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Wake Up & Stay Awake | Mark 13:33-37 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Bible Study Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  I invite you to turn with me to the Gospel Mark chapter 13, Mark
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  13, and please place your finger there.
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  Verse 33 if you want a little insight of what a preacher has
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  to go through every week. Yes, he has to prepare and
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  ensure that the text that he is dealing with is faithfully
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  interpreted and faithfully and faithfully applied.
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  But more than that, that same preacher has to seek God for
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  power, see God for power from on high, to help communicate that
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  truth, for it to be transformed from a lesson to a heavenly
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  empowered exhortation. And so if you've ever shared
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  something, perhaps you felt that dependency on God, the need for
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  Him to come through, for you to disappear, and for those that
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  you stand before to see Christ alone.
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  And I ask you to join with me to seek God for that help from the
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  Holy Spirit. Can we do that?
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  Lord? We do ask for real power that
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  You would subdue any distraction, any walls that have
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  been built that would resist the truth capturing our hearts
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  completely. Lord, we know that no matter
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  what man does in his strength, it will be to no avail unless
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  the Holy Spirit blesses it. So we do ask for the Holy
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  Spirit's help. And we do ask, oh Lord, that
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  joy, encouragement, conviction, whatever is needed in every
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  heart here, You know the hearts of all men would be delivered
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  faithfully and powerfully. And so even at this time, may we
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  hear you and You alone, and may our hearts see you and You
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  alone. In Jesus name we pray.
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  Amen. Mark 13 and let's begin actually
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  in verse 32, but our main focus will be verse 33 to verse 37.
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  But now concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not
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  even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
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  Be on guard, keep awake, for you do not know when the time will
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  come. It is like a man going on a
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  journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge,
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  each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.
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  Therefore stay awake. For you do not know when the
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  master of the house will come in the evening, or at midnight, or
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  when the rooster crows, or in the morning, lest he come
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  suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you, I say to
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  all, stay awake. After explaining the rising
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  calamities and devastations and deceptions and persecutions and
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  tribulations that will pave the way for the coming of the King,
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  and after depicting the exact moment of the return of Christ,
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  the Lord Jesus concludes his thoughts, this discourse with a
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  strong and urgent appeal. We look here at verse 37 and
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  realize that what he says to these disciples, he's intending
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  to say to all to all people of all time who take heed to his
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  word. You see here Christ teaching
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  about the last days is not meant to simply clarify any
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  misunderstandings or to sharpen your conception of the
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  culminating events of human history.
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  Obviously, what Christ is intending to do with this
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  teaching is to sober us and strengthen us spiritually.
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  And that is why in a in a, in a brief segment of verses Christ
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  and rapid fire succession here is wrapping up everything with
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  the repeated command to stay awake, stay awake, keep awake,
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  stay awake, stay awake. And that's how the ESV renders
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  it. But in other translations it
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  would be the repeated word watch or keep on alert.
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  This is what he wants us to do. This is the main application of
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  the past few weeks. What you're supposed to take
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  away from this, practically, is this very statement.
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  Stay awake. But before we delve into these
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  verses, it's important to clarify what the Lord means by
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  that statement. Obviously, Christ is not
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  contending for physical consciousness uninterrupted.
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  What He is demanding, though, is our maintenance of a vigorous
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  and vigilant spiritual life. The opposite of being
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  spiritually awake is what? Being spiritually asleep, right?
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  And that condition, being asleep, is something that the
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  New Testament frequently warns about more than one place.
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  You see it sprinkled throughout the epistles.
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  And at this point you might be wondering, well then what's the
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  difference? How do I know if I am
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  spiritually awake versus being spiritually asleep?
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  You might be wondering, what does that look like?
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  You might be wondering what are the practical evidences of it,
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  and we're going to get the clarification throughout this
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  message. But if I can offer a basic
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  understanding of it, to be spiritually asleep is synonymous
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  with being spiritually inactive or unresponsive.
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  We all know what physical sleep does.
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  Somebody who is in slumber isn't participating in anything.
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  Somebody who's asleep isn't aware of their environment, and
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  so it is with the one who is spiritually asleep.
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  They're dormant. There's no activity, there's no
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  pulse, there's no engagement. And so it is one who is
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  sluggish, one who is unconcerned about matters that they are
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  called to attend to. And if that's the case, for
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  someone who's spiritually asleep, then to be spiritually
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  awake, to stay awake, is the positive opposite, that you are
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  active, that you are engaged, that you are in touch, that you
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  are aware and the very things that God has called you to.
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  Now, if you're like me, then you would do this.
