Latest / Mount Eaton Church / Be In Awe of GOD & Obey His Commands - Ecclesiastes 12:13 - Lanny Lewis

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Be In Awe of GOD & Obey His Commands - Ecclesiastes 12:13 - Lanny Lewis · Mount Eaton Church

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Come up with a scripture verse that really stuck
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out to you this week as you read. And we'll discuss
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it and hash it around and see really what it
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means. And in March was my turn. And I was reading
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Ezekiel chapter 4. I usually don't get in the
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Old Testament because I get mixed up with this
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king and that king and Jeroboam and Fishbrain
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and everything else. But I usually can get something
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out of it. I get that nugget that God has served
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for me. And I read this passage over and over
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again. And I thought, there's something here.
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There's something here. I don't get involved
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in historical settings. Maybe I should. But I
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look for something simple. Because I was a kid
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teacher. And I always looked for something simple.
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Some strong biblical truth. that I could simply
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tell the kids and they could take home with them.
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And then I looked at my Bible, and sometime in
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the 37 years that I had that Bible, I wrote at
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the top, what will the Lord require of me? Wow.
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As we discussed, as the pastor said, you would
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be better to write in there, what would the Lord
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command me to do? And we had a discussion, and
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he won. And I realized he was right. If it was
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just a requirement, it doesn't mean I'd have
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to do it. You're required to finish so many classes
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in school, and sometimes you get a slide and
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they let you by. But if it's a command, you have
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to do it. You have no choice. This is what God
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asks you to do, and you have to do it, whether
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you like it or not. Whether you look foolish
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or not, you have to do it. This is what God said
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you should do. And if you want to be a child
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of his and follow him, you need to do it. And
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this is what Ezekiel did. A foolish thing. He
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was a man of God. Would he stoop to do something
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like this, what God asked him to do? Yes, he
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would. And he did. A brief synopsis of what Ezekiel
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chapter 4 is. Ezekiel is now one of the captives
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of Babylon. And the people looked back to Jerusalem
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and said, there's still hope there. We're going
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to go back to Jerusalem, no problems. And God
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said, I'm going to take Jerusalem away from them.
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And the Chaldean army is going to come and take
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them. And they're going to be sieging the city.
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And the people are going to be having a famine
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and all sorts of horrible things. And in the
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end, they will know that I am God. They will
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know that they forsook me, as the scripture verse
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says. What does it say? Consider then and realize
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how evil and bitter it is because you forsook
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the Lord and have no awe of me and no respect
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for me, no reverence for me anymore, declares
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the Lord Almighty. And they have lost respect
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for God. And he was going to show them just who
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he was, what kind of God he was. For the second
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service, I had brought my little puppet along.
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I'm going to show the kids over there what actually
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he was asked to do. Again, this is a man of God
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that was asked to do something by God which looked
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so ridiculous and so foolish. And yet he did
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it. He was asked to portray the siege of Jerusalem.
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For 390 days, he was to lay on his side. And
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then he was to turn the other direction, north
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and then south, for Judah. And 40 days lay on
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his side, bearing the sin of Judah. If you want
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to know the whole scope of the thing, you can
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look up Matthew Henry's commentary. It's about
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four pages of print that's that small. Or you
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can try to get it online. It's a little bit easier
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to read there. He was asked to take a clay tablet,
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picture on there Jerusalem. He was supposed to
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set that there. He was then supposed to make
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batting ramps going around it to show that the
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city was going to be under siege. He was supposed
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to put an iron pot there to show that God's iron
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hand was going to be upon them. He was then supposed
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to take so much food, a portion of lentils and
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wheat, and he was supposed to ration his food
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every day. He was also to take like a quart of
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water. and drink that at appointed times. That
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was to show the people there would be a famine
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coming. God laid out the entire thing to show
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the people what was going to happen. But I looked
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at that. This is a man of God who speaks for
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God and says, thus the sovereign Lord says this.
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And now he's supposed to do something like this?
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Is this the same man that spoke so powerful for
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God? Yes. Because God commanded him to do this.
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And there was no questions asked. He did it.
