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Standing Fast in the Faith (Part 7) · Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons

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Welcome to NECF sermons. Each message here is
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designed to uplift and strengthen you in your
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walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until
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the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive
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right in. We're going to continue with our teaching
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on standing fast in the faith. Standing fast
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in the faith. The last time I taught I think
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was April. I didn't finish off certain parts
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and I think we have some parts to tidy up on.
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And our key text is from 1 Corinthians 16 verse
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13. 1 Corinthians 16 verse 13, it says, Watch,
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stand fast in the fate. Be brave, be strong.
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Watch, stand fast in the fate. Be brave, be strong.
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We're going to be looking at being brave. That's
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from the New King James. We're going to be looking
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at being brave. We're going to look at being
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brave. And I want to just recap for the sake
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of those that are joining us, because this is
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part seven of the teaching. This is part seven
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of the teaching. And Apostle Paul in this first
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letter to the Church in Corinth ends with this
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series of commands. And you may not notice it,
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but these four different commands are military
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order. They are military terms. They are military
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terms to watch, to be at alert, to stand, to
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be on guard. The NLT will say to be on guard.
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And you know, it's military. That's a very military
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terminology, to be on guard. If you're a civilian,
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you just move around about your entire day, except
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if you have some people that are military conscious,
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they're always looking around. It depends on
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where you grew up from. You're always looking,
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even when there's nothing. And you watch. Standing
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fast is also a military term. Be brave is also
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a military term. Be strong is a military term.
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And these words are what you would use for people
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in the military or even athletes. We are having
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the World Cup and a lot of things are happening.
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Some people are losing, some people are winning,
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some people are drawing. And notice that there's
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a mindset that the athletes go into the game
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house, listen to someone talk about how they
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interview the athletes and they ask them certain
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things. And the athletes, even though it's scary,
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they try not to communicate fear. They try not
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to communicate fear. They will tell you, they
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will say things like, it's exciting. They're
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looking forward to their tournament, they're
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looking forward to the game, they're looking
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forward to this. The athletes don't communicate
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fear because that in itself puts you at a point
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of disadvantage. It will undermine all your preparation.
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Because the moment you have a mindset of losing,
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you have already started to lose. Those of us
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that are students, if you say, I'm going to fail
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for this exam, even with all the preparation
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you did, you're going to make mistakes. because
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you have put yourself in a situation where you
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are panicking. And what Apostle Paul is doing
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in this command and this charge to the church
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is bringing the attention to how it is important
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for them to guard whatever it is that they have
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received, to stand fast in the faith and the
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doctrine that they have received, also to be
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brave. to be brave. And there's something about
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being brave that doesn't keep you, you don't,
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you're not quiet. You're not quiet. You're not
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quiet. And there's a stance, even though when
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you, when a person is brave, it's seen in their
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actions. It's seen in how they act. And even
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a strong person is seen now. All of those things
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are very key ingredient for success, very key
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ingredient for doing anything at all. And what
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I want to do is for the purpose of just touching
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on the things that we've looked at. I want us
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to just see how the book itself starts off. We
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see in the Corinthians, the first Corinthians,
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we see in the first chapter. Apostle Paul starts
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by first and foremost the introduction, the usual
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introduction, and then he thanks God. And then
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when you come down to the 10th verse of that
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particular chapter, you see him already starting
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to address issues that was going on, issues of
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division. And basically the aim of writing this
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letter is to be able to address certain things
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that is going on in the church, be able to correct
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certain things that are happening. And it's very
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important that we understand that when things
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are going south, we have to be bold enough. We
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have to be brave to speak truth. We have to be
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brave to come back to the foundations to the
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basics because when people don't understand in
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the root of all the problems are going on here
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is because people are not watching people are
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not standing fast in what they believe people
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are not brave enough in the positive sense because
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you can see people brave doing evil and people
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are not strong in the Lord people are not holding
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on to the truth that they have received and that's
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why he starts off by admonishing them. He appeals
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to them. He pleads with them. He pleads with
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them. He says this division thing should stop.
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Because at the heart of it is the one God that
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we're serving. At the heart of it is what have
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you like why are we having to do this? Praise
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God. Why are we having to be addressing this?
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This should not be happening if you really know
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the truth and you're holding on to the truth.
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Like you're not leaving out your identity. Praise
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God you're not leaving out your identity and
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he continues to tell them and I and I think we
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started this teaching by When we started in the
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first part we say paying attention One very key
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thing that guarantees that you don't miss out
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on anything is when you are listening when you
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are attentive and That's why he says watch right
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watch be at a lot because if you This if you
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snooze you lose You will miss out on important
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details if you look out and come. Like the players
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that are playing in their sports. The moment
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a player decides to daydream, when he comes back,
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other players will just be looking at him. Because
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you can't be, your goal is the ball. and the
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people that are around you, you should not miss
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out. And it's in everything for success, for
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you to succeed, even in the work of ministry,
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you have to pay attention. But we're in the world
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and in a place where people just are looking
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at you, but they're not listening. And it's very
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important that, and even in the things he's communicating,
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he's saying that it's important, right? And then
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he goes down to even the... whole idea of standing
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fast in the faith. Notice that there's something
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that's been handed to them. They want to keep
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holding on to that thing. And that is where you
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see Him taking time to teach. To teach. He takes
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time to teach. To teach. Even His letters, you
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see Him communicating truth again and again and
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again to remind them of their reality. To remind
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them of their identity. To remind them. He keeps
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doing that. Keeps doing that. Warning them of
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the dangers of of the different thing he addresses.
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I think in the last teachings we talked about
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that division, right? We talked about division.
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We talked about even the different, the false
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teachings. The false teachings. And I want us
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to see that. Let's start from there in 15. 1
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Corinthians 15 verse 1. 1 Corinthians 15 verse
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1. It says, lest anyone, 1 Corinthians 15 verse
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1, not 1, 15. It says, moreover brethren, I declare
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to you the gospel which I preach to you. I declare
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to you the gospel which I preach to you, which
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also you have received, and in which you stand."
