Latest / Mount Eaton Church / The Word God Said - Being Men of Faith - 2 Peter 1:12-21 pt.2

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The Word God Said - Being Men of Faith - 2 Peter 1:12-21 pt.2 · Mount Eaton Church

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Okay. So before we get started there, I'm going
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to read the question. You read the answer. This
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is from the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Question
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number 34. What is adoption? Adoption. Think
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about that. As a child of the living God, you
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have full rights and privileges as the king's
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children. What an amazing thing. The doctrine
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of adoption. A beautiful work of Christ through
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soteriology. Next week, we will be starting our
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journey on the genuine sound doctrine of the
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faith. Versus the false doctrine of and exposing
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those teachings through the biblical lens of
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scripture. So get ready for that. That is going
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to be a ride. And it will lovingly and kindly
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challenge you. We are going to read 2 Peter chapter
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1 verse 3 through 21. And then we will. Dig in.
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Let us pray. Father, I want to thank you so much
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for your goodness. Thank you, Lord, for your
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word. Thank you for this amazing three -chapter
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letter from Peter in the midst and given to the
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people of God in the dispersion. to help them
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to continue to carry the truth, to know who and
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in the truth we have, who is the truth and in
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the truth we have, and to know the doctrines
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of grace and the doctrines of God so that we
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may live it out rightly for all to see. Help
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us to be people of faith and to add to our faith
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virtue and knowledge and self -control and steadfastness
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and godliness and brotherly affection and love.
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May you be honored and glorified in all things
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in Jesus' name. Amen. Second Peter chapter 1
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verse 3 through the end of the chapter. His divine
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power has granted to us all things that pertain
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to life and godliness through the knowledge of
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him who called us to his own glory and excellence
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by which he has granted to us his precious and
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very great promises so that Through them, you
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may become partakers of the divine nature, having
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escaped from the corruption that is in the world
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because of sinful desire. For this very reason,
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make every effort to supplement your faith with
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virtue and with virtue knowledge and with knowledge
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with self -control and self -control with steadfastness
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and steadfastness with godliness and godliness
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with brotherly affection and brotherly affection
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with love. For if these qualities are yours and
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are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective
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and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus
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Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is
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so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten
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that he is. or that he was cleansed from his
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former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the
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more diligent to confirm your calling and election,
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for if you practice these qualities, you will
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never fall. For in this way, there will be richly
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provided for you an inheritance into the kingdom
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of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Therefore,
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I intend always to remind you of these qualities,
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though you know, them and are established in
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the truth that you have. I think it right as
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long as I am in this body to stir you up by way
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of reminder since I know that you or that the
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putting off of my body will be soon as our Lord
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Jesus Christ made clear to me. I will make every
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effort so that after my departure you may be
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able at any time to recall these things. For
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we did not follow cleverly devised myths when
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we made known to you the power and coming of
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our Lord Jesus Christ. But we were eyewitnesses
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of his majesty. For when he received honor and
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glory from the Father, from God the Father, the
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voice was born to him by The majestic glory.
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This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.
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We ourselves heard this very voice born from
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heaven. For we were with him on that holy mountain.
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And we have the prophetic word more fully. confirmed
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to which you will do well to pay attention to
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or pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark
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place until the day dawns and the morning star
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rises in your hearts. Knowing this, first of
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all, that no prophecy of scripture comes from
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someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy
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was ever produced by the will of man. But men
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spoke from God as they were carried along by
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the Holy Spirit. Oh, this is a good part of the
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chapter. This kind of carries into our discussion
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next week. But what does it mean to be a man
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of faith? Principle number one, since we are
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partakers of the divine nature, we must always,
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without fail and not reluctantly, remind each
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other of how we must live and whom we represent.
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Genuine faith is not seen in how genuinely human
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you are, but in how genuinely Christ -like you
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are. You want to see people of faith? How much
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of faith do they represent? For in 2 Peter chapter
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1, verse 5 through 7, which we just read, for
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this very reason, make every effort, supply with
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all diligence to supplement or furnish your faith,
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your firm trust and persuasion and conviction
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in Christ with virtue, which is uprightness.
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And uprightness, knowledge, the wisdom of God.
