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How to Glorify God, No Matter Who You Are | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  We're going to take a pause and mark today.
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  So we won't turn there. We'll continue in that series in
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  the weeks to come. But today I want to I want to
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  answer a particular and important question that applies
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  virtually to every single person here.
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  And it's very likely that this question is something that has
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  bounced in your mind on different occasions since you
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  became a follower of Christ. And it's even possible for some
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  that this question was not just a visiting thought, but
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  something that you have wrestled with to the point perhaps, of
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  discouragement or even frustration, because you've
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  never arrived to a satisfying conclusion.
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  And it could be that the question that I'm going to
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  present to you is no longer a source of reflection to you.
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  Because I hope this is the reason you have arrived to your
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  answers through the word of God. Which is a wonderful
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  possibility, because we live in a time and we live in a nation
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  where you can have access to the complete revelation of God's
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  Word. But it can also be that this
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  question is no longer something you consider anymore because
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  it's been buried. It's been buried by busyness.
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  It's been buried by distractions.
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  It's been buried by the responsibilities you have
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  inherited throughout the natural course of your progression in
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  life. But my prayer is that this
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  message would for you, if you are here, not having answers to
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  what I'm about to revisit. This message would dig up that
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  consideration, Dust it off, and that it would be crowned once
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  again upon your affections and your priorities as a follower of
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  Jesus Christ. And more than that, that you
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  would leave those doors soothed. Because not only has this
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  question now revived in your heart, but you also have the
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  answers with it, to have the confidence to know how you can
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  walk in it. The question that I am referring
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  to sounds something like this. How can I, to the greatest
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  degree possible, glorify God with my life?
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  Every true born again believer in Jesus Christ has experienced
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  A yearning related to that thought.
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  Like Paul who asked the Lord after being encountered by him
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  on the road to Damascus, you not only inquire who are you Lord,
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  but you ask what shall I do, Lord.
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  Those are the two questions that every true person who's
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  encountered Christ will ask, not just in the moment that they've
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  met Christ, but perpetually as they walk with Christ.
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  Who are you Lord? And what shall I do Lord?
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  Now, it's possible that though that desire has been birthed in
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  your heart because the Holy Spirit inhabits the forgiven
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  soul and he brings with his occupation all these things,
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  it's possible even for a genuine believer to not be concerned
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  with that at some point, even for a long periods of time, for
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  a variety of reasons, that that doesn't become your chief
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  ambition. That doesn't frame everything
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  that you do and everything that you decide and everything that
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  you contemplate about. But I'm, I'm not here to discuss
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  about the variety of causes for that.
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  Instead, I want to buy the scriptures.
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  Present to you a blueprint from the scriptures that would give
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  you the confidence to know that you are in fact walking in a
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  manner where you are glorifying God day by day.
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  And this is something that should excite us, because you
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  and I can live in the reality of maximally glorifying God without
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  a shadow of a doubt, no matter who you are.
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  In fact, that's really the title of what I want to speak about.
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  How can you glorify God no matter who you are?
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  Because you have good hearted, passionate Christians and this
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  is especially true when you first come to Christ.
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  But it's even true for those who go on through life and walk in
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  with the Lord that you can't make the greatest impact for the
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  Lord unless you are in full time vocational ministry, unless you
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  sell everything, get on a flight and go to a foreign mission
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  field, and even plan to be a martyr.
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  You you have people who think that this is the only way that I
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  can make the most of bringing pleasure to God's heart.
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  People live under that conception and they love the
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  Lord and and they're part of their local church and they
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  serve in some kind of ministry. But they always have this
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  nagging thought. I don't know if if I'm like that
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  guy who's preaching to me every Sunday.
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  I I don't know if I'm bringing greater delight than these
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  conference speakers that I hear from or these books that I read
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  about these missionaries and these.
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  Whatever the case may be, you have people who live with that
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  nagging thought. The Scriptures make no such
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  claim that there is a separate category of Christians who bring
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  him greater honor because they serve him in the context of
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  dedicated full time ministry. That is a way of glorifying God,
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  and God equips some people to occupy that lane and to exalt
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  him in that place. But you, as a person who may not
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  be in that sphere, should never for a moment think that you
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  can't bring equal, if not even more blessing to the heart of
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  your master. You think just because people
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  are in full time ministry, they're glorifying God.
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  You don't even have to be in ministry.
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  When you're in ministry, you can you can see a lot of things.
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  But even if you're not in ministry with this Internet age,
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  you realize that not everybody in ministry is doing it for the
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  glory of God. And so here's how we're going to
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  move forward with this very straightforward, intensely
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  practical message. I just want to give you some
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  overarching principles that can clarify and give you the
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  assurance that I know that I am living for the glory of God.
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  I know it. I know it because the Bible
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  tells me how to do it. And these practical steps that I
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  want to present to you today will be the manners in which you
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  and I can know that we are praising and we are bringing
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  pleasure to the Lord. And here's what you're going to
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  realize of every single one of these things.
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  They are all achievable by every single one of us, whoever you
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  are in this place. What I'm about to tell you today
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  is accessible, which means that we are all invited into that
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  awesome privilege of bringing delight to God and not thinking
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  or doubting for a moment that if I just get there, or if I just
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  do that, or if I could just get rid of this, and if I position
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  myself in this way, then I'm there.