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See that word again, in which you stand. He declares
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to them the gospel that has been preached to
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them. If you see the second chapter, it says,
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by which also you are saved. If you hold fast
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to the word which I preach to you, unless you
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believed in vain. Three now, you see where he
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talks about it being delivered. Say, for I delivered
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to you, first of all, in the NLT says most importantly,
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most importantly, that which I have also received,
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that Christ died for our sins according to the
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scriptures. Let's look at four. It says, and
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that he was buried. and that he rose again on
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the third day according to the scriptures. Stop
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there. He's laying a foundation to address a
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certain issue. Because some people had come around
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to say, why do they believe in the resurrection
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of the dead? Why do they believe in it? And noted
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at the root of that is if you don't believe in
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the resurrection of the dead, which is what he
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starts the chapter because this chapter goes
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down to eight. This chapter goes down from 1
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to 58 58 he starts to because it's very important
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and he takes his time to talk and Explain why
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if you hold on to that doctrine, we're gonna
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look at that We are gonna do just a big bit of
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a recap if you hold on to that doctrine that
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false doctrine You are undermining the truth
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Praise God means that if you swallow a lie the
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The consequence is that you will be leaving a
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lie and walking in a lie. And that's why He challenges
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them. Say, look, this thing was passed to you,
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except if you're saying it is in vain, but if
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you had received this that was passed to you,
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then walk in it. Then walk in it. Don't allow
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somebody to lie to you. Don't allow somebody
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to lie to you. Praise God. And when a day and
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an age where... a lot of people are peddling
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lies and if you're not careful you will swallow
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a lie and leave with the consequence of that
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lie. Praise God. And he establishes that and
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he goes on and on and on and on till he explains
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and first and foremost he establishes the fact
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that Christ resurrected. Right? Which is what
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he starts to build here. Christ resurrected and
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if he did resurrect means that anyone that believes
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in Him will also be resurrected. They will not
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die. And that's why He uses the word. They're
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very careful. You see the word sleep. He used
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the word sleep to communicate death because when
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we hear death, we feel everyone here will say
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this person is normal. But there's something,
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because of the hope that we have, because of
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the hope that we have, we understand that death
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is not the end of the story. But it's the beginning
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of something better. Praise God. But it paves
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way for the beginning, for something better.
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Praise God. And we see that in the verse 58 of
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this same chapter, he concludes with a dear four.
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He says, dear four, my beloved brethren, be steadfast,
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immovable, always abounding in the walk of the
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Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain
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in the Lord. Praise God. Knowing that your labor
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is not in vain in the Lord because certain things
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will come to fight against or oppose or oppose
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the truth that you have received. You oppose
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the truth that you are holding on to. Certain
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things will oppose it, but you have a responsibility
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to contend. Right? You have a responsibility
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to contend. Some other translation will say defend
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the faith. Because if you're holding on to something,
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you know that someone really wants what you have
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if it's something of value. Praise God. You have
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to defend it. You have to hold it like your life
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depends on it. And it says, stand fast, which
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is on our translation, we'll say be strong. Right?
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Immovable, always abounding. What we should be
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abounding in is the walk. And there's a walk.
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Praise God. There's a walk to be done. I was
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very grateful to God for that, brother, because
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there's walk. There are people that need to hear
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the gospel, right? There are people in your family
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that need to be strong, to hold on, to keep.
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There are a lot of lies that will put people
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at a point of disadvantage when they have a lot
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to be grateful for, a lot to be thankful for,
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a lot to live for. Praise God. We have a lot
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to live for. We have a lot to do and we want
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to stay in that place of doing the work. It says,
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immovable, always abounding in the work of the
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Lord. And all of this statement goes to prove
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that there will be oppositions. There will be
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oppositions. Hence the need for bravery. Hence
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the need to be brave. Hence the need to contend.
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I want us to see in Jude, and we will see this
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in Jude 1 verse 3. I want us to see that even
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the Apostle Peter also addresses individuals
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that will come to peddle false doctrines, false
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teachings. In Jude 2, it does the same. Peter
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in 2 Peter verse 2 starts and talks, devotes
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a whole chapter to tell you how this is very
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important. He dedicates a whole chapter to talking
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and teaching about people that peddle false teachings.
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In Jude 1 -3, we see that it says, Beloved, where
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I was very diligent to write to you, concerning
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our common salvation. I found it necessary to
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write to you, exalting you to contend earnestly
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for the faith which was once for all delivered
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to the saints." No, no, no. Go to the second
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verse. That's four. Jude one verse four. Jude.
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Okay, it says, for certain men have crept in
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unnoticed. It says, for certain men have crept
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in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out, we
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discussed this in the cell, their actions is
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what placed them in that position. Who long ago
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were marked out for condemnation, ungodly men,
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who turn the grace of God into lewdness and deny
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the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
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So notice that there's the characteristics of
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these people. I think the NLT will say they warmed
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from underneath the snorkel. And these people,
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they are taking their time to infiltrate, taking
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their time to lie, taking their time to do all
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manner of things. I think I heard a minister
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in the UK one time talking about how a certain
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cult group was infiltrating the churches around
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and they were teaching things like, it's okay
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to lie if you're going to get away from trouble.
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It's okay. They were just teaching all manner
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of things and teaching that it's okay to split
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the church. It's not a problem. In fact, they
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would go to the school and say there were divisions.
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That's not today. Divisions started. It was just
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communicating all manner of things. And if anyone
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is not holding fast or standing fast. Yes, you'll
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be saved, but you'll be in another direction.
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And as we have been taught, it's not a problem
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for you to, because the devil knows that you
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are already saved, right? But if he can only
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get you to live in error, to live in what is
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not your identity, it's kind of a partial win
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for him. So you want to ensure that you are studious,
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you know what his word for You put yourself on
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the way you'll be taught and learn. Because learning
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is important for growth. Nobody grows mentally.
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Nobody grows. There's no growth that happens
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without any form of learning. If you want to
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be trained, you have to learn. Training happens
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by learning. And that's why Apple Support takes
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its time to address the false teachings, the
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false doctrine. And I want us to see something.
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I think I had done this before, but it's... something
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that is important and worth mentioning. The reason
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why, because the Bible that we have is in English
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language, and we'll see that when we come to
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the text, the key passage, which is, be brave.
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I'm doing all of that just to get us to that
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point. The reason why we go into the use of Greek
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words, Hebrew words, is because our Bible that
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we have in our hands is in English language.