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Because that's what God asked him to do. And
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that's when I asked myself, what would God ask
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me to do? And when I say, that's too foolish.
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I can't do that, God. I can't do that before
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the congregation, make a fool of myself. What
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did God do for you? He left the glory of heaven.
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with angels declaring his glory and praise 24
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hours a day, saying, Holy, holy, holy is the
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Lord God Almighty. And he came down here to this
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forsaken place and died for his enemies, people
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that didn't even care about him. That was pretty
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foolish, wasn't it? But not in God's eyes. So
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if he asked me to do something foolish for him,
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is it really foolish? Is it really foolish? I've
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done some crazy things at junior church. Some
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crazy things. I think Sue thought I was crazy
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most of the time. The one time I said, how can
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I explain to them about the people breaking through
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the roof and lowering that man on the mat? Well,
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he came up with an answer. Because in my mind,
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I was thinking, I remember when I heard this
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story. How can they break through a slate roof
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that's like this and lower some guy down? Every
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roof and slate in him was slate with a high pitch.
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How are these guys getting up in that roof and
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breaking through the slate? So I did something
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foolish. I made a little cardboard box of a building
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with the stairs going up the side like it was
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in Jerusalem and a flat roof. And straw on top.
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Most adults would have probably thought that
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was stupid and foolish. But the kids understand.
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They understood what that scripture meant. How
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those guys could take their sickened friend on
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a mat and go up on the roof and break through
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the roof and lower him down. Sometimes we do
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foolish things. But if that's what God asks us
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to do, do it. I said a year ago about me going
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to the nursing home and I was supposed to have
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a message for these old people, which I'm old
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now. They couldn't hear, they couldn't see. And
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I did the walls of Jericho falling down with
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tin plates and wooden spoons and we blew a gazoo.
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It was foolish because those people laughed.
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And they said, I got it. I got it. I think Todd
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was the one that came over there in Faith Hall
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and straightened me out. I did the same thing
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for the kids one day, trying to explain to them
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about believing in God when he asked you to do
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something. And we had cardboard boxes piled up.
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And some of them had a string attached to them.
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And we marched around and stomped our feet. And
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then the kazoos came. And then they shouted.
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And I think the shots would have got him upstairs
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in Faith Hall because Todd came down and said,
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what is going on down here? And I said, the walls
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of Jericho just fell down. It's all over. No
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biggie. But see, the kids could see. It was foolish.
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Yes, it was foolish. But I'm a fool for Christ.
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And the kids could see that this man who is a
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military genius believed God's plan was better
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than his plan of attack. And the people probably
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thought it was foolish as they marched around.
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But when they shouted and the walls came down,
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it wasn't foolish, was it? What would happen
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if he hadn't obeyed God's command? But he did.
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Now, why, why, why would Ezekiel obey that what
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seemed like a foolish thing to do? That has to
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do with our other scripture. The people had no
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awe for him anymore. They had forgotten who God
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was, his magnitude, his grace, his power. They
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had forgotten all that. Ezekiel chapter 1. In
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the thirteenth year and the fourth month of the
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fifth day, when I was among the exiles in the
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Heber River, the heavens were opened, and I saw
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visions of God. And on the fifth month, it was
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the fifth year, and there goes all this business
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which I got lost in. I looked. And I saw a windstorm
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coming out of the north, an immense cloud with
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flashing lightning and surrounded by a brilliant
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light. The center of the fire looked like glowing
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metal, and in the fire was what looked like four
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living creatures. The appearance of their form
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was that of a man, but each had four faces and
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four wings. Their legs were straight, their feet
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were, and so on and so on. God gave him an awe
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moment where he saw the power of God and who
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God was. And that's why when God asked him to
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do something that seemed foolish, it wasn't foolish.
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This was God asking him to do this. Chapter 2,
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Ezekiel's call. He said to me, Son of man, stand
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up on your feet and I will speak to you. And
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as he spoke, the Spirit came on me and raised
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me to my feet and I heard him speaking to me.
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He said, Son of man. I am sending you to the
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Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled
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against me. They and their fathers have been
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in revolt against me to this very day. The people
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to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn.