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And the wisdom of God with self -control. To
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master desires and passions. And to master desires
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and passions with steadfastness. Endurance in
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the faith. And endurance in the faith. Godliness.
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Reverential devotion. And reverential devotion
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with brotherly love. Philadelphia. Brotherly
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love. It's really no other word for it. And brotherly
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love. With love. Agape. The active love of God.
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This is what we should be adding. To our faith.
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As people of God. Specifically since it's Father's
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Day. Men. As you go. So goes your household.
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It does not mean that you're not going to struggle,
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that you and your wife aren't going to have disagreements.
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Even after 62 years, I'm sure, Ron has forgotten
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to clean a spoon and put it in the sink. Or pick
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up his socks after a long day when he says, honey,
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my back hurts. Therefore. I love this word, therefore,
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2 Peter 1, verse 12. Therefore, because of all
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of that that I just read to you, for this reason,
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I intend always, I am destined to constantly
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remind you. I want you to understand, Peter is
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at the end of his life. This is the last letter
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he is going to write. He knows he's at the end
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of his life. One, he tells this. And he is reminded
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of what Jesus had told him when he had went with
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Jesus for a walk in John 21, which we'll see
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in a minute. That Jesus said, you will be taken
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to a place you don't want to go, and you will
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be dressed by people who have never dressed you,
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and you will stretch out your hands. And so he
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knows he's at the end. And what does Peter want
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to do before he dies? To remind the people of
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God, to remind, I am reminding you as men in
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the same way, that you should live in these qualities.
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So goes the man, so goes the household. So goes
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the household, so goes the church. So goes the
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church, so goes the country. If you have any
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questions on where we are as a country, look
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at the family and look at the church. When there
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are godly homes, there are godly churches. When
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there are godly churches, there's a godly country.
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It's not by accident. I believe that God has
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guided us through these four years to this moment.
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We live in the days of wickedness and post -Christianity.
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And he is calling men everywhere. to turn and
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come to him and live rightly before him as obedient,
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committed to holiness, and loving the sacred
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by which God has placed before you. He has intended,
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he is destined to constantly remind them and
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us of these qualities. Thank the Lord that he
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has given us this letter in writing by divine
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inspiration. Though you know, And are established
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in the truth that you have. Because the gospel
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has been clearly given. The doctrine of the truth
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of Christ. Peter has faithfully provided. By
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the guiding of the Holy Spirit. Notice what he
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says in verse 13. I think it right. It's then
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right as long as I am in this body. To stir you
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up. To awaken you thoroughly. I mean we live
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in. We live in the woke. I mean, do we not? I
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mean, woke is everywhere. Woke is on YouTube.
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It's on Fox News. It's on CNN. Everybody's woke.
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But listen, they're not woke. They're sleeping.
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You know why they're not woke? They're only woke
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to the things they desire. They're not woke to
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the truth of Christ. That means they are dead
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in their trespasses and sin and not awake. But
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if you know Christ, you are. And what he's saying
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is, I am waking you up thoroughly. It means to
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walk in a bedroom and shake someone awake. Now,
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I'm warning you wives, don't do that to your
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husband. They will knock you out and then they
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will be like, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it.
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They'll think you're a burglar and you're going
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to be... You're going to be coming to church,
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and I'm going to be like, what happened? My husband
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punched me. Oh, no. Ben, Chuck, Lanny. Blake,
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no. I woke him up in the middle of the night.
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I wanted to make sure he's wide awake. So that's
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what this means, to stir you up, to awaken you
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thoroughly by way of reminder. We do this with
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our kids, my wife and I. Especially our daughter.
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I know, Ash, I'm sorry. I'm going to use you
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as an example. Because Nick is, if I'm not the
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first up, Nick is. Like 4 .30. I don't know how
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he does it. He's already dressed and everything.
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I'm like, it's 5 o 'clock in the morning. But
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my daughter, forget it. It's like, hey, the dog's
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got to go out. Uh -huh. Dog's got to go out.
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Dog's got to go out. And then she'll walk out
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and be like, can you take her out? I figured
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that. I hit home for some people. It did. So
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by way of reminder, we want to awake thoroughly.
