Latest / The Bible Explained with Jenn Kokal / 1 Timothy 5:1-16 - The Rules for Widows (Part 1)

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1 Timothy 5:1-16 - The Rules for Widows (Part 1) · The Bible Explained with Jenn Kokal

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  Speaker 1: Life Audio. Good morning, friends and faithful listeners, and welcome
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  Speaker 1: to the Bible explained on this lovely Thursday morning. It
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  Speaker 1: is a beautiful day to day. I hope you have
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  Speaker 1: your coffee in front of you because we're gonna be
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  Speaker 1: talking about a kind of controversial topic today. So I
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  Speaker 1: think you're gonna need your coffee to kind of like
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  Speaker 1: relax you a little bit. Or for those of you
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  Speaker 1: who are crazy tea drinkers, I guess your cup of
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  Speaker 1: tea will relax you. But I don't know how that
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  Speaker 1: could happen because coffee is so much superior to tea.
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  Speaker 1: So that's the first controversial thing I'll say to start
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  Speaker 1: this podcast. But we're gonna be talking today about widows,
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  Speaker 1: how children should be taking care of their parents and
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  Speaker 1: actually owe it to their parents, and lastly, who is
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  Speaker 1: actually eligible for church finances or handouts. We'll talk about
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  Speaker 1: all of that today, And of course, before we begin
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  Speaker 1: this episode, here is a quick word from our sponsors.
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  Speaker 1: I am certainly looking forward to today's podcast episode. So let's
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  Speaker 1: go ahead and read first Timothy five one through sixteen.
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  Speaker 1: I'll be reading, as always from the web, but of course,
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  Speaker 1: grab your cup of coffee. And the version of the
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  Speaker 1: Bible that you prefer to read out of. And let's
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  Speaker 1: jump into first Timothy five one through sixteen. Don't rebuke
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  Speaker 1: an older man, but exhort him as a father, the
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  Speaker 1: younger men as brothers, the elder women as mothers, the
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  Speaker 1: younger as sisters. In all purity, honor widows who are
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  Speaker 1: widows indeed, But if any widow has children or grandchildren,
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  Speaker 1: let them learn first to show piety toward their own family,
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  Speaker 1: and to repay their parents, For this is acceptable in
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  Speaker 1: the sight of God. Now, she who is a widow
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  Speaker 1: indeed and desolate, has her hopes set on God, and
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  Speaker 1: continues in petitions and prayers night and day. But she
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  Speaker 1: who gives herself to pleasure is dead while she lives.
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  Speaker 1: Also command these things that they may be without reproach.
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  Speaker 1: But if anyone doesn't provide for his own and especially
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  Speaker 1: his own household, he has denied the faith and is
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  Speaker 1: worse than an unbeliever. No. No one be enrolled as
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  Speaker 1: a widow under sixty years old, having been the wife
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  Speaker 1: of one man, being approved by good works. If she
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  Speaker 1: has brought up the children, if she has been hospitable
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  Speaker 1: to strangers, if she has washed the saint's feet, if
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  Speaker 1: she has relieved the afflicted, and if she has diligently
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  Speaker 1: followed every good work. But refuse younger widows, for when
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  Speaker 1: they have grown wanton against Christ, they desire to marry
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  Speaker 1: having condemnation, because they have rejected their first pledge. Besides,
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  Speaker 1: they also learned to be idle, going about from house
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  Speaker 1: to house, not only idle, but also gossips and busy bodies,
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  Speaker 1: saying things which they ought not. I desire therefore, that
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  Speaker 1: the younger widows marry, bear children, rule the household, and
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  Speaker 1: give no occasion to the adversary for insulting, For already
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  Speaker 1: some have turned away after Satan. If any man or
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  Speaker 1: woman who believes has widows, let them relieve them, and
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  Speaker 1: don't let the assembly be burdened that I might relieve
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  Speaker 1: those who are widows. Indeed, so in this portion of