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Say to them, this is what the sovereign Lord
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says. And whether they listen or fail to listen,
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for they are a rebellious house, they will know
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that a prophet has been among them. And you,
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son of man, do not be afraid of them or their
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words. Do not be afraid, though the briars and
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thorns are all around you. and live among you.
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Do not be afraid, or what they will do to you,
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I will be with you. That's why we can do what
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the world thinks is foolish, because God doesn't
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think it's foolish. And this is what I command
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you to do. And if you do it, you are doing the
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commands of God, and he will be with you, and
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he will protect you, and he will keep you. We
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today have lost the awe of God. I have lost the
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awe of God many times. When I run out of the
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house in the morning to do something, and I haven't
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prayed, and I haven't read my Bible, I've lost
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the awe of God. I haven't put him first before
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anything else in my life. Yes, I can say I'm
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busy, I have to do this, but I've lost that awe
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of him, that he is the first thing in the morning
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that I should think of. Nothing else. So are
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we all guilty of it? Yes, we are. How do we get
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that awe back? Just by taking time to just sit.
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Get off our cell phones. The kids get off their
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tablets. And remember, there's more to life than
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that. It's God. He's the number one thing. When
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I met Sue 53 years ago and a half, Did I have
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an awe of her? She's a keeper. Why haven't I
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lost that awe of her in 53 years? Because constantly
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I remind myself, she is my wife. She is the one
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God's given to me. And that's what keeps us all
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going. Something special between us. If there's
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that something special between you and God, then
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you won't lose the awe of God. And when you do
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run out of the house and don't read or pray in
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the morning, you're going to feel it and say,
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I've lost it this morning. I'm sorry, Lord. I've
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lost that respect for you. You were waiting for
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me to come and talk to you. You were waiting
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for me to come and read your word and learn of
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you, and I missed it. And we ask for forgiveness,
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and he is a gracious God. and forgives us our
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sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness
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and restores that awe of him that we have. And
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that's what it's all about. That's how some people
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can go through their entire life and calamity
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and problems and trials come their way and they're
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still a solid rock because they still remember
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who's in control of their life. God is. They're
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not. Okay? So that's our first person. I just
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picked another person. Well, I'll tell you what,
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I'm like teaching kids. I'm going to jump around.
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I just decided to jump back to page 7 or 8, whatever
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it is. A true story about somebody that did something
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totally ridiculous. And the family thought that
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she was having a nervous breakdown. Marty was
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her name. A seasoned missionary in Africa for
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probably 21, 27 years. We knew Marty. One day
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in her devotions, God said, I want you to leave
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the field and go back home. Now, if you picture
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this, she's a missionary in Africa for 21 years.
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She is content there. She has a vibrant ministry.
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And God one day says, I want you to go home.
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Leave the field and go home. And the next time
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she prayed, God said, leave the field and go
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home. Finally, she called her mission board because
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she felt so uneasy being in the field, which
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she hadn't felt that way in 28 years. She calls
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her mission board to give her temporary furlough.
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She comes home not knowing anything, still puzzled.
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Lord, what is going on? She goes to some mission
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meetings, tries to understand, tries to get to
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her supporting churches and lets them know, I
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don't know what's going on. And then comes Reverend
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Stringfield, a missionary in Africa for 28 years.
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He lost his wife in Africa. A simple blood clot.
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Took her to the hospital and she died. Four children.
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They were one of God's servants. Left in Africa
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with four kids. He started four churches, a trade
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school. He went through two coup attempts in
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Kenya. One time, he was simply hiding. They hid
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him in one of the churches in the bush because
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any white person was killed on the spot. Why
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would a man that goes through all this have to
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also lose his wife? Did he understand it? No.
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Oh, and then there's the end of cleansing, too,
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where they're killing other tribes. My aunt said,
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pray for Larry. There's a lot of people in Africa.
