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How to Abide in Christ - Minister Max Lucado · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

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Speaker 1: Send a special greeting to those of you who are
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Speaker 1: watching online. Also those of you who are part of
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Speaker 1: one of our campuses in Fredericksburg or Crown Ridge, North Central,
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Speaker 1: West Side, Alamo Ranch, Natal Brazil, Journey Fellowship, we send
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Speaker 1: you special, special greetings. By now you're likely aware, you
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Speaker 1: may not be, that Randy Frazee has since been called
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Speaker 1: to pursue a citywide ministry and has resigned as our
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Speaker 1: senior minister. We continue to thank God for the growth
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Speaker 1: that our church experienced under his leadership. Can you imagine
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Speaker 1: Oak Hills without campuses in Fredericksburg, the Alamo Ranch, North Central,
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Speaker 1: or Natal Brazil campuses? We're so grateful for the time
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Speaker 1: we've had to study through the story and through Believe.
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Speaker 2: All of these were.
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Speaker 1: Initiatives under Randy's leadership and We deeply appreciate him and
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Speaker 1: Roseanne and issue many, many prayers for their new chapter.
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Speaker 1: The elders have asked me to resume the role of
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Speaker 1: senior minister, and after much prayer, my wife, Dinalyn, and
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Speaker 1: I have sensed that the Lord is telling us.
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Speaker 2: To do so, so we said yes.
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Speaker 1: I felt it would be good this weekend alone for
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Speaker 1: us to step away from our study through the story
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Speaker 1: and take just a moment and allow me to share
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Speaker 1: some thoughts with you regarding my heart as senior minister
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Speaker 1: and and what seems right to me that we should
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Speaker 1: focus on as a church. By the way, I'm really
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Speaker 1: glad you came back. I wasn't sure anyone would. So
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Speaker 1: let's pray and then we'll get to work. We welcome you,
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Speaker 1: Holy Spirit. Please forgive our speaker. His sins are many.
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Speaker 1: Grant that we can see just Jesus. Through Christ we pray. Amen.
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Speaker 1: If you knew you had one final conversation with a
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Speaker 1: good friend, what would you talk about? Granted one final
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Speaker 1: meal with some colleagues, what would you want to discuss?
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Speaker 1: given one last opportunity to be with your family, what
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Speaker 1: would you tell them? Jesus had the opportunity to answer
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Speaker 1: this type of question. On the night before his crucifixion,
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Speaker 1: he had a final meal and also a final conversation
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Speaker 1: with his followers. And that evening gave birth to what
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Speaker 1: we could call his final sermon before the crucifixion. Don't
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Speaker 1: you know he shows his words carefully? Maybe that's why
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Speaker 1: we cherish them so. Here's what he said.
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Speaker 2: He said, abide in me as I abide in you.
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Speaker 1: Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless
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Speaker 1: it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you
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Speaker 1: abide in me.
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Speaker 2: I am the vine, you are the branches.
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Speaker 1: Those who abide in me and I in them bear
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Speaker 1: much fruit because apart from me you can do nothing.
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Speaker 2: Whoever does not.
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Speaker 1: Abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers.
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Speaker 2: Such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
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Speaker 1: If you abide in me and my words abide in you,
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Speaker 1: ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done
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Speaker 1: for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you
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Speaker 1: bear much fruit and become my disciples.
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Speaker 2: As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.
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Speaker 2: Abide in my love.
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Speaker 1: If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love,
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Speaker 1: just as I have kept my Father's commandments. And abide
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Speaker 1: in his love. I believe this is a timely message
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Speaker 1: for our church. It's my heart's desire. That we learn
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Speaker 1: to abide in Christ. That we like branches to a
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Speaker 1: vine cling to him. I sense that this is the
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Speaker 1: highest calling of the Christian. That our highest call is
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Speaker 1: not to bear fruit. But our highest call is to
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Speaker 1: stay connected to Christ. And the purpose of the church
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Speaker 1: is to help encourage this union. I was not seeking
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Speaker 1: this second tour of duty as senior minister. As you know,
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Speaker 1: I filled this role from 1988 to 2008. Here's a picture,
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Speaker 1: a couple of pictures of the day we arrived in
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Speaker 1: 1987 from Brazil in the airport for our first visit
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Speaker 1: to the church. I was a lot younger then. I
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Speaker 1: was a lot smarter then. Over the years, I've conducted
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Speaker 1: many weddings. Your weddings buried many of your loved ones.