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  Now, I want you to understand that what you're going to hear
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  today can give you the rest. That for the rest of your days
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  you're giving everything you can to the Lord.
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  And hopefully this is a memorable message, because
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  there's three points here, and each of these points begin with
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  the letter C And so I want to speak to you about.
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  Though these are not exhaustive, I always have to give that
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  caveat. These are not exhaustive, but
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  they are major components, major askings of God for you to be
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  able to know. Yes, I'm living for his glory.
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  Turn with me to 2nd Corinthians for the first point.
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  Second Corinthians, chapter 3. What must I do no matter who I
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  am? A student?
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  A businessman? A stay at home mom.
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  A nurse? How can I know that I'm
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  glorifying God? Well, here's what you have to
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  first do #1 Cultivate, cultivate, and maintain a
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  devotional life. Cultivate and maintain a
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  personal, intimate, devotional life with your Saviour.
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  In this chapter, Paul gives a few reasons why the New Covenant
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  is superior to the old, and he does so by making a very bold
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  comparison. He declares how we are as a new
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  covenant people at a better advantage than those who were
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  under the Old covenant and not just the nation of Israel.
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  He even goes as far to say that you and I have a greater
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  advantage and we have been invited into a greater
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  experience than the man of God. Moses himself, the Jewish people
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  prized and championed Moses among other prophets of that
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  time. But for Paul as a Jew to come
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  now and say to these believers, hey, you've probably heard of
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  Moses, Do you realize that where you are today, because of
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  Christ, you actually are enjoying something more than
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  what he experienced? And the apostle here makes these
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  incredible parallels between the two covenants in this section of
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  Scripture. And I want to just give you one
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  example of that. Look at verse 13 of chapter
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  three. Since we have such a hope, we
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  are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his
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  face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of
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  what was being brought to an end.
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  Now this would be familiar to those who have studied the book
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  of Exodus, that at one at one point in the wilderness there
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  was Mount Sinai. And Moses, as the mediator of
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  this old covenant, would ascend and descend this mountain to
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  receive instructions from the Lord and then convey that to the
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  people. But something interesting
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  happened at one point when Moses would visit the Lord's presence
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  and then come down and explain to the people what he required
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  of them. At one point he he goes, and
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  then he makes his way down into the valley and the people notice
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  something. His skin was shining.
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  This is a supernatural manifestation.
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  There was a glow coming from his face, and we're told they're in
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  Exodus, that the people were afraid and did not come near to
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  him. And so Moses and perceiving this
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  does something. He veils his face.
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  He covers his face. Now that's what we assume of why
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  Moses covered his face, because he didn't want it to be any
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  hindrance for them receiving what God wanted to say.
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  And so this was out of his control.
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  But whatever he could do, he could and so he just he veiled
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  himself. But what Paul does here is that
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  he gives a deeper meaning to why Moses veiled his face.
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  You read it in the Exodus account.
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  You would think it's because he doesn't want to spook out the
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  people. But what does Paul say?
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  Paul says the reason why Moses veiled his face.
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  Look at it again. Is so that the Israelites might
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  not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end.
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  You see, something was happening and it's there in Exodus.
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  And let me read this to you from Exodus 3433.
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  Just listen to it. When Moses had finished speaking
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  with them, he put a veil over his face.
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  Something happened as time went on.
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  When Moses was among the people, yes, he came down and that light
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  was shining bright. But over time it would dwindle
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  and it would faint. And Moses, according to Paul's
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  Holy Spirit inspired commentary, did this because he did not want
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  the people to see how this glory was fading.
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  And so he would wrap his face and he would make his way up to
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  the mountain, and then he would experience the presence of the
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  Lord. And then he would be, in a
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  sense, recharge, if I can use that word, and then revisit the
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  people. And that would be a cycle.
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  Now, what's interesting about what Paul is saying here is
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  because he takes that fading glory and he applies it not just
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  to this special manifestation that occurred at one point in
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  Israel's history. No, it was a picture of the
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  fading glory of the old covenant.
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  So in the same way that this glory was diminishing, it really
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  spoke of the diminishing glory of this covenant that God made
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  with the nation of Israel. There was a glory, but it was
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  not a permanent glory. It was 1 to soon be replaced by
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  an eternal covenant, one that would last and one that would
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  remain with no plan of obstruction or replacement.
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  And this is what Paul's trying to say to these believers.
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  Here's the practical implication of it.
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  By saying this in the beginning of verse 13, he wants to
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  encourage the people. We are not like Moses.
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  We have nothing to fear. We have nothing to be ashamed of
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  concerning our covenant. Because this gospel truth
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  outshines everything. It outshines the old covenant.
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  It outshines every philosophy and man made religion since
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  then, and anything that would develop, be developed after.
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  This is a covenant that is ours and it is permanent and nothing
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  can touch it, delete it, or eclipse it.
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  So you're bold, be bold, be encouraged.
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  Understand the privilege that you have in conveying the truth,
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  living for this truth, defending this truth, we have a better and
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  more glorious covenant. But then he takes this symbol of
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  a veil and he does a lot with it in this chapter.
