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Biblical Manhood & Womanhood - 2 Timothy 2 - Lead By Living… · Mount Eaton Church

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Good morning, family. All right. Excellent. All
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right. If you guys would, please turn to 2 Timothy
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chapter 2. Before we do that, we will read. So
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we will read from the 1689 London Baptist Confession,
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chapter 13, section 1 of... They who are united
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to Christ, effectually called and regenerated,
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having a new heart and a new spirit created in
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them through the virtue of Christ's death and
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resurrection. are also farther sanctified really
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and personally through the same virtue by his
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word and the spirit in dwelling in them. Amen.
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So love those things. Such good stuff. So we're
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going to pray and we're going to get started.
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Okay. Father, I want to thank you so much for
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your goodness and faithfulness. Thank you, Lord,
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for your word. Thank you that you are at work
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molding and shaping and growing your people into
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the full maturity of Christ. I pray, Lord, that
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we would be people willing to make a stand on
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the truth, proclaim it boldly, walk in humility,
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and be wise in our conversations. May everything
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we do bring honor and glory to you, being obedient
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to the chief and commander in chief of our faith,
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run the race. to win the prize, and Lord, as
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farmers, that we would work the field so that
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we can enjoy the harvest. To you be honor and
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glory forever, in Jesus' name, amen. Chapter
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2, 2 Timothy, you then, my child, be strengthened
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by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what
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you have heard from me in the presence of many
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witnesses, entrust to faithful men. who will
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be able to teach others also, sharing in suffering
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as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier
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gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his
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aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An
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athlete is not crowned unless he competes according
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to the rules. It is the hardworking farmer who
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ought to have the first share of the crops. Think
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over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding
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in everything. Remember Jesus Christ, risen from
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the dead, the offspring of David, as preached
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in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound
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with chains as a criminal, but the word of God
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is not bound. Therefore, I endure everything
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for the sake of the elect, that they also may
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obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus
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with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy,
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for if we die with him, we will also live with
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him. If we endure, we will also reign with him.
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If we deny him, he also will deny us. If we are
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faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot
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deny himself. Remind them of these things, and
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charge them before God not to quarrel about words,
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which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.
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Do your best to present yourself to God as one
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approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed,
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rightly handling the word of truth. But avoid
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irreverent babble, for it will lead people into
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more and more ungodliness, and their talk will
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spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus
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and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth,
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saying that the resurrection has already happened.
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upsetting the faith of some, but God's firm foundation
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stands bearing this seal. The Lord knows those
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who are his, and let everyone who names the name
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of the Lord depart. from iniquity. Now in a great
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house, there are not only vessels of gold and
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silver, but also wood and clay, some of honorable
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use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone
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cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he
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will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart
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as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready
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for every good work. See, so flee youthful passions,
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pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace,
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along with those who call on the Lord from a
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pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish,
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ignorant controversies. You know that they breed
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quarrels. The Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome,
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but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently
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enduring evil. correcting his opponents with
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gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance,
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leading to a knowledge of the truth. And they
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may come to their senses and escape from the
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snare of the devil after being captured by him
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to do his will. It's quite a bit. Question is,
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are we going to get through the whole chapter?
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We are. You're like, that's a lot. Yes. Five
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points, five sections. and let's go for a ride.
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You guys ready? All right, first one. A genuine
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godly leader obeys the commander -in -chief of
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faith, runs the race to gain the prize, works
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the field with patience and endurance to receive
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its fruit at harvest. Therefore, do not throw
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away your confidence. which has a great reward,
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for you have need of endurance, so that when
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you have done the will of God, you may receive
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what is promised, Hebrews 10, 35 through 36.
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I want you to notice a couple things here. You
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then, my child, be strengthened by the grace
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that is in Christ Jesus. Jesus is your strength.
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You don't get strength anywhere else. You get
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strength from Him. It is an absolute necessity
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that you are fully dependent upon the King of
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kings and the Lord of lords. You need Him to
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be strong. When you're weak, He makes you strong.
