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The Emperor Has No Clothes- Minister Max Lucado · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Well, you could blame it on the end of winter.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: You could blame it on the sudden warmth. You could
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: blame it on the welcome side of buds, on the trees.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: You could blame it on a dash of young love.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: But most of all, blame it on a serious case
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: of stupidity. She and I were in college. We'd gone
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: out on a date or two and felt a spark
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: or two.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: Spring was in the air, the.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: Gray sky had finally shed her winter coat. The sky
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: was blue, the breeze was warm. We drove with the
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: windows down, and our hearts in good spirits and our
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: spirits high. I don't recall if that Sunday afternoon drive
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: was spontaneous or planned. What I do recall what I
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: do recall, or the fields of winter wheat so lush,
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: so green, so inviting. I'm sure the romp was my idea.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: I'm a bit prone to impromptu folly. I recall once
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: trying to impress a girl by taking a jump, a
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: plunge into the river, only to discover that the that
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: the water was only three feet deep. I'm so glad
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: I did not die. I was up to my ankles
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: in mud. But back to the wheat field. Did I
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: did I mention? Did I mention its beauty, alive green
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: carpet it was? And did I mention that romance was
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: was beginning to.
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  Speaker 2: Bud she for me, for her.
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  Speaker 1: And so when I suggested a barefoot scamper through the field,
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: I guess I was thinking kind of hand in hand,
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  Speaker 1: skip and jump, a giggle and chuckle and who knows,
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: maybe a first kiss. So I stopped the car. We
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: took off our shoes, we peeled off our socks. We
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: jumped over the fence, expecting to land on the equivalent
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: of a soft mattress.
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  Speaker 2: But alas we had been duped.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: Winter wheat fields, I came to learn the hard way
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  Speaker 1: or green on the surface, but rocky and sticky beneath.
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  Speaker 1: We took three or four strides and we came to
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  Speaker 1: a sudden stop, and she gave gave me a glare.
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  Speaker 1: She gave me a look that said, what were you thinking?
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  Speaker 1: And by the time we retraced our steps, my ego
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: was as bruised as our feet. That was the beginning
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: of the end for us. That was the day that
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: love died in a wheat field in West Texas sounds
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: like a country Western song, doesn't it You've made the
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: same mistake, not on a farm, but in life.
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  Speaker 2: You've been fooled.
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: You've been you've been deceived, you've been tricked. You've been
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  Speaker 1: lured into a field of green, only to realize it's
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: a bed of thorns. Remember how the bright lights led
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: to lonely nights. Remember that time that the promise of
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: fast cash led to dead end debt. Remember the time
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: that he lure you into his bed, or she promised
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: you her love. You didn't blood on your feet, but
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: you broke your heart or drained your bank account. And
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: hopefully you learned this lesson. Things aren't always the way
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: they sing. What's too good to be true usually is
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: that's a word to the wise, and that's the message
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: of Esther Chapter one. We continue to study through this
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: delightful and insightful Old Testament book this weekend, and you
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: might recall, if you were a part of our first conversation,
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  Speaker 1: that the original purpose of this book was to be
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: read by Jewish exiles at a feast in annual holiday
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: called Purim p u r i m. To this day,
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: in some Jewish communities, it's the biggest party of the year.
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  Speaker 1: It's a happy holiday. People hiss and holler at the
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: appropriate moments.
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  Speaker 2: As if on q. They boo at.
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  Speaker 1: The sound of the name Hayman, They applaud at the
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  Speaker 1: entrance of Astor, They chuckle at the presence of Xerxes,
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  Speaker 1: and they celebrate the decision and the courage of Mordecai.
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  Speaker 1: Most of all, they walk away reminded, don't be duped
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  Speaker 1: by the winter wheat, don't be lured by the bright
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  Speaker 1: lights of Persia. Stay faithful, Stay faithful to your covenant,
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  Speaker 1: and stay faithful to your call as a covenant. People,
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  Speaker 1: Maybe it'd be good to back away for just a moment.
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  Speaker 1: Do you have about time for about four paragraphs of history.
