Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #10201 - Deliverance Is On The Way - Exodus 1

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#10201 - Deliverance Is On The Way - Exodus 1 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the Study of God's Word with pastor and author Ed
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Taylor recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora, Co.
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To learn more about the many resources available through a
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bounding Grace media or to tune into our live stream services,
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visit us online at Calvary, Co dot Church or download our free
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Calvary Church app. Now here's Pastor Ed to take us
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into our study. Amen.
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Open your Bibles. Exodus Chapter one.
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As we start a new book of the Bible, Exodus chapter one, we're
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going to try to cover the whole chapter and the title of our
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Bible study is. Deliverance is on the way.
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Deliverance is on the way. And you know things can change
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so quickly. Things can change so quickly for
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the good and sometimes so quickly for the bad.
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When you look at 400 years of history, you'll see a lot of
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change. I know we experience it one at a
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time as we're transitioning from the book of Genesis into Exodus.
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We're looking at 400 plus years of history and what ended well
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with Joseph and his family took a turn for the worse in Egypt.
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Notice in chapter one. Just draw your attention to
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verse 14. It says they made their lives
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bitter with hard bondage in mortar in brick in all the
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manner of service in the field. All their service in which they
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made them serve was with rigor. That was a lot to endure for the
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children of Israel for about 430 years.
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Later on in Exodus chapter 12 and verse 40, that's exactly
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what it says. The sojourn of the children of
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Israel who lived in Egypt was 430 years.
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Sometimes it says 400 years, which is probably just a
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rounding up of the number, a rounding down of the number by
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the translators. But what it's describing,
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whether it's 400, four, 130 years, bond being in bondage and
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in servitude, was very hard. And today we see people in
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bondage. That's why the book of of Exodus
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is so encouraging, because we all need to be delivered.
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There's all something God's working out in our lives.
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There's something that God wants to move us into a new season and
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a new way of thinking things. But some are in deep bondage
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really to things more than to people.
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But the bitterness and the hardness is the same.
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You know, we're not, we're not looking at this kind of life
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where we're in a situation where our lives are bitterest slaves
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being worked to the bone. But, you know, the situations in
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our lives have very similar outcomes.
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Whether you're addicted and and bondage to to drugs or to
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alcohol or to sinful pleasures or to pornography or to having
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grudges or or just revenge and bitterness in and of itself,
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They've held people captive for years and years and years.
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I mean some right now you're listening to me like that's my
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life. This is something that's been
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holding on to me, and we need to be reminded.
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Studying Exodus is good. We need to be reminded that
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there's always a way out. There's always opportunity to be
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delivered and to be taken out from the difficulty we're in and
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be LED into the promised land. There's a way out of the chaos
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that sometimes overwhelms us, just getting along with the
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Lord, having those quiet times away from the frantic rat race,
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you know, just seeking him. The Lord is ready to lead us in
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the Book of Exodus. The word exodus means exit if
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you're taking notes, and it's this book that we gain hope.
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The word means exit or to come out of or to go out of.
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And the picture of Exodus is a marching of an army.
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In the solemn procession, God delivers the children of Israel.
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He saves them. He rescues them.
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And in this deliverance we have a picture, you know, because God
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is going to use Moses as Moses is a great tool in the hands of
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God. But we're always reminded
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there's a greater than Moses. His name is Jesus, ready to
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deliver you, ready to eat us out.
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And the faithfulness of God is seen in his leading of
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deliverance. If you're taking notes, I have a
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few things to lay before you before we get into the text
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itself today. Some themes to think through as
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we study the entirety of this book verse by verse.
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And by the way, if you're new to the radio broadcast or you're
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new to the church, you just hear for it.
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You never started a book of the Bible.
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This is what we do. We're going to start in chapter
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one, verse one, and we're going to go all the way to the end
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verse by verse. And we're going to take our time
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when necessary. We're going to focus on keywords
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when necessary, but God is going to take us through.
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So we have the fullness of this book.
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So just be ready to go through the entire book of Exodus and
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here's what you can look forward to #1 Exodus is a book of
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Deliverance, a book of deliverance.
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In it we see the power of God delivering the children of
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Israel from the bondage of Egypt through his hand picked
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Deliverer Moses Exodus. Is prophecy fulfilled.
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Jesus in chapter 14 verse six said I am the way, the truth and
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the life and no one comes to the Father except through me.
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There is no other way to be delivered but through him there
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was one way for the children of Israel to be delivered and one
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only and prophetically is pointing to Messiah one way.
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There's no other way to get to heaven but through him.
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No other way than to have your eyes open to spiritual things.
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There's no other way to have your ears open to the voice of
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God, your heart made new but through him.
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And as we study the book of Exodus, where it's pointing
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toward Jesus Christ, who is the Exodus in your life, there's no
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other way to be delivered, prophecy moving forward,
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fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ.