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Speaker 1: I love this church.
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Speaker 2: I just love this church.
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Speaker 1: It's far from a perfect church. In fact, it's quite
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Speaker 1: messy at times. but God's favor for whatever reason has
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Speaker 1: been upon us. I love our elders and staff, our
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Speaker 1: leadership team. Those who serve here on the church staff,
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Speaker 1: they're just top notch. I love where we're headed, building
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Speaker 1: strong campuses, impacting neighborhoods through the kindness of Christ.
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Speaker 2: This can work and.
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Speaker 1: We have great days ahead of us I've sensed, however,
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Speaker 1: that it would be good for us before we just
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Speaker 1: keep pressing forward to pause and be quiet.
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Speaker 2: And listen.
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Speaker 1: I'd like to kick off 40 days of listening prayer
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Speaker 1: today and invite every person who has any connection with
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Speaker 1: this church to take time and pray every day, Lord,
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Speaker 1: what are you saying to us? What do you want
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Speaker 1: to do? What is your plan What are you up to?
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Speaker 1: Where are you leading? You're the shepherd of this church.
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Speaker 1: You're the true shepherd. You're the pastor of this church.
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Speaker 1: Where do you want us to go? And as the
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Speaker 1: Lord speaks to you, let us know. Created a special
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Speaker 1: email address, listening at oakhillschurch.com. If the Lord gives you
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Speaker 1: a verse or gives you a word, let us know.
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Speaker 1: How do we listen to God? How does this happen? Well,
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Speaker 1: one way is like Tom Anthony taught us a couple
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Speaker 1: of weeks back is to pray and pause, to pray
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Speaker 1: and then be quiet, just be silent. Another way is
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Speaker 1: to be especially attentive to the messages that come your way.
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Speaker 1: If you've invited the Holy Spirit to speak to you,
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Speaker 1: then be on the alert for a word that comes
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Speaker 1: through a friend or or through a passage of scripture especially.
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Speaker 1: Maybe you could requisition a part of your day that
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Speaker 1: typically is used for something else, like a daily commute,
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Speaker 1: or cutting the grass, or washing the dishes, and use
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Speaker 1: that in addition to the task to say, Lord, I'm listening.
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Speaker 2: I'm listening. I go in with two ears and one
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Speaker 2: mouth and listen more than you speak.
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Speaker 1: Maybe you could gather the kids around at night or
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Speaker 1: have a few quiet moments with your spouse.
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Speaker 2: And just say, Lord, is there.
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Speaker 1: Anything you're telling us as a church? I think the
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Speaker 1: Lord loves his church and he wants to guide us.
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Speaker 1: I sensed his guidance during this transition. It's not been
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Speaker 1: an easy transition. I had to make some, take some
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Speaker 1: time for some serious prayer. during this whole process, I
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Speaker 1: got a pimple. I haven't had a pimple.
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Speaker 2: Since college. Dillon said it was a stress pimple. I
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Speaker 2: don't know.
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Speaker 1: I don't even remember how to pop those things.
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Speaker 2: 62 years old, I'm getting pimples.
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Speaker 1: On the night that Randy shared his resignation with the elders,
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Speaker 1: he and I had agreed to meet in the prayer tower. Afterwards,
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Speaker 1: On the Crown Ridge campus. And so I was already there,
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Speaker 1: got there a good 20 minutes before he. And I
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Speaker 1: was having some doubts. And I was saying, Lord, you
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Speaker 1: sure you don't have somebody else for this? Somebody younger, smarter, faster, quicker.
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Speaker 2: Surely, Lord, there's somebody else for this. And there's a
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Speaker 2: prayer book up in the prayer tower. Just a nice
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Speaker 2: little prayer book.
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Speaker 1: You've seen the daily prayer readings that exist in books.
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Speaker 2: And there's one in the prayer tower. And I picked
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Speaker 2: it up and read that day's reading. And the passage
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Speaker 2: itself would not have had any form of equal impact
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Speaker 2: had it not been for what I was wrestling with.