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  Speaker 1: This is a super short version of Hebrew history. You'll
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  Speaker 1: recall that when God called Abraham out of earth, he
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  Speaker 1: called him to be the father of a holy nation.
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  Speaker 1: He gave this promise, I will bless those who bless you.
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  Speaker 1: I will place a curse on those who harm you,
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  Speaker 1: and all the people of the end of the yearth
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  Speaker 1: will be blessed through you. That blessing, that universal, global blessing,
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  Speaker 1: came in the form of Jesus Christ, himself a descendant
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  Speaker 1: of Abraham. The children of Abraham were to be curators
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  Speaker 1: and caretakers of this covenant, of this seed. For this reason,
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  Speaker 1: they were to remain distinct in the world, not odd,
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  Speaker 1: not curious, but just distinct. They had a unique call
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  Speaker 1: upon them. They were not permitted to marry non Jews.
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  Speaker 1: For example, they were forbidden to worship pagan deities. They
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  Speaker 1: were told never to embrace the pagan culture. They had
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  Speaker 1: unique to them ways to live, to love.
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  Speaker 2: And to worship. Now did they succeed? Well?
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  Speaker 1: Sometimes marvelously so. Think about Think about Joshua and the
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  Speaker 1: children of Israel as they move into the Promised Land,
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  Speaker 1: sometimes miserably. No, think about the kings, one more evil
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  Speaker 1: than the one prior, each one succeeding and out sending
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  Speaker 1: the other.
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  Speaker 2: In fact, there was a.
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  Speaker 1: Time in which they had so wandered away from their
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  Speaker 1: original call that God disciplined them. He disciplined them through
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  Speaker 1: a season of exile to get their attention. Five ninety
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: eight BC was the year that the Babylonians began their
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  Speaker 1: sacking of Jerusalem, inaugurating what eventually would be a forced
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  Speaker 1: deportation of citizens into Babylonian captivity. Five thirty nine BC,
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  Speaker 1: the Persians sacked the Babylonians, and so by the time
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  Speaker 1: we meet Mordecai, Esther, Xerxes, and Hayman in fifth century BC,
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  Speaker 1: the Jewish citizens were three generations removed from their homeland,
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  Speaker 1: three generations removed.
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  Speaker 2: Odds are.
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  Speaker 1: They had no one who could remember their life in Jerusalem.
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  Speaker 1: Most of them, maybe all of them, had spent their
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  Speaker 1: lives encircled by Persians. They did business with non Jews,
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  Speaker 1: They lived amidst the opulent wealth of the foreign people.
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  Speaker 1: They lived surrounded by these fragrant, extravagant temples. What's more,
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  Speaker 1: the truly dedicated among them had taken one of two
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  Speaker 1: opportunities to return to Jerusalem, first under the leadership of Zerubbabel,
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  Speaker 1: another under the leadership of Ezra. So the Jews who
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  Speaker 1: remained in Persia during the events that were studying in
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  Speaker 1: the book of Esther. These had chosen to remain in Persia.
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  Speaker 1: Life was good to them. Exile had been kind to them.
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  Speaker 1: They had good jobs. They had friends who were Persians,
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  Speaker 1: but friends. Nonetheless, they had positions. Some were more Persian
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  Speaker 1: than they were Hebrew, and they needed to be reminded.
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  Speaker 2: They needed to be reminded this is not your home.
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  Speaker 2: This is not your home.
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  Speaker 1: You are exiles here. And I'm wondering do we need
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  Speaker 1: the same reminder. Do we need to be reminded that
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  Speaker 1: we are only visitors here, that we, too, as followers
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  Speaker 1: of Christ, we are exiles. I ask you, do you
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  Speaker 1: align with Jesus Christ. If so, then your eternal citizenship
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  Speaker 1: is not the one that's printed on your passport. Do
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  Speaker 1: you adhere to the message of grace through faith? If so,
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  Speaker 1: then please underline this admonition from your master. You do
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  Speaker 1: not belong to the world, but I have chosen you
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  Speaker 1: out of the world. You're in the world, but you're
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  Speaker 1: not of the world. This world is not our home.