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And you can miss the richness of what has been
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said if you don't go back to it and see. Because
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in our text or when we read our Bibles, we'll
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see doctrine and teaching. And that one or those
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words used interchangeably can mean three different
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Greek words. It can mean three different Greek
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words and it can communicate, depending on the
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context, something different. Praise God. Something
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different. And we'll see the first of them, which
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is the first of my words I'm talking about is
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doctrine, or teaching. Doctrine or teaching.
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Doctrine or teaching. And one of the words is
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Didache. One of the words is Didache. D -I -D
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-A -C -H -E. D -I -D -A -C -H -E. And this word
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means the content of the teaching or what is
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being taught. The content of the teaching or
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what has been taught. The content of the teaching
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or what has been taught or the truth that has
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been passed down. The content of the teaching
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or what has been taught or the truth that has
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been passed down. And in the gospels, you will
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see where this is used to qualify the teaching.
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And teaching is very important because if nothing
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is passed down, then we have nothing to hold
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on to. Nothing to hold on to and people will
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have nothing to learn because the people that
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are listening Should and are always expected
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to be learning Should and are always expected
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to be learning and the gospel will see a couple
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of times where this is used for Jesus Christ
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in Matthew 7 28 in Matthew 7 28 we see that it
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says and so it was when Jesus had ended these
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sayings, the people were astonished at his teaching.
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The people were astonished at his teaching, meaning
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that when he taught, there was something about
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the way he taught. There was something about
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the teachings that was coming forth from his
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mouth. In Matthew 22, 33, we see again, it says,
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and the multitude heard this, and they were astonished
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at his teaching. They were astonished at his
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teaching. And then also we'll see another Greek
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word, the second one, which is Didascalia. The
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second Greek word is Didascalia. D -I -D -A.
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They sound alike. D -I -D -A -S -K -A -L -I -A.
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D -I -D -A -S -K -A -L -I -A. And this one is
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The activity of teaching or learning speaks about
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the process of instruction. The activity of teaching
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or learning and speaks of the process of instructions.
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And sometimes it can be used to communicate content
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like the other one did here. Sometimes it can
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be used and this one was used mostly by the Apostle
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Paul. It was used mostly by the Apostle Paul
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and he's the one that wrote the book, the main
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book that we're looking at. And Paul will use
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it extensively, especially in Timothy, we use
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it extensively on how to teach, how to protect
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and preserve sound doctrine. He uses it a lot.
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And we'll see the first use of it in 2 Timothy
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4. 2 Timothy 4, we'll look at 2 to 5. 2 Timothy
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4, 2 to 5, and we'll see how the 2 even appears
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in this. 2 Timothy 2 to 5. So preach the word
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Be ready in season and out of season. Convince,
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rebuke, exalt with all long -suffering and teaching.
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The teaching there is Didache. It says, for the
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time will come when they will not endure sound
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doctrine. Sound doctrine there is Didascalia.
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Sound doctrine. The time will come when they
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will not endure sound doctrine. But according
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to their own desires, because of because they
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have itching ears they will heap up for themselves
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teachers and they will turn their ears away from
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the truth and be turned aside to fables but you
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be watchful in all things praise god it says
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but you be watchful in all things but you be
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watchful in all things endure afflictions Do
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the work of an evangelist fulfill your ministry
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fulfill your ministry So we'll see and there
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are many other instances where he uses that But
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I just want us to just do this quickly and then
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go to the third one. The third one is hetero
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didascaleo The third one is hetero didascaleo
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hetero H E T E R O D I D A S K -A -L -E -O. Very
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similar to the Daskalia, but the Daskalia with
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the hetero in front of it. And this is to teach
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something other than what is correct. Teach something
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other than the truth or deviate from the truth.
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teach something other than the truth or deviate
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from the truth. And the hetero there means different
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than the dascalio there means to teach. So you
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are teaching something different, something other
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than the truth. And the two places where this
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appears is in the book of Timothy where I think
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Apostle Paul is the one that uses that. In 1
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Timothy 1 verse 3 says, charge some that they
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teach no other doctrine that they teach no other
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doctrine that that they teach no other doctrine
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is the hetero didascaleo so that whole phrase
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is the hetero didascaleo so it's a compound word
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and notice that it's one word explaining a phrase
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just one word qualifying and that's to tell you
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the richness of these languages and that's why
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you have different translation or different interpretations
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of the Bible, and I will get to that. We will
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see that very soon. In 1 Timothy 6 verse 3, he
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says, If anyone teaches otherwise, that teaches
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otherwise is hetero didascaleo, that teaches
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otherwise is hetero didascaleo, and does not
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consent to wholesome words, that is the truth,
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even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. And
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to the doctrine, doctrine dna didascaleo, which
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accords with godliness. So we see him bringing
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our attention to the fact that you can have people
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teach other things and if you are saying all
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of that it means that we should be careful of
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what it is that we are entertaining or listening
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to and we cannot we cannot effectively know what
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is false if we don't know the truth because to
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anybody that doesn't know the truth everything
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is truth. Praise God. Everything is true. Hence
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the need. And we charged us on the church. We
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said, okay, the church, we're doing a canonical,
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right? And we're reading the books. We're reading
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the books in the Bible and we have started from
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January. And in the cell, we're like, where are
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we now? Some people are still in Job. Some people
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are somewhere in Genesis. Some people are somewhere
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around, somewhere, somewhere. We're in the book
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of Psalms. We're in the book of Psalms and we
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have been... moving and moving and moving. And
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Psalms is a lengthy book, praise God! And you
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don't want to look back and give up. So, you
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want to continue and today was five, I think
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the beginning of Psalms, we were introduced into
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Psalms with eight chapters, eight whole chapters.
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I think some people are doing one, two, three
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and all of a sudden, ha! Eight chapters! So,
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that is the journey we have to take to get to
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the promised land at the end of the year. Praise
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God. And you want to stay consistent. You want
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to keep at it. I think for the first year, if
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it's your first time, you struggle. But once
25:51
you get used to the routine, it's very important
25:53
that we discipline ourselves. It's a discipline.
25:56
It's a discipline that we have to and we... And
25:58
if you're struggling, don't struggle in silence.
