you would help us to apply it to our lives it's in Jesus name we pray amen well it's good to be with you this morning Happy Father's Day Cody asked me to preach on this day I said yes that'd be great I'd love the opportunity and then he told me the passage and I said okay but the Lord has put it in here for us this morning much blood has been spilled in the protection and preservation of God's words since it's since it was written and so it is in that I would ask you guys to stand as we

Read God's word together and in Mark chap 6 starting in verse 14 through 29 as we read of the account of the death of John the Baptist and King Herod heard of it for Jesus's name had become known some said John the Baptist had been raised from the dead that is why these miraculous Powers were at work in him but others said he is Elijah and others said he is a prophet like one of the prophets phet of old but when Herod heard of it he said immediately John whom I beheaded has been raised for it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of herodias his brother's Philip's wife because he had married her for John had been saying to Herod it is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife and herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death but she could not for Herod feared John knowing that he was a righteous and holy man and he kept him safe when he heard him he was greatly perplexed and yet he heard him gladly but an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for the Nobles and Military commanders and the Leading Men of Galilee for when herodias his daughter came in and danced she pleased Herod and his guests and the King said to the girl ask me whatever you wish and I will give it to you and he vowed to her whatever you ask me I will give to you up to half my kingdom and she went out and said to her mother for what should I ask and she said the head of John the Baptist and she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked saying I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter and the King was exceedingly sorry but because of his oath and his guests he did not want to break his word to her and immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head he went and beheaded him in the prison and brought

His head on a platter and gave it to the girl and the girl gave it to her mother when the disciples heard of it they came and took his body and laid it in the Tomb let's pray Lord thank you for this time that we can truly come together and worship you by hearing your word preached Lord thank you for what you have done in my own heart as I have studied this passage thank you for your grace and speaking to me and it's in my prayer that this would also be the case for those who hear it this morning Lord I pray that your spirit would move and that we would be changed we ask these things in Jesus name amen as a way of introduction actually let's see if this pointer works oh it does okay good as a way of introduction I'd like to point out that Mark deviates from his normal narrative here normally Mark is quick he's moving from story to story Jesus is Healing The Sick he's rais he's healing all sorts of people he's casting out demons he's moving from one place to the other and then we get to this text and Mark is inspired to bring out some drama you know to break up his Norm his normal narrative and to give us this drama of what happened to John the Baptist and I think there's there is much here for us to learn I would like to also point out that as we move through this it is easy and a tendency for us to keep our arms length away from Herod and John the Baptist and herodias and say that was that was them I'm I'm different and what I'd like to point out today is that no we are actually not much different than them and so keep that in mind as we as we move through this I would like you to identify with them all right let's let's get the first let's get into it here verse one verse 14 sorry oh we're out of order

Here okay just leave that up verse 14 King Herod heard of it for Jesus's name had become known at this time Jesus was gaining in popularity but John the Baptist was still a big name for Herod oh sorry I'm I'm my mistake forgive me Herod Antipas yes let's talk about Herod for a second there's three herods mentioned in the New Testament this Herod is not the Herod that was at the time of the birth of Christ that was his father Herod the Great and he died in 4 BC just shortly after Christ was born and that Herod was Herod the Great because he governed a huge swath of land the he governed all of Israel and he was actually considered a king he also had a little fling with Cleopatra for a while Herod Antipas his son was not the son of Cleopatra Herod a grippa is also a mentioned in the book of Acts and he ruled Judea after Herod anpus died in 39 ad but the Herod that we are looking at this morning is Herod Antipas and he was one of five children of Herod the Great he was one of four rulers of the area of Israel the king here so Mark identifies Herod as king and that's kind of an ironic term for Herod was not actually a king he was a tetrarch tetrarch means ruler of fourth because when Herod the Great died he divided up the kingdom into four parts Herod anpus got the region of Galilee I like to think that Mark is kind of trolling King Herod here by calling him King because King Herod on several occasions had actually petitioned the emperor the first Emperor Augustus and then later on the emperor Caligula at the behest of herodias his wife his unlawful wife asking to become king and he was denied both times and so he's he we see here that he is a bit of an insecure man and his wife seems to be behind