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  Speaker 1: We're subjects of a different king. We heat a higher law,
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  Speaker 1: we follow a greater good. We set our sights on
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  Speaker 1: a life after this. But sometimes sometimes we like the
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  Speaker 1: Jews in fifth century Persia, sometimes we need a reminder
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  Speaker 1: for them. Jerusalem was so so far away, it was
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  Speaker 1: so distant in their past. It was just pictures in
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  Speaker 1: a scrapbook in Persia. Well, Persia was so relevant, I mean,
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  Speaker 1: so real, so cutting edge, so with it it was
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  Speaker 1: like a.
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  Speaker 2: Gigantic wheat field.
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  Speaker 1: Now the author didn't use my metaphorm, but I like
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  Speaker 1: to think he would have appreciated it, because the point
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  Speaker 1: of the first chapter is simply this, don't jump the fence.
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  Speaker 1: Here's how the book begins. First of all, Xerxes shows off.
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  Speaker 1: Xerxes shows off in the third year of his reign. Xerxes,
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  Speaker 1: remember he's the king. He gave a banquet for all
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  Speaker 1: his nobles and officials, the military leaders of Persia and media,
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  Speaker 1: the princes and the nobles of the provinces were present. Now,
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  Speaker 1: Xerxes was thirty two years of age. At this point,
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  Speaker 1: he was rich beyond the imagination, and the excuse for
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  Speaker 1: this lavish event was to convince nobles, to convince officials,
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  Speaker 1: to convince princes, to convince governors and military leaders to
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  Speaker 1: support his campaign against the Greeks. He promised wealth and
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  Speaker 1: rewards to the willing warriors, and to convince them that
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  Speaker 1: he could make good on his promise, he staged this
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  Speaker 1: six month Las Vegas extravaganza. For a full one hundred
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  Speaker 1: and eighty days. He displayed the vast wealth of his
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  Speaker 1: kingdom and the splendor of his glory and his majesty.
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  Speaker 1: Can you imagine his palace was astounding, His palace was
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  Speaker 1: comprised of white and blue linen and couches of gold,
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  Speaker 1: on a mosaic pavement of periphery, marble and mother of
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  Speaker 1: pearl and other costly stones. Wine flowed like water. Everyone
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  Speaker 1: drank as much as they desired. Then they drank some more.
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  Speaker 1: Six months of fine food, Who's Who and pino noire,
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  Speaker 1: pillars of marble, and couches of silver. Even the mosaic
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  Speaker 1: pavements were top notch. But early in this story, early
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  Speaker 1: in this story, the true colors of Xerxes began to appear.
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  Speaker 1: Turns out, for all his strutting his swagger, he was
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  Speaker 1: nothing more than a misogynist whimp Did you read this story?
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  Speaker 1: In Chapter one of the Book of Esther, when he was,
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  Speaker 1: according to verse ten, in high spirits from the wine
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  Speaker 1: and other words, when he was drunk, he sent for
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  Speaker 1: his queen. While tipsy, he decided to show off his
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  Speaker 1: trophy wife. Why because she was lovely to look at,
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  Speaker 1: think Kim Kardashian of Sousa. He expected her to walk
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  Speaker 1: in bow to his wishes, But much to his surprise
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  Speaker 1: and much to his chagrin, she refused to come. It
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  Speaker 1: would be helpful for me to make this point, Persia
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  Speaker 1: was not a safe place to be a woman, not
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  Speaker 1: a safe place to be a female. Females, including the queen,
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  Speaker 1: were property. The way rabbis tell this story in their writings,
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  Speaker 1: Xerxes told her to enter the room wearing nothing but
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  Speaker 1: a crown. Whether that's true or not, we do not know,
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  Speaker 1: but we do know. He did not invite Vashti to
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  Speaker 1: come in to meet with the men in the group
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  Speaker 1: in his party so they could ask her her opinions.
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  Speaker 1: Wanted her to entertain the guys in his man caves.