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In your weakness, you find your strength. He
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is your strength, and it's in Him. Second, and
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what you have heard, Now this word means learn
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from hearing. Now I want you to get that. So
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what you've heard or what you learned from hearing
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from me in the presence of many witnesses. So
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what Paul is saying to Timothy is all the things
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that you've heard concerning the doctrine and
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the truth of Christ, you've heard and learned
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from me in the presence of many witnesses. You
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have grown in faith. He says now, this entrust,
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these things, these truths, you need to give
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to faithful men. This word entrust means to be
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kept and taught to others. You must be obedient
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in the trust, and then you must teach others
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to do the same. Exactly what we talked about
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to the kids. Do we keep the Word of God and teach
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others to do it also? And it's one thing to give
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it away. To people who aren't faithful, it's
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another to give it away to faithful men. The
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question is, what kind of man are you? What kind
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of believer are you? Are you faithful? Are you
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not faithful? What's interesting is this word
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faithful men means reliable and trustworthy.
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Reliable and trustworthy. Are you reliable and
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trustworthy to keep, hold, and do the Word of
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God? teach it. This word here, meaning who will
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be able, this is hikanas. Hikanas is the word
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fit, sufficient, or competent. Fit, sufficient,
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or competent to teach others also. That's one
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of the major problems in our churches today,
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is because there are men who are not fit, who
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aren't even competent to teach the word. And
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they're there standing behind a pulpit with thousands
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of people following them. And they have no clue
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what the word of God says. They just tell you
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what you want to hear. You get the fluffy. I
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talk about this like every week because it's
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so prevalent in our day to day. We have to have
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men who have been entrusted with the truth of
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God's word, who can teach it to others, who are
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reliable and trustworthy, and who are fit and
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sufficient and competent to do it. Too many.
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I can't help but think about the, it's not a
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political statement, so I'm just letting you
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know that. But I watched the Rose Garden signing
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of this declaration of the National Day of Prayer.
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Does anyone realize the representatives of the
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religious community that were present there?
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Paula White? Are we serious? That's the Christian
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evangelical representative of the faith of Jesus
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Christ for the National Day of Prayer, along
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with all the ecumenical, non -believing, quote
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-unquote Christians of all kinds of, we call
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that a National Day of Prayer. That's crazy.
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Why? Because we have entrusted the truth of God
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to people who are not fit, sufficient, or competent,
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which means they don't give out truth. They just
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give out lies. Come on. I can't help but, as
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a pastor, sit there and just cringe at some of
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these quote -unquote teachers of the gospel.
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Now, Share in suffering. So not only should these
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people be fit, sufficient, and competent to teach
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others, but he also tells Timothy, share in suffering.
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Suffer hardship together with one another. Do
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we suffer hardship together with one another?
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I will tell you, it's one of the things as a
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pastor that as a believer in Christ, you must
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learn to do and do well. If you don't learn to
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suffer well, you can't shepherd well. And if
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you don't learn to, if you can't suffer well
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and learn to suffer well, then when you suffer
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with others, you actually don't really spend
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time with them at all. And I've seen this in
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some pastors too, where there's hurting within
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the church, within the family of God, there's
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hurting within people and they don't spend time
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talking with them. They give like 30 minutes.
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Like 30 minutes is enough time to help. When
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you counsel, it's not a timeline. God guides
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the conversation. God guides the counseling.
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God determines what that person needs in that
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conversation. Learn to suffer with one another.
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Do you suffer with others? Are you willingly
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suffering with those who are suffering? Are you
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putting yourself out there? Hebrews chapter 10
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says that the believers willingly went out and
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suffered with them and accepted the plundering
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of their property. Are you willing to suffer
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with each other? As a good soldier of Christ
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Jesus, Paul says. Notice he doesn't say as a
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good believer. He says as a good soldier. Why?
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How many of you guys have been in the military?