Everything that he does without getting into it too much herod's family will just say this was very depraved it was twisted one commentor commentator says that his family was so Twisted it was it was like a great ancient Olive Tree and you can see how twisted it is there very perverse as we'll see incestuous no regard for God's law at all and we will see that for Herod and herodias this reality is what led to the beheading of John the Baptist yeah we're we're all work here okay let's see go to some said John the Baptist let's go to verse 14 15 16 all right some said John the Baptist had been raised from the dead that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him but others said he is Elijah and others said he's a prophet like one of the prophets of old but when Herod heard of it he said John whom I beheaded has been raised at this time Jesus was gaining in popularity but John the Baptist was still a big name Herod and his court would have been familiar with they did not yet know the name of Jesus it's interesting to note that while John had not performed Miracles people believed he must have been raised from the dead or perhaps Jesus was this great Prophet Elijah here what this commentator says the reason why they thought that he might be Elijah rather than any other Prophet had been already stated Malachi having predicted that Elijah would come to gather the scattered Church they misre they misunderstood that prediction as relating to the person of Elijah and instead of being a simple comparison to the following effect that the coming of the Messiah may not be unknown and that the people may not remain ignorant of the grace of redemption there will be an Elijah to go before like him who of old raised up that which had fallen and the

Worship of God which might have been overthrown he will go before by a remarkable power of the spirit to proclaim the great and Dreadful day of the Lord now we know that Jesus was not a resurrected John the Baptist or Elijah but rather he was the one spoken of by John who occupied the prophetic office of Elijah and prepared the way of the Lord see Malachi 3:1 behold I am going to send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me Malachi 4:46 behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord and He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter d instruction Mark 91-113 and they began asking him saying why is it that the scribes say that Elijah must first come and Jesus said to them Elijah does first come and restore all things but I say to you that Elijah has indeed come and they did to him whatever they wished just as it is written of him Matthew 11:14 and Jesus says and if you are willing to accept it John himself is Elijah who was to come John the Baptist came in the power and spirit of Elijah to restore the nation of Israel back to the Redeemer for they had lost the vision of the prophets due to their idolatry and sin so when they started to hear about this man Jesus performing Miracles it is odd that many including Herod him believed this man to be a resurrected John the Baptist why because John the Baptist had never performed a miracle yet in his proclamation of the word of God his heralding of the coming Savior his preaching of the kingdom of God and his beckoning for people to repent of their sins to come and be baptized he displayed a divine power that caught the attention and fascination of pagan Herod to the point that he must be the one who could be raised from the dead John may not have performed

Miracles but because he came in the power and spirit of the office of Elijah his preaching carried with it the power of the Holy Spirit which began moving the nation in Repentance back to God I would like to take a moment here and use this as an opportunity to emphasize just how important and Central the preaching Ministry is in a church while we do not occupy the office of prophet like Moses Elijah or John the church holds in it the office of preaching preaching simply means to Proclaim declare announce or Herald a message there is something like 190 references in the Bible about preaching in the book of Acts one of the central activities we see the gathered Church participating in is this Devotion to hearing of God's word and its faithful outward response to it in other words there is an administration of word and Sacrament meaning God's word is first proclaimed from the office of preaching and then we participate in communion and baptism as a response to the word preached faithful obedience to God's Commandments flows out of a spirit-led proclamation of God's word and his truth this is Central to our gathering there's a story about Martin Lloyd Jones I don't know if you know about him but he was a famous preacher in England in London in the middle of the 20th century and he was asked to fill the pulpit at Westminster chapel and it's a very famous church and the church was kind of heading down the way of the of liberalism they had a Pulpit there but they would move it off to the side and then people would come up and dance and do skits and plays and as a way to keep engagement up as a way to keep the people staying in the pews so when they asked Martin Lis Jones to come the story is told from the perspective of the janitor and right this is a big church right it's it's God

