Latest / Max Lucado Daily Sermons / Love keeps no list of wrongs- Minister Max Lucado

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Love keeps no list of wrongs- Minister Max Lucado · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

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Speaker 1: The Pelicano is the world's most unwanted ship. Since 1986,
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Speaker 1: she has been the hobo of the high seas.
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Speaker 2: No one wants her.
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Speaker 1: Sri Lanka doesn't want her. Bermuda doesn't want her. The
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Speaker 1: Dominican Republic turned her away. So did the Netherlands, the Antilles, Honduras.
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Speaker 1: Problem's not the boat. This 466 foot freighter is seaworthy,
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Speaker 1: a bit rusty and barnacled, but seaworthy. Problem's not the registration.
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Speaker 1: The owners have kept the license current and the taxes paid.
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Speaker 1: Problem's not the crew. The crew may feel unwanted, but
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Speaker 1: they're a good crew. And they know how to manage
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Speaker 1: the ship. Then what's the problem? What's the reason for
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Speaker 1: all these years of rejections? Waved away in Sri Lanka,
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Speaker 1: turned away in Indonesia, rejected in Haiti. Why is the
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Speaker 1: Pelicano the world's most unwanted ship?
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Speaker 2: Anyone want to guess? Simple. She's full of trash. Full
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Speaker 2: of trash. Full of trash.
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Speaker 1: 15,000 tons of trash. Some years back, a major city
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Speaker 1: in the United States endured a strike by municipal workers
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Speaker 1: one summer and trash just gathered and gathered and gathered
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Speaker 1: and gathered. Finally, they resolved the strike, but no one
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Speaker 1: would take the trash. There was just too much of it.
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Speaker 1: No landfill would take it. No landfill in any other
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Speaker 1: city would take it. That's when the Pelicano entered the picture.
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Speaker 1: The owners thought they could turn a quick penny by
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Speaker 1: picking up the rubbish and taking it to another port,
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Speaker 1: to another country. But no one would take it. Initially,
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Speaker 1: it was too much. Eventually, it was just too stinky,
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Speaker 1: too toxic.
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Speaker 2: So the plight... of the Pelicano is proof.
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Speaker 1: Trash filled ships find few friends. And the plight of
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Speaker 1: the Pelicano is a parable. Trash filled hearts don't fare
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Speaker 1: any better. I wonder if you can relate to the Pelicano.
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Speaker 1: Maybe there's somebody in your world that you avoid because
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Speaker 1: they've just got all this junk inside of them.
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Speaker 2: They may not be, you.
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Speaker 1: Know, physically smelly, but their attitude sure stinks. And you just,
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Speaker 1: you keep them at distance. Or maybe it's you. Maybe
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Speaker 1: you're unwanted at the dock. drifting farther from friends and family,
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Speaker 1: and you wonder why could it be that you need
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Speaker 1: to check your heart for the garbage? I mean, who
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Speaker 1: wants to offer dock space to a smelly heart? Truth is,
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Speaker 1: life has a way of dumping rubbish on our dock.
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Speaker 1: Your husband works too much. Your wife gripes too much.
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Speaker 1: Your boss expects too.
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Speaker 2: Too much. The kids whine too much. The result? Trash.
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Speaker 1: Load after load of anger, resentment, regrets, pessimism, guilt, anxiety, bigotry, deceit, impatience.
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Speaker 2: It all piles up.
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Speaker 1: And trash affects us. It contaminates our relationships. We see
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Speaker 1: this in the Bible, don't we? Before Cain killed Abel,
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Speaker 1: he had anger in his mind before he had blood
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Speaker 1: on his hands. Martha was meddlesome in her heart before
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Speaker 1: she was quarrelsome with her tongue. Remember the Pharisees who
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Speaker 1: crucified Christ? Well, they had already crucified him in their
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Speaker 1: thoughts before they crucified him on the cross. Why? Because
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Speaker 1: today's thoughts become thoughts. tomorrow's actions. Today's thoughts become tomorrow's actions.
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Speaker 1: Today's jealousy becomes tomorrow's temper tantrum. Today's bigotry becomes tomorrow's
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Speaker 1: hate crime. Today's anger is tomorrow's abuse. Today's lust is
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Speaker 1: tomorrow's act of adultery. Today's greed is tomorrow's dishonesty or embezzlement.
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Speaker 1: Today's guilt is tomorrow's shame. Today's thoughts are tomorrow's actions.