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  I'm sure that if you know that there is an important
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  appointment that you have to meet the next day, then you
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  might ask a family member to ensure that you wake up by a
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  certain time. You don't even want to trust
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  your alarm clock. And though being awakened from
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  that sleep may not be the most pleasant experience, you
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  appreciate the one who was faithful enough to shake you out
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  of your slumber. So today, I want you to view me
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  in that matter. I want you to see me as somebody
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  who loves you and is willing to disturb you for no other reason
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  other than to ensure that if you have come to this place, or if
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  you have been spiritually asleep, that you won't sleepwalk
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  out of the same room. And this message in particular,
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  I'm going to be assigned the role of an alarm clock.
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  And it's up to you if you hit the snooze button, it's up to
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  you. If you want to ignore my
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  efforts, that's OK, because I want to be at rest knowing that
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  I did my part by God's grace and power to help open some eyes and
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  for others to help them stay awake and to avoid drifting into
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  a place where they don't want to be.
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  And I'm going to attempt to do that this afternoon that we are
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  breaking bread to give you at least two reasons why being
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  spiritually awake and staying awake is not optional.
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  It's absolutely crucial. So if you can remember these two
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  points, you'll be OK. The first reason why staying
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  awake spiritually is important is because you and I are prone
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  to drift into spiritual sleep. Come back with me here and look
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  at verse 33. Jesus says be on guard, keep
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  awake for you do not know when the time will come.
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  Notice that he begins his verse with be on guard and he connects
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  that discipline to being awake. Now the question is be on guard
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  for what exactly? If you're telling me to to
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  occupy a post and to look out for something or to be vigilant
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  about something, what am I looking for?
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  What am I to monitor? What am I to supervise?
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  And it's not until you go to Luke's account of the very same
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  teaching where you get the insight.
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  So look at Luke 21, the very same account, though with
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  different insight and details that help make this more
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  complete. Luke 21 in your Bibles in verse
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  34. Here's the parallel teaching
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  from Luke's vantage point. Luke 2134 reads But watch who?
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  What? But watch yourselves, but watch
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  yourselves, lest your heart be weighed down with dissipation
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  and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that they come
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  upon you suddenly like a trap, for it will come upon all who
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  dwell on the face of the whole earth.
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  So when Mark says be on guard, Luke completes it by saying what
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  you're watching for is yourself, which means that the greatest
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  threat to your spiritual health is you.
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  There are other threats, but the most prominent one is yourself.
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  So there must be an effort because according to Jesus, our
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  disposition is not to be careful about our inner man, but to be
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  careless. So then there's a call for you
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  and I to again watch and be consistently aware of what are,
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  what are the interactivities going on here in my bosom, in my
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  mind? What's my spiritual diet like?
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  What kind of environments do I place myself in?
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  What kind of things are influencing me for the better or
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  for the worse? Jesus says be on guard, don't be
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  mindless, don't be careless. And notice that the Lord
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  highlights some examples of what someone who fails to be on guard
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  to stay awake will eventually be overtaken by.
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  He names three things according to Luke's version.
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  The first thing is dissipation, right?
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  Be on guard, watch yourselves. Let's your hearts be weighed
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  down with dissipation #2 drunkenness #3 the cares of this
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  life. He's talking to Christians, He's
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  talking to believers. Yes, he's talking to all people,
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  but including his disciples. And so you can pair the first
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  two things together, dissipation and drunkenness.
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  What's the dissipation? It's when you get a headache,
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  when you get dizzy because of intoxicated intoxication.
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  You could say it's a hangover. And here's the main point.
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  Jesus is saying if you're not on guard, if you're not going to
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  watch yourself, your heart can be weighed down by dissipation
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  and drunkenness. Meaning you know you are
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  spiritually asleep when you pursue illegitimate pleasures
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  like substances that impair your judgment, substances that make
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  you lose control when you chase a high that is not permitted by
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  God. And you know you are not awake
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  when you crave and begin to indulge in activities that not
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  only harm your body but end up harming your testimony.
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  I'll never forget the time I preached at a conference many
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  years ago and a young man came up to me and he came to me
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  sheepishly and he heard a strong message that night and he
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  confessed that he was struggling to come back to the Lord.
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  He knew the Lord all his life, but he was in the the worst
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  place. He admitted.
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  And I said, what's the main thing?
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  What's holding you back from walking with the Lord
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  wholeheartedly again? And he said, I'm bound by weed,
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  man. I, I can't, I can't live without
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  a high. I can't function without it.
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  It's such a part of my life. And when I began to probe and
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  asked more, I says, well, where did this begin for you?
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  How did this door even open up for you?
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  And he told me this. He says, well, it was when I
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  began to hang out with some of the members of my church,
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  specifically people on the worship team, because they used
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  to get drunk and high all the time.
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  And that's where it started for me.
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  So don't think what Jesus is speaking about here concerning
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  dissipation and drunkenness is irrelevant to the church.
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  It is very relevant to Christendom.
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  And so there's that guy that I explained to you who's bound in
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  shackles. I don't know if he ever even got
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  free. But let's not limit this to
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  drunkenness either, because Christ is obviously giving us
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  one example. But it's speaking about sin
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  altogether because like many truths in the Gospels, you find
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  in the epistles, but expanded. And so you're there in Luke 21.