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What's the number one responsibility being on
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the field? No one gets left behind. That's what
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it means. No one gets left behind. If you suffer,
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I'm suffering with you. We go together. You're
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not alone in this. No soldier, no one who leads
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soldiers to battle gets entangled in civilian
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pursuits. This is hard for me. I will be honest
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with you. Lord knows there are times I want to
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get on my soapbox. There's times when it's proper
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to deal with issues. But this is difficult. It's
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one of the reasons why if you go on my Facebook,
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either I delete things because I guess the Lord
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convicts me and so does my wife. But I don't
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put stuff on there. Why? Because we get involved
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with things that have nothing to do with the
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kingdom. Notice what it says here. No soldier
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gets entangled in civilian pursuits. This word
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civilian pursuits is the idea of getting involved
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with issues not related to the kingdom. I mean,
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how many things do we get involved in that have
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nothing to do with Jesus? A lot. Why do we, why
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should we as leaders of the church not get involved
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in the junk because our aim is to please the
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one who has enlisted us into his army. I want
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to make Jesus happy, pleased with my service.
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Now, that's hard. I know it's hard. An athlete
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is not crowned unless he competes according to
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the rules. So if I'm running a race and I cross
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the finish line and the judge comes to me and
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says, you know what? You just tripped that guy,
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you know, trying to get into just like right
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there. You just did in front of everybody. I'm
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like, no, I'm first. I crossed the finish line
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first. I'm the winner. Well, there's a rule.
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You can't trip the runner running next to you.
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You know, how many guys have saw the girl running
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with the baton? And this girl is chucking right
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past her and she just like hauls up, like not
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running like this, like who in the world comes
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up like this and kabong somebody? Kabong! How
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many of you guys have seen Bugs Bunny? I'm a
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big, if you haven't seen, so all you young people
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have no idea of Bugs Bunny. But Bugs Bunny kabongs.
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You know, I crown you king of Nottingham. Kabong!
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You know, she kabonged her really badly. That
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picture just floods my brain. That being said,
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do you run the race according to the rules? God
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has set the rules for the Christian race right
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here. You don't get the choice of what rules
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you obey and follow. You follow them all. Jesus
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says, if you love me, you will obey my commands.
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Now, second, it is the hardworking farmer. who
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ought to have the first share of the crops. I
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mean, don't you want to enjoy the harvest and
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the work that you have put in? So Paul then turns
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and says to Timothy, think over what I say. The
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Lord will give you understanding. What's the
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understanding of all this? It's very simple.
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Obey the commander in chief of the faith. Run
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the race to gain the prize. Work. the field with
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patience and endurance to receive the harvest.
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Your work is not forgotten if you do it well.
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Godly leaders are not ashamed of Christ the King
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and his gospel. They are willing to suffer for
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it. For I have been crucified with Christ, yet
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I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The
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life I now live in this body, I live by faith
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in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself
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for me. Galatians 2 .20. You're like, how do
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you know that's my favorite verse? After all,
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it's on the wall in my office. It's the key to
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the Christian living. The key, you're dead. Let
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Jesus live it. Remember, call to mind, recollect.
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Paul says to Timothy, remember, recollect Jesus
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Christ. What about him? Risen from the dead.
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He's the risen savior. The offspring of David,
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reigning king. As preached in my gospel. Not
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only did Jesus come to die on the cross, but
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he rose from the dead to show he has victory
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over sin, death, and the grave. And he reigns
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as king on the throne of David. Does your gospel
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carry the weight of the risen Christ and the
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reigning king? And he says, for which I am suffering,
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bound with chains as a criminal. In arrest. He's
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been arrested. He's locked up. And he is stuck
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there. He can't leave. He's in house arrest.
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And what does he do? He writes letters. All of
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the letters you read. He writes letters. The
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Word of God is not bound. You might be able to
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bound the person. You might be able to imprison
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the person, but you can't imprison the Word of
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God. Take it from me. God will speak regardless
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of whether I have the written word or not. He
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speaks regardless because his word is living
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and active. The word of God is not bound. It's
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not stuck by chains, regardless of anything that
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someone would try to do, especially in the days
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to come. Therefore, he says, I endure everything
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for the sake of the elect. I endure. everything
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for the family. Do you? Are you willing to endure
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everything for the family? And are you willing
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to endure everything for the family that have
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not come home yet? We have brothers and sisters
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that aren't home yet. That being said, says this,
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he says it this, he says that they also may obtain
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salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal
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glory, not temporary temporal glory, eternal
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glory. Are you going and getting the family?