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  Speaker 2: She refused.
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  Speaker 1: She refused prance about in front of a front of
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  Speaker 1: a bunch of drinking guys.
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  Speaker 2: No way.
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  Speaker 1: And when she refused, look at this, the king became
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  Speaker 1: furious and he burned with anger.
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  Speaker 2: A chuckle is permitted right here.
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  Speaker 1: The irony of it all, Big strong Xerxes, ruler of
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  Speaker 1: one hundred and twenty seven Prophnce, It's mighty overlord who
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  Speaker 1: controlled the world, was undone by his wife.
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  Speaker 2: He was so taken aback he had to have.
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  Speaker 1: A committee meeting with the guys. He assembled his seven advisers,
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  Speaker 1: and he said, what am I supposed to do?
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  Speaker 2: Well?
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  Speaker 1: They huddled, They strategized, you're not going to believe this report.
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  Speaker 1: They said, Queen Vashti has done wrong only against the king,
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  Speaker 1: but also against all the nobles and the peoples of
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  Speaker 1: all the provinces of King Xerxes. For the Queen's conduct
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  Speaker 1: will become known to all the women, so they will
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  Speaker 1: despise their husbands and say, King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti
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  Speaker 1: to come before him, but she would not come. I
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  Speaker 1: smell fear in those words, don't you These barely sober
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  Speaker 1: men worried about this precedent set by Queen Vashtie.
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  Speaker 2: Something had to be done.
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  Speaker 1: If not, the world might spend office access for crying
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: out loud. Women will begin thinking for themselves. Men will
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  Speaker 1: need to be kind to their wives. Daughters will envision
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: a life outside of the kitchen. How to avoid such
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  Speaker 1: a tragedy, Well, here's what we do. We make an
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  Speaker 1: example out of Vashti. Let it be written in the
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  Speaker 1: laws of Persia and media which cannot be repealed, that
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  Speaker 1: Vashtai is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Also,
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: let the king give her royal position to someone who
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: is better than she. Then, when all the King's edict
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: is proclaimed throughout his vast realm, all the women will
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  Speaker 1: respect their husbands from the least to the greatest. On
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: what planet were these men born who had spiked their
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: wine with silly juice? Were they really so blind, so arrogant,
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  Speaker 1: so out of touch with human nature that they thought
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  Speaker 1: an edict would engender the devotion of a gender?
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  Speaker 2: And were these men? Were these really the men.
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  Speaker 1: In charge of running the world, just nation in the world.
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: They're just a bunch of locker room thugs, That's who
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  Speaker 1: they are. Press the pause button for just a moment
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: on the story. Do you shake your head at the folly?
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: Does the response cause you to roll your eyes in disgust?
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: If so, the mission of the author is accomplished. He's
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: sending a message here. Don't be fooled by parties of
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: power of Persia.
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  Speaker 2: Don't be swayed by glitz.
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: In Hollywood or boast on the Beltway or the cloud
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: of the corner office. Here's the truth. The truth is this,
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: The Emperor's got no clothes. You know the story right
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: from Hans Christian Anderson.
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: It's a classic.
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: A king was obsessed with his wardrobe, change clothes every hour.
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: Some clever Charlatan saw an opportunity to make a buck
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: off his indulgence, and so they told him about their
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: special brand, clothing so special that only the sophisticated could
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: see it. The simpletons of society would see nothing. Full
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: thrilled at the prospect of having a wardrobe that would
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: reveal and impress only the truly wise, the king commissioned
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: their work. They set up their looms, and they began
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: to weave their special thread. Curious for a report, the
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: king sent a religious leader to bring back a report
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  Speaker 1: to examine their craft. The pastor went in, but he
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: saw nothing. He saw nothing on the looms. He saw
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: him working, but he saw nothing. But knowing that the
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: thread was unseen in the eyes of the simple minded,
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: he couldn't bear the thought of telling the king he
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: couldn't see anything.
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: So he lied to the king. He told him the king.