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Since I know that the putting off of my body
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will be soon as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear
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to me. And that scene. In John chapter 21, verse
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18 and 19. Very important. Look what it says
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here. Well, there it is. Truly, truly, I say
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to you, when you were young, he's talking to
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Peter, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever
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you wanted. But when you were old, you will stretch
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out your hands and another will dress you and
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carry you where you do not want to go. This,
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he said, to show by what kind of death he was
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to glorify God. And after saying this, He said
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to him, follow me. He must take up his cross
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and follow me. Isn't that interesting? He must
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take up his cross and follow Christ. He must
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deny himself. So Peter realized he's going to
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deny himself upside down. I, and I will make
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every effort, verse 15, Peter says, I will make
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every effort so that after my departure, you
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may be able at any time to recall these things.
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So I want you to get this. As a man, what is
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your legacy? What do you want to give your kids?
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You want to give them a house? A money? Life
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insurance policy? Stuff that they could care
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less about? Though it doesn't matter how many
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times you told them it's 200 years old and it's
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worth a million dollars? Trust me, when you're
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gone, they're going to sell it and get that million
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dollars. Right? It means nothing. Your money
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means nothing. Your home doesn't mean anything.
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Your hobbies and trophies mean nothing. What
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are you going to leave? Is it Christ? Is your
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legacy Christ? May the legacy you leave be the
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constant reminder of Christ and that your kids,
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when they become men and women, say with full
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unction and conviction that you, as their father,
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left them Jesus. That is the only thing you can
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give from generation to generation. I am, through
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my father, a second generation. Through my mom,
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a first generation. My kids are second generation
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in reality. If you look at my father, third generation
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believers. Some of you sitting here are fourth
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and fifth generation believers. That's the legacy.
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How many of you know that your father, your grandfather,
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their parents were believers? How many of you
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can say that? I want you to hear that. We have
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two people with three or more generations. Any
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question on why our country is in the situation
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it is after 250 years? Why? Because they left
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them property instead of leaving them Jesus.
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You can go back generations and find out how
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long that farmland has been in the family for
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seven, eight generations. That's what I hear
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here. I haven't buried out back. Where are they
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in faith? Has their father given them Jesus?
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And has their grandfather given their father
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Jesus? And has their great -grandfather given
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their father Jesus? And has their great -great
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-grandfather given their father Jesus? Our country...
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And the church is in dire straits because we're
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not giving away Jesus. We're giving away things
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that have no value. That's what happens in fatherless
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countries and fatherless homes. Second principle.
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Jesus Christ is not a myth devised by men's imagination.
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He is the great I am, worthy of all glory, majesty,
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and power. There is no one greater. There is
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no one more loving. more kind, more holy, righteous,
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and just than him. Luke 9, 28 through 36. Now
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about eight days after these sayings, he took
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with him Peter, John, and James and went up on
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the mountain to pray. And as he was praying,
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the appearance of his face was altered and his
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clothing became dazzling white. In the gospel
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of... I think it's Matthew. It says that his
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white, his clothes became bleach white. And behold,
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two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah,
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who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure.
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Notice, Elijah and Moses are there. standing
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next to Jesus, having a conversation, and they're
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not talking about, hey, where is my mansion?
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Just talking about, Lord, when are you coming
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back? Why? Because his departure is the fulfillment
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of the promise by which Moses and Elijah spoke
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of years, centuries before. They want to see
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the fulfillment of what they had proclaimed in
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the promise of the coming Christ. When are you
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going to die? Because we know when you die and
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you resurrect, you're coming back. And when you
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come back, we know that what you have promised
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is fulfilled. When are you going to fulfill that?
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When is your departure? Which he was about to
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accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those
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who were with him were heavy with sleep. Peter
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has a problem with sleeping. We know that because
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at the Garden of Gethsemane, he had the same
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issue. Just likes to fall asleep. And it's interesting
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because he uses the term to awaken thoroughly.