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Speaker 1: Maybe that is why the Apostle Paul was inspired to write,
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Speaker 1: love keeps no record of wrongs. Can we read that
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Speaker 1: out loud together? Love keeps no record of wrongs.
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Speaker 2: It just doesn't.
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Speaker 1: It doesn't keep a record of wrongs. You let trash
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Speaker 1: on board and you're going to smell and people are
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Speaker 1: going to smell it. I mean, the problem with the
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Speaker 1: Pelicano began with the first shovel full. Everything would have
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Speaker 1: been better for everybody if somebody had said, no, let's just.
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Speaker 2: Don't let any trash come on board.
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Speaker 1: And life is better for you and me if we
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Speaker 1: do the same. Now, some folks don't know that we
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Speaker 1: have a choice in this. Some folks don't know that
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Speaker 1: we have an option. I mean, to listen to our vocabulary,
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Speaker 1: you'd think that we're the victim of our thoughts.
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Speaker 2: Don't talk to me. I'm in a bad mood. As
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Speaker 2: if a bad mood is a geographical location.
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Speaker 1: And if you're in it, then you don't have any
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Speaker 1: choice except to be cranky and grumpy.
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Speaker 2: Don't mess with her. She has a bad mood. Kind
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Speaker 2: of like she has a cold or she has COVID.
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Speaker 2: She didn't have anything to do with it. She just
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Speaker 2: got infected.
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Speaker 1: We get this idea that our thoughts, they can take
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Speaker 1: control of our lives. The Apostle Paul would argue against that.
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Speaker 1: 2 Corinthians 10, 5. I've wondered if we shouldn't do
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Speaker 1: a whole sermon series just on this one verse. We
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Speaker 1: capture every thought And make it give.
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Speaker 2: Up and obey Christ.
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Speaker 1: Do you see how aggressive the apostle calls us to be?
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Speaker 1: We capture thoughts. Thoughts come at us. Oh wait, I
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Speaker 1: got that one.
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Speaker 2: No, you don't.
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Speaker 1: We capture it. And we make it give up. You
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Speaker 1: behave yourself attitude. We put a handcuff.
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Speaker 2: On that thought.
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Speaker 1: And we take that thought and we march it over
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Speaker 1: to Jesus Christ and say, if you can't obey Christ,
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Speaker 1: then you need to leave. That's pretty aggressive, right? I mean,
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Speaker 1: this is what we call thought management. Protecting our thoughts
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Speaker 1: because our thoughts.
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Speaker 2: Can take control of our lives.
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Speaker 1: And so the person who is capturing every thought can
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Speaker 1: be heard thinking, selfishness, get out. Anger, get back. Find
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Speaker 1: another boat. Envy, you're not welcome on this one. We
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Speaker 1: capture every thought. Did you know Jesus did this? One
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Speaker 1: time Jesus foretold, speaking to his followers, that he was
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Speaker 1: going to be killed, that he was going to be buried,
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Speaker 1: but then he was going to be resurrected. Well, Peter
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Speaker 1: didn't like the thought. Here's what Peter did. Matthew 16,
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Speaker 1: 22 and 23. Peter took Jesus aside and told him
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Speaker 1: not to talk like that. And then Jesus said to Peter,
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Speaker 1: go away from me, Satan. You're not helping me. You
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Speaker 1: don't care about the things of God, but only about
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Speaker 1: the things people think are important.
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Speaker 2: Look at Jesus.
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Speaker 1: Taking that input from Peter and say, no, I'm not
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Speaker 1: taking that.
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Speaker 2: That's from Satan. That's from Satan. Get away from me.
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Speaker 2: He was decisive. He was deliberate. He was careful.
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Speaker 1: He didn't have every thought that appeared allowed into his brain.
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Speaker 1: What if you did the same? What if you did
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Speaker 1: the same? What if you took every thought captive? What
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Speaker 1: if you followed the advice of Solomon who said, be
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Speaker 1: careful what you think because your thoughts are run your life.
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Speaker 1: Proverbs 4 and verse 23.
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Speaker 2: So tomorrow you're driving to work.
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Speaker 1: And you remember last week one of your co-workers belittled
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Speaker 1: your performance.
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Speaker 2: And boy did it tick you off.
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Speaker 1: And now driving to work, you start thinking about what
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Speaker 1: that coworker said. And you begin to make a list
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Speaker 1: of faults. You begin to make a list of wrongs.
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Speaker 1: How dare that person criticize me? Jerk. Why? Why? She
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Speaker 1: has bad breath. Have you seen those shoes she wears?
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Speaker 1: And she has a bad attitude. And she's not so good.