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  Speaker 1: First Timothy, Paul is now describing how Timothy should treat
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  Speaker 1: so certain members of the church. So he starts out
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  Speaker 1: by saying, don't rebuke an older man, but exhort him
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  Speaker 1: as a father. So this does not mean that Timothy
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  Speaker 1: can never correct an older man, because actually, if you
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  Speaker 1: jump down to verse twenty of this same chapter, it
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  Speaker 1: says those who sin reprove in the sight of all
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  Speaker 1: that the rest may be in fear. So obviously, if
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  Speaker 1: an older man is sinning, Timothy needs to call that
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  Speaker 1: out as the pastor of the church, and also in
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  Speaker 1: some cases call it out publicly. So that's not what
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  Speaker 1: Paul is getting at here. But he's saying that Timothy
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  Speaker 1: needs to remember his position as a younger man and
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  Speaker 1: treat the older man with respect, not rebuking them harshly,
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  Speaker 1: but guiding them and giving them honor as you would
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  Speaker 1: a father. But to the younger men, he says, treat
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  Speaker 1: them as brothers. So notice that Paul does not say
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  Speaker 1: that Timothy can't rebuke the younger men, but he says,
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  Speaker 1: treat them as you would your own brother. So, in
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  Speaker 1: other words, treat them with kindness, treat them as you
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  Speaker 1: would your own family member. The elder women treat them
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  Speaker 1: as mothers, the younger as sisters in all purity. So
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  Speaker 1: when it comes to the women, Timothy needs to be
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  Speaker 1: very pure towards them. The elder women in the church
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  Speaker 1: need to be treated with respect. The younger women also
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  Speaker 1: treated with respect as sisters in all purity. So when
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  Speaker 1: it comes to the women, Paul specifically tells Timothy, be
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  Speaker 1: very careful with your interactions with the women. Be pure
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  Speaker 1: in every single thing that you do, because the women
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  Speaker 1: are to be treated with respect as daughters of God.
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  Speaker 1: And then he goes into widows. Specifically, he says, honor
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  Speaker 1: widows who are widows. Indeed, so the Greek word for
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  Speaker 1: honor could be talking about paying them what they are
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  Speaker 1: due or showing them respect and honor. Regardless of what
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  Speaker 1: Paul meant here, it is very clear throughout all scripture
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  Speaker 1: they are to be treated with so much respect. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: let's go into some verses about how God thinks about
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  Speaker 1: widows and also how God's people are to treat widows
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  Speaker 1: Psalm sixty eight, verse five. Father of the fatherless and
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  Speaker 1: protector of widows is God in his holy habitation James
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  Speaker 1: one twenty seven. Religion that is pure and undefiled before
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  Speaker 1: God the Father. Is this to visit orphans and widows
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  Speaker 1: in their affliction, and to keep one's self unstained from
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  Speaker 1: the world Psalm one forty six nine. The Lord watches
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  Speaker 1: over the sojourners. He upholds the widows and the fatherless,
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  Speaker 1: but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin
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  Speaker 1: Deuteronomy twenty seven nineteen. Cursed be anyone who perverts the
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  Speaker 1: justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow,
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  Speaker 1: and all the people shall say amen. Exit Is twenty
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  Speaker 1: two twenty two. You shall not mistreat any widow or
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  Speaker 1: fatherless child Malachi three five. Then I will draw near
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  Speaker 1: to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness
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  Speaker 1: against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely,
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  Speaker 1: against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages,
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  Speaker 1: the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside
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  Speaker 1: the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord
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  Speaker 1: of Hosts Mark twelve forty. And this is Jesus's words.