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  He goes here and he goes there, and he even applies it in this
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  way, in the very same chapter. Look how he borrows Moses
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  veiling of his face and connects it to the New covenant
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  experience. As a parallel in the contrast,
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  look at verse 18 of chapter 3 and we all with unveiled face
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  beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the
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  same image from 1° of glory to another, for this comes from the
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  Lord who is the Spirit. So again, Paul's pointing to
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  Moses veil, but from a different angle.
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  Because remember now, when Moses would go up to that mountain, he
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  had because God allowed it the confidence and the liberty to
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  unveil his face and with open face, behold the glory of God
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  and talk with God and commune with God.
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  Was that privilege shared by anybody else?
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  Absolutely not. Not even the leaders, not even
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  the chief elders could go where Moses went.
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  Nobody could dare entertain and ascend that hill without being
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  struck down. And if anybody tried to do, and
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  even got a Glipse, they would never be able to live to tell
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  about it. This was exclusive to this one
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  man. This was reserved for this one
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  individual. He could approach the glory of
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  God and behold it with unveiled face.
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  And here's Paul as an ambassador of the New Covenant, now writing
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  to these believers, and look what he dares to say by the
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  Spirit in verse 18. And we all with unveiled face,
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  we all have You ever read the Book of Corinthians?
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  If you're ever discouraged about your local church, just read the
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  Book of Corinthians and you'll sober up.
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  They're not the most pleasant group of Christians.
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  They had a lot of issues. And yet Paul can say, because of
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  the power of the blood of Jesus Christ, that positionally puts
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  us in a place that you can't even imagine.
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  Can say we all, and we all with unveiled face, What can we do
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  now, Paul, because of this new glorious covenant beholding the
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  glory of the Lord? So now you and I are invited to
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  do something that only Moses could experience, and that is to
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  come before the presence of the Lord and to witness something
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  that is even better than what Moses saw singing.
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  Is this real? It is real, and you won't even
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  begin to enjoy it and know it for yourself unless you first
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  believe it. Because everything's accessed by
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  faith. And this is what he's trying to
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  pump in their hearts. We all would unveil faith.
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  Not some, but all. And who are they all?
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  Well, look at verse 16. What does it say in verse 16?
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  And say, Sir, But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is
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  removed. So if you want to be among the
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  company of those who have unveiled faces, giving you
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  through the eyes of your heart access to deeper glories in God,
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  the requirement is that you got to turn to the Lord.
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  That's called repentance and that's called faith in the Lord
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  Jesus Christ. And earlier, I won't get into
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  it. He talks about how there is this
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  metaphorical veil over the heart of the Jews.
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  They can't see this glory because that veil remains and it
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  can only be removed when Christ removes it.
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  One person turns to the Lord Jesus and faith, even simple
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  faith, miracles can take place. But here's the point that I'm
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  trying to get across. Moses, Moses with an unfailed
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  face and go. And now, because of Christ, we
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  can all go in, and we can not only have access to the glory of
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  the Lord through the means that He has provided to us, namely
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  through His word, namely through prayer, that gives us access to
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  His presence. Not only can we have access to
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  that, but listen in the same way that Moses directly experienced
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  a reflection of that glory. You and two, now you 2 now have
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  that access, not just to be in there, but for it to do
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  something to us and look at it again.
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  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord,
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  are being transformed into the same image from 1° of glory to
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  another. So you can continue this
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  contrast. Moses went up there.
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  Yes, he was the only one who had access.
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  And because he has the only access he has, only He was the
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  only one that had the benefit of seeing his face the way it was,
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  and for other people to witness it.
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  So unlike manner, when you behold the glory of the Lord,
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  something's going to happen to you, and it can happen to any of
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  us, because what's the condition?
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  We all. Who's the we all?
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  If you've turned to the Lord, so we all have access.
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  But not everybody has the experience.
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  Can I tell you why? Because it's not enough to just
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  turn to the Lord. That's the first step.
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  The second step is what people fail to do.
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  Behold him. I must consciously, and I must
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  with effort and desire, and even with some kind of discipline,
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  behold him beholding the glory of the Lord.
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  And here's the result. What you witness, like a mirror,
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  will now reflect off of you. And what's that mean?
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  I'm going to sparkle physically. No, something better.
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  What glory is, is Paul conveying here?
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  What kind of glory is it that's going to rub off on me as I
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  behold the glory of the Lord? His moral elegance, the
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  attributes that make him holy, are now shared with the one who
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  beholds him. You know what the word behold
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  means. I'll tell you what, it doesn't
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  mean this. That's a quick glance.
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  That's not what this word is speaking about.
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  Means to stare at it implies to study and to look at it long
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  enough for it to have its effect on you.
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  And he's saying if you do this, then you will know some kind of
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  reflection of his glory. And what more can we do to
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  glorify the Lord? How can I glorify the Lord?
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  What more can you do in the reflect His glory?
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  Well, how do I have access for me to reflect his glory?
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  Here's what Paul says. You got to take time to behold
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  him. And This is why Satan will fight
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  you, and he will frustrate you, and he will dangle things before
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  your face that you would never even give a minute to beholding
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  the glory of the Lord. Because he knows what he can do.
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  And that's why you and I have to build up the faith by the Word,
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  to believe that as I take the time to behold him, it's going
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  to do something to me. It's going to shape me, it's
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  going to chisel me, it's going to carve me.