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Speaker 1: I took a picture of it so I would always remember.
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Speaker 1: But the passage from 2 Kings 2.15 said, the company
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Speaker 1: of the prophets from Jericho who were watching said, the
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Speaker 1: spirit of a.
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Speaker 2: Is resting on elisha now i'm not the brightest bulb
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Speaker 2: in the box.
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Speaker 1: But i was praying about transition from one leader to
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Speaker 1: the next and here's a verse describing a peaceful transition
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Speaker 1: from elijah to elisha that the Lord can orchestrate that.
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Speaker 1: And I thought, well, okay, Lord. If you're talking, I
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Speaker 1: want to be listening. I want to hear what he
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Speaker 1: says to you. It's my desire that we would have
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Speaker 1: a walk with Christ that is so intimate that we
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Speaker 1: would sense when he speaks and we would know when
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Speaker 1: he moves. I have a hunch that's your desire as well.
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Speaker 1: That's the promise of this passage. Again, let's read that
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Speaker 1: text from John 15. Abide in me as I abide
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Speaker 1: in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by
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Speaker 1: itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you
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Speaker 1: unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you
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Speaker 1: are the branches. Those who abide in me and I
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Speaker 1: in them bear much fruit because apart from me you
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Speaker 1: can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is
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Speaker 1: thrown away. like a branch and withers. Such branches are gathered,
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Speaker 1: thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in
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Speaker 1: me and my words abide in you, as for whatever
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Speaker 1: you wish and it will be done for you. My
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Speaker 1: father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit
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Speaker 1: and become my disciples. As the father has loved me,
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Speaker 1: so I have loved you. Abide in my love. If
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Speaker 1: you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love,
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Speaker 1: just as I have kept my father's commandments and abide
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Speaker 1: in his love. Again, this was Jesus' final sermon, his
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Speaker 1: final time with his followers. They did not know what
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Speaker 1: was coming, but he did. So he escorted them out
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Speaker 1: of the upper room, down the stairs, through the narrow
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Speaker 1: streets of Jerusalem, out the eastern gate, down a path
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Speaker 1: called the Path of Kidron, into the Kidron Valley. And
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Speaker 1: they came to stand in a vineyard. Can you imagine
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Speaker 1: the disciples as they form a horseshoe around Jesus, Peter, James,
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Speaker 1: and John, and Matthew, and as the moonlight falls upon
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Speaker 1: their bearded faces. They have no idea what's about to happen.
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Speaker 1: They have no idea that before the sun comes up again,
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Speaker 1: their leader will be arrested. They have no idea before
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Speaker 1: the sun sets again, their leader will have been crucified
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Speaker 1: and killed. They have no idea that all of the
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Speaker 1: promises they've made just hours before are about to be broken.
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Speaker 1: All those pledges to never leave, they're about to scatter
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Speaker 1: like scared cats.
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Speaker 2: They have no idea what's about to happen.
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Speaker 1: But Jesus knows exactly what's about to happen. So what
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Speaker 1: does he say to them in this, his final conversation?
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Speaker 1: Does he tell them to buck up, stay strong? Does
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Speaker 1: he tell them to roll up their sleeves and get
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Speaker 1: to work? Does he tell them to fetch their weapons
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Speaker 1: and get ready to fight? No, he talks to them
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Speaker 1: about a vineyard. And he uses the vineyard as an allegory,
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Speaker 1: a metaphor. He says, God is like a gardener, an orchardist,
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Speaker 1: one who's in charge of a vineyard. And he prompts
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Speaker 1: and he pampers and he stirs. He coaxes the best
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Speaker 1: out of the vineyard. He wants to bring the best,
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Speaker 1: the best.
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Speaker 2: Fruit out of us. So the picture is God is
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Speaker 2: in charge. We are not. Are you okay with that?
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Speaker 2: Can we do our thing we do every so often?
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Speaker 2: Raise your hand. I hereby resign as ruler of the universe.
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Speaker 2: God is in charge. We are not.