26:01
Don't wait until we ask you before we discover
26:03
that you have fallen somewhere along the way.
26:06
We want to carry everybody along. We want everybody
26:07
to be carried along. So, choose to be carried
26:10
along. So, we see that Apostle Paul does all
26:13
of this. Or, Apostle Paul takes his time and
26:18
energy explaining, teaching, ensuring that people
26:21
don't fall by the wayside. People don't enter
26:23
into error. And in the book of Corinthians, he
26:27
takes his time to address several issues. We
26:29
talked about the first, which is the fact that
26:31
people are looking at division. Somebody says,
26:33
I'm for this person. The other person says, I'm
26:34
for that person. We see all of those things.
26:37
It doesn't help the work go forward. If you're
26:39
doing, if you're solving problems in the house,
26:42
you cannot solve problems outside. You cannot
26:44
go and meet people's needs outside. You are always
26:46
resolving one issue or the other issue in the
26:49
house. It doesn't help the work move forward.
26:51
And then we see him addressing even issues around,
26:55
because with false doctrine was one. Divisions
26:57
was another. We see him addressing issues around
27:00
temptation from the surrounding cultures. Temptation
27:04
from the surrounding cultures. So we see that
27:06
around the culture, there's always this constant
27:08
pressure. And even in this day and age, we have
27:11
the same thing because we are in the same world.
27:14
So there's always a pressure for one thing or
27:16
the other. And yet system, they had different
27:19
idols. They had different idols. They have the
27:23
whole thing of sexual immorality. That was a
27:25
big thing. in the city and it's still a big thing
27:28
today in the world that we're living in. And
27:30
hence the charge to stand fast, hence the charge
27:33
to watch, to stand fast, to be brave and be strong
27:36
because it takes boldness. You have to be bold
27:41
to stand. In fact, you have to watch first and
27:46
foremost to be able to... be standing on something,
27:50
right? You have to be watching what people are
27:52
saying and you want to always be checking what
27:54
exactly it is they're doing. You want to be very
27:56
conscious of that. And in 1 Corinthians 10, 14,
27:59
he says, therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
28:04
Here you have the proof that he was addressing.
28:07
See, flee from idolatry. He says, flee, flee.
28:12
That word there to flee is fugle. Sounds like
28:17
fugle. Fugo is P -H -E -U -G -O. Fugo. P -H -E
28:25
-U -G -O. And the word there means to run away.
28:29
I think everybody knows that the flea means to
28:32
run away. And it can be literal. It can be figurative.
28:36
And by implication, it means to shun. It means
28:39
you can look away, right? When somebody does
28:42
something in it, just look away. And the analogy
28:45
also means to vanish. The flea. Like you saw
28:49
somebody and you did not see the person again.
28:51
I think animation helps our imagination. You
28:53
don't see them again. So you want to have that
28:57
mindset, escape. You want to always have that
28:59
mindset of, when I'm faced with something as
29:02
an error, don't entertain it. Don't entertain
29:05
it. Don't entertain it. I'm saying it again,
29:08
don't entertain it. Because the moment you entertain,
29:11
I think our lead pastor was teaching us, the
29:13
moment you start entertaining, something you're
29:16
giving them audience and the words will take
29:19
root and before you know it you they have you
29:23
it's like if you don't want to buy something
29:25
i think those of us that do market when you're
29:27
somebody's trying to sell you something you know
29:29
if you say i don't need it and you hush them
29:31
you know that would be the end of it but some
29:33
people are persistent they will keep coming at
29:35
you but if you listen and listen and listen a
29:39
part of you will say i think i need this thing
29:40
and then you will give into it but At first,
29:44
your first response was the actual response because
29:46
you actually didn't need it. But because you
29:48
entertained the whole talk, it now got to a place.
29:52
That's why you don't entertain certain things.
29:54
Because you know that this is error, you don't
29:57
even give attention to it. You don't give attention
29:59
to it. Very important, you don't give attention
30:02
to it. And we see that retreating, sometimes
30:05
when we say retreating, we say, oh, it's not
30:08
brave to retreat. Notice that even in the military,
30:12
there are strategies that involve retreating
30:15
so that you can be able to win. Right? Retreating
30:19
looks like defeat. It looks at the go you like
30:22
why they're running away. They're lost. Right?
30:25
But we see even in scripture a strategy that
30:27
was employed in Georgia by the children of Israel
30:29
against the benjamite. In fact, the children
30:32
of Israel had lost a couple of times to the benjamite.
30:35
And because they had lost, they had to come up
30:38
with a plan. And they came up with a plan to
30:41
retreat. And then the benjamats will think that
30:44
we're winning as before. And for some of us will
30:46
think like, oh, I've done this before. It's nothing.
30:50
And then you almost will entertain something
30:53
you shouldn't even entertain in the first place.
30:55
And the result is that you'll be, because what
30:58
had happened is that when they say, oh, this
30:59
power retreating, then there was a smoke. You
31:01
can read that in judges 20. I don't want to go
31:03
into more details, but notice that. Fleeing from
31:07
a situation or running away from a situation
31:09
is not a sign of weakness. It's you trying to
31:11
preserve yourself because you know this is error.
31:14
Praise God. And we need to come to the consciousness
31:17
of the fact that, you know, sometimes some people,
31:20
you're just full of yourself. You think that
31:22
I can handle. I can handle it. I can handle it.