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Speaker 2: Look at this.
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Speaker 1: List of wrongs. But then you think, oh, what did
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Speaker 1: Locato talk about at church yesterday? I'm not supposed to
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Speaker 1: do this. I'm supposed to take every thought captive.
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Speaker 2: Okay.
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Speaker 1: So instead of making a list of wrongs, you defy
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Speaker 1: the culprit. You tell them to tell those those critical
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Speaker 1: thoughts to stay away. In fact, you might even say
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Speaker 1: a Bible verse. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and
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Speaker 1: do not curse. Romans 12, 14. And instead of all
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Speaker 1: that negativity coming on board before you get to work,
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Speaker 1: you've already set yourself up for success instead of failure.
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Speaker 2: About another example. Anger at your parents is keeping you awake.
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Speaker 1: They called and they only criticized. They didn't applaud your efforts.
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Speaker 1: They just pick, pick, pick, pick, pick. Why aren't you
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Speaker 1: getting married? When are you coming home? Why don't you
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Speaker 1: have a good job like your cousin Homer?
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Speaker 2: Grrrr.
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Speaker 1: You cannot get to sleep because they have agitated you
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Speaker 1: so much. See that fellow down at the bottom of
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Speaker 1: the gangplank? He wants to get on board. The one
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Speaker 1: who's wearing the dark robe, he's a judge. And he's
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Speaker 1: a judge from the court of critical attitudes. We call
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Speaker 1: him judge mental. Now, You're laughing at Travis's jokes. Not
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Speaker 1: that I'm being judgmental or anything. You can spend all
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Speaker 1: night alphabetizing and codifying your parents' mistreatment of you.
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Speaker 2: And by the time you.
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Speaker 1: Wake up, you will feel and smell like a landfill.
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Speaker 1: Or you can keep no list of wrongs. You can say, Lord,
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Speaker 1: I'm really struggling with what they said, but I'm going
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Speaker 1: to turn them and turn that over to you. The
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Speaker 1: big idea is this. Just because there's trash on the dock,
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Speaker 1: that doesn't mean you have to allow trash onto the ship.
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Speaker 1: Just because you have a thought, you don't have to
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Speaker 1: think it. You're not a victim of your thoughts. You,
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Speaker 1: by virtue of the power of the Holy Spirit, are
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Speaker 1: a victor over your thoughts. You have a voice, you
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Speaker 1: have a vote, and you can exercise thought prevention. In fact,
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Speaker 1: you can take it a step further and exercise thought.
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Speaker 2: Permission.
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Speaker 1: You can permit good thoughts, not just prevent the bad thoughts,
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Speaker 1: but you can prevent, you can permit good thoughts. If
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Speaker 1: you and I were in charge of fixing up the Pelicano,
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Speaker 1: we would fumigate it for sure. But then we would say, hey,
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Speaker 1: if you really want this ship to be received at
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Speaker 1: docks around the world, carry good food or carry flowers
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Speaker 1: or play good music.
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Speaker 2: Put something positive on it.
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Speaker 1: And so in addition to refusing to think the thoughts that.
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Speaker 2: Hurt you, begin to think the thoughts that help you.
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Speaker 1: Again, it's the Apostle Paul who loves to talk about this.
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Speaker 1: Philippians chapter 4 and verse 8, I'm just going to
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Speaker 1: read it to you. Whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
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Speaker 1: whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever
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Speaker 1: is gracious, if there's any excellence, anything worthy of praise,
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Speaker 1: think about these things.
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Speaker 2: Uses the same word for think about.
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Speaker 1: That he used for keep in 1 Corinthians 13 5.
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Speaker 2: Love keeps no record of wrongs.
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Speaker 1: And then he uses that same word in Philippians 4 verse.
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Speaker 2: 8 when he says think about these things.
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Speaker 1: To think is in Greek the idea of studying, focusing, pondering,
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Speaker 1: allowing what is viewed to have an impact on us.
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Speaker 2: So here's a suggestion.
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Speaker 1: Rather than keep a list of wrongs of other people,
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Speaker 1: what if you compile a list of wrongs that God has.
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Speaker 2: Forgiven of you? Hmm.
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Speaker 1: Just make a list. Wow, he forgave that. Even today
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Speaker 1: I was critical, but God forgave that. I was harsh
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Speaker 1: with the family, but God forgave that. How many times, God,
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Speaker 1: have you looked upon me with mercy and grace. You're
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Speaker 1: not keeping a list of my wrongs, are you?
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Speaker 2: And if you're in Christ, the answer is no, he's not.