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Bring them home. Bring them home. The saying
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is trustworthy. If we died, with him, we will
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also live with him. If we endure, we will also
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reign with him. If we deny him, he also will
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deny us. If we are faithless, he remains faithful,
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for he cannot deny himself. Regardless of what
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we do, Christ always wins. Godly leaders avoid
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foolish controversies. not pertaining to the
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kingdom and of Christ. What's this mean? Don't
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get into stupid arguments about nothing. It's
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a waste of time. Walk in wisdom towards outsiders,
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making the best use of the time. Let your speech
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always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that
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you may know how you ought to answer each person.
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Colossians 4, 5 through 6. Remind them of these
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things, Paul says to Timothy. Timothy, remind
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the people of these things. What things? All
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the things I just told you. Don't get involved
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in civilian affairs. Preach the gospel. Christ,
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the risen Savior, the reigning King. All the
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things that I've just said, remind them of them
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and charge. Earnestly affirm is the idea here.
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Earnestly affirm them before God not to quarrel
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about words, not to dispute over trivial things.
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It's crazy. Why do Christians do this all the
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time? Because I have an opinion. I'm going to
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say this as lovingly as I possibly can. God doesn't
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care about your opinion. Your opinion doesn't
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matter when it comes to the truth. God says what
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he says, whether you like it or not. God don't
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care about your opinion. Opinions are like, nevermind.
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It was always lit somewhere. Sounds kind of harsh,
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doesn't it? Because if God was moved by everyone's
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opinion, would he ever get anything done? Therefore,
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look what it says. Why are these things important?
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Why should we not quarrel or dispute about trivial
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things? Because they're not good, which does
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no good, but only ruins. Catastrophe is the word
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here. It's the word we get the word catastrophe
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from. It only subverts, overthrows, and destroys
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the errors. It doesn't help anybody. Paul says
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it this way. Do not let any unwholesome talk
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come out of your mouths, but only that which
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is useful for building up others. Stay out of
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disagreements and arguments that mean absolutely
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nothing. And what we do as Christians is we find
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a reason to fight instead of preaching the gospel.
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We got all kinds of things that we can get involved
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in and picket at. Picketing doesn't do anything.
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How about if you sit down with that person and
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preach them and teach them and bring them the
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love of Jesus? Drives me nuts. Anyway, we should
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be totally different. I mean, can you see the
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difference between the believer who pickets and
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complains because it's our freedom to do so in
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the country versus the non -believer? Is there
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any real difference? No. They're both complaining
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about something they can't control. Just saying.
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Look what it says here. Do your best. Spudazzo.
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I kind of like that. Spudazzo sounds a little
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Italian. Spudazzo. Spudazo, hasten, exert oneself.
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Are you hastening? Are you exerting yourself
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to present yourself to God as one approved? Are
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you putting in the work? Or do you come to church
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to be told what you should do? Or are you spending
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time challenging what you've been told? proving
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that that teacher is right. And then if he is
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right, are you willing to change what is wrong
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in your theology? Because every one of us are
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theologians. Now, look what it says. This word
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approved, dakemas is the word here. It means
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to approve by testing, tried, and genuine. Do
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you approve? Have you proved it by testing it,
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trying it, and finding it to be genuine? That's
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the type of person that you should become, one
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who is approved, one who has been proven by detesting,
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by being tried and proven to be genuine, a worker,
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a doer, a laborer, a practitioner of the Word
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of God, who has no need to be ashamed, no cause,
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or has anything to do with being ashamed. There
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can be nothing brought against you whatsoever.
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That you could be ashamed that you have mishandled,
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misused, misappropriated the word and the truth
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of God. Rightly handling is the word here. And
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this word rightly handling means to make straight
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and smooth as if you were cutting a paper. What
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are we cutting? What are we making straight and
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smooth? The word of truth. Are we making straight
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and smooth the word of truth that we are fitting
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into that according to his purpose and will?