31:25
And we see in contrast the three Hebrew boys
31:30
in Daniel 3. In Daniel 3, we see the three Hebrew
31:34
boys, and I want us to just look at Daniel 3,
31:39
12 and 16. We'll come back to this at some point
31:43
in time in the teaching, but I just want us to
31:45
look at this. to do to you they do not serve
32:05
your gods or worship the golden image which you
32:09
have set let's go just jump to 16 let's just
32:13
leave it at 16 just jump to 16 and he's saying
32:16
that these people don't have a regard because
32:18
they they had grown up and been trained to serve
32:22
the only god the living god and then now someone
32:25
presents to them an idol and says they should
32:28
worship the idol, they should bow down to the
32:29
idol. And we see that this resolve didn't start
32:31
here. In the first chapter of this book, you
32:33
see that they made a resolve to not do certain
32:37
things contrary to the God that they serve. Anything
32:41
you want to do, if you don't make a resolve,
32:45
if you don't make a resolve, you are setting
32:48
up yourself for anything that comes. In anything
32:51
you want to do. If you say, I resolve, that I
32:54
will serve God, I resolve that I will fear Him,
32:57
I resolve that I will do His will, that is a
32:59
resolve that will determine how far you will
33:02
go with that. But once you do otherwise or say
33:06
anything goes, nobody makes any progress with
33:09
anything goes. Anything goes will mean that you
33:11
will do a lot of work but no results. Praise
33:15
God. You'll do a lot of work and no result and
33:17
this is a resolve that this man had made. And
33:20
we know them, or they are properly known as Shadrach,
33:23
Meshach, and Abednego, but their Hebrew names
33:25
are Hananeah, Meshael, and Zechariah. The names
33:29
that we see or the names that we know them for
33:30
are the names, the Babylonian names, the names
33:32
that were given to them. And this man spoke boldly.
33:35
We see them speaking boldly. They didn't just
33:38
act, they spoke. And what we're going to be seeing
33:41
in this teaching is that bravery comes from a
33:45
place of decision. Bravery comes from a place
33:49
of decision, but bravery also has the place of
33:53
action. And boldness is where we see bravery
33:56
manifest in your speaking. Boldness is where
34:00
we see bravery manifest in your speaking. Boldness
34:03
is where we see bravery manifest in your speaking.
34:05
And we see Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered
34:08
and said to the king, that's when the king told
34:11
them, he says, Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need
34:13
to answer you in this matter. They were challenged.
34:17
They were said, okay, why don't you want to bow
34:18
down to this? So they had now take a stand. It
34:21
will look like, you know, they acknowledge the
34:25
fact that yes, they are faulted, but they don't
34:32
want to even engage. And we know the story. We
34:35
see how God delivered them. And here is a picture
34:39
of bravery. Here's a picture of bravery. You
34:43
have what you believe. and you stand for it.
34:47
You have what you believe, you hold on to it
34:50
and you stand for it against all odds. Against
34:55
all odds. And anytime I think of this story,
34:59
what I see is that all the people that bow down
35:03
to the image, we don't hear of them. Right? We
35:09
only hear of the people that did something different.
35:11
It's the same thing with people that protest.
35:13
or people that do anybody that fights you the
35:16
people because it's you're fighting against something
35:18
you're fighting against a regime or something
35:21
that is going wrong and you do that It costs
35:25
you it's not comfortable It's not comfortable
35:28
to do what they did and nobody should convince
35:31
you to think that if it's not comfortable then
35:32
it's not good Praise god because we can get to
35:36
that point where we think that if something is
35:38
not comfortable if something is not convenient
35:41
then I was just given. And Apostle Paul, the
35:50
one thing I came here because he encourages to
35:53
flee. But we see these people not just fleeing,
35:55
there's a mindset. They stood because they will
35:58
be bowing down to something they don't believe
36:00
in. And if they don't believe in it, they don't
36:02
bow, they are not going to bow down to it. And
36:05
the image is an image that Nebuchadnezzar had
36:07
made. It's something that a man had made. I think
36:09
I saw something yesterday. I can't remember.
36:14
The person was asking me, like, why do you wear
36:15
this? He said he wears it for protection. So
36:19
he was like, you wear it for protection. Is it
36:22
not something that a man made that you're wearing
36:24
for protection? He says, okay, what if you lose
36:27
it? Say you buy another one. As you buy another
36:30
one and to keep protecting yourself. He says,
36:33
I believe God to protect me. That's basically
36:37
what I believe. I don't believe the thing that
36:39
God created will create something that will protect
36:41
me. And that understanding is what should tailor,
36:45
because the problem is that we sometimes say
36:48
we trust God in our words, but in our actions,
36:51
we do otherwise. We do otherwise. And it's very
36:56
practical. It's very practical. As we're going
36:59
to look at this thing called being brave, we'll
37:02
see something. I was thinking about it, I said,
37:07
If someone That you know or let's let's make
37:12
it yeah if a friend that you know that is rich
37:15
Tells you to do something that requires a lot
37:18
of money He tells you to do something request
37:21
a little Because you have knowledge of one singular
37:25
fact that that person has the money to fund it
37:28
and he's the one that Instructed you to do it.
37:30
You know that you're not you're not you're not
37:33
be afraid I think I was telling my wife, I said,
37:37
the best thing to say is just go to your cars
37:39
and say you will buy the place. You know, as
37:43
damning as that will be, buy up a place of some,
37:46
like, you will go there because you know who
37:48
instructed you. Right? You will go there and
37:52
you will, in fact, you might not have anything
37:54
on you. But the way you enter that place and
37:56
say, you guys are going to be my new staff, you
37:59
start talking to them with some kind of audacity.
38:02
because you know something that probably the
38:05
people around that you're talking to don't know.
38:07
Praise God! And when we say that for someone,
38:10
even when you say, okay, your father, your Eddie
38:14
father, because you know what your Eddie father
38:15
is capable of doing, when he says, okay, start
38:18
looking for an admission to come to North Cyprus,
38:20
you know you will go ahead. But if there's nothing,
38:22
you know that there's no, there's a place where
38:24
you say, let's just do it just to respect, but
38:28
you know that there's no, there's no going to
38:30
come, nothing's going to come out. Because you
38:31
know what, or you believe that for Him to tell
38:34
you, you know that something's going to come
38:35
out of it. Praise God. How much more Heavenly
38:38
Father? And then He tells you to trust Him. And
38:42
we'll see that as a team, a very consistent team
38:45
that are anchored on our, we are able to trust
38:49
Him because He's true to His Word. We're able
38:52
to trust Him because He has never broken or failed
38:56
to keep His promise. We're able to trust Him
38:59
because When He says something, He backs it up
39:02
with actions. When He says something, He backs
39:05
it up with actions. And we see this because it's
39:10
easy for you to make something an idol because
39:14
you feel like you're getting some results from
39:15
that thing. But I want you to know something
39:17
that anything you place above God is what qualifies
39:21
as an idol. Anything you place above God, anything
39:25
that you are willing to trade for God, You are
39:32
in the grip of that thing and it takes that place
39:36
of an idol. It's an idol. Because for them, in
39:41
their age, it's them bowing to something as an
39:44
idol. But in this day and age, we can easily
39:47
trade God for people. We do it. We just easily
39:52
shift and put God in that place. Which communicates
39:57
lack of trust? in God. And we see when you are
40:06
faced with a difficulty and you resort to other
40:11
things to find your way out rather than God,
40:16
someone says you don't run to the throne, you
40:18
run to the phone. When you resort to other things,
40:21
we're not saying that it's bad too, but we're
40:24
saying that What is your stance? What is your
40:27
posture? Are you already in panic mode? We read
40:29
Philippians 4 verse 4. Are you worrying? Is anxiety
40:34
the motivation of your action? Is anxiety why
40:37
you're picking up that phone to call and then
40:39
you transfer the panic to the other person at
40:41
the other line? Is that what is motivating your
40:45
stance or your decision? And very importantly,
40:50
if you are finding the words You are making up
40:55
things to defend that thing and it's not the
40:59
gospel. It's an idol. Praise God! Somebody is
41:03
telling you that these things, you say, you are
41:05
defending with your life. It's not the gospel
41:08
you are defending. It's that particular thing.