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They got two miles away from where he was, and
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they turned and went a different direction. Larry
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comes home. He stayed there for probably six
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months after his wife died. You've got to understand,
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you can't just leave. You have four churches
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you're serving. What do you do? You have to sell
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your furniture or give it to somebody else? You
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have to raise support to come home. Finally,
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the mission board said, come home. You've got
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to get out of there. You've got to come home.
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He came home. He went to mission meetings, tried
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to let his churches know what's going on. And
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then guess what? One mission meeting, as Larry
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walked through the door, Marty said to her, that's...
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I brought you home. That is your husband. You
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will marry him, and the both of you will go back
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to Africa and complete his work. Is God still
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alive today? Is God still an awesome God today?
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Larry had no ministry without Michelle, his wife.
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She did the prayer letters. She took care of
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the kids. She homeschooled. She did everything.
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He was the minister. They went out to the churches,
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went out in the bush. But he was lost, totally
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lost, and his ministry was worthless without
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his wife, who was his partner. And God said,
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I'm not done with you yet, Larry. You're going
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back to Africa. And Marty is going to be your
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wife and go with you. She gave up her ministry
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of 28 years, a successful ministry on her own.
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Why? Was it foolish? Not in her eyes. Because
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God said, this is what I want you to do. She
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had an awe for God that overseeded all her personal
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feelings, all her personal ambitions. That's
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recognizing who God is. When we met her, what
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a woman. What a godly woman. And they went back.
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And then the kicker, Larry, had a heart attack
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and died. And she's left with four kids that
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told her outright, you will never be our mother.
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But when Marty got cancer and she was dying,
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the kids called us and said, pray for our mom,
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our mom, not our stepmom. He said, pray for our
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mom because we know she's dying and we miss her
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so much already. What God did in that family.
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See, this is what people don't see outside there.
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They don't see the awe of God, how he orchestrates
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things, how he plans things, how he works things
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out. We should. I'm just fortunate because my
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aunt was a missionary, and we have all the stories
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that she used to tell us about missionaries and
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how they would see God move and act, and most
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people don't see that. They don't see what's
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happening out there, where God is moving and
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shaping and how he's leading people and directing
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people. That's a real -life case of how a woman
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said, God said this is what I should do, and
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I'm going to do it. Simple faith, just walking
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out, not knowing what was going to happen. I
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wasn't planning on going there, but that's where
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I went. It's just like teaching junior church.
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One kid would do something, and I'd just go in
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a whole different direction, and that's where
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I wound up. We're going to look at the last person
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here. This person had an awe for God, knew who
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God was. It's Job. He not only prayed for himself,
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but he just sacrificed for his kids constantly
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to make sure that they weren't going astray.
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And then Job has everything taken away from him.
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It doesn't say he complained, but he kind of
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sat and sulked a little bit, wondered what God
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was doing, what was happening in his life. And
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then again, we go back to this verse. How evil
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and bitter it is when we forsake the Lord, we
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turn away from him, we abandon him. And I think
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probably Job at this point of breaking had probably
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thought of abandoning God too. As his wife said,
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why don't you just curse God and die? Get it
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over with. Just curse God and die. He's left
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you. And then we come to Job chapter 38, 39,
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40, and 41. God gives Job another awe moment
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to put things back in proper perspective. In
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Job 38 .1, it says, Then the Lord answered Job
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out of a storm. In verse 2, Who is this that
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darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?
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Verse 3, Brace yourself like a man, and I'm about
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to question you. I think if God said that to
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me, brace yourself like a man, I'm going to start
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questioning you. I think I'd get attention. And
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then God has four whole chapters where he tells
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Job just who I am. And Job has an awe moment.
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Job 38 .11, concerning the sea, I said, this
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far will you come, and you shall come no further.
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Here it is where your prodness halts. Job 38
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.12, have you ever given orders to the morning?
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Job 38 .22, have you entered the storehouse of
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the snow? Job 38 .14, were you there when I laid
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the foundations of the earth? Job 38 .35, do
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you send lightning bolts on their way? Job 39
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.27, does the eagle soar at your command? Job
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49, do you have an arm like God's? And can you
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make thunder like him? The awe of God. Hits Job
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again. Chapter 42, Job replies to the Lord. Surely
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I spoke of things I did not understand, things
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too wonderful for me. And in verse 5, my ears
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had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.