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Which we just read. Now I know why. Peter is
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reminding us to stir each other, to awaken us
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thoroughly. Because if he was awake thoroughly,
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he would have gotten this. The God of all glory,
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the one who created him, is standing before him
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and his glorifiedness, though veiled. He got
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to see what Moses saw. And he says, but when
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they became fully awake, thoroughly awake, they
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saw his glory. So I want you to get this. For
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those of you who are sitting here and you don't
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know Christ, you can't see the glory of God without
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the Spirit of God. But God is calling you to
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come. If you hear his voice today, do not harden
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your hearts, but come now. Because the day is
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coming when you will not have a chance. And the
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glory of Christ will come before you and you
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will not look at him with splendor and glory
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and awe. You will fear the coming of the great
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king who will judge you for your sin as a child
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of wrath. But he wants you to become a child
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of the living God. Come now. And the two men
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who stood with him, meaning Elijah and Moses,
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and as the men were departing or parting from
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him, As Moses and Elijah had left, Peter said,
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Master, it is good that we are here. I'm privileged,
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but it's so good we're here. Let us make three
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tents. Let us make three houses of worship. This
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word tent is tabernacle. Peter knew exactly what
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he was saying. Because he knows that the tent.
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That was made by human hands. Given by God's
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verbal command. Exactly in proportion as God
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had determined it. His glory, his presence would
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rest upon the tent. Or in the tent. On the seat
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of mercy. And here, Peter's like, let's make
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three of them. Because there is no prophet greater
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than Moses and Elijah after all. One for you.
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One for Moses and one for Elijah. Knowing what
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he said. And as he was saying these things, a
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cloud came and overshadowed them. Do you get
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that? In the same way that the cloud overshadowed
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the Mount of Sinai. And sat upon the top of the
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mountain as fire and as a cloud. The presence
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of God looking like it was consuming the top
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of the mountain. This same cloud comes and rests
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upon them. And they were afraid as they entered
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the cloud. They should be. But notice what he
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says. What a beautiful statement from the Father.
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And a voice came out of the clouds saying, this
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is my son, my chosen one. Listen to him. Why?
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Because Christ is the living word. In the beginning
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was the word and the word was with God and the
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word was God and the word was speaking. Listen
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to the word, Peter. I like my voice. I mean,
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I got that little inside voice, right? I mean,
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we pray and we have these, maybe this is God
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speaking. If it's not according to the word,
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it ain't God speaking. That's why he says, Peter,
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John, James, listen to him. And Jesus was found
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alone. No other tent, Peter. No other tent. No
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other tabernacle. No other one can you worship
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but him alone. And they kept silent. Oh, I love
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that fact. That'd be kind of hard for me. But
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Peter shut his mouth. He's like, and told no
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one of those days anything of what they had seen
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until 2 Peter chapter 1. In 2 Peter chapter 1,
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verse 16 through 18. For we did not follow cleverly
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devised myths. The first coming of Jesus. His
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death, his burial, resurrection, his fulfillment
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of the law and perfection, obedience, was not
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a myth. It was real. It does not matter what
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all of the science and all the quote -unquote
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men of wisdom say they know that Jesus is a myth,
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and this is just a bunch of books devised to
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scheme you. They want you to follow their cleverly
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devised statements, but they don't know the God
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that we know. When we made known to you the power
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and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you hear
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that? The work of Christ before them in his power
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and might. And the most powerful moment in all
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of world history. That has clearly delivered
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and healed every man of every sin. The cross.
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And the resurrected Christ. There is no greater
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power. But were eyewitnesses of his majesty,
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of his greatness. For when he received honor
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and glory from God the Father, the voice was
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born to him by the majestic glory. That is my
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beloved son with whom I am well pleased. Stated
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at the beginning of Christ's ministry as his
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baptism. And now stated again after Christ proclaims
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his death and resurrection. If you have any questions,
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you can see that. I'll give it to you in a minute.
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He proclaims this truth when Jesus is symbolically
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buried and resurrected in an act of what repentance
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should look like. Jesus isn't repenting of sin.
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He didn't sin. So that all righteousness may
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be fulfilled, Christ was baptized. And what does
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the father say? This is my son in who I am well
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pleased. And the spirit of God was hovering over
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him like a dove. And again, here, it's interesting.
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If you go and you read these scriptures I'm about
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to give you, you can see right before, literally,
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right before God the father proclaims a statement,
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Jesus predicts. His death and his resurrection.