41:10
That thing is obviously an idol. And in 2 Timothy
41:15
2 verse 22, Apostle Paul writing to Timothy,
41:20
he says, Flee also, youthful, lost. It says,
41:28
but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace.
41:34
It says, with those who call on the Lord out
41:38
of a pure heart. It says, pursue. Say, but pursue.
41:42
Say, flee, but pursue. We are instructed to flee,
41:46
but there's something that we're instructed to
41:47
pursue. So the challenge to us is, what are you
41:49
pursuing? Are you pursuing learning? Are you
41:52
pursuing knowing God? Are you pursuing loving
41:55
God? Are you pursuing? What are you pursuing?
41:58
In James the book that we're asked to read in
42:01
this month the book that we're instructed to
42:02
read the book that we should have been should
42:03
be reading James 4 verse 7 it says therefore
42:07
submit to God Resist the devil and he will flee
42:11
from you Meaning that there's a stance that you
42:14
take there's a boldness. There's a strength that
42:16
you that the Lord supplies that makes you Pitch
42:20
in the place of advantage where you have an authority
42:22
over the enemy. Praise God. You're not the only
42:25
we are not you're not fleeing Right, you're not
42:28
always fleeing. You are taking the stands and
42:31
you are declaring and then let's look at What
42:36
Apostle Paul Brings to attention in that watch
42:40
We stand for the business. Let's go back to our
42:43
key scripture in 1st Corinthians 6 13 And we're
42:48
looking at the word brave, be brave. And when
42:52
we see be, be, I think it uses be brave and be
42:56
strong. Being brave and being strong is not,
43:01
you are instructed to be who you are. What you
43:08
are is what you are instructed to be. You're
43:10
not, nobody's, they're not giving you. Because
43:14
you have a union with God, that is what should
43:17
show forth. And it's not about saying, no, I'm
43:22
naturally quiet or I'm naturally bold. It's not
43:26
about your temperament. It's not about your temperament.
43:29
It's something that you have because you have
43:34
the Lord as your God. Praise God. And we'll see
43:37
that tied to His presence with us. His presence
43:41
with us. We'll see that tied to His presence
43:42
with us. So, the B -Brave is the Greek word and
43:49
the Greek word and Andrizomai. That's Andrizomai
43:54
is A -N -D -R -I -Z -O -M -A -I. A -N -D -R -I
44:01
-Z -O -D -O -M -A -I. It means to act like a
44:03
man. To act like a man. To act like a man. To
44:07
show yourself courageous. to show yourself courageous,
44:11
to conduct yourselves valiantly. To conduct yourselves
44:16
valiantly. And I told us that this is a military
44:18
word. And when the soldiers hear this, they are
44:23
like, they are lats. Men be brave. They are at
44:28
a stand, they are at a stand because they know
44:30
that they are ready for action. They are ready
44:33
because that is very important. Because any form
44:36
of cowardice is a loss. is a loss. And the different
44:43
translations word this word I think I've never
44:46
seen I think a word that has varying like this
44:49
word. So because in English language it captures
44:52
because of the culture and the Greek language
44:56
in English language it's because of how English
45:00
language is you see several words being used
45:03
to communicate this word. So in the ESV you see
45:05
it as act like men in the esv if your bible is
45:09
an esv you say this translations interpreter
45:12
you see act like men esv and then in the niv
45:16
you see be courageous in the niv you see it as
45:20
be courageous and in the footnote of the nlt
45:24
because the nlt also uses be courageous in the
45:26
footnote you also see be men be men is a good
45:30
thing that is father's day you say be men Amen!
45:34
And we also celebrate the women too as well,
45:37
because we will not be here if not for our mothers,
45:40
we will not be standing if not for our wives
45:42
and our friends around. We thank God for, even
45:46
though you have every other day, like we almost
45:49
feel left out, but we don't even know if we don't
45:52
celebrate it as much. It says be men. Then in
45:56
the King James version, it says quite like...
46:02
Is it quite you like a man or quit you like a
46:04
man, right? Quit you like a man. Quit you like
46:07
men. Sorry, quit you like men. That's the new
46:10
King James. It says, yeah, I'd like men. I was
46:13
looking at it, I was like, thank God for the
46:15
other translations. Then the new King James says,
46:17
be brave. Be brave. So we'll see that the nuance
46:22
of all of this, and we say this one is just,
46:24
it's act like, like you have a nature that you
46:28
are showing, right? Even when a woman does something
46:33
like a man does, there is a characteristic that
46:37
is expected from you and a characteristic that
46:39
is there in you. Praise God! There is a characteristic
46:42
that is there in you. It says, conduct yourselves
46:44
valiantly, which is what the expectation is.
46:47
You are conducting yourself valiantly. You are
46:49
conducting yourself valiantly and it is very
46:52
important that we see that... Fear is the biggest
46:56
thing that silences or cripples, as in, fear
46:59
does more damage to a believer than persecution.
47:03
Fear does more damage to a believer than persecution.