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That's his moment. I really know now who you
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are. And whatever you ask me to do, I will do.
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Whatever I go through for you, I will go through
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for you. Because you are God, and there is none
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like you. See, that's the difference. Is he real
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to us, or is he just real once in a while? He
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wants to be real all the time, not just once
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in a while. Fear God and keep his commandments.
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One of my most favorite verses, Romans 1, 12,
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1 and 2. Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in
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the view of God's mercy, that you offer your
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body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing
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to God, which is your reasonable service. That's
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our duty. What is the duty of man? To serve God,
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to please him, to glorify him. It's not about
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us. It's about him. About one day him saying
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to us, well done, my good and faithful servant.
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Enter into eternal joy. And any foolishness,
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and any craziness, and any people, verbal abuse,
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or physical abuse, whatever we take, for the
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name of Jesus, will be like a snap, a fleeting
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moment, when we see Jesus and bask in his presence.
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I just want to conclude with five points here.
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The pastor always says you need three points.
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I got five, so I guess I'm doing good. What does
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God expect of me? Number one is devotion. Daniel
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3, verses 16 to 18. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
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replied to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar. They addressed
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him as king. We do not need to defend ourselves
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before you in this matter. If we are thrown in
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the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able
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to save us from it, and he will rescue us from
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your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we
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want you to know, O king, We will not serve you
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or your gods or the image you have set up. We
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worship the God and God alone. He expects devotion
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from us. Total devotion, even to the point of
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death. And there are many Christians today, which
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we don't hear about, that are facing death each
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and every day because of their devotion to Jesus
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Christ. And they don't care what will happen
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to them. They're being martyred. because of their
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faith in Jesus, because maybe the underground
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church is raided, or because someone finds a
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scripture verse hidden somewhere in their house
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and they are murdered because of it. Devotion
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to Jesus, regardless of the circumstances. The
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second thing he wants from us is consistency.
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Daniel 6, 10 -11. Now when Daniel learned that
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the decree had been published, he went home to
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his upstairs room where the windows opened toward
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Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down
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on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to God,
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just as he had always done before. Consistency.
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I don't care what laws are going to be made that
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I can't pray, I'm going to pray, because that's
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what I do. My God's expecting me to come to that
26:26
window and pray three times a day, and I will
26:28
do it. Consistency of worship, consistency of
26:32
praise to God, consistency in our devotions.
26:35
That's why I get upset when I run out of the
26:39
house and say I'm too busy to read this morning.
26:43
I'm not consistently in the Word. And then a
26:49
third point. He wants us to be a friend of the
26:51
bridegroom. I'm going to jump over to John 3.
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I like that one better. It says, To this John
26:57
replied, A man can only receive what is given
27:00
him from heaven. You yourselves can test for
27:03
that. I said, I am not the Christ, but I am sent
27:06
ahead of him. The bride belongs to the bridegroom.
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The friend who attends to the bridegroom waits
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and listens for him and is full of glory, or
27:14
full of joy, excuse me. When he hears the bridegroom's
27:17
voice, that's the intimacy. The joy is mine and
27:21
is not complete. He must become greater and I
27:24
must become less. Jesus wants us to be a friend
27:28
of the bridegroom, a friend that never ever seeks
27:32
glory for himself, but points everything to God.
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Everything should be pointed to the master and
27:39
not to us. Whatever we do for him, it should
27:42
not be about us. It should be about him. And
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lastly, two more. The greatest commandment, Mark
27:51
12, 28. One of the teachers of the law came and
27:55
heard them debating, noticing that Jesus had
27:57
given them a good answer. He asked him, of all
28:00
the commandments, which is the most important?
28:02
The most important one, answered Jesus, is, Hear,
28:05
O Israel, the Lord our God is one. Love the Lord
28:09
your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
28:12
with all your mind, and with all your strength.
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The second is this, love your neighbor as yourself.