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We ourselves heard this voice born from heaven.
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For we were with him on the holy mountain. I'd
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like to know what mountain that was. Not because
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I would go and worship it there. But it would
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not surprise me if it was Mount Moriah. I would
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not be shocked. But we don't know. In Matthew
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17, one through eight, this is stated. In Mark
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chapter nine, verse two through eight, this is
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stated. In Luke chapter nine, 28 through 36,
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this is stated. In three of the four gospels,
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this statement, this is my son in who I'm well
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pleased after he proclaims his death and resurrection
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is present here. What is Peter doing? Peter is
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building our confidence that Christ is who he
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says he is, and we can fully have confidence
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in the truth. So as men of God, do you have full
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confidence in what God says is true? Do you reflect
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that in how you live at home? God's word is for
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him, by him, and through him. given for the edification
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and sanctification of his people for life and
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godliness until we all attain to the unity of
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the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of
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God to mature manhood to the measure of the stature
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of the fullness of Christ. Do you hear that?
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Put that in a nutshell. Add to your faith virtue.
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And virtue, knowledge. Knowledge, self -control.
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Self -control, steadfastness. Steadfastness,
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godliness. Godliness, brotherly love. Brotherly
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love, love. That's living the word actively.
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Hebrews chapter 1, verse 1 through 3. Long ago
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at many times and in many ways, God spoke to
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our fathers by the prophets. But in these last
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days, he has spoken to us by his son, whom he
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appointed the heir of all things. through whom
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also he created the world. He is the radiance
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of the glory of God and the exact imprint of
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his nature. And he upholds the universe by the
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word of his power. So if anyone tells you that
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the word of God is only one means of his proclamation,
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they are a false teaching church. Christ alone
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and his word, this is what he gave us, is the
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only proclamation of the truth of the gospel.
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There is nothing else inspired, only his, which
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we will see in a minute. 2 Peter 1, verse 19
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through 21, and we're done. You're like, oh,
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thank you. It's 1130. I did good since vacation.
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Can you imagine if I had two weeks? We'd be here
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at one o 'clock. And we have, we hold, we keep
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the prophetic word. The word proclaimed by the
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prophets. What did the prophets proclaim? The
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gospel. The very thing that Moses and Elijah
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had been proclaiming. When are you coming back?
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When are you going to return? When is the gospel
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going to be fulfilled? That's the proclamation
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of the prophets. More fully confirmed. How do
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we know that the gospel, that the word that the
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prophets proclaimed is fully confirmed? Empty
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cross. Do you get that? The cross is empty and
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so is the tomb. Do you get that? The God of all
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creation has resurrected from the dead and by
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that alone is proof that our God lives. He's
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not a God in the imagination of men. We are created
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by some type of protozoa or some one -celled
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organism that decided on its own to replicate.
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That's a myth by men. He is the living God who
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spoke all things into existence for his glory.
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The risen creator. That's the prophet. That's
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the one who the prophet's confirmed. Why? We
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are sure and certain to which you will do well
29:53
if you practice with propriety. Do you practice
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the gospel? Anybody, what's that mean? What do
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you mean practice the gospel? The gospel is Christ
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crucified, buried, rose again on the third day.
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Yes, that's true. But what else did Christ do?
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Lived obediently. Have you committed as men to
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be holy in your home? Well, holiness means that
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I don't get to enjoy certain things. No, it does
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not. It means when you enjoy these things, you
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do it rightly for the glory of God. God doesn't
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want us to be fools and live as if we are not
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here. But we live as lights here. Pay attention.
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Be on guard. Give heed. Attend to yourselves
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as a lamp shining in a dark place. As a lamp.
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Matthew 5, 17 through 20. We know what that says.
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After all, a man does not go and light a lamp
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and stick it under a bowl. So that no one in
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the house can see, he leaves it out so everybody
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can see in the house. Are you a light for all
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to see in your house so that no one in your home
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is walking blind in the dark? Then he says, dark.