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Speaker 1: Any fruit that happens is up to him, not up
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Speaker 1: to us. So Jesus then is the vine. He's the
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Speaker 1: thick part, the stalk, the trunk, if you will, that
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Speaker 1: digs down into the dirt with roots. and draws the
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Speaker 1: necessary nutrients out of the soil and passes them up,
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Speaker 1: cables them, is the conduit for them, and delivers them
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Speaker 1: into the branches.
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Speaker 2: That's us. We're the branches.
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Speaker 1: And as this process works, as God does his cutting
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Speaker 1: and trimming and nurturing and feeding and caregiving, as Christ
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Speaker 1: receives the nutrients and distributes them, then something wonderful happens.
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Speaker 1: Fruit happens. The fruit of the Spirit is love and
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Speaker 1: joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and self-control.
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Speaker 1: All of these wonderful things happen. All of us desire
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Speaker 1: to have those fruits, don't we?
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Speaker 2: All of us do.
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Speaker 1: But Jesus says that the secret to being fruitful, to
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Speaker 1: bearing these fruits, is not forcing the fruit, but staying
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Speaker 1: connected to the vine.
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Speaker 2: That the secret to.
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Speaker 1: Bearing fruit is not forcing the fruit, but staying connected
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Speaker 1: to the vine. It does you no good, nor me,
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Speaker 1: to say, okay, today I'm gonna be happy. Today I'm
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Speaker 1: gonna be joyful if it kills me. Forcing fruit doesn't work.
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Speaker 1: Clinging to the vine does. This is something wonderfully freeing.
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Speaker 1: And of all the things for Christ to tell his
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Speaker 1: disciples on the night before his crucifixion, the one thing
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Speaker 1: he wanted them to reflect back on And to remember.
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Speaker 2: Was, you just hang on to me. You hang on
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Speaker 2: to me like a branch hangs on to the vine.
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Speaker 2: And lest we miss.
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Speaker 1: The point, Jesus employs the word abide 10 times in
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Speaker 1: seven verses.
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Speaker 2: Look at this. Abide in me and I in you.
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Speaker 1: As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it
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Speaker 1: abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you
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Speaker 1: abide in me.
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Speaker 2: He who abides in me and I in him, he
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Speaker 2: bears much fruit. If anyone does not abide in me,
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Speaker 2: he's thrown away as a branch and dries up. If
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Speaker 2: you abide in me and my words abide in you,
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Speaker 2: ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.
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Speaker 2: Abide in my love, abide in my love, just as
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Speaker 2: I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love.
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Speaker 2: What's the key verse, a key word in the verse? Abide.
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Speaker 2: Come and live in me, Jesus says. Make me your home.
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Speaker 1: What does it mean to abide somewhere? Most of you,
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Speaker 1: if not all of you, abide somewhere. When you go home,
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Speaker 1: the odds are quite good that you will relax a
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Speaker 1: little more. You may put on some more comfortable shoes.
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Speaker 1: You may find something to eat. Your home is a
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Speaker 1: place of rest and nourishment. It's a place where you're
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Speaker 1: really your authentic self. You're not trying to show off.
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Speaker 1: You're not trying to impress anybody. It's okay to have
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Speaker 1: bad breath in your home. It's okay to have your
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Speaker 1: hair uncombed in your home.
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Speaker 2: It's a safe place. So Jesus says, let me be that.
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Speaker 2: Let me be that.
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Speaker 1: Not a place where you have to perform. Let me
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Speaker 1: be your ultimate place of rest. Let my word, let
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Speaker 1: my promise be the foundation of your home.
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Speaker 2: Let my sovereignty be Be the walls that keep the
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Speaker 2: cold wind out. Let my roof of grace protect you
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Speaker 2: from the hailstorm of guilt.
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Speaker 1: Just make your home in me. You see, I think
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Speaker 1: it comes down to this. That our aim, our only aim,
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Speaker 1: is to be at home in Christ. Now we Christians
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Speaker 1: tend to miss this. And we banter about phrases like
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Speaker 1: I'm going to change the world. I'm going to make
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Speaker 1: a difference. I'm going to solve all the problems. I
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Speaker 1: think those are noble ambitions. But I've come to see
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Speaker 1: that those are fruits. Those are fruits.
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Speaker 2: Our better statement would be today I'm going to connect
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Speaker 2: with Christ. Because he wants to connect with me. So
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Speaker 2: how do we do this?