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  Place your hand there. But go to Romans chapter 13 and
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  look at verse 11 and you're going to see the same theme
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  about sleep and how that's synonymous with spiritual
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  lethargy. And not just spiritual lethargy,
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  but sinfulness. Romans 13 verse 11 Paul writes
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  besides this, you know the time that the hour has come for you
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  to wake from sleep. He's echoing Jesus, the hour has
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  come for you to wake from sleep for salvation is near to us now
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  than when we first believed. Now keep that in mind.
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  He's he's still speaking about being asleep and awakening from
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  sleep. And in verse 12, the night is
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  far gone. The day is at hand.
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  So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the
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  armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the
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  daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual
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  immorality and sensuality, not in quarrelling and jealousy.
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  So again, we're we're still bound to that same theme.
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  Wake up from sleep and Paul describes what it looks like
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  when you are spiritually asleep. He brings up orgies and
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  drunkenness, sexual morality and sensuality.
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  Here's what shocks me. He connects these things that
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  are blatant and obvious and offensive with not quarreling,
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  check this out. And jealousy.
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  So what's the larger picture here?
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  For the church? It's this.
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  If I find myself no longer concerned about personal
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  holiness. If I find myself in a place
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  continually seeking, not seeking, God to purify my heart
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  and my motives. If.
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  If I'm no longer mindful about my attitude towards believers
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  and even unbelievers, I'm asleep.
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  I'm asleep, I'm just drifting with the wind.
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  If I'm just going wherever the day takes me and I'm not
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  missional anymore and I'm not examining anymore.
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  And of course, we're not speaking about intense
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  introspection where you torture yourself, but your desires, your
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  longings, your sense of sanctification.
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  When you're asleep, you put your sanctification on the shelf.
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  And that's not the only thing that Jesus tells us can lull,
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  lull us into a comatose state. Go back to Luke 21.
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  What did he say? Yeah, he mentioned dissipation
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  and drunkenness. This is where it might hit home.
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  Remember, on the alarm clock, don't hit snooze.
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  Don't hit snooze on me, please. He highlights the cares of this
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  life. You, some of you might never sip
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  any alcohol, but you might be drunk with the anxieties of this
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  life. He certainly, by mentioning the
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  cares of this life, is not denoting anything inherently
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  sinful. He underscores things that the
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  average person worries about. Money, clothes, food.
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  Where am I going to go to school?
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  How am I going to finish this schooling?
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  Activities for the children, jobs, the economy, investments,
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  safety, extracurricular activities, travels.
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  It's not that the Lord denounces us for being engaged or even
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  strategic about these things, but he warns that if you don't
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  want yourself, if you're not on guard, these cares can choke
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  you. And what they do is they
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  suffocate you to the degree that you have nothing left, no
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  energy, no resources, nor time for any matter concerning the
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  Kingdom of God. Because you see, the tricky part
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  about these concerns is that we look around us and we see
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  everybody else involved with them and caught up in them.
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  And we learned that they are unavoidable realities to our
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  day-to-day life, and we end our end up underestimating how
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  dangerous it is to get caught up in them.
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  So here's what you have to remember as you plow through
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  your life, as you plan your life, as you desire to enjoy
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  life. You're a Christian, you're a
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  follower of Jesus Christ. Your marching orders come from
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  heaven. You live with eternity and view,
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  and if you don't watch that, if you don't keep that in the
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  forefront of your mind, very quickly you can make even such
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  commands as this suggestive and optional, not central and
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  primary. So if you find yourself pulling
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  away from the church, distancing yourself from the Word of God,
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  no no longer visiting the presence of the Lord in the
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  place of prayer, you may call it busyness, but you are falling
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  asleep at the wheel and not even realizing it.
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  And that's the main part of this message really, is that it
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  doesn't take much for us to come to this point.
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  It doesn't take an ungodly adulterous relationship.
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  It doesn't really even take a major promotion.
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  It doesn't require a past addiction to resurface.
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  The cares of this life can do the job.
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  I remember meeting somebody. I forgot when, but I'll never
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  forget the conversation. And this came to mind when I was
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  studying this past. He worked, he did his
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  day-to-day, 9:00 to 5:00. But man, this guy tried to find
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  a way to stay connected to Lord and he found one way.
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  He kept his Bible in his car and he put it in a passenger seat.
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  Whenever he hit a red light, he opened his Bible and read it,
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  and then he waited till the next light and it came to a red light
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  again. He would hope I would read where
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  he first left off. Now there are things called
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  audiobooks, so you don't need to do that and I'm not suggesting
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  that, but just to give you a little idea of someone who
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  understands that yes, there are things that I have to do in
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  life, but I can do them with Christ.
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  I must do them with Christ. I can never afford to stop
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  walking with Him. I can never allow the things in
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  this life to take me away from Him.