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Jesus will declare that He's our redemption and the overall theme
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is deliverance. Secondly, Exodus is also a book
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of Providence. Providence.
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I'm so grateful that our God is sovereign.
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The sovereignty of God speaks to the control of God and the
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authority of God. Nothing happens outside of His
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view. Nothing happens outside of His
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purposes and the devil will so often attack us for trying to
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get our eyes off of God, off of his strength, off of his plan,
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off of his sovereignty, off of his Providence.
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Now the word Providence comes from 2 English words, pro and
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video or video. It literally means to see in
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advance and God can see in advance.
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He sees events before they happen.
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He knows events before they happen.
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So we can so that God can weave together things and His power
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and his purposes. This this throws people because
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we don't quite understand how he does this.
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How is it that God can both be sovereign and yet give us the
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ability to make free will decisions and people lose their
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minds over this? People want to spend the rest of
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their life arguing over it, but the best thing to do is to
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accept God. Accept God for who He is that
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you make decisions you're going to be accountable to, and God is
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sovereign and you can yield yourself to him.
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Thirdly, not only is Exodus a book of deliverance and
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Providence, but it's also a book of sacrifice, again pointing to
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Jesus Christ. Chapter 12 will unveil for us
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the Passover, the Lamb sacrifice for the people to atone for
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their sins, pointing forward to the coming Lamb of God who takes
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away the sins of the world. Providence Sacrifice #4 Exodus
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is also a book of worship of worship.
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Chapter after chapter is dedicated to the building of the
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Tabernacle and the articles of worship that God prescribes.
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It's enough to state say now, that the worship that God
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requires is the worship that God demands.
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So we'll learn that you can't just come and worship God
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anyway. He demands and has prescriptions
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for worship. We learn that in the life of
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Jesus as He teaches us that we must worship the Father.
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In what Spirit and in truth, you and I.
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We can't just make up our own ways and our life of worship and
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we'll learn that God has given more time in the book of Exodus
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to the Tabernacle than he did to the creation in Genesis.
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Why? You know, Because today you can
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see things all flipped upside down where everybody's arguing
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about what's going on in Genesis and arguing about creation and
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and for good reason, not minimizing that at all in the
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culture that we're in with humanistic evolution and
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philosophy just ruling the day we need to bring people back to
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the choose of the scripture. So I'm not minimizing that at
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all. But why would God give more time
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to the building of the a Tabernacle then he did give in
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of creation in Genesis. And that is because God is
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interested in right worship of him.
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He's interested in relational worship with him.
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He's interested in US learning a simple truth that I think is a
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lifetime of learning, but He's interested in US learning.
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And it's you might want to jot this down because you're
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learning it in your life. And it's simply this God is
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interested in US learning to do things his way and not our way.
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Or what's common in our culture today, in our Christian culture
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today, is doing things his way, not our way.
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But then when we do our things our way, calling it his way and
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just finding some little Christian thing to call it, or
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stamping some Christian word on it, or somehow making excuses
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for our sidestepping of what God requires.
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For example, I think of the requirement of God for us to be
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merciful. I mean, don't you think the
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world would it would be so much softer if believers were so much
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more merciful mercy, not giving someone what they deserve?
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And you know you can be bound up in being a merciless person and
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then when the Holy Spirit calls you on it, you got some reason
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why you're not showing mercy or grace or even walking in the
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agape love. Do you know there is no one else
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on the planet earth that can display the agape love of God
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but you, the church? There's no one outside of the
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church that is able to demonstrate what agape love
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really is, because it is God's love.
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It comes from God and through you.
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In order for agape love, this self sacrificial love to be
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demonstrated at first, must be experienced.
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And only you, only you. There's no one else but you and
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me. Deliverance, Providence,
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Sacrifice, Worship #5, Exodus is a book of obedience.
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For those of you that flipped ahead, or maybe you read the
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whole book ahead, you know you're going to get to Exodus
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chapter 20, and it's an Exodus Chapter 20 that we are given the
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Big 10, the 10 Commandments, a demand of obedience.
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And then in chapters 21 through 24 we'll be laid out for all the
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social laws that are given to govern the new society and to
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bring out a separation of the children of Israel from the
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Pagan people that they will live among.
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And these laws that are given to us and Exodus have been the
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basis for most common laws in organized civilization.
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The very bedrock of our own nation was built upon the
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scriptures. Not only that, you have
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deliverance, Providence, sacrifice, worship, obedience.
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Next, in Exodus we learn about the office of a prophet and the
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priesthood, the Prophet and the priesthood.