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  Speaker 1: Those who devour widow's houses and for a pretense make
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  Speaker 1: long prayers, they will receive the greater condemnation Deuteronomy fourteen,
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  Speaker 1: twenty eight and twenty nine. At the end of every
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  Speaker 1: three years, you shall bring out all the tithe of
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  Speaker 1: your produce in the same year and lay it up
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  Speaker 1: within your towns and the levite, because he has no
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  Speaker 1: portion or inheritance with you and the sojourner. The fatherless,
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  Speaker 1: and the widow who are within your towns shall come
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  Speaker 1: and eat and be filled, that the Lord your God
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  Speaker 1: may bless you in all the work of your hands
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  Speaker 1: that you do. And then lastly exit is twenty two
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  Speaker 1: twenty two through twenty four. You shall not mistreat any
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  Speaker 1: widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them and
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  Speaker 1: they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry,
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  Speaker 1: and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you
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  Speaker 1: with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and
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  Speaker 1: your children fatherless. So yeah, it's pretty clear in scripture
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  Speaker 1: that God cares a lot about the widows and the
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  Speaker 1: fatherless specifically, and that's only a handful of verses that
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  Speaker 1: I read about how we are to be caring for
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  Speaker 1: widows and the fatherless. So we are certainly to give
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  Speaker 1: widows respect and honor that they're due, but specifically Christian widows,
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  Speaker 1: which are talked about right here in one Timothy five
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  Speaker 1: to three. Honor widows who are widows. Indeed, but if
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  Speaker 1: any widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn first
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  Speaker 1: to show piety toward their own family and to repay
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  Speaker 1: their parents, for this is acceptable in the sight of God.
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  Speaker 1: So yes, all Christian widows are to be given honor
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  Speaker 1: because God's heart breaks four widows. They have been left
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  Speaker 1: in a really bad position. I mean even nowadays. You know,
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  Speaker 1: things are very different now Like in the days of Paul,
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  Speaker 1: a widow was destitute a lot of times. You know,
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  Speaker 1: younger widows could find jobs and get remarried, but specifically
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  Speaker 1: the older widows that couldn't find jobs and couldn't work anymore,
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  Speaker 1: they were absolutely destitute. In Paul's day, there was nothing
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  Speaker 1: for them. So things are very different nowadays because we
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  Speaker 1: do have, you know, government programs that take care of
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  Speaker 1: people in that situation. But I believe that God's heart
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  Speaker 1: still breaks for widows because women rely so much on
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  Speaker 1: their husbands, like we really do. You know, I love
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  Speaker 1: my husband. I'd be absolutely devastated if he died. I
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  Speaker 1: don't know what I would do. You know, There's so
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  Speaker 1: many things that my husband just takes care of that
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  Speaker 1: I don't have to think about. You know, something simple
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  Speaker 1: is just plowing the driveway with the tractor. I don't
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  Speaker 1: even know, like I know how to start the tractor.
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  Speaker 1: I don't know really anything else about it. I can
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  Speaker 1: maybe like drive it out of the garage. But I
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  Speaker 1: don't even know that I could get it back into
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  Speaker 1: the garage because the is such a tight little place.
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  Speaker 1: I'd probably hit the side of the garage if I
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  Speaker 1: even tried to get it back in. So I rely
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  Speaker 1: on my husband for so many things, and that is
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  Speaker 1: the same case with so many women. We rely on
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  Speaker 1: our husbands, and we're very dedicated to our husbands as well.
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  Speaker 1: I believe God's heart to this day still breaks for
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  Speaker 1: widows and for fatherless children, and so our hearts as
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  Speaker 1: Christians should break for these women as well. You know
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  Speaker 1: famous widow that I can think of right now is
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  Speaker 1: Charlie Kirk's wife, Erica Kirk, and I'm just shocked by
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  Speaker 1: the amount of Christians that are treating her with so
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  Speaker 1: much vitriol. I'm shocked by that because it is so
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  Speaker 1: clear in Scripture that we are to give honor to
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  Speaker 1: widows verse four. If any widow has children or grandchildren,
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  Speaker 1: let them learn first to show piety toward their own
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  Speaker 1: family and to repay their parents for the This is
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  Speaker 1: acceptable in the sight of God. Now not gonna lie.
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  Speaker 1: This episode, I think is going to be very controversial
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  Speaker 1: on a lot of different points, and I think this
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  Speaker 1: might be the first point that is specifically controversial, because
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  Speaker 1: no one likes to hear that they owe their parents.