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Speaker 1: How do we abide in Christ? Well, the answer is,
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Speaker 1: I think, different for every individual because we're all different.
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Speaker 1: We have different learning skills or different aptitudes, different personalities,
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Speaker 1: but it will always include some common denominators like encountering scripture, prayer, worship,
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Speaker 1: finding our unique service, how we can best serve the
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Speaker 1: Heavenly Father, fellowship, The truth of the matter is we're
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Speaker 1: like grapes. We do better in bunches. And we grow together.
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Speaker 1: We're more fruitful when we're together. I think that's why
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Speaker 1: the devil likes to tear us apart. But you find
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Speaker 1: the way in which you connect to Christ the most.
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Speaker 1: But please remember this.
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Speaker 2: It's his invitation.
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Speaker 1: This isn't something you have to follow. You're not trying
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Speaker 1: to convince God to connect with you. He's trying to
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Speaker 1: convince you to connect with Him. What happened in the
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Speaker 1: Garden of Eden, He wants to replicate. Before the fall,
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Speaker 1: Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of
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Speaker 1: the evening.
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Speaker 2: No shame, no fear.
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Speaker 1: When you wake up in the morning, before you climb
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Speaker 1: out of bed, Just incline an ear to heaven and
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Speaker 1: listen and you will hear God say, why don't we
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Speaker 1: live this day together?
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Speaker 2: Don't go out by yourself.
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Speaker 1: Let's just go together. I know what's coming. You keep
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Speaker 1: an ear inclined to me and I'll keep an eye
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Speaker 1: on you. I have a dream that someday I will
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Speaker 1: live a day in which my thoughts about God outnumber
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Speaker 1: my thoughts about anything else.
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Speaker 2: I'm so far from that.
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Speaker 1: But you know there's a scripture in the Bible that
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Speaker 1: says that God's thoughts about me, God's thoughts about you
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Speaker 1: outnumber the number of grains of sand on the seashore.
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Speaker 1: He can't quit thinking about you.
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Speaker 2: You're on his mind all the time.
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Speaker 1: And so he issues that invitation. Now if you decline,
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Speaker 1: he'll be sad, but he won't abandon you. He'll come
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Speaker 1: back throughout the day and say, hey, we can walk
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Speaker 1: through this together. Let's just stay connected. Connected, connected. So
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Speaker 1: I hereby issue my first edict as senior minister. Stay
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Speaker 1: connected to Christ. You just connect to him. Just connect
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Speaker 1: to him. You know the best thing you can do
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Speaker 1: for your marriage?
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Speaker 2: Be connected to Christ. The best thing you can do
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Speaker 2: as a parent? Be connected to Christ.
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Speaker 1: Be connected to Christ. The best thing you can do
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Speaker 1: at your workplace, you be connected to Christ. The best
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Speaker 1: thing you can do in your neighborhood, be connected to Christ.
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Speaker 1: The best thing you can do in this church, be
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Speaker 1: connected to Christ. He won't let you down. He won't
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Speaker 1: walk away. You connect to him. And fruit, in the
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Speaker 1: right way, at the right time, is going to happen.
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Speaker 1: It's not up to you to force fruit. It is
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Speaker 1: up to you and me to connect to Christ. This
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Speaker 1: is a slightly different emphasis than the one I had
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Speaker 1: when I inaugurated my first term as senior minister.
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Speaker 2: It's an interesting symmetry here.
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Speaker 1: My first time to preach at this church when Dean
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Speaker 1: Lynn and I came and visited from Brazil, I was 32.
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Speaker 1: And here I am starting this again at 62. Somebody
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Speaker 1: said that's kind of like a Brett Favre of preaching.
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Speaker 1: My first go around, my first message was from the
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Speaker 1: life of Caleb in the Old Testament. And the theme
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Speaker 1: of the message was, give me my mountain. That's what
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Speaker 1: he said to Joshua when they were taking the promised land.
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Speaker 2: Give me my mountain.