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Exodus is one of the books known as one of the first five books
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of the Bible. That is known as the Torah and
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the Law. You know when the Bible's
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referred to as the Law and the Prophets, Exodus is included in
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the law. It's also known as the first
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five books. As the Pentateuch and the early
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church were students of the Old Testament.
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The book of Acts, the believers in the early church, that's the
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only Bible they had was what we referred to as the Old
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Testament. Today, the Law and the prophets,
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the Psalms and Proverbs, and they they were students of the
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Old Testament. That 1st century group of new
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believers didn't have the New Testament as we they were living
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it out. God was doing a work through
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them. Can you imagine?
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Can you imagine just for a moment, the things we're reading
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in the book of Acts? They didn't even know they were
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living out the Bible. And I just think of some of the
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things that God has allowed us to be a part of.
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We just don't know what God's allowing us to live out.
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And you approach it with man. I don't want to miss it.
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Of course, God's not writing any more of the Bible, but through
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the life of your and what what God would hand down to
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generations to come, what God would give to you and me as we
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live out by faith the kind of impact that we can have in
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people's lives. It's unbelievable.
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In First Corinthians you can jot it down as you think of Exodus.
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In chapter 10 and verse 11, it says now all of these things
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happen to them as examples, and they were written for our
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admonition upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
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When we read about the Saints that have gone before us, they
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were they. They.
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These things are written down for us so that we can be
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encouraged and we can be warned and we can learn by their
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example. Now when we think about the
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author of Exodus, we know that the human instrument that God
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used was Moses. But who wrote Exodus?
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You've already learned this church.
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Who wrote Exodus? God wrote Exodus.
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He's the author and he included it in the Bible so that we would
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have a delight in studying it, learning through these
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principles. And I encourage you to prepare
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your hearts to spend some time reading ahead if you haven't
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already. You need to learn to take notes
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that people that study these things say you remember a lot
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more when you write things down, and you don't have to write down
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everything that I say, like every single word.
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You can write things down like maybe a scripture that I gave
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you and you can look it up later.
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You could write down a phrase that really meant something to
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you. You could write down how you're
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receiving it, so you can go back to the text and pray through it
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that the Lord is speaking to you.
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You can write down some of the facts that are shared and and
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the more that you participate, the more you prepare yourself to
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receive from the Lord. It makes sense that you will
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receive more from the Lord it God is going to be faithful to
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get to you, but now you're want to respond in faithfulness to
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participate. Proverbs chapter 16 and verse
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one. It says the preparations of a
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heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the
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Lord. And you know by now that as a
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pastor and as a fellow brother, I, I, my desire is to see the
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church grow in their understanding of God's Word.
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Because when you grow in the understanding of God's Word, you
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begin to fall in love with the Bible.
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You fall in love with the author you just so you know.
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Some of you do have favorite authors, those of you that read
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and you have. If you're a fiction write reader
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then you have some favorite authors in fiction and you just
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keep going back and you wait for the next one.
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You can't wait for the next one to come out.
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You just finish the last one. You want to get the next one.
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Some of you have some faithful authors in the non fiction realm
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where you just they speak to you And if you have any favorite
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author in your life, at the top of the list should be God that
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you might love him and love his word and and the Lord has gifted
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us as a church. He's gifted us to give us
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pastors and teachers to help us understand.
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And as I was sharing, I shared with you recently that I was in
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Virginia celebrating 20 years of ministry for a pastor there.
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And I reminded the church there that the pastor is God's gift to
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them, that that God chooses the people that lead you.
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I know sometimes we think that, well, you know, I'm just going
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to check that church out or I heard this guy on the radio.
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So I think no, no, no, no. Those are all providential from
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God. You think it's your choice, but
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God knows what you need. And so he has somebody pop on
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the radio for you or you're driving by or somebody invites
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you. God chooses the leaders in your
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life. So that because he knows what's
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best for us and for me. It's not hard to me.
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It's not hard for me at all to accept that truth.
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Because when I was invited to church, I didn't want anything
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to do with church or that church or anything.
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I didn't. I didn't even want to be there.
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How about that for choosing a church?
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I didn't even want to be there. I didn't even know what I was
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doing there, except that my friend invited me.
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And after I was born again, God just said stay.
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Just stay here. I didn't even know any better to
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go anywhere. I didn't even know that you
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could go all over. I didn't know.
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I just like, this is where I'm supposed to be and I'm not
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leaving until God tells me to. And I learned that over the
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thing that God put Pastor Jeff Johnson in my life.
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He put him in my life so that I might grow under his leadership
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and grow. I have.
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And by the way, it just hit me right now.
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Pastor Jeff has been battling cancer for some time now, and I
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literally just got a couple of emails and a text that he had
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some emergency surgery and there's some infection they're
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trying to get rid of. So let's just pray for him.
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Lord, I want to thank you for my pastor, and I know it's been
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such a battle for him these last few years.