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  And here's the encouragement, Not that we have access, not
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  that it's it's going to reflect on me, but that it's a progress,
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  It's a gradual thing. Don't think that if you just
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  have one week of beholding the Lord consistently that you're
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  going to come out shining. No.
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  What does he say from 1° of glory to another?
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  I thank God that even in this supernatural transaction, it
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  still takes time. That's a comfort to me.
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  That's a comfort to me because I don't always come out of my time
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  with the Lord and His word that this is, by the way, the main
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  way in which we will behold His glory.
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  I don't always come outside of my time and sitting at the feet
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  of the Lord looking like Moses. No, but I I trust that as I do
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  this, and as I give myself to it, even though everything that
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  morning is fighting me to stay in my warm bed or occupy myself
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  with 100 different things, I must behold him.
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  I must behold him. If I want to glorify him, then I
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  must reflect his glory. And if I'm going to have any
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  chance of reflecting his glory, I got to make time to ascend the
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  hill of the Lord and to look at him as beholding the glory of
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  the Lord. A conscious practice in your
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  life, The veil has been removed because of your faith in Jesus
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  Christ. But where are your eyes looking?
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  I get it, and I'm getting it more and more as I'm advancing
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  in life. Life can get hectic and life can
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  get crazy. But I have to understand that if
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  I'm going to have any chance of having the confidence that I can
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  long term, actually lifelong, glorify God, then I have to.
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  I have to make this a pillar in my life.
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  Cultivate and maintain a time with the Lord where I'm able to
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  without distraction, behold him and you'd be made to know what
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  you are able to give to. The Lord can do miracles in your
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  life, you are able to do it. This is accessible to all of us,
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  and that's the first thing. Cultivate and maintain a
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  devotional life. Paul by the Spirit says this is
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  the way to knowing transformation.
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  But it's not just that. Let's look to another place.
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  Go to Romans 15 with me, please. And let's go to chapter 15 and
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  verse 5. Paul again says to these Roman
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  believers, he's really praying for them in this May.
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  The God of endurance and encouragement.
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  Pause. Aren't you happy that one of the
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  titles that God gives himself is that he is the God of
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  encouragement? You want to be more like God?
• 24:45
  Be more encouraging. He's an encouraging God.
• 24:49
  He's an encouraging God. In fact, when you read about the
• 24:52
  gifts of the Spirit and you speak about prophecy, it's
• 24:55
  supposed to encourage you. Well, we we can't get into that
• 24:58
  now. Romans 15/5.
• 25:00
  May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live
• 25:05
  in such harmony with one another in accord with Christ Jesus.
• 25:12
  Look at this very carefully in verse six, that together you may
• 25:15
  with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
• 25:20
  Christ. Therefore, welcome one another
• 25:23
  as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God.
• 25:30
  Twice in these verses, Paul speaks about glorifying God and
• 25:34
  notice that they are both connected to a certain
• 25:37
  condition. They are a glory connected to
• 25:44
  the context of a togetherness. In other words, this particular
• 25:51
  glorification of God in and through our lives cannot be
• 25:55
  separated, is exclusively accessed with other believers.
• 26:02
  How can I know, no matter who I am, what job I have, where I
• 26:06
  live, how many kids I have, what's in my bank account, what
• 26:09
  my giftings are, How can I have the assurance that I am living
• 26:13
  for the glory of God? Well, number one, you have to
• 26:14
  cultivate, maintain a devotional life.
• 26:16
  That's step one. Number two, you have to commit
• 26:19
  to the local church. You have to commit to the local
• 26:23
  church, because notice here in verse six that together you may
• 26:29
  with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
• 26:34
  Christ and look at the the surrounding instructions in
• 26:38
  verse 5 to live in such harmony with with you, by yourself, no,
• 26:43
  no, with one another. And then he speaks about
• 26:46
  together, glorifying God with one voice.
• 26:48
  And then verse 7. Therefore welcome one another,
• 26:52
  so one another, one another together.
• 26:55
  And So what Paul is conveying here here is that there is a
• 26:58
  particular praise unto God and a particular lever of pleasure we
• 27:02
  give to God in my life that must be connected to other believers.
• 27:07
  You, if you desire to glorify the Lord, cannot afford to do
• 27:11
  this solo. I don't care how much time you
• 27:15
  spend alone beholding the glory of God in the place of His word,
• 27:19
  in the place of prayer, you will never be able to know a certain
• 27:24
  level of glorifying him apart from giving that sacrifice of
• 27:28
  glory on the altar of the local church.
• 27:33
  And besides, the glory that you get and I get from Beholding is
• 27:35
  meant to shine on others, right? And so here's the point that I
• 27:40
  want to make from this When a person chooses to have zero or a
• 27:43
  shallow relationship with the church, he is denying, she is
• 27:47
  denying a level of glory that God deserves.
• 27:54
  So how am I because I'm looking at these verses?
• 27:57
  How am I able to obey these scriptures?
• 27:59
  For example, if I can't identify, if I can't identify
• 28:02
  with a local assembly and say here are the people that I'm
• 28:05
  called to live in harmony with. And here are the people that I'm
• 28:09
  called to with one voice glorify the Lord every time we gather.