47:06
Think of all the things that you would have done
47:08
that you didn't do because you were afraid. Think
47:11
of all the things that you had, in fact, you
47:14
had said, I will do this, and you didn't do it
47:16
because you are, it's not even persecution now.
47:19
Because the fear of persecution is still the
47:21
fear, it's still fear. So this fear and the devil
47:26
does in mind because the defeat is already like
47:29
if you're having a debate the defeat is already
47:31
because when he closes your mouth to speak that's
47:34
the defeat because your inability to speak because
47:37
you're afraid cripples you. Some of us are like
47:40
you're so scared that you can't even talk you're
47:42
so scared that you can't even say the words and
47:44
that's how crippling fear can be and it has a
47:48
grip has a grip and that's why he says Apostle
47:52
Paul did not just say, he did not end his letter
47:54
saying, let's be all things to all men. He didn't
47:58
end it in that way. He didn't say, let's be agreeable.
48:01
He didn't say, let's be agreeable. But he says,
48:04
be brave. Praise God. He says, be brave because
48:09
being courageous is not optional. Being courageous
48:13
is not an add -on. It's not something you add
48:15
to the list. Being courageous is not something
48:18
you add to the list in your Christian life or
48:19
your Christian work. Being courageous is what
48:22
is as a result of your union with God. Praise
48:26
God. And it's a necessity for the work. It's
48:30
a necessity for the work. Being courageous is
48:33
a necessity for the work. Being brave is a necessity
48:36
for the work. It says, because you are not saved
48:39
to be a coward. You're not safe to to always
48:43
be behind and some of us we make that excuse
48:45
of oh, that's the way I am That's the way I do
48:48
things. I don't I I as I say this but when I
48:54
say this now because Yeah, most people I think
48:57
you if you you know me now I think I think I
49:00
think we lived with we lived with some of the
49:02
pastors I by nature even though my wife I told
49:06
me I should stop saying I'm a shy person. I said
49:09
I still feel like sometimes I have a tendency
49:11
to be shy, right? But when the need arises, you
49:16
have to be brave, right? You have to be brave.
49:19
Standing before people to talk is not the easiest
49:21
thing to do. But because you have to do it, you
49:24
have to be brave. Because nobody is going to
49:28
hear you when you are... Praise God. You have
49:35
to be brave, you have to... Open your mouth and
49:38
boldly declare what it is you're saying because
49:41
it's necessary for the work and the commission
49:43
demands it. What we are commissioned to do is
49:46
to go out. It demands courage. So when you go
49:49
out, you forget what your temperament is. Forget
49:54
what your temperament is. Forget what your temperament
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is. In fact, when you've been doing it for long,
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you will not even remember you have that as part
50:01
of the temperament. People will not believe because
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when I say like, no, you don't look like a But
50:07
we're not born like this. Praise God. And that's
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the things that God does in us. People that know
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us now can't relate with what they know of us
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from before. Praise God. Because you have to
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come out. You have to come out. And as Apostle
50:26
Paul started off, he says you want to be alert.
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Yeah, you want to hold on to the doctrine. You
50:32
want to be brave. You want to... There has to
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be... You have to be active. You know, when we
50:36
talk about active, active means a lot of things
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to a lot of people. Praise God. But active here
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means that there's an active courage to face
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opposition, right? And then there's a strength
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and enduring power because the strength we're
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talking about is not physical strength. In fact,
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the bravery we're talking about is not the bravery
50:54
and I would have loved us, but let's just go
50:58
a little bit further. Because one thing is anchored
51:01
on the other and what Apple support does is that
51:04
he puts it layer and layer. You see how important
51:06
everything he says layers on itself. You see
51:10
because if you're not standing fast, if you're
51:13
not standing, if you cannot stand fast, it'll
51:15
be hard for you to watch. Like the watching will
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be difficult. If you're not brave, you will not
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have anything to stand on like you will not have
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use because we're going to see a person that's
51:25
not brave is spineless. That's what we say in
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English. The person doesn't have spine and we
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will see in the teaching that being courageous
51:32
is contagious. I think a famous preacher that
51:37
is now late talks about how it says the same
51:41
thing being courageous as being contagious because
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when you're around brave people you tend to like
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yeah we can do this and Apostle Paul himself
51:50
He declares this I think in Philippians 1 verse
51:52
14. He says, because of what he's going through,
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other people are confident in preaching the gospel.
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Because of the fact that he's in chains and they're
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seeing him go through this thing and still stand
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fast. It's motivating them to do it. They don't
52:07
have any excuse. They don't have any excuse.
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I saw a video of someone with cerebral palsy.
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And if you know what that condition is, it's
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difficult for you to speak. And the person is
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preaching, and then at the end it says, if I'm
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doing it, what excuse do you have? Because you
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are able to speak clearly, you're able to talk,
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sometimes you're afraid, but regardless, this
52:31
man says you don't have any excuse. Praise God.
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And what God calls us to is bravery. And I wanted
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us to see, or let's just see this. Let's see
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Joshua. Let's look at Joshua. Joshua 1 verse
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9. And because this command is important, this
52:50
command is very important. This command is very,
52:54
very important. We see how it is repeated again
52:57
and again from Deuteronomy into the book of Joshua.
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And this command in this book of Joshua is coming
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from God Himself. He says, Have I not commanded
53:08
you? Joshua 1 .9, Havanah had commanded you,
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be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid.
53:15
You see anywhere it says courageous, you see
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most of the times you see do not be afraid. Because
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your fear can undermine, like the courage disappears,
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like there's no courage when there's fear. Those
53:29
two things can't be there at the same time. It
53:32
says, or be dismayed. For the Lord your God is
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with you everywhere you go. For the Lord your
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God is with you everywhere you go. There's a
53:42
reason why you're not afraid. Because the Lord
53:45
your God is with you everywhere you go and it's
53:48
important that you see this. It's important that
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you know this. That the Lord your God is with
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you everywhere you go. And he repeats this again
53:57
and again in Verse 6 says, Be strong and of good
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courage. For to this people you shall divide
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as an inheritance the land which I swore to their
54:15
fathers to give you. 7 now says, Only be strong
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and very courageous that you may this observe
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to do according to all the law which Moses my
54:29
servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to
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the right hand or the left. Notice that you're
54:37
staying in what has been instructed, that you
54:39
may prosper everywhere you go. This word, the
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word be strong means to be firm. The word courageous
54:48
there means to not yield, to not yield, to not
54:52
yield, to not be afraid, to not yield, to not
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be afraid. Bravery is a result of our reliance
54:58
in God's strength. Bravery is a result of our
55:01
dependence in God. Our trust in God is what helps
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us to stand fast. We don't look at our situation
55:07
when we're brave. Because if we look at ourselves,
55:09
we don't have any reason to be. What are you
55:11
brave about? But when we say we are standing
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fast, when we say we're doing, we're doing that
55:16
in the strength He supplies. We're doing that
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in the bravery that we have because we have Him.