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And so we pray you would bring healing into his body right now,
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into that hospital room. Lord, whatever anxiety you might
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be feeling or any concerns that he and Karen and the kids and
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the grandkids might be facing, we lift him up to you Lord and
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we thank you for him. We honor that man and the role
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that he had even hear now and pray for strength that he might
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be able to continue the ministry you placed upon his heart as he
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has that heart for Israel and wants to spend more time there
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and wants to lead people there. As he moves on to a new season,
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so bring healing to his body. Lord comfort to his family even
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now in Jesus name. Amen.
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Amen. God has written the Bible for
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us. He has put people in our lives
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for us to grow. And my heart for you is the same
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heart that was handed down for me, that was handed down to my
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pastor from Chuck Smith. And it's just this, our heart is
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to have the best fed, the best care for sheep in this whole
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area. Not that we are in competition
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with anyone, but just the people we have responsible, we have
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responsibility for, We want to take good care of.
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And the best way that we can take care of you is to teach you
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God's Word. Because when you know God's
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word, you're going to know God and he's going to take good care
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of you. He is faithful.
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That includes you guys that are online and everyone connected to
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us on the radio and in a distance.
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We take that very seriously as well.
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And we want to acknowledge you that are not in the room with
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us, that the Lord loves you, and we're privileged to be able to
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serve you through the teaching of the Word.
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In my prayer in is that your appetite for God's Word grows.
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That's my desire for you. You know, it's interesting
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because when we were first praying about purchasing a radio
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station, there were always the naysayers and, oh, it's not
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going to work. It's not going to work, and
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nobody's going to listen to it. And I'm like, no, no, you don't
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understand. We're going to create a new
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appetite for God's Word through the station.
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And it's going to take time. So be patient.
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It's going to take time. But once it's kind of like, you
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know, when you, it's kind of like this, you know, you guys
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all have favorite foods. A few of you I don't understand,
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OK? And I'm not trying to understand
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you, but you like. Rhubarb is a favorite.
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I'm sorry, OK? But that's that's your like.
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And on some of you Brussels sprouts, I'm even sorrier for
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you. Those are just nasty mutant
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little cabbages. They didn't grow up.
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I don't know why. Like, I don't understand why you
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like them, but you do. And one of the reasons why,
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Listen, one of the reasons why you like them is you were forced
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to eat them as a child because you probably grew up in a house
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like me. My mom made food.
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There were no options. You didn't have a menu.
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If my mom cooked at all, she's like, this is your option.
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Oh, you do have a second option. Go hungry.
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How many of you grew up in a similar home?
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OK, OK, OK. So.
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And it wasn't mean or anything. It's just like, you know, it
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wasn't a mean thing. This is what you cooked.
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So, like, today, everyone's option.
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I don't want this. I don't want that, you know,
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give this. No, no sweaty.
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So anyway, sorry, I'm just a little therapy session.
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But the reason why you have some foods that you like is because
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that's the food that was served in your home, and you created a
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taste for it and an appetite for it, and you handed it down from
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kids and recipes and such, which is really wonderful and great.
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Even if in the room there's some disagreement on what favorite
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foods are, it's fine, because we all grew up differently.
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Well, that's how the Bible is. You don't know how good the
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Bible is until you have an appetite for it and you don't
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know what it tastes like until it's fed to you, until it's
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given to you and you'd just be reading.
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And it takes some time. You know, you've taken in as I
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don't like that Bible study, Bible study, Bible study.
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And you know I'll just, but then I don't know when it happens,
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but there's this point where it goes bam and you can't turn it
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off. That's one of the things we pray
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for. I know as a pastor that's what I
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pray for over and over. It's what keeps things fresh.
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Is that over and over there's just this sense where I don't
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know, we, I like to use the phrase like God's just going to
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flip the switch. You know, once the switch is
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flipped, they can't. No, going back.
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And that happens at different times where you just become
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hungry for the word of God. The systematic verse by verse
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teaching of the word of God is what we're committed to here.
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And it might be different from what you're used to, or it might
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be different, period. You may not be a reader, you may
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not be a student, you may not. You have all these barriers.
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But then when God flips the switch, you're like, what
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barriers? I love the word of God, man.
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I love every time I listen to it, I'm learning something.
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And so with the radio, you know, for all the naysayers, we just
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said just be patient. Just be patient.
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We're creating a new appetite because once people get it,
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they're not going to want to go anywhere else.
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This is where it's at, this, this.
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The Bible alone has the power to change your life.
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It's not even the words of a pastor or the illustrations or
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the things we get to laugh about.
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All of those are ways to keep your attention, you know, to
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illustrate, to help you understand.