Big huge vaulted ceilings and mahogany and you know it echoes in there and he came in there he heard bang and he looked up to the at the at the front of the stage and he seen Martin Lloyd Jones kneeling down and he had a p the pulpit like this and he was nailing the pulpit to the center of the stage as an act of defiance against the modern means of trying to keep people in church like we can we could entertain people in order to keep them there no he said we must preach the word of God it must be Central to our worship service verse 17 and 18 Herod said John whom I beheaded has been raised for it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of herodias his brother Philip's wife because he had married her for John had been saying to her it is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife now according to Roman culture at the time it was believ that Resurrection always called out this idea of judgment so Herod believes that the Judgment of God is upon his enemies namely himself Herod has this superstitious belief that John the Baptist is running around the land now with magical powers and he's taken on this new name Jesus and it means that he's going to die I sense a guilty conscience here let's look at the account of Luke gives in Luke's 3 7-20 I don't have it on the screen he said therefore to the crowd starting in verse 7 that came out to be baptized by him you brood of vipers who warned you to flee from the Wrath to come bear fruits in keeping with repentance and do not begin to say to yourselves we have Abraham as our Father for I tell you God is able to take these stones and raise up children of Abraham even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees every tree there for that does not bear good fruit is cut

Down and thrown into the fire and the crowds asked them well What then shall we do and he answered them he says Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none this is when he when he's all about moralism right is John the Baptist all about moralism no but we can if we if we don't see what's going on here we can take it that way the crowd what shall we do and he said whoever has two tunics is a share with him who has n and whoever has food is to do likewise Tax Collectors also came to be baptized and said to him teacher what shall we do and he said collect no more than what you are authorized to do soldiers also asked him and we shall and what shall we do and he said to themo not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation and be content with your wages as the people were in expectation and they were all questioning in their hearts concerning John whether he might be the Christ John answered them all saying I baptize you with water but he who is mightier than I is coming the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie he will baptize you with his Holy Spirit in fire his wiing Fork is at hand to clear the threshing for and to gather up the wheat into his barn but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire so with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people but Herod the tetrarch who had been reproved by him for herodias his brother's wife and for all the evil things that Herod had done added this to them and he locked up John in prison John message of repentance went beyond just preaching repent for the kingdom is at hand he also spoke into the culture and showed them what repentance would look like for those who had true Faith bear fruits in keeping with repentance Herod was there listening to John's message he heard the preaching of

The good news and that repentance was a requirement for the Forgiveness of sins John calls herod's sins out for they were public sins and calls him to repentance John did it with the crowds he did it with the tax collectors he did soldiers with the religious zealots and now he did it with a king couple things to take note here that I'd like to draw your attention to First John calls out a king let me ask you this did John show dishonor to Herod in front of his wife and Friends the Bible says to honor the emperor to honor those in authority over you so is John an exception is he out of order or is he in fact honoring the king he is honoring the king he shows Honor by taking the time to call Herod to repentance for the forgiveness of sin herod's situation is one of immense depravity in fact because of his infidelity and unbridled licentiousness he would later on find himself incestuously lusting after his own stepdaughter and niece John understands that the law of God is good and it leads to Joy in life John honors Herod by preaching the good news to him and thus giving him an opportunity for God to work in his heart and life how might we show honor to those in authority over us yes it matters how we do it but it matters not how they feel about the truth second John preaches the law of God not just to a King but to a pagan King the law is for all men not just Jews or Christians the law of God is derived from God's heart and partially shown through the creation order and commanded at the creation mandate the creation mandate demands

That we spread out and fill the Earth this can only be accomplished when man and woman are in right relationship with each other this God ordained relationship is Twisted by sin and leads us all to into all sorts of depravity and perversity and this perversity if allowed to continue generationally leads to all sorts of problems that have negative impacts mentally physically and culturally the perverse lies about how familiar relationships should be lived out have direct impacts on immediate and future generations of people God's more specific law of marrying one woman and not committing adultery which is what Herod had done communicates God's loving and wise heart to mankind John the Baptist communicates God's loving heart to the Gentiles by preaching God's law to them we ought to do the same this means that when an unbeliev believing couple wants to get married we should encourage that if they come to the pastor praise God because now the pastor gets to communicate the love and wisdom of God to that couple with the understanding that this is a covenant for God's good purposes of fulfilling the creation mandate not for our own selfish purposes whatever that may be I'm lost without her he completes me I don't want to work or I don't want to do the dishes ever again or I just want tax breaks whatever the selfish motivation is it doesn't matter when they come to the preacher he gets a chance to tell them that is a wrong motivation that there is a good and better motivation and purpose for this marriage and this Union we have lost this Divine perspective of marriage and it would do us good to recover a right Theology of