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There is no greater commandment than these. It's
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a pretty complete list. What God requires of
28:25
us is our heart, our soul, our mind, our strength,
28:29
our life. It's not for the faint at heart. It's
28:36
for those that truly are disciples that want
28:39
to be in it for the end game and want to be right
28:44
there on the firing line at the end to hear that
28:48
word, well done. I'm not my own. I've been bought
28:51
with a price. We keep forgetting that. We think
28:55
it's all about us. It's not about us. It's about
28:57
him, what he's done for us, and what one day
29:01
he will reveal to us. And lastly, the fifth thing
29:05
that I think is required of us is an intimate
29:07
walk with him daily. Micah 6, the Lord's case
29:12
against Israel. He showed you, O man, what is
29:16
good, and what does the Lord require of you?
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To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly
29:24
with your God. An intimate walk with him daily.
29:28
Remember, he said, I know my sheep and my sheep
29:31
know me. When I talk to them, they know it's
29:34
me. And they will answer me. It's not a prideful
29:42
that, yeah, God talks to me. It's a humbling
29:46
experience when I ask him. What do you want me
29:51
to talk about? I don't have anything to say.
29:53
And then week by week, he gives me something.
29:56
And I wake up in the middle of the night and
29:58
there's something else. And then there's something
30:00
else. And then I got eight pages. I don't know
30:05
where the eight pages came from, except it came
30:07
from him talking to me in here somewhere. It's
30:12
a humbling, humbling experience when he does
30:15
that. It's not a prideful thing. It's not a haughty
30:18
thing. It's humbling. I mentioned my aunt was
30:21
a missionary in Toledo, Iowa, and she and her
30:24
partner, Geneva DeBoard, ran Grace Gospel Mission.
30:28
And they had a banquet one time, and they were
30:30
trying to raise more support for the mission.
30:32
It was a mission for disadvantaged kids. They
30:34
had close to 100 kids. And she asked the one
30:38
person who was on the board, would you come and
30:41
speak that night at the mission? She said this
30:44
man was a humble man, not proud. would do anything
30:48
for the mission. If they had a problem with the
30:50
furnace, he was a businessman. He would come,
30:52
take off his suit, and work on the furnace and
30:54
everything. And when she asked him this, would
30:59
you come and speak at the banquet for us? He
31:03
simply looked at her and said. He didn't say,
31:05
well, I'm going to pray about it, Ellen, and
31:08
see what the Lord would want me to do, and then
31:10
I'll get back to you in a week or two, and we'll
31:12
work it out. That would have been haughty, proud.
31:16
Look at me. I'm a business person. I'm on the
31:18
board here, and you're asking me to do this.
31:20
He looked at her and said, I will talk to my
31:24
father tonight, and I'll have an answer by tomorrow
31:27
morning for you. That's the awe of God. That
31:33
close. I will talk to my father tonight, and
31:38
I'll have an answer for you tomorrow. You see,
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that's what we're missing today. It's not whether
31:44
it's a contemporary service or a traditional
31:47
service, whether it is a guitar or a band. It's
31:51
not whether it's a big, beautiful building or
31:53
you're meeting in a hut somewhere in Africa.
31:56
It's God. It's about him, not about us or our
32:00
circumstances. And when we catch a glimpse of
32:03
that, that's what keeps us going. It's him, not
32:08
me. It's God, not me. What Alan told us that.
32:12
The hair just stood up in the back of my neck
32:16
that this man was so humble and simply said,
32:20
I'll talk to my father tonight. Like we would
32:24
talk to my dad or my mom. It was that much of
32:28
a relationship. We fall so short. I fall so short.
32:32
I was reminded that about 3 in the morning that
32:35
I have to tell you that. Because I forgot how
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much of an impact that had made on my life when
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this man was so humble and yet was so close to
32:46
God. The closer we get to God, the more humble
32:49
we get. What, I will bring the prod down and
32:53
I will elevate the simple? That's what he says.
32:58
I will make the foolish things wise and the wise
33:01
foolish. We serve a great God. We forget that.