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You know, I was taught in ministries that if I can get you
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laughing and your mouth is wide open, then I can shove truth
22:42
right down into your throat while it's open and just keep
22:45
some attention and we can, you know, we're talking about heavy
22:47
things and so we can laugh a little bit.
22:49
And sometimes there's just that sense.
22:50
Sometimes there's some some tears as the Holy Spirit is
22:53
working through the word of God and there's just tears and pain
22:56
and healing and refreshment. Like God is ready.
22:59
Let me show you. Turn over to Second Timothy and
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I know we'll get into Exodus. It's not a long chapter today,
23:04
but I want to lay the foundation for the future of our studies
23:07
here. Would you turn over to Second
23:08
Timothy with me, Chapter 3, and in verse 16, it's just a great
23:14
reminder of the value of God's word and the appetite that you
23:18
have and and you could even be listening.
23:20
Mario, you know, I don't have much an appetite, but that's OK
23:22
You're listening and God is going to flip the switch and
23:25
there's no going back. There's just no going back when
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God uses his word to change who you are on the inside and you
23:32
become hungry to hear from him because you love him.
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And notice in verse 16 of Second Timothy 3, it says all scripture
23:40
is given by inspiration of God. And notice all Scripture is
23:45
profitable. All of it.
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We may not always see or feel. You know, you're reading through
23:51
your DeVos and Leviticus. You know, I just don't
23:53
understand what's profitable about this.
23:56
It's profitable. And you believe that by faith
23:59
you don't even understand everything.
24:01
Just believe by faith that God will give you the understanding
24:03
that you need. I mean, think about it.
24:04
The things that you do understand could be so
24:06
overwhelming. Do you think God's going to give
24:08
you full understanding of the entire script if you can't
24:10
handle what you know right now? And how can you handle another,
24:13
you know, 10,000 things God is going to give to us the
24:16
understanding we need, Listen when we need it, you can just
24:20
trust Him. So all Scripture's probable for
24:23
these four things, for doctrine, teaching us what is right, for
24:27
reproof, teaching us for what is wrong.
24:32
Thirdly, for correction, teaching us how to take what's
24:35
wrong and make it right. Isn't that what we want?
24:39
Like, I know it's not fun finding out what's wrong in our
24:41
lives, but God doesn't leave it there.
24:43
Isn't that you bunch of sinners. You're toast.
24:45
But what does he say? You know what?
24:47
You have sinned. You have fallen short of my
24:49
glory. And here's the way out.
24:52
The correction. I've made a way of escape for
24:55
you. I sent my son Jesus Christ to
24:57
die for you. He rose again the 3rd day that
25:00
by faith you can believe in him. So for correction, that's to
25:03
take what's wrong and make it right.
25:04
And then, finally, instruction and righteousness to stay right.
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The Bible teaches us how to stay right.
25:11
Why? Verse 17?
25:13
So that the man of God, and by extension the woman of God, may
25:16
be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
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Say it out loud, if it's a yes, do you want to be thoroughly
25:22
equipped? I do too.
25:25
And it's not going to come apart from the Bible.
25:27
And the approach that we take is we believe that God has given us
25:30
the whole Bible so that he can make a whole disciple out of
25:34
you, a whole follower. And that's why we're committed
25:36
to it all, because it's powerful and it's amazing that you would
25:41
open up the Bible. And you know this is true.
25:44
You're reading something like, I didn't even know that was in the
25:45
Bible. It's like, where did that come
25:48
from? What was there all along?
25:50
It's right there in the text. So let's jump in.
25:52
Verse one, Chapter one, These are the names of the children of
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Israel who came to Egypt. Each man in his household came
26:00
with Jacob, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun,
26:05
Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
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All those who were descendants of Jacob were 70 persons.
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For Joseph was already in Egypt, and Joseph died, and all his
26:17
brothers and all that generation.
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But the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased
26:22
abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty, and the land
26:28
was filled with them. And you'll remember that God
26:32
sent Joseph ahead in our studies in Genesis for this very thing
26:36
fulfilled prophecy. Remember the dreams that Joseph
26:39
had were seen, fulfilled in the land of Egypt.
26:43
And we studied that the connection between Genesis and
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Exodus. Each man and his household enter
26:49
Egypt under the caring and loving eye of Joseph. 70 in all.
26:53
And a lot happened in these 430 years.
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Generations have come and gone. All the while the nation
26:59
continues to increase in Egypt. Notice in verse seven it says
27:03
words like fruitful. It says they were fruitful.
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It also uses the phrase increased abundantly,
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multiplied, grew exceedingly mighty.
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The land was filled with them. Once you mark them, if you have
27:20
a Bible circle them. I want you to pay attention to
27:23
them and I'll tell you why. These are not words that are
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commonly associated in our minds with trials and difficulty.