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Notice again, verse 16, he says, but avoid irreverent
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babble. Reference verse 4 and 14 again. This
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is now the second time, almost the third time
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that he tells them, stop arguing about stupid
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stuff. Why? Because it will lead people into
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more and more palas, or palus is the word here,
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means much ungodliness. And their talk will spread
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like gangrene. Mortification. Now, you ever looked
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at something that was gangrenish? Once it's gangrene,
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you can't make it un -gangrene. You can't heal
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gangrene. You cut it off. It's mortified. It's
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beyond repair. It is dead. The only way to get
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rid of something that's dead is to cut it off.
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That's the idea here. Now, think about that.
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When we get involved in this foolish conversations,
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this irreverent babble, Then we lead people into
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much ungodliness. And as a result, the talk spreads
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like gangrene. If you have any question about
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that, look at some of these guys who are teaching
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and preaching today. Why do I talk about this
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all the time? One, I'm going on sabbatical for
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a month. And we have five godly men who are going
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to come and give you the word. Praise God. Do
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you know how many churches don't have that? Holy
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smokes. Now, he mentions these two particular
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guys. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus.
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Now, if you went to Bible study on Wednesday,
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we talked about 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians.
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And these two gentlemen went around saying that
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Jesus returned and they got left behind. We read
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that in a minute. Isn't that interesting? Why
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would Paul mention these two guys in his letter
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to Timothy? Because Timothy... went to meet Paul
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in Corinth when he left Thessalonica. Isn't that
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interesting? So, the very thing that Paul's talking
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about here is mentioned in 1 Thessalonians chapter
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2 and 2 Thessalonians, I mean, 1 Thessalonians
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chapter 5 and 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Now,
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What happens with these men? Well, they swerved
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from the truth. They've shipwrecked their life.
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They've become ineffective, worthless, saying
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that the resurrection has already happened. Now,
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I'm a Reformed guy. You guys know that. So to
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some of our Reformed gentlemen who teach, this
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may be a little bit of a problem, I think, in
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how they present that the resurrection has already
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happened. If it is, we're in trouble. So it has
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not. Not the second one. You're like, there was
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a first resurrection? Yes, there was a first
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resurrection. When Jesus was crucified, all the
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graves were open and they were just waiting for
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Jesus to come out. And many saw them after his
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resurrection, saw the resurrected people afterward.
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That's the first resurrection. There is a second
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coming. A second resurrection is coming. That's
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the resurrection they're talking about here.
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It has not happened yet. How do we know? But
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this is what it says. But God's firm foundation
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stands bearing this seal. Now I want you to notice
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he uses this terminology for a reason. He says
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God's promise concerning your redemption is absolutely
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guaranteed. It's a seal for you. A guarantee.
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This truth you can stand on, and it is an absolute
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guarantee. The Lord knows those who are his.
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Get that. The reason why he hasn't returned yet
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is because you're here. He hasn't forgotten you.
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And let everyone who names the name of the Lord
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depart from iniquity. Get your life cleaned up.
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You want to make sure that when he returns, he
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finds you busy. And he finds you full, controlled
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by the Spirit, living a life that is holy and
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good. Godly leaders must maintain a holy and
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faithful life to be useful and usable. Now, if
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anyone builds on the foundation with gold and
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silver, precious stones, hay, wood, and straw,
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each one's work will become manifest, for the
28:58
day will disclose it. Because it will be revealed
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by fire, and the fire will test what sort of
29:05
work each one has done. If the work that anyone
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has built on the foundation survives, he will
29:11
receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned
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up, he will suffer loss, though himself will
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be saved. but only as through fire, 1 Corinthians
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3, 12 through 15. Interesting enough, Paul uses
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the same terminology here. 2 Corinthians 2, 20
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through 21. Now, in a great house, Paul uses
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this term, God's family, God's house. There are
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not only vessels of gold and silver, but also
29:45
of wood and clay. So this is not... The scripture,
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contextually, that talks about the God out of
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the same lump of clay creates vessels for noble
29:57
use and vessels of ignoble use. It's not what
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he's talking about there. Here he's talking about
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vessels that are already in the house. Vessels
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that are clean and vessels that are dirty. That's
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why I use 1 Corinthians 3, 12 through 15. God's
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vessels. Notice what he says here. They're not
30:15
only vessels of gold and silver, but also wooden
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clay, some for honorable honorable use, meaning
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usable, and some dishonorable, meaning unusable.