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  So Jesus tells us that it's very possible to be overtaken by even
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  the cares of this life and to fall asleep because of it.
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  How do I know if I'm spiritually awake?
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  Then? How do I know with all the
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  things that I am called to do and all the responsibilities and
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  all the How do I know if I'm in the right place?
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  While the Lord gives us answers at least two major ways, and one
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  is found here in the very same passage in Luke, Look at Luke
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  21, verse 36. But stay awake at all times,
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  praying that you may have strength to escape all these
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  things that are going to take place and to stand before the
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  Son of Man. What does Christ expect of us if
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  we are people who are awake? You're praying, you're praying,
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  You're praying because you have this awesome revelation that you
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  need His strength, that you depend on Him.
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  And so you seek Him continually. You draw from His power, you
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  inquire of Him, you include Him. So notice that Christ is
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  attaching staying awake with praying.
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  So how do I know if I'm spiritually awake?
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  I don't know if I'm staying awake to the degree that you are
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  praying. If you are weakening in prayer,
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  you are falling asleep. If you have ceased to pray
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  completely, you are sound asleep.
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  Yes, you're busy. Yes, you're physically awake.
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  Yes, you have all these things to accomplish, but spiritually
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  speaking, you're sleeping. That's not the only thing that
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  Christ highlights concerning what it means to be spiritually.
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  We have to go back to our main text on Mark 13, Mark 13, verse
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  33 and 34. Again, when there is no more
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  personal communion with the Lord.
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  I'm not where I'm supposed to be, but it's something else that
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  we have to also be mindful of. He says be on guard, keep awake,
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  for you do not know when the time will come.
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  It is like a man going on a journey when he leaves home and
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  puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands
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  the doorkeeper to stay awake. So Mark merges staying awake
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  with praying, or Luke rather. And Mark now links working with
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  staying awake. Working what?
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  The work of the ministry and notice how specific the Lord is,
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  he says each with his work, his work.
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  And so it's not an exclusive type of service that the Lord
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  has in mind here. No, rather one that the Lord has
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  individually commissioned each of us too.
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  And so if I'm awake to some degree, I'm serving, I'm working
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  for the Kingdom, I'm doing something, I'm involved, I'm
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  contributing, I'm active. And I know some might be
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  wondering, how do I know what work I'm called to?
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  I'm glad you're asking that question and there are different
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  ways of answering. But I encourage you in the
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  meantime, though, you're on this quest to discover your ultimate
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  call, your ultimate mission. Can I suggest something, find a
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  need and fulfill it because serving God will help you stay
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  awake and to find a need and to occupy it is the best thing that
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  you can do for yourself and for others.
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  You know, I was thinking when I, when I came to this point last
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  night, I was thinking about all these different examples, men
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  and women of God who served God. And one of my favorite examples
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  is the man David, the man after God's own heart.
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  When you read about David in, in first Samuel 16, he was under
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  the age of 20 for sure, because he was not at war with the
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  Philistines. And he was chosen by God to be
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  the next king, the succeeding ruler of the nation of Israel.
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  Samuel the prophet approaches him and anoints him in the
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  presence of his father, Jesse, and his siblings.
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  And we're told here at the end of First Samuel 16 that the
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  Spirit of God rushed upon David. And so that was a powerful
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  moment. Imagine as a teenager being
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  given a sure word that you will occupy the throne of Israel one
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  day. And that's how First Samuel 16
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  ends. And then you come to chapter 17
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  and you think, OK, here it comes.
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  David is summoned to the palace. Because at the same time, when
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  the spirit of the Lord rushed upon David, the Spirit of the
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  Lord removed himself from Saul, and a tormenting spirit came
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  instead. And so he needed therapy.
• 25:02
  So news went around that there is this musician from Bethlehem,
• 25:05
  and he was able to play in such a manner that it soothed you and
• 25:10
  it healed you. And so they brought David into
• 25:12
  the courts of the king, and he played music.
• 25:14
  And you're thinking to yourself, OK, I see what God is doing
• 25:17
  here. The Lord is leading him to the
• 25:18
  palace. Next thing you know, he's going
• 25:20
  to get promoted to be a soldier maybe, and then he's going to
• 25:22
  get it to the throne. You can see the trajectory.
• 25:24
  And then all of a sudden you realize that David goes from a
• 25:27
  full time musician, full time therapist to part time.
• 25:33
  That kind of happens when you serve the Lord.
• 25:36
  You think you're going somewhere and then there's a set back.
• 25:39
  And so now he's part time and he's called from time to time.
• 25:42
  So he's back at his father's fields and this man who's been
• 25:47
  anointed to be the king of Israel, we're told, was asked to
• 25:52
  do the following. You don't have to turn there.