55:22
And all of this, you see it, because He has Him,
55:25
He's brave. And all of it is anchored on the
55:27
Word of the Lord to Him. We see the Word of the
55:30
Lord come to Him in Deuteronomy 31. We see the
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Word of the Lord keeps coming and then even in
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Joshua, it tells Him. Be bold, be strong, right?
55:40
Be strong, be courageous. Be strong, be courageous.
55:44
Be strong, be courageous and when it keeps coming
55:47
again and again and again and again is to make
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you see, make you know, make you express what...
55:54
He can't be demanding from you what He has not
55:57
given to you. God cannot be demanding from you
55:59
what He has not given to you and He says it again
56:02
and again that you will get it and our trust
56:05
is in what the Lord has said. If the Lord says,
56:09
you are my child, I believe it, I trust him and
56:12
then I move around as his child. If the Lord
56:15
says, I have healed you, I move around not as
56:17
someone that is sick but as someone that is healed.
56:20
If the Lord says, I have delivered you from all
56:23
your trials, you move around like that. If the
56:25
Lord says, you are sound, you are safe, I'm taking
56:30
care of you, I'm providing for you in spite of
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the lack that you are looking at, you hold on
56:35
to that word. You hold on to that word. You hold
56:38
on to that word. And even in this season, I see
56:42
that there are people that will be saying, oh,
56:44
I don't think I'll be able to graduate because
56:46
of this, because of that. If you have started
56:48
it and the Lord says you'll finish it, hold on
56:50
to that word. The question is, what is the word
56:53
of God that you see from His word that, in fact,
56:56
we will have times here when a prophetic word
56:59
is given to you. Someone speaks to you and then
57:01
you are doubting. Doubt will not help you. move
57:06
forward, praise God. That will not help you move
57:09
forward. And it's important that we hold on to
57:11
the Word of God. We hold on to the Word of God.
57:14
That is where bravery starts from. Bravery is
57:17
not a function of your willpower. It's not willpower.
57:20
You don't, you don't, you know, people can act
57:22
brave. And I wanted, I wanted, if we had more
57:24
time, but time is up. I wanted to show us how
57:27
the Apostle Peter was very quick to carry, to
57:31
bring out a sword and cut off someone's ear.
57:34
But the same person, when they asked, do you
57:36
know this man? He was very quick to say, I don't
57:39
know, he even swore. Swore and it was just not
57:44
fair. So, being brave to declare, to confess
57:48
the Lord is not a function of Jim Jim, as they
57:52
say in the Greek word. It's not a function of
57:57
your ginger. It's a function of the knowledge
58:02
you have of God. That is why knowledge is important,
58:05
because you know God to be true to His Word.
58:07
That is why you hold on to His Word. Praise God!
58:10
I will close on this note. No matter what it
58:14
is you're going through, no matter what the difficulty
58:18
is, no matter what the circumstances are, hold
58:21
on to the Lord. In Psalm 27 verse 14, we looked
58:28
at it. David started a psalm by saying, the Lord
58:31
is my light and salvation. In whom shall I be
58:34
afraid? The Lord is the strength of my life.
58:37
Of whom shall I be afraid? In the ending of the
58:40
psalm, he says, wait on the Lord. Be of good
58:45
courage. And he shall strengthen your heart.
58:50
Wait, I say, on the Lord. Wait on the Lord. And
58:55
for most of us, we think waiting is like doing
58:58
nothing. Waiting is not doing nothing. As a student,
59:02
if you are waiting for graduation, you are walking
59:04
towards graduation. Even when you have graduated,
59:07
you have done other things. You are making preparations
59:09
to ensure that your graduation is smooth. You
59:11
are able to do it and do it properly. I want
59:17
you to just open your mouth and just thank God
59:20
because you are seeing the strength of the Lord
59:23
like never before. You are engaging. Your waiting
59:27
involves prayer. Your waiting involves the word.
59:31
Your waiting involves obedience to every word
59:34
spoken. Your waiting involves trusting Him. Your
59:38
waiting involves not wasting your time. It's
59:41
not a season of waste. It's a season where you
59:43
are refined. It's a season where you're strengthened.
59:46
And even for those that are graduating, you're...
59:49
Believing God for direction. You're waiting on
59:52
the Lord is for direction. You're watching. You're
59:55
at alert spiritually. You're at alert spiritually.
59:58
You're sensing where the Lord is leading you
1:00:00
to. There's no confusion. Tell yourself, I am
1:00:03
not confused. I want you to declare this word,
1:00:05
I am not confused. I am not confused. I can't
1:00:08
hear us. I am not confused. I know God's plans
1:00:11
and purpose for my life. I will wait on Him even
1:00:15
when it doesn't feel like it. I will be of good
1:00:18
courage. I will take courage. I will act courageously.
1:00:24
I am courageous. I have the strength of the Lord.
1:00:28
I am strong. When it doesn't make sense, I will
1:00:33
still trust Him. Even when it makes sense, I
1:00:38
trust Him. I will trust Him all days, always.
1:00:43
I am not anxious. I am not anxious. I am not
1:00:48
fearful. I am not afraid. I am not afraid. Because
1:00:54
He is with me. Because He is in me. He is walking
1:00:59
through me. We appreciate you being here today.
1:01:04
We hope you carry this word with you throughout
1:01:06
your week. Don't forget to check the show notes
1:01:09
for additional insights. Stay connected with
1:01:12
us through our website. or follow us on social
1:01:15
media. If you were encouraged, share this message
1:01:18
with someone you care about. Until next time,
1:01:22
stay blessed.