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It's an interesting word. Doesn't mean dark without
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light. It means dingy and filthy. We have a couple
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of ponds like that around here. Some ponds I
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don't want to fish and swim in because I can't
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see the bottom. It's a little scary. I know that's
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what the big mouth bass are. And that's the only
31:28
way to get a good big mouth bass is a pond you
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can't see because they eat everything and they
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get big and fat. I get it. But that's what he's
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talking about here. A dingy, filthy place, i
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.e. the world. Until. Hey, who is the word here?
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It's a very interesting word. Hey, who? It means
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up to where? Over there. Until up to where the
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day dawns. Who is the day that dawns? Who's the
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one that rises and brings the dawn? Christ shines.
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And the morning star rises. Christ rises. Where?
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In your hearts, he says. In the seat. of your
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spiritual intelligence, spiritual faculty, and
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your spiritual understanding where the seed of
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Christ reigns in you. Does the light reign in
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you? Is he your God? Or is he just a means to
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an end to make you feel good that you have met
32:36
your requirement for the week? Knowing this first
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of all, That no prophecy, no inspired message
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of Scripture, God's Word, because that's literally
32:48
what it means, God's Word, comes from someone's
32:51
own interpretation, ellipsis, someone's own explanation
32:56
of the Scripture. Man cannot determine how to
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explain, untie, or loosen the Word of God. So,
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for no prophecy was ever produced, was brought
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to bear. The reality of the truth of God was
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not brought to bear by your own thinking. That's
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the problem with some of these preachers. They
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sit behind the pulpit, they give you a verse,
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and they go, this is what it means. Because if
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they held to the full counsel and the context
33:23
of the scripture, they would have walked rightly
33:26
before a holy God. But people don't want that.
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They want people to tickle their ears. Brought
33:32
to bear by the will, by the desire, by the inclination,
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or the desired will of any human. But men, men
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announced or preached the word of God and his
33:45
doctrine as they were carried along, as they
33:49
were led to bear, bringing forth, and producing
33:52
the truth of God by the Holy Spirit. That's called,
33:56
the reality is called inspiration. The doctrine
34:00
of inspiration. Matthew Henry says it this way,
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and this is the end of the message. He, the apostle
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Peter, tells us, we do well if we take heed to
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them. That is, apply our minds to understand
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these senses, or the sense and our hearts to
34:18
believe the truth of this sure word. Yea, bend
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ourselves to it. Do you bend yourself to the
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word that we may be molded and fashioned by it,
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that we may be forged under the heat as men drawn
34:41
by God into the heat and then beaten and pounded
34:45
to the point that he brings us to the point of
34:47
what we are to be, the tool used by God. Are
34:51
you the sword in the hand of God in the house
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that you live and in the community in which you
34:58
serve? Are you molded? The word is that form
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of doctrine in which we must be cast. Not the
35:13
doctrine that we choose, but the doctrine that
35:16
he has provided beforehand. That formally, formulary
35:26
of knowledge by which... by which we are to regulate
35:30
our thoughts and sentiments, our words and our
35:34
confessions, our whole life and conversation.
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If we thus apply ourselves to the word of God,
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we certainly do well in all respects. What is
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pleasing to God and profitable to ourselves?
35:52
And this indeed is but paying that regard. which
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is due to the oracles of God. You owe it to him
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because he has given everything for you to give
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you life and godliness to walk solely by the
36:13
word of God, not by a man dressed in a pretty
36:17
suit telling you to pray to pictures, saying
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that's the way. Christ is the only way. And his
36:26
word are the words of life. And if you walk and
36:30
you live by them, you will shine like you've
36:33
never shined before. So be people of God. Love
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him and love his word. Build upon your faith
36:46
virtue. And virtue, the knowledge of Christ.
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And the knowledge of Christ, self -control. and
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self -control, godliness, and godliness, steadfastness,
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and steadfastness, brotherly love, and brotherly
37:05
love, agape. Be like Christ, men, always, in
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all things. Father, I want to thank you so much
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for your word. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for your
37:23
message. Father, we come before you hearts broken,
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challenged, revived, awakened to be men fully
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committed to your ways. And I pray that we would
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be an example to the women and the children in
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our lives. And I pray that the women and the
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children who are here live in such a way as we
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follow Christ, they follow us because your way
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Is the only way. We thank you and praise you.
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In your holy and precious name. The name of Jesus.
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Amen.