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  Speaker 1: Was about to receive some glorious clothing. Sometime later, the
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: king sent a nobleman, like the pastor. The nobleman saw nothing,
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  Speaker 1: and like the pastor, the man couldn't abide the thought
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: of being inferiors, so he also lied to the king
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: lest he appear unwise. Words spread throughout the realm, that
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: the king would soon appear in clothing that only the
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: sophisticated people could see. When the crooked tailors showed up
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: to dress him, the King saw no pants, he saw
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: no robe, he saw no vest. The heat dared not
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: admit that he couldn't see it. I mean, he has
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: to be sophisticated, right, So he allowed himself to be
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: dressed in clothing that did not exist. And when his
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: Highness stepped out to be seen, his Heiininess was in
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: full view. The people, equally duped, dared not admit that
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: they saw no clothing.
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  Speaker 2: They owed, they awed.
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  Speaker 1: It took a child to declare the naked truth.
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  Speaker 2: The Emperor has no clothes, shouted the kid.
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  Speaker 1: Now, the story of the bear Dairy Air and the
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: story of the insolent Xerxes posit the same question.
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: What if all the glipse and glamour in the world
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: is nothing more than a hoax.
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: What if all those people posting pictures on Instagram and Facebook.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: What if all the red carpet and the big parties,
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: What if the shiny toys, what if all the hoop
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: de doo and the lotti does is actually one big field.
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  Speaker 2: Of winter wheat. Friend, don't romp.
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: In it, don't fall for it, don't buy the line,
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: don't take the bait, don't take the bluff, don't get
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: cozy in Persia.
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  Speaker 2: You see, we are now the covenant people.
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  Speaker 3: We we we who serve as the temple of the
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  Speaker 3: Holy Spirit, We who have been bought by the blood
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  Speaker 3: of Christ.
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  Speaker 1: We are now the curators and the caretakers of the
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: Great Covenant of Jesus Christ. That's our job, and our
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: job is not to blend in. Our job is to
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: stand up, to stand out, not to be odd, but
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: to be distinct. Back in my boy Scout days, I
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: earned a merit badge first Aid it was called, and
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: it qualified me to be able to wrap ankles and
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: repair skin knees.
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  Speaker 2: That's about it.
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  Speaker 1: But it also qualified me to have a particular role
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: at the Boy Scout jamboree. I could be one of
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: the boy Scouts in the first aid tent. I got
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: a rap that went around my bicep that had a
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  Speaker 1: little red cross on it.
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  Speaker 2: I was pretty impressed with.
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: Myself and I stood in the front of the tent
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: and over the top of the tent there was a
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: flag that also had some type of symbol indicating here's
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: where you come if you got hurt again.
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: We couldn't do much for people, but we could do
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: a bit.
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: But you know, as I and the others were in
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: the tent, we watched all the other boy Scouts getting
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: to play. They were competing, they were swimming, they were running,
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: they were jumping, and I didn't like not being a
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  Speaker 1: part of them. And I was about to take off
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: my band and abandon the flag when a particular boy
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: Scout leader reminded me, you're not like them now, you're
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: here to help them. You need to stand out because
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: when someone gets hurt, they're going to need you.
• 24:07
  Speaker 2: So I kept my post. Will you keep yours? Please?
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: Will you keep yours? Don't blend in stand out. Right now,
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: our society has seen a spike in calls to emotional
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: helplines and hotlines of eight hundred and ninety one percent
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: over this time last year. Divorces are up, breakups are up,
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: loneliness is spiking, depression is high, and worst of all,
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: the suicide rate is higher than it's been any time
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: since World War Two. This is not the time for
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: you to play in Persia. This is the time for
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: you to be distinct, to be a curator, to be
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: a caretaker of the covenant of God. In case you
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: don't know this, however, let me tell you. There is
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: a devil, a prince of Persia, if you will, who's
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: trying to convince you to compromise, who's trying to convince
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: you to forget who you are. And he's lying to you,
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: and he's telling you that you don't matter and you
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: can't make a difference. Don't you listen to him? You
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: remember the word of Jesus Christ, who cause you to.