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Speaker 1: So I said to the church, let's all go get
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Speaker 1: our mountain. It was all rolling up your sleeve and
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Speaker 1: getting to work and tearing them up. It was a rah, rah, rah, go, go,
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Speaker 1: go message. I think my emphasis is a little different
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Speaker 1: these days. It seems to me that I might have
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Speaker 1: been skipping a step. That before we go out, it's
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Speaker 1: important to look up. And before we march, it's important
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Speaker 1: to rest. And before we take off, we.
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Speaker 2: Have to receive. And that really the highest call of
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Speaker 2: the Christian.
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Speaker 1: Is to make Christ our home. To the degree we
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Speaker 1: do that, I think we're happier. More joyful, would you agree?
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Speaker 2: I think the best advertisement for Christianity is a happy Christian.
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Speaker 3: I do.
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Speaker 2: I think the worst advertisement for Christianity is the other.
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Speaker 2: A miserable Christian. I used to ride bikes. I mean, seriously.
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Speaker 1: Seriously. I was one of these guys that you don't
24:03
Speaker 1: like on the road. Wore the tight shorts, tight shirt, clip-in, pedals,
24:12
Speaker 1: taking up too much room. But I thought it was
24:16
Speaker 1: so much fun. I got into it because I always
24:19
Speaker 1: rode bikes as a kid. And so when I found
24:22
Speaker 1: out you can ride bikes as a grown-up, I got excited.
24:26
Speaker 1: And so I'd go on these long rides all through
24:28
Speaker 1: the hill country. Oh, that's so I met some other bikers.
24:33
Speaker 1: And as I began to meet other bikers, I came
24:35
Speaker 1: to find out that I was riding a wimpy bike.
24:40
Speaker 2: They told me you needed a faster bike.
24:42
Speaker 1: And also they told me about bike rallies and bike races.
24:46
Speaker 1: And if I wanted to be a part of those,
24:48
Speaker 1: I needed a better bike. So I went and bought
24:50
Speaker 1: a better bike. And this bike we equipped with lots
24:54
Speaker 1: of bells and whistles, all kinds of things that measure everything.
24:58
Speaker 1: Not just how fast you're going, but how far you'll
25:02
Speaker 1: go if you keep up at this speed. And also
25:05
Speaker 1: how fast you went last time and how far you
25:07
Speaker 1: went yesterday. And if you've reached your goal or not.
25:11
Speaker 1: And it had a little GPS, so I always knew
25:15
Speaker 1: where I was. And as if that wasn't enough, I
25:17
Speaker 1: bought another gauge to help me know my heart rate.
25:22
Speaker 1: And I wore a strap around my chest and it
25:24
Speaker 1: told me my heart rate. I have no idea why
25:27
Speaker 1: I needed to know my heart rate, but everybody else
25:30
Speaker 1: knew their heart rate. And so I wanted to know mine.
25:34
Speaker 1: And so pretty soon I was biking, looking at the
25:37
Speaker 1: gauges a whole lot, not much at the road, but
25:39
Speaker 1: always looking at the gauges. And then somebody said, oh,
25:42
Speaker 1: you got to listen to a certain kind of music
25:44
Speaker 1: to really bike well.
25:46
Speaker 2: And he told me about this kind of pound, pound, pound, pound, pound,
25:49
Speaker 2: pound music, kind of a Led Zeppelin type thing where
25:52
Speaker 2: you just boom, boom, boom. So I got that going.
25:55
Speaker 2: I got it in my ears.
25:56
Speaker 1: I got gauges in my eyes. And so I'm pedaling
25:58
Speaker 1: and pedaling and pedaling and pedaling. You know, I got
26:01
Speaker 1: to be a pretty good monster out there on the road. Well,
26:04
Speaker 1: one day that bike broke and I had to take
26:07
Speaker 1: it in to be repaired and leave it at the shop.
26:11
Speaker 1: In the meantime, I had to go back to my
26:12
Speaker 1: wimpy bike. Didn't have any gauges on it. Had no
26:17
Speaker 1: clue how fast I was going. I wasn't listening to
26:21
Speaker 1: music that day for some reason. And after a few
26:25
Speaker 1: minutes with no gauges and no music, I thought to myself,
26:30
Speaker 1: you know, this is fun.
26:33
Speaker 2: This is fun. This is why I got in this
26:35
Speaker 2: to begin with. As a church, we've been peddling pretty hard.