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Speaker 2: He's covered you with the forgiveness of Christ.
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Speaker 1: That's why David said, God has not punished us as
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Speaker 1: our sin should be punished.
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Speaker 2: He has not repaid us for the evil we have done.
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Speaker 1: Psalm 103 in verse 10. And also, In Psalm 130
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Speaker 1: in verse 3, Lord, if you kept a record of our.
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Speaker 2: Sins, who, oh Lord, could ever survive? You know what?
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Speaker 1: You've not been sprinkled with forgiveness. You've not been spattered
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Speaker 1: with forgiveness. You've not been dusted with forgiveness. Forgiveness has
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Speaker 1: been dumped on you. You're a minnow swimming about in
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Speaker 1: the Pacific Ocean of God's forgiveness. Everywhere you turn, you
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Speaker 1: have been forgiven. And so the logic of scripture is
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Speaker 1: with God having forgiven you so much, could you not
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Speaker 1: then in turn keep no list of wrongs? Let what
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Speaker 1: God did change you. Now, friends, to do this, some
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Speaker 1: of you are going to have to make some decisions
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Speaker 1: because you're hanging out with people who are purveyors of trash.
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Speaker 2: And all they do is bring negativity into your world.
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Speaker 1: Right? Every time you talk to them, you just feel
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Speaker 1: like your world has sunk a bit. And they criticize
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Speaker 1: others and they gossip and they want to pull you into.
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Speaker 2: Their pity party. You know, you don't have to talk
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Speaker 2: to them. You don't have to.
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Speaker 1: And if they're pulling you down, then you just move
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Speaker 1: on until you're strong enough not to be pulled down
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Speaker 1: any longer. Or maybe just tell them, just tell them, say, no,
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Speaker 1: every time we talk, it's gossip, it's criticism, it's malicious,
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Speaker 1: it's ticky tacky stuff.
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Speaker 2: I just don't want that anymore.
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Speaker 1: Just shoot straight with them. Maybe that's what you need
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Speaker 1: to do. Maybe there's a book or two that you
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Speaker 1: don't need to read or maybe a shelf full of
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Speaker 1: books you need to avoid. Maybe there's a television show
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Speaker 1: that's just, they call it reality TV, but really it's
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Speaker 1: reality junk TV.
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Speaker 2: Just quit watching it.
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Speaker 1: Turn it off. And can we say this is an
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Speaker 1: election year? And that networks make a living out of
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Speaker 1: making a list of wrongs And rehearsing that list. It's
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Speaker 1: one thing to be alert and fair. It's another thing
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Speaker 1: to be just inhale it. So maybe dial it back
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Speaker 1: just a bit. You know what you need to do.
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Speaker 1: To become that person who does not keep a list
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Speaker 1: of wrongs.
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Speaker 2: But instead you begin keeping a.
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Speaker 1: List of blessings. A list of kindnesses. A list of
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Speaker 1: good things done. that have come your way. A list
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Speaker 1: of the mercies that the Lord has given to you.
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Speaker 1: I'm going to close with a story from the New Testament.
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Speaker 1: We call this the story of the Samaritan woman. And
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Speaker 1: she had every reason to have a list of wrongs.
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Speaker 2: Maybe she did.
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Speaker 1: Because by the time we meet her, or Jesus met her,
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Speaker 1: in John chapter 4, She is a Samaritan. She is
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Speaker 1: a Samaritan woman. She is a Samaritan woman who has
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Speaker 1: been divorced not once, not twice, not three times, four times,
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Speaker 1: but five times. And now she's living with a man
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Speaker 1: who won't give her a ring to wear on her finger.
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Speaker 2: So she has ample reason to.
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Speaker 1: Be mad at the Jews because they don't like the
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Speaker 1: samaritans she ample reason to be mad at men because
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Speaker 1: they've mistreated women she has five jerks who have divorced
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Speaker 1: her she has a guy it's just it could just
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Speaker 1: be one mess after another and then comes that day
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Speaker 1: when jesus sees her at the well And asks her
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Speaker 1: for a drink of water. And she says, now how
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Speaker 1: is it that you, a Jew, ask of me a
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Speaker 1: Samaritan water? Because Jews have nothing to do with Samaritans.
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Speaker 1: And this inaugurates a conversation that leads quickly to a
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Speaker 1: discussion about God. And Jesus says to her, I who
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Speaker 1: speak to you am he. And he discloses his identity
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Speaker 1: to her. And he invites her to tell everybody. She
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Speaker 1: goes back to her village and she begins to tell
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Speaker 1: people about this man that she met. He told me
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Speaker 1: everything that I ever did. She said, leaving unsaid the obvious,
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Speaker 1: and he loved me anyway. And you know what happened?