It John had a good Theology of marriage and he rightly calls the Pagan puppet King to repentance verse 1920 and herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death but she could not for Herod feared John knowing that he was a righteous and holy man and he kept him safe when he heard him he was greatly perplexed and yet he heard him gladly it's interesting that Mark highlights that herodias had a grudge and not Herod Matthew's account highlights the fact that Herod wanted to kill John but could not because of the crowds both accounts give us insights into herod's own insecurity insecurities also knowing this about herodias that she wanted to put him to death is not surprising she was a vindictive manipulative Jezebel the exact description of the foul temptress as described in the Book of Proverbs but Mark here seemingly speaks well of Herod see verse 20 again for Herod feared John knowing that he was a righteous and holy man and he kept him safe when he heard him he was greatly perplexed and yet he heard him gladly Herod feared John the Greek word here is phobio which means to be afraid or frightened it's the same word that is used when Angels tell people not to be afraid it is also the same word used to describe man's reverence of holy men and God judging from what we know about Herod from this passage and others in Scriptures we know that Herod did not fear the Lord as he ought but rather that his fear lended to the understanding that he really was haunted by the thought of judgment there was genuine fear but it wasn't the right kind of fear in the Lord so why keep him safe RC Sproul famously teaches on the Holiness of God and that throughout the Scriptures and even within the nature of

Man itself there is a dichotomy of emotions that rises to the surface when we encounter Holiness on one hand there is the Curiosity of knowing what's behind the veil and on the other hand there is a shrinking Back In Fear And judgment for it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God on one hand Herod feared him because of his Superstition and on the other the Holiness of John puzzled him and this inspired him to keep him around what's he going to say next Mark goes on to say that Herod when he heard him was greatly perplexed or puzzled other versions say Herod did many things Herod was made to hesitate or Herod was greatly Disturbed all of which speak to the complexity of emotions that the presence of Holiness had on this Pagan man I believe there's also something else going on here regarding the conscience the conscience of man is a peculiar thing God gave every human being a conscience a law of God that ability to know right from wrong when one's life is lived apart from God's standard the conscience reacts and we feel guilt remorse anger or even hatred depending on the condition of our hearts and this conscience is designed to cause us to realize that we have violated the Holiness of God and that we have a problem this is good the conscience is a GI gift from God to us however there's another problem with man though and it's that he has this incredible ability to desensitize his conscience through habitual sin and unrepentance and this is why we need to continually have the word of God

Preached to our hearts Hebrews 4:12 but the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces as far as the division of Soul and Spirit of both joints and Marrow and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart 2122 but an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his Nobles and Military commanders and the Leading Men of Galilee for when herodias his daughter came in and danced she pleased Herod and his guests all right this is where you all get uncomfortable there's no need to spend too much time here but this was a great birthday party where all of herod's officials and the who's who were present it was for only for men and the girl was entertainment I'll spare you the details but I'll just say this she was not doing the macarina and Herod wasn't pleased the same way that a British guy is pleased when he watches America's Got Talent jol good job well done this was an erotic performance and herod's family tree just became a little bit more Twisted verse 23 and the King said to the girl ask me whatever you wish and I will give it to you and he vowed to her whatever you ask me I will give you up to half my kingdom oh yeah big strong man you can have half my Kingdom throwing around empty promises so we just finished Esther Xerxes makes the same statement right he says you can have half my kingdom this is hyperbolic they're not going to do it's there's too much at stake to give it away to somebody who just made you happy for a moment the difference here is first of all K the King of Persia he actually had the power and the authority to give away half his kingdom Herod was just a puny ruler over a small piece of land and only had this position because Caesar