26:46
Speaker 2: Been growing. Been building buildings. Adding staff. Been peddling pretty hard.
26:57
Speaker 2: And God's grace has been upon us.
27:02
Speaker 1: I'm wondering if we wouldn't be well served with the
27:06
Speaker 1: time of saying now, why did we get into this
27:09
Speaker 1: in the first place? And going back to the final
27:15
Speaker 1: sermon of Christ, which is really the first call of
27:18
Speaker 1: the Christian.
27:21
Speaker 2: And that is connect. Connect.
27:23
Speaker 1: Are we connecting with Christ? Are we connecting with Christ?
27:28
Speaker 1: Are we connecting with the living, loving presence of the
27:33
Speaker 1: Lord Jesus Christ? Each one of us, not connecting through
27:38
Speaker 1: a pastor or through a leader, but each one of
27:42
Speaker 1: us having our own connection with the Lord Jesus Christ
27:46
Speaker 1: and that that is our focus and trusting that he
27:49
Speaker 1: will bring fruit at the right time in the right way.
27:55
Speaker 2: That's what I'm thinking. I'd love to know what you're thinking.
27:58
Speaker 1: And over these next 40 days, if you sense anything,
28:01
Speaker 1: remember that email address, listening at oakhillschurch.com. I'm really honored
28:07
Speaker 1: to be your senior minister again. But you need to
28:10
Speaker 1: know I have not forgotten from whence I came. The
28:14
Speaker 1: Lord called me first when I sat in a pickup
28:17
Speaker 1: truck at the age of 18 in a piggly, wiggly
28:21
Speaker 1: parking lot in a small West Texas town with six
28:26
Speaker 1: beers in my belly and several more seated, resting on
28:30
Speaker 1: the seat between me and my best friend James. And
28:33
Speaker 1: I turned to him and I said, James, there's got
28:35
Speaker 1: to be more to life than this. It was two
28:40
Speaker 1: years before I found Christ, but that's when the journey began.
28:44
Speaker 1: And so your preacher is a converted drunk.
28:48
Speaker 2: That's who I am. Nothing more. I'm not real sophisticated.
28:57
Speaker 1: I know this because one of the members toward the
29:02
Speaker 1: end of my first term said to me, you know, Locato,
29:05
Speaker 1: I've been listening to you now every weekend for 20 years.
29:09
Speaker 1: And I've got you figured out. He said, you say
29:12
Speaker 1: the same thing every week just with different rapping. I said, well,
29:16
Speaker 1: what do you mean?
29:17
Speaker 2: He said, every week you say, God loves you. It's
29:21
Speaker 2: going to be okay.
29:24
Speaker 1: So if that message speaks to your heart, That's probably
29:28
Speaker 1: what you're going to get. I do think we have
29:32
Speaker 1: some great days ahead of us.
29:33
Speaker 2: I do.
29:34
Speaker 1: But only to the degree that we stay connected to Christ.
29:39
Speaker 1: I've invited my wife, Dean Lynn, to come and lead
29:42
Speaker 1: a prayer that will serve as maybe a dedicatory prayer
29:46
Speaker 1: for this season of ministry. And I'd like to invite
29:49
Speaker 1: you to join with us as we pray together. If
29:53
Speaker 1: you've never met my wife, you've never met one of
29:54
Speaker 1: God's angels. For she is that indeed.
30:10
Speaker 3: Let's pray. The Lord says, for it is the wellspring
30:40
Speaker 3: of life. Lord Jesus, thank you for interceding on our behalf.
30:49
Speaker 3: Thank you, Father God, for directing the affairs of the world,
30:54
Speaker 3: of the universe, of our neighborhoods, of our homes, of
30:59
Speaker 3: our hearts. Holy Spirit, what can we do except for you?
31:05
Speaker 3: We can't take one step or breath without you leading us,
31:09
Speaker 3: teaching us, comforting us, reminding us of what is true.
31:15
Speaker 3: Lord Jesus, you said that you are the way, that
31:19
Speaker 3: you are the truth, and that you are life. And
31:22
Speaker 3: so we cling to you today. We cleave to you.