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Speaker 1: What happened?
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Speaker 2: She told everyone in.
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Speaker 1: Her village about Jesus.
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Speaker 2: Everyone.
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Speaker 1: And we don't typically think of this, but it's true.
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Speaker 1: She was and is the first missionary in the history
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Speaker 1: of the church. Early in the Gospel of John, long
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Speaker 1: before Peter went out, long before John went out, long
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Speaker 1: before the apostle Paul went out, there was this woman
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Speaker 1: whose name were never told. Who was given the privilege
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Speaker 1: of telling the name of Jesus Christ. She's the Bible's
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Speaker 1: first missionary. Why? Because Jesus was kind to her. And
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Speaker 1: she received his kindness. She trusted his kindness. A little
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Speaker 1: bit of rain can straighten a flower stalk. And a
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Speaker 1: little bit of grace can change a life. Love keeps
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Speaker 1: no list of wrongs. Now you can make your list.
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Speaker 1: You can stick with your stinky cargo if you want.
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Speaker 1: But why would you?
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Speaker 2: Why would you?
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Speaker 1: Your captain has high plans for you. And he plans
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Speaker 1: to fill you with good things. And so those good
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Speaker 1: things overflow into the lives of others. But it begins
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Speaker 1: by giving him that list.
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Speaker 2: I close just.
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Speaker 1: In case somebody needs to hear. I'm not saying what
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Speaker 1: they did to you was right. In fact, you've been
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Speaker 1: hurt and it was wrong what they did. Forgiveness never
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Speaker 1: justifies what someone did. Forgiveness simply entrusts your hurts to
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Speaker 1: the hands of the Father who said, vengeance is mine,
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Speaker 1: I'll repay. I'm going to pray and I'm going to
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Speaker 1: be quiet during most of the prayer. I'm just going
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Speaker 1: to say, Lord, is there someone I need to forgive?
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Speaker 1: Am I keeping a list of wrongs? And invite the
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Speaker 1: Holy Spirit to speak to you and see what he says, okay?
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Speaker 1: Lord Jesus, as we think about the people in our world,
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Speaker 1: would you tell us, is there someone I need to forgive?
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Speaker 1: Am I keeping a list of wrongs? Grant me courage
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Speaker 1: now to offer grace. To bring forgiveness. I trust that
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Speaker 1: you will settle this matter. And I thank you for
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Speaker 1: the forgiveness you've given to me. Through Jesus, I pray.
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Speaker 1: And all God's people said, Amen.
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Speaker 3: You don't have to stay close.
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Speaker 2: As long as you're somewhere out there.
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Speaker 3: That's enough for me. I don't need to hold you
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Speaker 3: near me. Don't need promises to keep. Just the thought
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Speaker 3: that you are breathing. Somewhere in this world I see.
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Speaker 3: Even if I'm not beside you. Even if you never know.
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Speaker 3: There's a quiet kind of comfort just in knowing you
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Speaker 3: still glow.
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Speaker 2: I don't need forever.
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Speaker 3: I just need you to exist You don't have to
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Speaker 3: stay with me You don't.
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Speaker 2: Have to feel the same Just as long as.
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Speaker 3: You're still out there Calling softly through my days.
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Speaker 4: You don't have to look my way You don't have
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Speaker 4: to be my home.
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Speaker 3: It's enough to know you're living In a world I'm.
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Speaker 2: Not alone I won't chase you through the.
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Speaker 3: Distance Won't disturb your chosen life. I'll just keep you
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Speaker 3: in my silence like a star that shines at night.
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Speaker 3: Through the dark and through the blue.
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Speaker 5: I still think of you. You don't have to look
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Speaker 5: my way.
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Speaker 2: You don't have to be my home.
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Speaker 4: It's enough to know you're living in a world I'm
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Speaker 4: not alone.
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Speaker 3: I don't need to be your light I don't need
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Speaker 3: to cross your mind All I need is just the
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Speaker 3: truth That you're somewhere.
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Speaker 2: Still alive You don't have.
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Speaker 4: To stay with me You don't have to feel the
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Speaker 4: same Just as long as you're still out there Calling
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Speaker 4: softly through my days You don't have to look my
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Speaker 4: way You don't have to be my home It's enough
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Speaker 4: to know you're living it
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Speaker 3: In a world I'm not alone