• 28:14
  And here are the people that I'm invited to open my heart to and
• 28:17
  be hospitable to and to interact with in a Christ, Christ like
• 28:20
  manner. Who are those people in your
• 28:22
  life? Where are those people in your
• 28:24
  life. And this idea here is not that
• 28:27
  if you attend church services and you'd be nice to people on
• 28:31
  your way in and on your way out, that God is looking in and from
• 28:34
  heaven with a clipboard in His hand saying, OK, you're you're
• 28:37
  here this week and check it off, good job you're you're
• 28:38
  glorifying me. Good job man.
• 28:40
  Keep it up. That's not what he's after,
• 28:42
  because pay very close attention to this.
• 28:45
  Instead, When you practically invest your life into the body
• 28:50
  of Christ, you unlock hundreds of ways of glorifying God.
• 28:57
  All these avenues now open up because God has designed and
• 29:02
  intended the church to be the arena where we experience a
• 29:06
  place of glorifying Him in a special way.
• 29:09
  So, so many things begin to open up in the one simple place, the
• 29:13
  awesome place of a church on Canfield, so to speak.
• 29:18
  Thanks for the time being where God expects us to glorify Him in
• 29:23
  a special way. And and how many ways can you
• 29:26
  and I glorify and remember, how can I glorify God no matter who
• 29:30
  I am, no matter who you are? Again, so many ways, and this is
• 29:33
  the one example that that came to mind.
• 29:35
  So turn there to 2nd Corinthians 9.
• 29:36
  I want to show you one, one among many, one among the great
• 29:40
  catalogue of opportunities to be able to bring delight to the
• 29:44
  heart of God. 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 9.
• 29:53
  In this chapter, Paul is reminding the Corinthian
• 29:55
  believers of their willingness and commitment to help some of
• 29:59
  the Saints in Jerusalem financially.
• 30:02
  Actually, And he says it's in 2nd Corinthians 913 to stir up
• 30:08
  their affections and their convictions toward this.
• 30:11
  Again, he says in verse 13, by their approval of the service
• 30:16
  they they will glorify God because of your submission that
• 30:21
  comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ and the
• 30:25
  generosity of your contribution for them and for all others.
• 30:28
  So he says, look Corinthian believers, you have an
• 30:32
  opportunity as a church to glorify God as you extend help
• 30:36
  in this way. And he says you'll do it in two
• 30:40
  ways. One, because these Saints will,
• 30:43
  who are Jewish believers, witness your submission to your
• 30:47
  confession of the gospel. Remember, the Jews already had
• 30:51
  issues with these believers being grafted in.
• 30:55
  You see that in the book of Acts.
• 30:57
  And Paul, mindful of this, says you have an opportunity, you
• 30:59
  Gentile believers, to show that your confession of Christ
• 31:02
  actually brought change in your life.
• 31:04
  You can. And so this is a way for these
• 31:08
  believers who have much to boast about a much more foundation
• 31:12
  than you do, to say no, Our Messiah did a work in these
• 31:15
  Gentiles as well and it will say something of the authenticity of
• 31:20
  your confession but not just that he's like not only will
• 31:23
  they be able to glorify God because of that, like hey guys,
• 31:26
  look what just came in. Surely God is doing a work among
• 31:28
  the Gentiles but that also look and the generosity of your
• 31:35
  contribution for them and for all others.
• 31:37
  Notice the connection between this is just one example of how
• 31:42
  who no matter who I am, I can glorify God.
• 31:44
  In the context of the Church, generosity is connected to
• 31:48
  glorifying God. Do you see that that through
• 31:51
  your generosity, your contribution, they will glorify
• 31:55
  God? I reminded of a brother who
• 32:01
  experienced something like this. It was on his heart to to give
• 32:05
  in a particular way and it was just impressed randomly and
• 32:09
  towards somebody that he knows that's serving a ministry in a
• 32:11
  certain capacity. And so it was in a time where
• 32:15
  there was other investments that he had to make.
• 32:17
  So I don't know if there was hesitation or what but
• 32:20
  eventually made that move and just without announcement just
• 32:25
  God bless you and within a few minutes received the message and
• 32:27
  that message was something along the lines of you don't
• 32:29
  understand we've been praying and we're we're thinking of
• 32:34
  doing something fresh and and and and this came in around that
• 32:38
  same time and this is to us a confirmation that we're moving
• 32:41
  in the right direction and my heart is so moved.
• 32:46
  What happened there? You had one individual that was
• 32:49
  prompted to do this, not knowing why at this time, not knowing
• 32:53
  the reasons for it, does it and receives report that this was a
• 32:58
  confirmation beyond just the simple donation and what took
• 33:01
  place that person expressed, glorifying God.
• 33:08
  That's just 111 sliver among so many threads that your hands in
• 33:15
  the church can weave to bring a masterpiece of glorifying God as
• 33:21
  you partner with others in the place that God has called you.
• 33:25
  How can I glorify God no matter who I am?
• 33:27
  You have to you. You will not know heights and
• 33:30
  you will not know depths until you can say this is where I
• 33:33
  serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Among these people and with
• 33:36
  these elders and these deacons, there is a final way, not
• 33:46
  limited this of course. Cultivate, maintain a devotional
• 33:49
  life, walk beholding him, commit myself to the local church, and
• 33:56
  watch the opportunities. Open up.