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: Be in the world, but not to be a part
• 25:36
  Speaker 2: of the world.
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: Be alert to the lives of the devil. Need some
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: samples of his seduction, here's a few. You believe in
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: a good God. Prince of Persia tells you to believe
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: in no God.
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: You believe in a.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: Right and wrong society says there's nothing wrong. You believe
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: in the Cross of Christ. Persia curses the name of Christ.
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: You believe in life after death. The devil wants you
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: to believe in just living a good life before death.
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: You believe we're saved by grace. There's a lie that
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: says we don't even need saving. You believe that your
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: body is God's holy temple. Society is trying to tell
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: you that your body is just your plaything. You believe
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: in a covenant marriage, Society believes in convenient marriages. And
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: the list just goes on and on and on and on.
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: But the big point you are a chosen people, a
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession. Why that
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: you may declare the praises of Him who called you
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you are
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: not a people, Now you are the people of God.
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: Once you had not received mercy, Now you have received mercy.
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: abstain from sinful desire which wage war against your soul.
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: Lives such good lives among the Pagans, that though they
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. Folks,
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: we have been grafted into the family of Abraham, and
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: we carry the covenant of Abraham. We were made to
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: serve the Almighty God and be a temple of his
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: holy spirit. Persia offers nothing, He offers everything. Hollywood cannot
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: satisfy your need. Madison Avenue makes these big promises but
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: leaves people naked of hope. Godless living is no life
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: to live. Let's be smart, Let's be careful, Let's be alert.
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: We're exiles. This world is not our home, but we're
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: heading to a wonderful home, a place where the wheat
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: fields are soft to the.
• 27:57
  Speaker 2: Feet and good for free the soul.
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: Till then, let's keep our shoes on and stay on
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: this side of the fence. Heavenly Father, now your word
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: find its target, and may you speak to our hearts.
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: We offer this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ.
• 28:20
  Speaker 2: Amen.
• 28:43
  Speaker 4: Loving you alone feels so beautiful, and yet it hurts
• 28:54
  Speaker 4: the most.
• 28:59
  Speaker 5: You became my quiet sunrise, the dream I never dared
• 29:04
  Speaker 5: to say.
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: Every smile you gave so freely.
• 29:09
  Speaker 5: Took my breath a little away. I held this LOVELI
• 29:15
  Speaker 5: like fragile glass, so precious, soft and true, But every
• 29:21
  Speaker 5: bit inside my heart was only reaching out to you. Unspoken.
• 29:28
  Speaker 6: Love is sweet and painful, like honey mixed me rain.
• 29:35
  Speaker 6: But send the whole by all so sadly while it
• 29:40
  Speaker 6: slowly breaks me. Loving you from just one side, Now
• 29:45
  Speaker 6: leave my soul in silent blue because the deeper that
• 29:50
  Speaker 6: I fall along, the lonelier I do.
• 29:58
  Speaker 5: I can't blame my heart choosing someone that could never
• 30:03
  Speaker 5: keep so I smiled through hidden heartache.
• 30:08
  Speaker 7: Hell love you quietly spoke in Love's sweet and painful,
• 30:16
  Speaker 7: like conn even mixed with rain a'send the whole bi
• 30:21
  Speaker 7: so tightly, Wali slowly breaks me.
• 30:26
  Speaker 5: Loving you from just one side now leaves.
• 30:30
  Speaker 6: My soul in silent blood, because the deeper that I follow,
• 30:37
  Speaker 6: the only I do.
• 30:56
  Speaker 5: Maybe loving you in silence is the closest darkisting, though
• 31:03
  Speaker 5: leaves behind the sorrow that may never fat away. Spoken
• 31:14
  Speaker 5: love is sweet and painful, like honey mixed with rains
• 31:20
  Speaker 5: attend the whole Bibles so tightly Wally slowly breaks me.
• 31:27
  Speaker 5: Loving you from just one side now leave my soul
• 31:32
  Speaker 5: in silence, because the deeper that I follow love.
• 31:40
  Speaker 7: The lowly
• 31:43
  Speaker 2: Her to