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I'm sure if I gave a piece of paper when you walked in the
27:36
room today and I said give me the first word you think about
27:39
when you think of trial, it probably wouldn't be one of
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these. Now maybe a few, but not many.
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I can think of some words with trials hard, don't like them
27:51
painful too long. I mean we can think of a lot of
27:54
things associated with trials. But verse seven, I want you to
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write in the these are words associated with trial and
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tribulation and difficulties. These are a result of pain and
28:11
problems that the nation experienced for hundreds of
28:16
years. And yet, even in the trial,
28:19
what's the end result? Well, there's fruit, there's an
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increase abundantly, there's multiplication, and they grow
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exceedingly mighty. And the land was filled with
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them. He's preparing himself a nation.
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God is, and He's preparing himself a bride.
28:38
God is among us today, and in this world we'll suffer.
28:44
We can't sidestep it, but we can begin to pray for the fruit that
28:48
God wants to bring through this trial.
28:51
We can begin to pray for the increase of abundance that God
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has for us. We can begin to pray for the
28:57
multiplying work of His Spirit for exceeding growth in our
29:02
lives, exceeding growth. Oh, it's so painful.
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And, you know, our tendency is to complain.
29:08
Our tendency is to be upset. Our tendency is to gossip.
29:11
Our tendency is to blame somebody.
29:13
It's our tendency is not toward the work that God is doing in
29:17
the midst. I mean, there's even a sense
29:22
sometimes where people will take on the identity of their trials
29:25
and then mess everyone up because of their bitterness
29:27
instead of just like, man, look what God is doing in my life.
29:30
Yeah, but it looks so painful. It is.
29:33
You can admit that it's painful, but then give God glory because
29:36
he's at work. Give God glory for the
29:39
faithfulness that he's showing you.
29:42
God said in Genesis 46, verse 3. For I will make you a great
29:46
nation there. We studied that.
29:48
So I'm going to make you going to take.
29:50
You guys are going to go. I'm going to make you a great
29:51
nation there. And look what he's done.
29:54
He's made him a great nation through the ups and downs of
29:57
life. Then notice verse 8.
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Now there arose a new king over Egypt.
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Oh, look at the end who did not know Joseph.
30:06
And he said to his people, Look, the people of the children of
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Israel are more and mightier than we come.
30:13
Let us deal wisely with them, and you guys might see a side
30:18
note in your Bible. Shrewdly, let's deal, surely,
30:21
with them, lest they multiply. Now do you think?
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Just pause for a second after what we just read.
30:26
Do you think Pharaoh, the man in charge of the world at this
30:30
time, can stop the multiplication and the promises
30:34
of God? No way.
30:36
But that's how the world thinks, and if the church is not
30:39
careful, you'll try to match the world where they're thinking.
30:42
And you got to remember, the world doesn't think of God.
30:46
So if you want to fight in this world at the world level, you
30:49
will be frustrated continually because Pharaoh doesn't see God,
30:54
he doesn't see God because I already read in my Bible the
30:57
land was filled with them. They came in at 70.
31:02
And one of the reasons why this Eve, this Pharaoh, this new
31:05
Pharaoh is not seeing God as it's it's clear he didn't know
31:09
Joseph. So by the time 400 plus years
31:12
comes the true story of Joseph, the faithfulness of Joseph, the
31:17
how God used this Hebrew man to save the nation in the world
31:22
through his leadership second in command.
31:27
He didn't know him well. He says let's stop them from
31:33
multiplying in it. And verse 10.
31:35
And it happened in the event of war that they also join our
31:39
enemies and fight against us and go up out of the land.
31:42
Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with
31:45
their burdens, and they built Pharaoh, supply cities, Pithom
31:49
and Ramses. But the more they afflicted
31:54
them, the more they multiplied and grew, and they were in dread
31:59
of the children of Israel. You might want to mark that your
32:04
spiritual growth is directly related to affliction.
32:11
Spiritual growth certainly comes in other ways, but you can you
32:16
can count on this to the degree of your affliction and trials as
32:21
you submit to them and learn from them will be the degree of
32:23
your spiritual growth. That's why you can see
32:25
accelerated spiritual maturity for those that have been through
32:29
deep trials and responded properly, submitting themselves
32:35
to the will of God. The more this is what the Bible
32:37
says, the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied
32:42
and grew. This new king is a king of
32:46
another kind. When Joseph came to Egypt, the
32:49
ruling Pharaohs were of Semitic roots.
32:53
They were also called the Hiskos kings.
32:57
They were Syrian and native Egyptians hated them.
33:00
But now, 350 or 350 years later, a new dynasty arises that
33:05
doesn't know about Joseph and doesn't care.
33:08
Pharaoh was afraid that they would leave and all his slave
33:11
labor would leave and turn against the Egyptians.