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  Speaker 1: Not a single person wants to be like, oh, yeah,
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  Speaker 1: you know, I owe my parents. Everybody nowadays is so
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  Speaker 1: focused on how their parents hurt them and how they
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  Speaker 1: want to be freed from their parents. But Paul actually
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  Speaker 1: says right here that repaying your parents is acceptable in
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  Speaker 1: the eyes of God. In fact, Jesus said something similar
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  Speaker 1: in Matthew chapter fifteen three through nine. Jesus answered them,
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  Speaker 1: why do you also disobey the commandment of God because
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  Speaker 1: of your tradition? For God commanded honor your father and
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  Speaker 1: your mother, And he who speaks evil of father or mother,
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  Speaker 1: let him be put to death. But you say, whoever
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  Speaker 1: may tell his father or his mother whatever help you
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  Speaker 1: might have otherwise gotten from me is a gift devoted
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  Speaker 1: to God. He shall not honor his father or mother.
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  Speaker 1: You have made the commandment of God void because of
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  Speaker 1: your tradition, you hypocrites. Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
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  Speaker 1: these people draw near to me with their mouth and
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  Speaker 1: honor me with their lips, but their heart is far
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  Speaker 1: from me, and they worship me in vain teaching as
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  Speaker 1: doctrine rules made by men. So I think that's pretty
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  Speaker 1: clear that giving honor to your parents is pleasing in
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  Speaker 1: the eyes of God. You know, Jesus quotes a couple
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  Speaker 1: Old Testament laws where God is making it very clear
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  Speaker 1: that if you mistreat your parents or refuse to provide
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  Speaker 1: for them in their old age, that's actually sickening in
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  Speaker 1: the eyes of God. And Jesus himself said that. And
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  Speaker 1: you know, I can go into so many different topics
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  Speaker 1: with this because you might be asking, well, what about
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  Speaker 1: really horrible parents that like try to destroy your life,
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  Speaker 1: what do we do in that situation. We're supposed to
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  Speaker 1: honor our parents, regardless of how terrible they are, with
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  Speaker 1: whatever honor we can give them. But when Paul here
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  Speaker 1: is talking about these widows in One Timothy five, he's
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  Speaker 1: specifically talking about Christian widows. So if you are a
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  Speaker 1: Christian and your mother, who is a widow, is also
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  Speaker 1: a Christian, this is what Paul specifically is talking about here,
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  Speaker 1: not non Christian situations, not deeply abusive situations, but the
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  Speaker 1: average Christian family that goes to the church. Those children
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  Speaker 1: are to pay back their Christian parents, even if their
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  Speaker 1: Christian parents are a little bit on the crazy side,
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  Speaker 1: because most parents are, and I'm sure when I become
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  Speaker 1: a parent, I'm going to be a crazy parent to
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  Speaker 1: my kid. Also, still, those Christian children are still supposed
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  Speaker 1: to provide for their Christian parents, specifically their widowed mother.
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  Speaker 1: Here's what Paul says in verse Timothy five, verse eight.
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  Speaker 1: If anyone doesn't provide for his own especially his own household,
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  Speaker 1: he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
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  Speaker 1: That is how weighty this issue is. This is a
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  Speaker 1: big deal to God that the elderly are taken care of,
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  Speaker 1: specifically by the children who are raised by those elderly parents.
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  Speaker 1: If those children say I believe in God but refuse
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  Speaker 1: to provide for their own family, Paul says that they
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  Speaker 1: have denied the faith and are worse than an unbeliever.
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  Speaker 1: Because even unbelievers want to take care of the elderly.
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  Speaker 1: Even unbelievers know that it's important to not let elderly
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  Speaker 1: people go and die without any finances. So if an
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  Speaker 1: unbeliever can figure out that the elderly need help, then
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  Speaker 1: surely the Christian person, regardless of what grudges they have
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  Speaker 1: against their Christian parents, they should also figure out that
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  Speaker 1: their parents need help and support in their old age.