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I don't know about you, but sometimes my dishwasher
30:27
doesn't do the job. I go in, get a cup of coffee.
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What do I find? Caked and burnt on the bottom
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of the coffee cup. Yep, you guessed it. Like
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why did not, why did that not clean? It's pretty
30:41
disgusting. So I don't want to use it. It's not
30:43
usable. That's the idea here. Therefore, if anyone
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this word tis, if any certain one among the vessels,
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cleanse himself to clean thoroughly, purify or
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clean out himself from what is dishonorable,
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meaning his sin. Get your stuff right. That's
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what he's talking about up here. Let everyone
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who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.
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Clean up your junk. Notice how he continues in
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this thought. If he cleans up his stuff, he will
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be a vessel for honorable use. He will be usable
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and a valuable object for God, set apart as holy,
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meaning that God has set apart from profane things
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and dedicated for his use, meaning useful. He
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can use you when you clean up your trash. Can
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you imagine if I was shepherding and my life
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was a shipwreck and it was a disgusting mess.
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What kind of value or use would I be? They expect
31:53
it from pastors, but God expects it from every
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one of his children, not just the leaders of
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the church. Lord knows we have a lot of them
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that are in question. So useful to the master
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of the house, meaning that the value, the vessels
32:09
that are already in the house. are for his bidding.
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And if your life is dirty, he can't use you.
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Notice what he says here. Useful for the master
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of the house, ready for every good work. I guess
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if I was a dirty, messed up vessel, I might take
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it out back to go use it to dig something maybe.
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That'd be kind of nasty. Bring it back in and
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drink some soda out of it. Godly leaders grow
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and develop in loving God, his word, his ways,
32:44
and his things. You want to be a vessel for honorable
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use? You want God to use you? You want to clean
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up your vessel? Here it is. This is the answer.
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Grow. and develop in God's love, his word, his
32:59
ways, and his things. Look carefully then how
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you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making
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the best use of the time, because the days are
33:06
evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand
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what the Lord's will is. Ephesians 5, 15 through
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17. What's his will? Be obedient. End of the
33:17
chapter. Here we go. 22 through 26. So flee youthful
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passions. Epithume. Epe Thume means get rid of
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forbidden desires, cravings, and lusts. Young
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men, clean up your stuff. Do you know how many
33:35
men are addicted to pornography? Just in this
33:38
room. If we had 100 men, it'd be 99%. That's
33:43
the average. 90%. Nine out of every 10 men. You're
33:47
like, what? Do you know what it is for women?
33:51
Almost the same. Pornography is not a man's issue.
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It's a lust issue. Now, it's hard. It's not easy.
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Flee youthful lusts. Get rid of forbidden desires,
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craving lusts, and pursue diako. Earnestly endeavor
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to acquire. Seek with all your heart righteousness,
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faith, love, and peace. Seek the kingdom of God
34:17
and his righteousness. Notice it says that. Same
34:21
idea here. Earnestly endeavor to acquire righteousness,
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faith, love, and peace along with those who call
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on the Lord, along with the true family of God
34:33
from a pure heart. We do it together. We don't
34:36
live life apart from each other. We live life
34:40
with each other. When you struggle, I struggle.
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When you're hurting, I'm hurting. When you're
34:48
in need, I'm in need. We do it together. never
34:53
alone, have nothing to do, here it is again,
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with foolish, ignorant controversies. Why? You
35:01
know they breed quarrels. I mean, why do you
35:04
think people like, there's two things we don't
35:07
talk about at the dinner table. Go ahead. Okay.
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Now think about that. Can't talk about religion.
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What else are Christians going to talk about?