• 33:58
  So many opportunities for you to be like this is awesome.
• 34:02
  Lastly, and this is more general, but it covers really
• 34:05
  everything. Conform.
• 34:09
  Conform to Christ, likeness in every and any context you find
• 34:13
  yourself in. So cultivate, commit, conform.
• 34:18
  Because as you are aware, there are many practical ways that you
• 34:21
  and I can explore and discover of how we can glorify God.
• 34:24
  But I believe Paul summarizes it in a particular space of
• 34:27
  Scripture. What's really the ultimate aim?
• 34:31
  How am I to glorify God if there's one word or one phrase
• 34:36
  to really summarize it? Be holy.
• 34:42
  What did the Lord say? Be holy.
• 34:44
  For I am holy. Be set apart like I am set
• 34:48
  apart. But I wonder if we know what it
• 34:52
  means to be holy, What does it look like for me to walk?
• 34:59
  Well, I mean, let me put let me put it this way.
• 35:01
  When you hear that man is holy, please don't answer out loud.
• 35:07
  But what comes to mind? My mother is a holy woman.
• 35:13
  What comes to mind? Paul writes not only about how
• 35:22
  holiness is achieved, and I believe a way that we often
• 35:25
  overlook. He actually talks about a
• 35:27
  certain standard of holiness. He talks about a place where you
• 35:31
  and I can be listen to this, blameless in holiness.
• 35:38
  What does that mean? To be blameless, to be free from
• 35:40
  any accusation, to be free from any condemnation.
• 35:45
  And he's actually speaking about being blameless in holiness when
• 35:49
  we stand before the presence of the Lord upon His return.
• 35:56
  I know that you and I and I praise God that positionally in
• 35:58
  Jesus Christ we are holy. But it does not cancel out nor
• 36:03
  negate our ambition to be practically holy and practically
• 36:07
  prepared to meet the Lord. That's what Paul is getting at.
• 36:10
  He's not talking about your positional standing before God.
• 36:12
  Christ did that. But I want to really know, Paul,
• 36:16
  are you communicating that it's possible for me, no matter who I
• 36:20
  am, to actually be blameless in holiness?
• 36:25
  I want that not because I'm afraid of hell, not because I
• 36:30
  have a lack of security in my standing before God, but because
• 36:33
  I want to glorify God. So tell me, Paul, how is it that
• 36:38
  I can arrive at a place where I, in the sight of God, can be
• 36:43
  blameless in holiness? What do you think, stuffing
• 36:48
  yourself in some room for hours and fasting?
• 36:53
  Praying slavishly, doing things to the neglect of your own body
• 36:59
  and health and the relationships in your life.
• 37:01
  What do you think it means to be blameless and holy?
• 37:03
  Let me show you in First Thessalonians chapter 3 First
• 37:15
  Thessalonians chapter 3. Let's begin together.
• 37:19
  In verse 11. Paul writes now another prayer.
• 37:30
  May our God and Father Himself and our Lord Jesus direct our
• 37:35
  way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in
• 37:42
  love for one another and for all as we do for you.
• 37:46
  Pause. That's not that's not the main
• 37:49
  point. But I can't help but stop and
• 37:51
  make a couple of comments. Notice here that he's He's
• 37:55
  telling them and he's asking God to increase this God love in
• 38:02
  them. And notice where he wants that
• 38:05
  love to manifest, that you may increase and abound in love for
• 38:09
  one another, but not just for one another.
• 38:11
  Where else and who to us and for all.
• 38:16
  So the deposit of God's love in my heart is to primarily
• 38:21
  manifest and be shared and experienced here in this place
• 38:28
  toward one another, receiving and giving that kind of love.
• 38:31
  But this is where it begins. And Paul says it's going to
• 38:35
  begin here. This is where it's going to be
• 38:36
  fostered. But this love is so strong, it's
• 38:39
  so real. It's a current that should, that
• 38:43
  should occupy your soul, that it spills over into the others.
• 38:46
  Get this. Who very likely will not love
• 38:49
  you in return. This place I should expect and
• 38:53
  you should expect that there is a mutual love.
• 38:55
  But Paul says no. I'm praying that God would so
• 38:57
  fill your heart with this love that it will actually overflow
• 39:01
  into a place and with people that may not give it back.
• 39:05
  You're saying that's that's a that's a tall order.
• 39:08
  Yeah. It's the Christian life.
• 39:10
  And be encouraged that we're not left powerless with these tall
• 39:14
  orders. Because notice that Paul says
• 39:16
  may the Lord, may the Lord increase and abound in your
• 39:22
  heart. His love, meaning that kind of
• 39:25
  way of life, is absolutely impossible without supernatural
• 39:28
  intervention. So I'm not here mustering up
• 39:31
  that string. I'm not here trying to get
• 39:33
  myself to love. I'm here to come before a God
• 39:35
  who is love to give me his heart for others, not just here, but
• 39:39
  towards those who, in our estimation don't deserve it.
• 39:43
  And if you feel discouraged, or maybe you're even angry and
• 39:46
  maybe something in you just recoiled and your defense
• 39:50
  mechanisms went up, oh, just be like Paul and ask him.
• 39:54
  Ask him to flood your heart with this love and you won't even be
• 39:58
  able to recognize yourself. Another thing.