• 25:54
  Just listen to this. And First Samuel 1717 And Jesse
• 25:59
  said to David, his son, take for your brothers and EFA of this
• 26:03
  parched grain and these 10 loaves and carry them quickly to
• 26:06
  the camp to your brothers. Also take these 10 cheeses to
• 26:10
  the commander of their thousand. See if your brothers are well
• 26:14
  and bring some token from them. What's David called to do?
• 26:21
  Deliver cheese sandwiches, Resources for his brothers.
• 26:29
  You know what's interesting? You read.
• 26:31
  You read of the several brothers who are called the World War.
• 26:33
  But it's not all his brothers. And he had many other brothers.
• 26:36
  Why didn't Jesse as the other brothers?
• 26:40
  I think it had something to do with David's work ethic.
• 26:45
  Jesse knew that he could trust David.
• 26:47
  That's not the main point. You would think that after you
• 26:50
  were anointed in the presence of your father and your brothers
• 26:54
  that you're going to get some kind of good treatment.
• 26:57
  You would expect it, right? You would expect them to say,
• 27:01
  OK, you're the next king. So we're going to pamper you and
• 27:04
  we're going to lavish you and we're going to prepare you,
• 27:09
  serve you. I love Jesse.
• 27:12
  He's like, come here, boy, I need you to deliver some stuff
• 27:15
  to your dad, to your brothers, and tell him that dad loves them
• 27:17
  and check up on them. You would think that David would
• 27:23
  protest. You would think that with his
• 27:25
  special calling in mind that he would resist.
• 27:28
  You would think that this man who's been destined for great
• 27:31
  things, for God, would reserve himself for only great things.
• 27:35
  But instead he gives himself to small things, menial things.
• 27:40
  And what I see here is an example among many of the
• 27:42
  attitude that is necessary to see any advancement in God's
• 27:45
  assignments for us. You know what, if you think
• 27:51
  about it even further, if David had rejected this, if he had
• 27:55
  resisted, he would have missed out on Goliath because it would
• 28:01
  be this humble obedience, this willingness to apply himself to
• 28:06
  where there is a need that would lead him to meeting Goliath.
• 28:11
  Providence and Providence doesn't work with passivity.
• 28:17
  Providence works with faithful activity.
• 28:23
  And so if you're in a place wondering, well, I know the
• 28:25
  Lord's asked me to stay awake and if that means to pray and
• 28:28
  remain in communion with them, OK.
• 28:29
  But if he's commanded each with his own work, a spiritually
• 28:34
  awake person will say, I want to work for him.
• 28:39
  I talked with a handful of brothers who are visiting us
• 28:41
  this weekend. And one of the gentlemen who
• 28:43
  moved to another state told me that he plugged himself into a
• 28:47
  church. And he said that he's serving
• 28:49
  there and he's ready to become a member.
• 28:50
  And I so appreciated his approach in the season of his
• 28:54
  life. He said, I walked into the
• 28:55
  church and he said, what's the need here?
• 28:59
  And without hesitation, I know how the pastors feel.
• 29:02
  They said, sound, the sound board.
• 29:04
  We need somebody on the sound board.
• 29:07
  No experience with the sound yet he learned.
• 29:11
  I don't know much about the brother, but according to Jesus
• 29:13
  words, I think he's awake. I think he's awake.
• 29:21
  We must be conscience, we must be vigilant.
• 29:24
  We must be aware that our default is to drift.
• 29:30
  Our default is to fall asleep. Our default is to allow things
• 29:33
  to weigh us down, to strip things away from what matters
• 29:38
  most, not to negate these other things.
• 29:42
  But in your heart, have a heartbeat that says, I want to
• 29:46
  stay connected to my Lord and I want to serve him in whatever
• 29:49
  capacity he has called me to, whatever capacity has been made
• 29:53
  available to me. But there's a second reason why
• 29:57
  we must stay awake, and it is this.
• 29:58
  We must stay awake because Christ's return is unexpected.
• 30:03
  Christ's return is unexpected. That's Mark 13.
• 30:06
  We read it in verse 34 already, but he emphasized on again in
• 30:10
  verse 35. Therefore stay awake.
• 30:12
  For you do not know when the master of the house will come in
• 30:16
  the evening or at midnight, or when the rooster crows or in the
• 30:19
  morning, lest he suddenly come and find you asleep.
• 30:22
  And when I say to you, I say to all stay awake.
• 30:26
  So notice here now Jesus is highlighting different time
• 30:29
  stamps of the day, different watches of the day, and he
• 30:33
  essentially covers the entirety of it.
• 30:36
  So since you don't know when he's going to come, it can be in
• 30:38
  the evening, it can be in the midnight, it can be in the
• 30:40
  morning. What's he trying to convey here?
• 30:43
  That when we are called to stay awake, we're called to stay
• 30:45
  awake at all times, at all times.
• 30:49
  Can't afford to fall asleep at any time.