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Makes no sense. Just don't get involved with
35:27
dumb stuff. Talk about the things that matter.
35:30
Why? Because the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome.
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This word quarrelsome means war with words. He
35:38
must not be fighting over foolish things that
35:41
don't matter because he wants to try to make
35:44
a point. But he must be kind to everyone, able
35:48
to teach. patiently enduring evil. In other words,
35:53
patiently enduring the ills and wrongs of life.
35:56
What kind of man should he be? He should correct.
36:01
He should castigate. He should be molding the
36:04
character of others by reproof and admonition.
36:08
He should be castigating. He should be admonishing
36:11
his opponents with gentleness, with the truth
36:14
of the word of God. God may, perhaps, he may
36:17
give them repentance. And repentance is one brought
36:21
to repentance, and then God changes the mind.
36:26
He brings them to a changed life, then the mind
36:30
is changed. That's called sanctification. You
36:33
don't change your mind about God and then come
36:35
to Jesus. You know what, God? I really hate you.
36:38
Oh man, you know what? I'm changing my mind.
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I just decided I think you're amazing. But that's
36:43
what we were taught. Repentance is not the change
36:45
of mind. Repentance is a change. Of the creature.
36:50
The creature is no longer a creature of death
36:53
and evil. He's been a creature of life. And as
36:56
a result of being changed to life, made a new
36:59
creature, God changes the mind. He renews the
37:02
mind with the word of God. If you have any question
37:05
about that, Romans chapter 12, verse 2. Okay.
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Now, here we go. This change of mind may lead
37:14
to the knowledge of truth. May lead to faith.
37:19
which was given, faith and truth, which was given
37:22
through the partaking of faith. This whole change
37:25
of the knowledge of the truth of God, of the
37:27
truth of Christ, comes as a result of God giving
37:30
his faith to the dead creature. It's interesting.
37:36
Sort of like a spiritual shock pad, I guess.
37:40
Now, what happens to these people? They may come
37:46
to their senses, maybe. But you ever have people
37:49
that you share the love of God with and you just,
37:50
you look at them, they look at you like a deer
37:53
in headlights and going, how come you can't understand
37:54
this? I mean, you can't get any more simple than
37:57
that. It's because they're not supposed to understand
37:59
it. They may, not always, but may come to their
38:03
senses and escape the snare of the devil. For
38:06
those of us who have been on the conversation
38:08
for several months on the issue of Satan, the
38:11
devil, and the demons. This is an example of
38:14
that. We talked about that he snares people.
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He entraps them. He puts a noose around them
38:21
with false accusations and slander and lies.
38:27
And as a result, all of those people who have
38:30
been ensnared and entrapped and noosed by him
38:35
are now out there teaching the same nonsense.
38:38
And it gets taught from person to person. It's
38:41
the same idea. As discipleship. If you have any
38:44
question about that, Jesus says that to the Pharisees,
38:47
does he not? What's he say to the Pharisees?
38:50
He says, you are like your father, the? Okay.
38:56
And they went about teaching. And that's exactly
38:58
what these two men did. Called a lie. Ensnared
39:03
people in lies. What happens when they're ensnared?
39:06
Where after being captured, caught. by his lies,
39:12
by his snares, by his entrapments to do his will,
39:17
to go out and propagate the same stuff. Don't
39:21
we see that going on in the world today? Propagating
39:24
the same stuff, doing the same things. And we
39:28
see that all the time, i .e. the Pope. When are
39:34
God's people going to have the courage and strength
39:38
and determination to stand solely on the truth
39:41
and not argue about foolish things. It's very
39:45
difficult and it's not easy, but God is good.
39:52
God is good. All right. Father, I want to thank
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you so much for your goodness and faithfulness.
39:59
Thank you, Lord, that we got through this chapter.
40:01
Thank you for all that you're doing in the lives
40:04
of your people. draw us, help us, Lord, to seek
40:08
righteousness, faith, love, to endeavor, to walk,
40:14
and to learn, and to grow in truth. We praise
40:16
you and thank you for your faithfulness, your
40:18
goodness. In Jesus' name, amen.