31:26
Speaker 3: We cleave to your goodness today. to your grace, to
31:30
Speaker 3: your forgiveness. We remember that your love is an everlasting love,
31:37
Speaker 3: that you, almighty God, creator of the ends of the earth,
31:41
Speaker 3: that you never grow tired or weary of hearing from us,
31:46
Speaker 3: of giving us strength, of giving us power, that you
31:50
Speaker 3: know our weakness, you know our needs, and every person
31:54
Speaker 3: in this building today, you know us. intimately, deeply. So
32:00
Speaker 3: thank you for inviting us to abide in you, to
32:05
Speaker 3: rest in you, to dwell in the shelter of the
32:09
Speaker 3: Most High so we can abide in the shadow of
32:13
Speaker 3: the Almighty. Thank you for every promise that you are
32:17
Speaker 3: our strong tower, that you are our refuge, that you
32:21
Speaker 3: are the shield about us, the lifter of our head,
32:24
Speaker 3: that you are our glory, God. Nothing else is our
32:28
Speaker 3: glory but you. Thank you for all these promises. Thank
32:32
Speaker 3: you for your word that is alive and active all
32:36
Speaker 3: by itself. And when it comes to our mind, when
32:40
Speaker 3: it rises up in our hearts, we receive more life
32:44
Speaker 3: and we become more active and we have things. And
32:48
Speaker 3: it's mysterious how it happens, God, but it's all at
32:51
Speaker 3: your commanding. all at your directing, all because of your
32:58
Speaker 3: great love for us. So Jesus, we just want to
33:02
Speaker 3: thank you for saying that we can come to you
33:05
Speaker 3: when we are weary and heavy laden and you will
33:08
Speaker 3: give us rest, that you invite us to learn from
33:12
Speaker 3: you because you are gentle and humble in heart and
33:16
Speaker 3: your yoke is easy and your burden is light. And
33:21
Speaker 3: you promise rest for our souls. Thank you that you
33:25
Speaker 3: care about our souls. We commit all these things to
33:29
Speaker 3: you and to your sweet care. In the name of Jesus, amen.
33:52
Speaker 3: Thank you.
35:02
Speaker 2: Thank you.
36:42
Speaker 4: You don't have to be mean.
36:47
Speaker 2: You don't have to stay close. As long as you're somewhere.
36:55
Speaker 1: Out there.
36:59
Speaker 2: That's enough for me. I don't need to hold you
37:05
Speaker 2: near me.
37:07
Speaker 4: Don't need promises to keep.
37:10
Speaker 2: Just the thought that you are breathing. Somewhere in this
37:14
Speaker 2: world I see.
37:17
Speaker 4: Even if I'm not beside you. Even if you never know.
37:24
Speaker 4: There's a quiet kind of comfort Just in knowing you
37:28
Speaker 4: still glow I don't need.
37:33
Speaker 2: Forever I just need you to exist.
37:42
Speaker 4: You don't have to stay with me You don't have
37:46
Speaker 4: to feel the same Just as long as you're still
37:51
Speaker 4: out there Calling softly through my days You don't have
37:56
Speaker 4: to look my way You don't have to be my
38:01
Speaker 4: home It's enough to know you're living In a world
38:07
Speaker 4: I'm not alone.
38:13
Speaker 2: I won't chase you through the distance.
38:16
Speaker 4: Won't disturb your chosen life. I'll just keep you in
38:20
Speaker 4: my silence like a star that shines at night.
38:26
Speaker 2: Through the dark and through the blue. I still think
38:35
Speaker 2: of you. You don't have to be my home. It's
38:44
Speaker 2: enough to.
38:45
Speaker 4: Know you're living in a world I'm not alone.
39:20
Speaker 2: I don't need to be your light. I don't need
39:24
Speaker 2: to cross your mind.
39:25
Speaker 4: All I need is just the truth that you're somewhere
39:20
Speaker 4: Still alive. You don't have to stay with me You
39:39
Speaker 4: don't have to feel the same Just as long as
39:43
Speaker 4: you're still out there Calling softly through my days You
39:49
Speaker 4: don't have to look my way.
39:52
Speaker 2: You don't have to.
39:53
Speaker 4: Be my home It's enough to.
39:57
Speaker 2: Know you're living
40:01
Speaker 4: In a world I'm not alone