• 40:02
  Here, look again. This is not my main point, but I
• 40:03
  can't help it. I can't.
• 40:07
  The end of verse 12. Lord, may the Lord make you
• 40:10
  increase and abound in love for one another and for all as we do
• 40:14
  for you. I was meditating on this and my
• 40:18
  heart was so stirred. As we do for you.
• 40:24
  You know what Paul dares to do here?
• 40:25
  And he's doing it with a clear conscience and with the approval
• 40:27
  of the Holy Spirit. If you want to know by way of
• 40:33
  example how you can walk in this godly love that God is able to
• 40:37
  help you walk in, look here. Look at how I have loved you.
• 40:47
  Can you imagine arriving at a place again with a clear
• 40:50
  conscience and with humility? It's kind of hard to imagine,
• 40:53
  but Can you imagine? Try to walking in a way in which
• 40:57
  you can tell your children, spiritually, spiritual children
• 41:02
  or physical children, and invite them to look at your life if
• 41:06
  they need a model of how to love.
• 41:11
  Do you want to know how to love your wife?
• 41:16
  Look at me. You want to know how to love
• 41:19
  your brothers and sisters in the church?
• 41:24
  It's been a few weeks with me. Do you want to know how to love
• 41:27
  that irritating relative that seems to only add drama and
• 41:34
  frustration to your already busy life.
• 41:40
  Follow me. It almost sounds strange, right?
• 41:45
  Who says that as we do for you, like, hey, I'm here, I can say
• 41:49
  that as a leader, we're doing it.
• 41:52
  And you might think, well, that's that's a little weird for
• 41:54
  somebody to say that about themselves.
• 41:56
  But I don't see it that way. I see it in this way that Paul
• 42:01
  instead is communicating. If you want to know if it's
• 42:03
  possible for one to increase and abound in this love for the
• 42:07
  believer, for the unbeliever, look no further than me.
• 42:13
  It is possible, yeah. This is not the main point.
• 42:22
  Those are just extras. Look at verse 13.
• 42:27
  He says here so that He may establish your hearts blameless
• 42:34
  in holiness before our God and Father.
• 42:38
  At the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His Saints, you have to
• 42:43
  be able to connect verse 12 with verse 13.
• 42:47
  Verse 12 He talks about even praise for this love to be a
• 42:50
  waterfall in their hearts, in their community, and outside of
• 42:54
  their community of faith. And he gives the reason why he's
• 42:58
  praying for it. I'm praying for this love to be
• 43:01
  enriched so that verse 13, He may establish your hearts
• 43:07
  blameless in holiness. If you want to know how you can
• 43:15
  walk in a holy way, you cannot separate that from the pursuit
• 43:21
  of love. What does it mean to be holy?
• 43:27
  According to Paul, in order to be established blameless in
• 43:30
  holiness, your heart must increase and abound in love.
• 43:36
  I'm not sure if we connect love and holiness, but the Bible
• 43:40
  does. So that's the equation.
• 43:45
  So let me present it to you in this way.
• 43:47
  How do I have the assurance that I'm living for the glory of God
• 43:51
  no matter who I am? Well, the Bible over and over in
• 43:56
  different places says I'm called to be holy.
• 43:58
  Ultimately, that that's the umbrella and it's all these
• 44:00
  other things underneath it. Holy be holy, be like me.
• 44:05
  But if I'm to be holy according to Paul, then I'm to arrive
• 44:09
  there through prayerfully and practically increasing and
• 44:14
  abounding in love. There are two words of another
• 44:20
  verse that make that charge very clear.
• 44:25
  It's in First Corinthians 14. One, you don't have to turn
• 44:27
  there, I'll just quote it to you.
• 44:29
  Just two words. The 1st 2 words pursue, love,
• 44:35
  pursue, love. You know what that word pursue
• 44:38
  is in the Greek, It's a very intense word actually.
• 44:42
  Chase after it, chase after it, run after it, run after love.
• 44:50
  And one way that I can run after love living in me and living
• 44:54
  through me. Well, I believe Paul provides
• 44:55
  one example that's that's going to occupy my prayer life.
• 45:01
  I want to love better. Lord, I want to increase in this
• 45:04
  love. I want to abound in this love.
• 45:06
  If I'm going to be rich in anything in this life, let it be
• 45:08
  in this kind of love. And I'm also by the Spirit's
• 45:13
  help looking at again see how it all interconnects opportunities
• 45:19
  around me. As Paul says, to love one
• 45:21
  another and even outside of this place, to love others, run after
• 45:27
  it. Here's we're going to end.
• 45:29
  I wasn't planning to end here, but let's end here.
• 45:31
  This is my final text. Go to 1st Corinthians.
• 45:34
  Lastly in Chapter 7. And this is where we're going to
• 45:37
  sign off together and go to verse 20.
• 45:54
  I've spoken about this before, but it does get to remind
• 45:57
  ourselves from time to time. People who wonder how do how do
• 46:00
  I know what God's called me to do?
• 46:02
  How do I know what I'm supposed to do at this point in my life?
• 46:05
  How do I know what he's assigned for my life?
• 46:07
  And actually, Paul speaks about that here.
• 46:09
  And notice what he tells these believers who came to Christ.