• 30:52
  And I'm sure you've seen it. I've seen it too many times that
• 30:57
  there's so many who are, who are awake at one time, but because
• 31:00
  of a phase in life or a milestone in life, they, they
• 31:04
  slowly fall asleep. They were once excited, they
• 31:07
  were once focused, they were once energetic, they were once
• 31:10
  sacrificial. And then they distance
• 31:12
  themselves and they get quiet and then virtually shut down.
• 31:17
  So the Lord here is being even specifically saying, look, I'm
• 31:20
  telling you at all times in all seasons, make sure that you stay
• 31:24
  awake because you don't know when I'm coming and when I come,
• 31:28
  I have a desire. Yes, Jesus has desires and his
• 31:33
  desire is that he would find you and I awake.
• 31:38
  He would find us abiding in Him. He would find us serving Him.
• 31:45
  And what's shocking to me is that sometimes you even talk to
• 31:48
  individuals and yes, I understand that they're good
• 31:50
  hearted and they're even humble and admitting it.
• 31:54
  But you inquire, how's your walk with the Lord?
• 31:56
  And they know that they're not where they're supposed to be.
• 31:59
  They even look down there embarrassed to look you in the
• 32:00
  eyes and say, I, I, I'm weak, man.
• 32:02
  I'm weak. I'm, I'm distracted.
• 32:04
  I'm caught up in this and that. And that's fine.
• 32:07
  You need to be able to at least admit it.
• 32:09
  But with so many of those same people, they admit it, but they
• 32:12
  don't change anything about it. As though confession in itself
• 32:17
  is what's needed and required alone.
• 32:19
  No, you, you realize it then you say, OK, now what needs to
• 32:22
  change? And let me give you one of the
• 32:24
  most motivating verses of my own life that have helped me stay
• 32:28
  awake all these years. First John, turn your Bibles
• 32:31
  there in chapter 2, verse 28. First John 2/28.
• 32:46
  Remember, John is speaking to Christians in this verse and he
• 32:51
  says the following. And now little children abide in
• 32:55
  him so that when he appears, we may have confidence and not
• 32:59
  shrink from Him in shame that is coming.
• 33:05
  There's so many things to say from this verse, but one thing
• 33:07
  that I personally took from it is that a true spiritual leader
• 33:12
  will care and will call for his people, the people that God's
• 33:17
  entrusted to him, to remain in fellowship with Christ.
• 33:23
  Look at this term of endearment, little children.
• 33:27
  There's sensitivity that there's love there.
• 33:28
  There's relational language there by saying, listen, I'm
• 33:32
  asking you to abide in Him. I'm calling you to stay daily in
• 33:37
  touch with Him because I want you on that final day when He
• 33:41
  does come for you to have confidence and look at this and
• 33:46
  not shrink from shame. Why would a Christian shrink
• 33:49
  from shame the coming of the Savior?
• 33:54
  Perhaps one reason is because in that one moment they would be
• 33:59
  overwhelmed by the thought that they've wasted perhaps many of
• 34:03
  those years that they were asleep, that they have not been
• 34:07
  in commune with the Lord, that they have not been working the
• 34:11
  work that He's called them to. You know, when you think about
• 34:17
  sleeping characters in the Bible, you might come to some
• 34:21
  interesting conclusions. I think of Jonah.
• 34:25
  Jonah was asleep on the ship. He was running away from God's
• 34:29
  call for him, and he was heading in the opposite direction.
• 34:32
  And as he was making way to Tarshish, he was asleep.
• 34:35
  And what happened? God orchestrated a storm, but it
• 34:37
  wasn't just a storm for him. Primarily, yes, for him.
• 34:41
  But there was other people who were suffering in that storm.
• 34:44
  You had pagans, yet idol worshippers who were on that
• 34:48
  boat, and they were being impacted in part because the man
• 34:53
  of God was not where he was supposed to be.
• 34:56
  He was asleep. Can I tell you something?
• 34:59
  When you and I as Christians are sleepy, it impacts the world
• 35:05
  negatively. The world that needs a church
• 35:10
  that is vigorous and active and fruitful.
• 35:15
  When we fall asleep like Jonah, we do a disservice to the people
• 35:20
  who don't believe around us. Not just Jonah, I think of
• 35:24
  Samson. Samson was asleep at a critical
• 35:27
  point in his life, not on a boat.
• 35:30
  His head was laying on the lap of a vicious woman, Delilah.
• 35:36
  And while he was asleep, she was playing with his hair, ready to
• 35:41
  cut it off. And that was what was needed for
• 35:45
  him to remain in the power that God had called him to.
• 35:49
  And so as a sleeping St. What was the risk for him
• 35:54
  forfeiting the call of God for his life?
• 35:58
  So sleepy Christians not only do a disservice to the world,
• 36:02
  sleepy Christians also risk cancelling God's awesome plan
• 36:07
  for their lives. Stay sleepy long enough and you
• 36:11
  can miss out. That's what Samson represents.
• 36:15
  What about uticus? He's not as well known.