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  Speaker 1: So it's definitely countercultural, and it probably was in Paul's
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  Speaker 1: day as well if you think about it, because, like
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  Speaker 1: I said, commands are in scripture because they're not easy
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  Speaker 1: to follow. If they are easy to follow, we wouldn't
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  Speaker 1: have to be commanded to do it, we would just
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  Speaker 1: go and do it. So I'm sure that this was
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  Speaker 1: also an issue in Paul's day as well, which is
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  Speaker 1: why he's, you know, bringing this forward to Timothy, who
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  Speaker 1: is now the new pastor at this church in Macedonia.
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  Speaker 1: So let's talk a little bit more about these widows.
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  Speaker 1: First and foremost, when a woman becomes a widow, if
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  Speaker 1: she has Christian children, those children should provide for their mother.
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  Speaker 1: The church should not be providing for that widow in
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  Speaker 1: that circumstance, because it kind of goes back to those
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  Speaker 1: familial relations that God put in place. God wants people
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  Speaker 1: to care for their own families. That's pretty clear in scripture.
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  Speaker 1: But she who is a w indeed and desolate has
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  Speaker 1: her hopes set on God and continues in petitions and
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  Speaker 1: prayers night and day. So there are some widows out
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  Speaker 1: there who have nobody. They are fully alone, either because
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  Speaker 1: they have no children, or their children live too far
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  Speaker 1: away and can't come and visit their mother all the time.
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  Speaker 1: Or maybe this woman had children who died or children
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  Speaker 1: who are unbelievers they refuse to take care of their mother.
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  Speaker 1: Those widows have their hopes set on God and continue
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  Speaker 1: in petitions and prayers night and day because they have
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  Speaker 1: nobody else to rely on. And those are the widows
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  Speaker 1: that the church should be caring for. But there are
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  Speaker 1: other widows verse six. There are widows who give themselves
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  Speaker 1: to pleasure. They are dead while they live. So I
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  Speaker 1: imagine that would be the case of a woman when
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  Speaker 1: her husband dies just kind of like only living for herself,
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  Speaker 1: maybe abandoning church, maybe becoming angry at God because she
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  Speaker 1: feels God took her husband away from her. And these
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  Speaker 1: women either leave the faith or they kind of rebel
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  Speaker 1: against the faith, even if they're still going to church.
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  Speaker 1: They rebel by appeasing themselves with drugs or alcohol, by
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  Speaker 1: just living a lifestyle that is not honoring to God.
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  Speaker 1: In that case, those widows should not be supported by
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  Speaker 1: the church because they're in rebellion against God. Now, I
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  Speaker 1: imagine if they come back into the faith. Then at
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  Speaker 1: that time there could be a discussion about those widows
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  Speaker 1: being supported by the church. But generally, if a widow
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  Speaker 1: decides that she is no longer going to live as
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  Speaker 1: part of the Christian faith because of whatever reason, that
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  Speaker 1: person should not be supported by the Church. Command these
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  Speaker 1: things verse seven, that they may be without reproach. So
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  Speaker 1: these are commands. Actually this may be a very shocking
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  Speaker 1: statement to some of you, but the Church is not
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  Speaker 1: supposed to support every single person on the planet. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: even saying that, I feel almost like cringey because people
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  Speaker 1: have this idea that the Church is supposed to help
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  Speaker 1: every single person in need. But that's actually not what
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  Speaker 1: Scripture commands. In fact, almost always, and here's another controversial statement,
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  Speaker 1: almost always, when you see a command about giving, whether
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  Speaker 1: it's in the Old Testament or the New Testament, it
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  Speaker 1: is almost always directed at a believer, somebody who follows
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  Speaker 1: the faith. And that is especially true in the New Testament.
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  Speaker 1: Every single time Paul talks about giving, he's talking about
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  Speaker 1: giving to other believers, not just any random person on
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  Speaker 1: the street. And so the church doesn't have to give
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  Speaker 1: their finances that come in to every single person who
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  Speaker 1: is in need or asks for those finances. You know,
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  Speaker 1: I can't even tell you how many times people have
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  Speaker 1: walked into my church and asked for handouts, asked for money,
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  Speaker 1: asked for you know, a hotel room, and a lot
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  Speaker 1: of times, you know, my church will give it to
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  Speaker 1: those people. But biblically, we don't actually have to do that.