Allowed him to his statement was halfhazard because of his drinking it was pretentious because of his insecurities and it was extremely foolish there 24 through 26 and she went out and said to her mother for what should I ask and she said the head of John the Baptist and she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked saying I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter and the King was exceedingly sorry but because of his Oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her oh foul temptress indeed this woman was so offended at the truth that when the opportunity ared she does not hesitate to reveal the depths of her depravity by requesting not just for the death of John the Baptist but also for his head for the death of one's enemy could satisfy a vengeful heart but hers goes beyond that and reveals what happens when a heart is in a constant state of unrepentance and Rebellion towards God she requests John's head be brought on a platter a true display of barbarism barbar Barbarians would often display heads on a pike to boast in their Victory and to taunt their enemies but by placing the head on a platter went beyond boasting about a victory it displayed a wicked effort to show that this type of barbarism was civilized there was a theologian a few decades ago that said America had become neopagan which just means we are no longer a Christian culture but today's commentators say no neopaganism is too soft of a word we have become barbaric oh we're educated we have we're civilized we have universities top-of-the-line medical equipment and procedures supercomputers in our pockets and yet for me much of our culture they don't even bat an eye at

1.5 million children slaughtered every year that's barbarism murdering children on the Civilized platter of lawful medical procedures but ending abortion is too nuanced of an issue to solve right it's too complicated we need more education on the matter I think we have educated oursel into ignorance and the King was exceedingly sorry but because of his oath and his guest he did not want to break his word to her the word sorry here in Greek translates to Great distress I don't know all the reasons for herod's distress one reason could be that he knew he had killed a prophet and that death would come back to haunt him in judgment yet another reason one that maybe perhaps we can all identify with is that John brought to the Forefront of herod's mind the conscience of God and that murder was a heinous sin one thing we can know is this that Herod didn't care about his Oaths in an honorable way for he was a dishonorable man he was a coward he could have rightly ordered his values in that moment and said murder murdering an innocent man is greater crime than honoring my haphazard oath under the influence but he didn't because he was a coward he was afraid to look bad he was afraid of what other people might think of him fear of man we'll conclude with this and immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head he went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave to the girl and the girl gave it to her mother and when the disciples heard of it they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb what a sad story what a drama what a birthday party sounds like a lot of the trash we watch on Netflix

Right while the officials at herod's party enjoyed the barbaric entertainment John's disciples humbly cared for him and laid him in a tomb and so ends the life of in Jesus's words the greatest of all the prophets while this story happened 2,000 years ago it had different culture different language and political economic status was different there are some things that have remained unchanged number one man's heart is deceptive and desperately wicked and that apart from God's mercy and Grace we too can become herods and herodias number two the only way to truly honor God's holiness and righteousness is to repent of your sins and bear fruit in accordance with that repentance it is not good enough to just say I love Jesus and continue living the way you did before that would show that you don't love Jesus admiring Holiness is not enough we must be confronted with it let our consciences react positively towards it by faith believing that our sin has offended God and that we deserve death and then respond to the call of God's word to repent and believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ Herod and herodias saw it they heard it they held it and they even feared it but not in the way that was required to believe it repent and be forgiven Isaiah 81 12-13 says do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy and do not fear what they fear nor be in dread it is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy and he shall be your fear and he shall be your dread then he shall become your Sanctuary let's pray Father in Heaven Help Us not to take that which is righteous and holy and hide it

Away Lord I ask that you help us gain a conscience that would be in line with your heart to help prevent us from becoming eroded by unrepentant sin and that your word would Pierce our hearts and bring us to repentance that we would that we would change our lives and bear fruit in accordance with that repentance thank you for your grace thank you for your mercy it's in these things that we pray [Music] amen I invite you to stand and join me as we sing all I have is Christ [Music] Hallelujah all I have is Christ [Music] Hallelujah Jesus Is My Life I once was lost in Darkest Night yet thought I knew the way the sin that Pro his joy in life had led me to the Grave I had no hope that you would over a reel to your will and if you had not loved me first I would refuse you still but as I ran my Hellbound race indiffer to the car lo you looked upon my helpless State and led me to the cross and I beheld God's love displayed you suffered in my place you bore the Wrath reserved for me now all I know oh always Grace [Music] Hallelujah all I have is

Christ [Music] Hallelujah Jesus Is My Life now Lord I would be yours alone and live so all might see the strength to follow your commands could never come from me oh Father use my Ransom life in any way you choose and let my song forever be my only boast is [Music] you [Music] Hallelujah all I have is Christ Hallelujah Jesus Is My Life [Music] Hallelujah all I have is Christ [Music] Hallelujah Jesus is my you may go in peace hello sorry guys one more announcement if you have your baby bottles you can put them right up here baby bottles which are technically due today for the Pregnancy Resource Center right up at the front here thanks