• 36:20
  Acts chapter 20. Paul is preaching, and he
• 36:24
  preaches much longer than I preach, by the way.
• 36:28
  And Uticus, a young man in the service, is sitting at the
• 36:32
  window, and what happens? He falls asleep.
• 36:37
  People fall asleep in church. You know, and I take comfort to
• 36:43
  know that people fell asleep when Paul preached.
• 36:50
  He falls out of the window, he dies.
• 36:54
  What happens? The meeting ends.
• 36:58
  Paul stops preaching, and we're told there that the church was
• 37:02
  alarmed. Sleepy Christians.
• 37:07
  They make a negative impact on the world.
• 37:10
  They do disservice. They put themselves at risk like
• 37:14
  Samson, but they also harmed the church.
• 37:20
  They don't help the church, they don't participate, they don't
• 37:26
  build. And I love what Paul does with
• 37:31
  the authority of an apostle. He raises him from the dead and
• 37:33
  he goes back to the sermon. It's my kind of guy.
• 37:42
  But as much as it is a horrible thing to think that me remaining
• 37:45
  asleep is a disservice of the world, it puts my call at great
• 37:49
  risk of being forfeited. It doesn't help the body
• 37:55
  believers I'm connected to. 1st John 228 always strikes my heart
• 37:59
  the most to disappoint my master when he comes.
• 38:08
  And so I want you to understand that it doesn't have to be that
• 38:11
  way for you because the Bible also describes another
• 38:16
  possibility for when the Lord arrives suddenly, and it's in
• 38:22
  our final text before we break bread, it's in second Peter,
• 38:25
  chapter one. And look at verse 10.
• 38:44
  Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your
• 38:48
  calling and election. For if you practice these
• 38:52
  qualities, you will never fall. Peter, are you suggesting
• 39:02
  consistency in the Christian walk?
• 39:07
  Are you actually displaying a hopeful truth that I can live my
• 39:13
  Christian walk free from scandal, fruitlessness?
• 39:21
  Yeah, he says if you practice certain qualities, you will
• 39:24
  never fall. But notice verse 11.
• 39:27
  For in this way there will be richly provided for you an
• 39:33
  entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior
• 39:39
  Jesus Christ. What a difference from John's
• 39:42
  words. So abide in him so that you can
• 39:46
  have confidence and not shrink from shame.
• 39:49
  And here's Peter, and he says, listen, if you practice certain
• 39:52
  qualities, if you through your life not win your election, not
• 39:57
  win your salvation, but confirm it, what does he say?
• 40:02
  In this way? There will be richly provided
• 40:05
  for you an entrance. You know, Paul speaks about
• 40:10
  barely being saved, that all your work's burned to ash, but
• 40:15
  you escape the fire. That's not that's not what Peter
• 40:18
  is trying to describe. He's talking about those gates
• 40:22
  swinging wide open. And it being a celebratory,
• 40:28
  exciting encounter with Christ, no awkward conversation needs to
• 40:33
  happen, just straight to embrace and rejoicing and reward for
• 40:43
  who? For those who are awake.
• 40:46
  And if you want an idea of again, what it looks like to be
• 40:49
  awake, Peter describes it in great part.
• 40:52
  And so look there. Let's look at the verses before
• 40:55
  this. I wasn't planning to, but it's
• 40:56
  worth it since we're there. Look at verse five of the same
• 40:59
  text. For this very reason.
• 41:02
  Make look at this language. Please look at this language for
• 41:06
  this very reason. Make every effort to supplement
• 41:10
  your faith. Does that sound like a sleepy
• 41:13
  Christian? No, only somebody who's awake
• 41:17
  can make every effort to supplement.
• 41:21
  OK, I'm saved. Praise God, you're saved.
• 41:23
  What do I do now? You make every effort to
• 41:25
  supplement that faith that saved you, to add to it, to grow in
• 41:31
  it, to strengthen in it. Make every not some effort.
• 41:34
  This is the reason why you live now to supplement your faith.
• 41:39
  Now what do I supplement it with?
• 41:40
  With virtue. And virtue with knowledge.
• 41:43
  Knowledge is important. Come to Bible study.
• 41:47
  You'll get more knowledge and knowledge with self-control, and
• 41:53
  self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with
• 41:57
  godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and
• 42:02
  brotherly affection with love. Now look at this in verse eight.
• 42:05
  First, these qualities are yours and are increasing.
• 42:11
  They keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the
• 42:16
  knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• 42:20
  That's what it looks like when you and I are awake.
• 42:24
  We supplement and we increase. Here's what it looks like when
• 42:27
  you're asleep, verse 9. For whoever lacks these
• 42:29
  qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten
• 42:35
  that he was cleansed from his former sins.
• 42:41
  So you and I have a have a chance today to recalibrate and
• 42:46
  to refocus and to tell the Lord, Lord, I want to be awake no
• 42:50
  matter what season of life I'm in.