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  Speaker 1: There is nothing in scripture that says we have to
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  Speaker 1: do that. But we are supposed to always give to
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  Speaker 1: other Christians in need. That is very very clear in
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  Speaker 1: scripture that those who are in need, like really truly
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  Speaker 1: in need, who are faithful to God, they are to
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  Speaker 1: be provided for. They are to be taken care of
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  Speaker 1: by the church members. Otherwise it's just an unneeded burden
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  Speaker 1: on the church. You know, I've seen YouTube videos where
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  Speaker 1: like critics of the church will do this whole like
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  Speaker 1: gotcha thing, and they'll like call up all of these
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  Speaker 1: churches and like give this sob story and be like, oh,
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  Speaker 1: you know, like I need formula for my baby, or
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  Speaker 1: I need this, or I need that because I'm in
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  Speaker 1: you know, a terrible situation, and like these churches won't
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  Speaker 1: give out handouts to these people calling and you know,
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: of course the end result is like, look how terrible
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: the church is. You know, they don't give any charity whatsoever.
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: But actually statistics show differently because Christians are the most
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: charitable people on the planet. You can look those stats up.
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: I am not lying to you. Christians give more than
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: any other person that identifies with any other religion or thing.
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: Christians are givers through and through. And these churches that
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: won't hand out money to like randoms that call aren't
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: doing anything wrong. They're protecting what God has given them.
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: They're protecting the finances of the people that give to
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: the church, because if the church gave to every single
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: person that called up to ask for money or to
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: you know, have some sob story, the church would be
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: out of finances in a week and wouldn't actually be
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: able to support people who may truly need help or
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: people who need to be paid and make a living
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: by working at the church. So so that may be
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: a very controversial statement to you, but yeah, it's pretty
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: clear in scripture that we don't as church members, don't
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: actually have to give to people who are unbelievers. We can,
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: but we don't have to. And you know what, I
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: am only halfway through this passage. So I think I'm
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: going to do a Part one and Part two about
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: this topic because verses nine through fifteen or nine through
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: sixteen actually talk about what widows specifically are eligible to
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: be supported by the church, because not even all Christians
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: should be supported by the church either, interestingly enough, So
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: we will get into that topic on Tuesday. But don't
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: go away at because I have a few things to
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: announce right after a quick word from our sponsors, so
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: faithful listeners, I have the Christmas Special coming up on Wednesday.
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: I'm very, very excited to present this year's Christmas Special
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: to you guys. As you all know, it releases midnight
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: on Christmas Morning, and I'm excited about my topic this year.
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: I'm going to be talking about the Mother Mary and
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: specifically the Magnificant, which is the prayer that Mary gives
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: to God, and I do think a lot of you
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: guys will enjoy it. I will also probably be singing
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: a song for you, as I do pretty much every
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: single year, so that will be something I guess you
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: guys can look forward to as well. Now don't forget
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: that tomorrow is for the members. I do a separate
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: podcast on Fridays specifically for the faithful members. And right
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: now we are going through the Book of the Psalms,
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: and the Friday podcast episode, by the way, has not
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: changed at all. That is a separate podcast that I
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: do not associated with Life Audio, so you will hear
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: the Psalms ad free. And so if you're interested in
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: upgrading from becoming a faithful listener to a faithful member,
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: check out the link in the description that says Kofi
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: and join me tomorrow for the Bible Explained on Fridays.
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: But friends and faithful listeners, have a fantastic and wonderful weekend.
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: I'll see you guys on Monday for another discussion from
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: Second Chronicles, and also Tuesday as we wrap up this
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: talk on the Widows until Monday. Happy weekend, happy listening,
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: and God bless. I just want to take a second
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: to thank the team at Life Audio for their partnership
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: with me on the Bible Explain podcast. In fact, if
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: you go to lifeaudio dot com you will find dozens
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: of other faith centered podcasts in their network. They've got
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting, and more.