33:14
So his choice was to bring more affliction, more affliction.
33:19
His choice was to be demean them and to somehow hurt them and
33:23
teach them a lesson. But it's interesting because the
33:26
persecution brought strength. The persecution brought
33:31
strength, and it's still that way today.
33:33
The more you persecute a body of Christians, it doesn't destroy
33:37
us. It makes us stronger.
33:40
There's strength in difficulty. It was the church historian
33:44
Tertullian that said the blood of the martyrs is the seed of
33:48
the church. And one of the things that we
33:51
lack as a church in this day is the level of persecution that
33:56
other generations experience and people experience outside the
34:00
United States. And because of that, there is a
34:03
softness and a comfort that has entered into our lives, that is
34:07
constantly being tested by the Lord, trying to draw us out of
34:12
comfort and ease. It's a blessing to enjoy comfort
34:15
and ease. It's a blessing to be in a place
34:17
where there's less and less difficulty.
34:19
But it's a blessing to be used in life, not just a blessing to
34:23
enjoy, you know. And I think sometimes we just
34:27
get into this place. Bless me, Lord.
34:28
Bless me, Lord. Bless me Lord.
34:29
And you won't, can't you hear heaven?
34:31
How many blessings do you want before you get up and do
34:36
something and respond right, Isn't it, Paul?
34:41
That said, don't you know that it's the goodness of God that
34:45
leads to repentance? It's the goodness of God.
34:50
And here we are just so blessed. Blessed in our country, blessed
34:57
in our position, blessed in our our lives, financially,
35:03
spiritually, you know, and even in our struggles financially,
35:06
even in those things compared to the rest of the world.
35:11
Millionaires and comfort and ease will do that.
35:16
We'll see that throughout Excess comfort and ease will draw out
35:19
more and more compromise and complacency.
35:23
It's much better to be in a place of man, just going through
35:26
it and having to seek the Lord and just locking ourselves in
35:31
the closet, Blake begging God to give us direction and mercy.
35:34
Strength. We see we're learning it played
35:37
out. In the book of Acts, they go
35:38
together in the book of Acts, we're seeing that when
35:42
persecution came, they just multiplied.
35:44
They got kicked out of Jerusalem to save their lives.
35:46
They took the gospel into Judea and Samaria.
35:50
Isn't that what God? Isn't that what Jesus told them
35:51
they would do? And so, moving them along
35:54
through persecution, they obeyed God.
35:57
Take them all the way to reach the Gentiles in Antioch and then
36:00
to around the world, and you might see in your own life,
36:04
trial upon trial piled on you. And I remember, you know, going
36:08
through some things myself. Yeah, I remember just looking at
36:11
Marie and I just and just thinking I said it out loud, you
36:14
know, how you say things inside, but then eventually just come
36:17
out. And I just remember looking at
36:18
her one season, you know, I don't know, eight or nine years
36:21
ago. And I just like, man, how much
36:22
can a man take? And she couldn't answer that.
36:26
She's like, what do you mean, how much can a woman take?
36:28
Like what? Like we're we're all messed up
36:30
right now. We're hurting so bad.
36:32
But I can think of what God was saying.
36:33
God would just say, you know what a man can take.
36:35
As much as I give him, as he trusted me as much as I allow.
36:42
I don't always know what God is doing.
36:44
I don't know what he's doing in the moment, necessarily, But I
36:47
do know he's at work and I can trust him.
36:50
I do know that he's going to use it for his glory.
36:52
I do know that he bought me with his own, the blood of his own
36:56
Son, Jesus Christ. I belong to him.
36:58
I belong to him in the good times, praise the Lord, and I
37:02
especially belong to him in the bad times and the hard times.
37:05
Either way, God is working and faithful to us and church,
37:09
that's going to help you rise up.
37:12
But Ed, it's just piled on, Piled on.
37:14
I know. How much can a man take?
37:15
Ed, I I don't really know the exact answer for you, but I do
37:19
know this. You can take as much as God
37:21
allows because there's always a way of escape when it comes to
37:24
temptation. With sin, He always makes a way.
37:28
You're a much stronger man. You're a much stronger woman in
37:30
Christ than you were outside of Christ.
37:33
You have direction for your life.
37:35
You have hope. You have a future.
37:37
You're far more usable in this current condition than you ever
37:39
been in your life. Your prayer life is off the
37:42
charts. Your your mercy.
37:44
You know, like especially those of you who have been going
37:45
through some pain related to trials.
37:47
Your heart is just broken for people that have pain.
37:51
Like, you know, you didn't feel it before, but you feel it now.
37:54
You're there and you're just like man, man, this is hurts.
37:56
This hurts. And then God says it's true.