• 42:52
  And Lord, if it means to be prayerful and means to be
• 42:55
  working, then give me the grace to do it.
• 42:59
  And today, if you are asleep, Christ is willing to help you
• 43:04
  wake up. If you know yourself, if you
• 43:08
  know that you have been weighed down by sin or even by the
• 43:12
  anxieties of this life to the point that it has completely
• 43:15
  crippled you, Christ is here to help you.
• 43:18
  He's going to help you. And he can even give you the
• 43:21
  wisdom he can give you the he can, he will be able to shine
• 43:24
  light upon how you, yes, busy dad, yes, you mom, husband,
• 43:30
  wife, student, businessman, He's ready to help you because every
• 43:36
  command he gives, he gives the grace to fulfill it every in any
• 43:39
  command. And so I invite you today to
• 43:42
  respond to this truth and to say, Lord, please help me wake
• 43:45
  up. And Lord, not just to wake up,
• 43:47
  but to stay awake. He's able to do that.
• 43:50
  Oh, I wish I can say more, but we have to break bread together.
• 43:53
  But at this time, I want to invite you to respond to that
• 43:55
  very same truth. I'm, I'm asking you if you're in
• 43:59
  a place where you need to humbly confess to the Lord.
• 44:02
  Lord, I know that if you were to find me where I am today, that
• 44:06
  I'm more likely to shrink from shame instead of know that
• 44:09
  there's going to be a richly provided entrance.
• 44:14
  Place me where you need to place me, Lord.
• 44:16
  Save me from these things. Oh God.
• 44:20
  That is what we ask from you, Lord.
• 44:22
  We ask that as your people, Maranatha Bible Church, would be
• 44:28
  vibrant, would be alive, would be fragrant with the fruits of
• 44:33
  the Spirit. And we ask, Lord, that you would
• 44:35
  protect us from anything that would cause us to doze off, to
• 44:39
  slip into sleep, and to stay there.
• 44:44
  And Lord, as we even prepare not to partake of this bread in this
• 44:47
  cup, we ask that the revelation of our forgiveness, salvation
• 44:54
  freely given, would stir us to worship you, to love you, and to
• 45:00
  serve you. Again, we ask these things in
• 45:03
  Jesus name, Amen. Amen.
• 45:08
  The praise team is going to come up at this time.
• 45:09
  We're going to sing and then we're going to partake together.
• 45:17
  I want to let you know today that as we're about to break
• 45:19
  bread, if you're not a follower of Jesus Christ, this is
• 45:21
  reserved for Christians. And so we humbly ask that you
• 45:25
  reserve yourself from participating, but you're free
• 45:28
  to obviously stay and remain in the service.
• 45:31
  I just want to exhort you and and challenge you that you can
• 45:35
  participate in this wonderful feast upon one premise, and
• 45:39
  that's you acknowledging your need for a Savior, and that
• 45:42
  Savior is Jesus Christ. If you have never at any point
• 45:46
  repented of your sins and believed on him to be your
• 45:49
  salvation, I want to use this opportunity to give you a chance
• 45:52
  to do that, to realize that you have no hope of eternal life, no
• 45:57
  hope of attaining salvation apart from what he's done for
• 46:00
  you. That's what these Christians are
• 46:01
  ready to do. As a church, we're going to
• 46:03
  gather, and essentially why we're here is to celebrate the
• 46:05
  fact that we have been redeemed graciously.
• 46:10
  We have been forgiven by him, not by our own merit, not by our
• 46:13
  own efforts, what he has done alone.
• 46:16
  And so at this time, I, I, I call you to examine your own
• 46:20
  heart and to ask yourself if you truly know him.
• 46:24
  And if you don't, you can, you can speak to him and you can
• 46:28
  give him your sins. You can give him your
• 46:30
  allegiance. And you can leave here a changed
• 46:32
  man. You can leave here a changed
• 46:34
  woman believer. As we sing these songs, you're
• 46:36
  reflecting upon what he has done for you.
• 46:38
  You're rejoicing the fact that it's his performance that has
• 46:41
  sealed your redemption, not your own.
• 46:44
  But at the same time, you're also confessing here that you're
• 46:46
  1 body with the church and that you are walking in the calling
• 46:50
  of the gospel. And if you find yourself in a
• 46:52
  place where you're saying, I know that I'm walking in
• 46:55
  conscious, unrepentant sin, repent of it.
• 46:58
  Turn from it. Give it up.
• 47:01
  If you know that you ever reconciled with a brother or
• 47:04
  sister, Christ would be more pleased with you to reconcile
• 47:07
  than to partake, to make that emergency protocol.
• 47:12
  And so this is a time for all of us to pause, to remember, to
• 47:16
  rejoice if needed, to repent so that we can eat this in a way
• 47:20
  that would be worthy unto Him. Can we stand and sing and
• 47:23
  rejoice in the Lord?