• 46:12
  And because they had such wild backgrounds, they didn't know
• 46:15
  where to go from that place of believing on the Lord.
• 46:18
  What do I need to change? Where do I need to move?
• 46:20
  What do I need to do about my employment?
• 46:22
  Is that not a common question that people ask when they come
• 46:24
  to Christ? Yes, and the Bible knows that.
• 46:27
  And the Bible gives us something to comfort us.
• 46:29
  And maybe you need this to comfort somebody else who might
• 46:32
  be agitated and flustered about. I want to make sure I'm in the
• 46:35
  will of God and I don't have any clues or signs, but I just feel
• 46:38
  like I need to do something because I'm not satisfied with
• 46:41
  where I'm at. I don't feel like this is what
• 46:43
  it is that I can do to really give him maximum glory.
• 46:46
  Look at verse 20. Each one should remain in the
• 46:52
  condition in which he was called.
• 46:55
  Were you a bondservant when called, Do not be concerned
• 46:57
  about it, but if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of
• 46:59
  the opportunity. For he was called in the Lord as
• 47:02
  a bondservant, as a freeman of the Lord.
• 47:04
  Likewise he was free when called as a bondservant of Christ.
• 47:08
  You were bought with a price. Do not become bondservants of
• 47:10
  men. Now look at this in verse 24
• 47:12
  again. So brothers, in whatever
• 47:16
  condition each was called there let him remain with God.
• 47:25
  So in whatever condition you were called when God rescued you
• 47:30
  from your sin, Paul says in essence, everybody calm down.
• 47:35
  Everybody calm down because the context here is, well, now I'm a
• 47:39
  believer, but I'm married to an unbeliever spouse.
• 47:40
  Do I need to move on from this relationship?
• 47:42
  Do I need to break off, calm down.
• 47:44
  And he expands the application to even people in terms of
• 47:46
  employment, in terms of circumcision.
• 47:52
  And so if I'm in a place where I do not have a clear direction
• 47:57
  from the Lord about what to do, where to go, here's what he
• 48:02
  says. Stay where you are and scroll
• 48:04
  back here to verse 19. For neither circumcision counts
• 48:07
  for anything, nor uncircumcision, but keeping the
• 48:11
  commandments of God. So stay where you are and obey
• 48:15
  God to the capacity and the revelation that he has given
• 48:18
  you. That is actually you fulfilling
• 48:21
  the will of God. Not being frantic, not not
• 48:25
  pulling your hair, not wondering if I'm really glorifying God or
• 48:28
  after. Yeah, I don't know if the Lord
• 48:29
  told me anything, but I feel like I need to do this and just
• 48:31
  burn everything to the ground. No, Stay where you are and obey
• 48:36
  God where you are. And here's the comforting part.
• 48:39
  Did you miss it? Look at verse 24 again.
• 48:41
  In whatever condition each was called there, let him remain.
• 48:44
  He could have put a period mark there, but he didn't let him
• 48:47
  remain with God. God is with you there, and
• 48:52
  because God is with you there, you can cultivate and maintain a
• 48:56
  devotional life. You can commit to the local
• 49:00
  church, and you can seek to by himself conform to Christ.
• 49:04
  Like this in any and every context you find yourself in.
• 49:08
  My prayer at the end of this message is really for all of us
• 49:11
  here to be able to give a sigh of relief and know based on the
• 49:15
  word of God, I can walk out of here in whatever condition I'm
• 49:18
  in and be confident that I am glorifying God.
• 49:21
  That's it. Let's pray.
• 49:35
  Lord, we love your Word and thank you for the reminder.
• 49:40
  Thank you for the realignment that your word provides.
• 49:49
  Thank you, Lord, that we don't have to be in a particular place
• 49:51
  doing something particular, trying to figure out this puzzle
• 49:58
  of how to be in the will of God. But you've confident us to know
• 50:03
  that no matter where we are, until you give a clear step, we
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  can be absolutely confident that we are giving you glory.
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  So help us leave here in the words of Paul, with the
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  simplicity of our devotion to Christ.
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  You've made it so simple that no matter who we are, we can bring
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  pleasure to your heart. And we ask, Lord, that we would
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  do so, That you would bring these things to remembrance.
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  That if there needs to be any change in these very areas that
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  we discussed, that we would not see these things as options, but
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  as necessary foundations of giving you your due low.
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  We pray that in this context, as Paul prayed for the
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  Thessalonians, that you would help us increase and abound in
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  love for one another. It has to be from the help of
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  the Holy Spirit and so low. We pray that as we grow
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  numerically, that we would more importantly grow in this
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  affection with and for one another.
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  Help us, Lord, Don't leave us to our flesh.
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  Don't leave us to giving into the offences that harbor our
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  hearts to rehearsing pains and hurts.
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  Lord, help us be overcome by this love and Lord we admit if
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  you don't do it, then we're in danger.
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  But if you do it, we will know wonders in our relationships to
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  one another. And so, Lord, we want to now
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  glorify you with one voice as one assembly.
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  We want to give you praises and give you what is your do.
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  In Jesus name, Amen. Amen.
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  Church, what we're about to do right now is a measure of
• 51:45
  glorifying God. So come with your voices
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  connected to a heart that realizes I am in a place and
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  with a people where we are now giving to God the God of heaven
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  and earth. Glory, please stand.