33:06
We get so involved with our own lives, our own
33:10
problems, and he understands. He understands
33:15
we get a bad medical report, and it's going to
33:17
weigh on us. We lose our job, it's going to weigh
33:21
on us. He understands all that, but he understands
33:24
that we're his, and he wants us to be obedient
33:31
to him and to love him. That's what he asked
33:35
of us. It's not really a big thing. I mess up
33:41
a lot. Have I always kept the commandments? No
33:44
way. Ask the pastor. He'll be glad to share with
33:47
you. It'll be all worthwhile one day when we
33:55
stand before him. We have no idea what it will
34:00
be like. If he had told us what heaven was like
34:03
to be with him, we'd be so homesick. We'd want
34:09
to leave tomorrow or this afternoon. And that's
34:13
what we forget. Do you imagine heaven? Let's
34:22
remember to keep that all alive in us. That every
34:28
time we think of Jesus, we smile. Every time
34:32
we think of what he's done for us, we praise
34:34
him. And even when the bad things come, we thank
34:38
him that he's still there with us right by our
34:40
side. And that's what helps us get through it.
34:45
We need to get the awe of God back in churches
34:47
in America. They're too busy just making people
34:51
feel good and going home and, oh yeah, I put
34:55
my time in. I worship God for an hour. Now it's
35:00
my time. We have to really remind ourselves that
35:03
every day is God's time. He's waiting for you
35:08
to talk to him. He's waiting for you to sup with
35:11
him, commune with him, and to show him to a world
35:15
that is dying. We might be the only Bible that
35:18
people see in our actions and our deeds around
35:21
people. When I worked at the one nursery, they'd
35:25
say, Oh, sorry, Lanny. Sorry we swore. I said,
35:30
you're not offending me, you're offending my
35:31
God. And they said, ooh. Yeah, that's more serious
35:37
than offending me. Now I put it in a thought,
35:40
the fact that they're disgracing or offending
35:45
a God, their God, who wants to be their God.
35:53
That's all I have. That's all he's given me.
35:56
I can't add anything because if I add anything,
35:58
it would be my words, not his words. And the
36:04
prophets never, ever added anything because they
36:09
knew if it wasn't 100 % prophecy, they'd be stoned
36:12
to death. So help us as we converse with people,
36:20
meet people, present Christ truly as he should
36:23
be, guard ourselves. that we don't fly off the
36:26
handle, say something we shouldn't say, act in
36:29
a way we shouldn't act. That's what he commands
36:33
us to do. If you want to really look at the commands,
36:36
Romans chapter 12, 13, 14, and 15 is filled with
36:43
hundreds of commands. I've been reading my Bible
36:47
for years, and I just read over them. I looked
36:49
at one of the commentaries, and it said, look
36:52
up the commands of God. the four chapters, wow,
36:56
there's a lot there. It's one after another.
36:59
Do this, do this, do this, do this. So we have
37:03
a long way to go yet to learn about God and what
37:05
he wants from us. But he understands, and he'll
37:09
help us each and every day doing more and more
37:12
like him as we journey with him. Let's pray.
37:18
Father, again, we thank you so much for your
37:21
word. That is what we have as prophets. You have
37:26
spoken, and you have commanded many things. And
37:30
forgive us, Father. We do get so busy, so concerned
37:36
with things in our everyday lives, and you understand
37:38
that. We worry about inflation. We worry about
37:41
wars. We worry about sickness. We worry about
37:44
catastrophes coming. But help us to remember
37:47
who we serve. What shall separate us from the
37:53
love of God? Nothing. No principalities, no demons,
37:56
no hardships, no sorrows, no trials. Nothing
38:00
will separate me from the love of God. We thank
38:03
you for that today. We thank you for reminding
38:06
me of how I need to rekindle that awe of you,
38:11
that respect of you, that honor of you, that
38:14
appreciation of you, and all that you did for
38:17
me on the cross at Calvary. Thank you and praise
38:21
you. I pray and hope, Father, that you were lifted
38:25
up and glorified today and that we take something
38:28
home with us that we can use and cherish for
38:30
the weeks ahead. And I thank you for that in
38:33
Christ's name. Amen.