37:58
And then he begins this. Yeah, but you don't remember
38:00
that time you met that person and they were going through
38:02
this. This is how they feel like, oh,
38:05
Lord, bless them and help them. It just opens up a whole new
38:09
channel of ministry in your life.
38:13
And the more you're afflicted, the more you grow.
38:17
And you're like, what? Ed, can I do it another way?
38:19
Yes, you can. Spiritual growth comes different
38:22
ways, but it multiplies in affliction.
38:26
Well, then, Ed, I should pray for affliction.
38:28
Don't do that. You let God do what he wants to
38:31
do in your life. You don't need to be masochistic
38:34
about this and go. I want to grow, so give me more.
38:37
You just trust the Lord with your life.
38:39
You don't even have to like the trial.
38:41
You don't even have to like the pain.
38:43
You just have to love the Lord, trust him, know that he's
38:48
faithful. And just like the Bible says,
38:51
you and I, we're not the only ones going through stuff.
38:55
There's a whole brotherhood and sisterhood around the world.
38:59
That's why it's so important for you, when there's a short term
39:01
trip to take it, pray about it, take it serious, whether we're
39:07
going to Mexico or we're going to Peru or visiting the men and
39:11
women that we support around the world, a trip like that, an
39:14
investment of your own resources to get out of and go serve.
39:19
I mean it's it's priceless. I don't know any other way to
39:22
describe it. I remember resisting it so many
39:26
years in my own life. It's like, you know, as a
39:28
pastor, I'm a good, I'm a sender.
39:30
I'm going to equip her. I'm happy with that role in my
39:32
life. That's what I'm going to do.
39:33
I'm going to equip and send and fund and help and celebrate and
39:38
hear all the reports. Until this brother would not
39:42
leave me alone. Ed, you got to come to Egypt.
39:46
You got to come to Egypt. I don't want to go to Egypt.
39:48
I'll send Dave. He likes to go to Egypt.
39:50
That was our missions pastor back then who happens to be full
39:53
time in Bangkok, Thailand right now.
39:55
As like I'll send Dave or I'll send JJ, I'll.
39:57
I'll send somebody. But I'm a sender, bro.
40:00
I'm not a goer. And he wouldn't let up.
40:04
And that one trip to Egypt became two, became three, became
40:09
became a life. Like you know what?
40:11
This is my will for your life. I want to keep you close to my
40:15
heart and the way I'm going to keep you close.
40:17
You want to be a better sender. I want to be a better sender.
40:19
Lord, yes, I want to be a better sender.
40:22
And you would expect heaven to say we'll give more money, but
40:24
that's not what he said. He said you want to be a good
40:27
sender, Ed. Then you need to be a good goer.
40:30
I know that's not open for everyone, but partly why it's
40:34
not open for everyone is because when you hear a trip, you don't
40:36
pray. You don't ask God directly.
40:40
Is this for me? God, it's just like another
40:43
e-mail on Friday and you just kind of no big deal.
40:45
I don't read it anyway. And and I saw oh they're going
40:48
no, no, I don't care. I got this and I got that.
40:51
My boss would never say it. I don't have any money.
40:53
I don't want to be in a foreign country.
40:55
I don't want to sleep on the floor.
40:56
I, I don't. I, I, I, I, I holds us back from
41:01
so much that God has for us. And so I'm asking you to do is
41:05
pray. Just take the thing seriously.
41:07
Go through that e-mail on Fridays and just pray God, what
41:10
is this? And who is this?
41:12
And who's going to be a part of it?
41:13
And what do you have for my life?
41:15
And here when they're afflicted, they grew.
41:19
They grew, and it says in verse 12, they became, they were in
41:23
dread of the children of Israel. So again, God is blessing them
41:28
through multiplication. He's blessing them, and it only
41:31
made those that were afflicting them more angry.
41:36
And So what would you expect living in a world, or even in
41:41
our own culture, that hates Christians?
41:45
What do you expect? And when the hatred increases,
41:49
what do you expect they're going to be?
41:54
You're going to become the dread of an Antichrist culture.
41:59
You're going to become the dread of those that hate God.
42:03
And the mission field, whether you go out to the world or not,
42:07
is right on your street. It's the life you're living
42:11
right now, the dread of a culture that doesn't know
42:16
Christ. God uses trials, and it does
42:20
concern me from time to time when I don't hear as much
42:25
discussion about trials and tribulations going around our
42:28
church. To me, that's a danger sign.
42:31
When I say everything's fine, everything's wonderful.
42:34
A church that's calm, a church that's cool and collected is
42:39
probably a church that's not making any progress.
42:42
It's true for us, you know, as everything's fine, Everything's
42:45
been fine for the last 10 years. Really.
42:48
Have you done anything for the Lord in the last 10 years?
42:51
Not really, Because a church without warfare, a marriage
42:58
without warfare, a a a person, a man or a woman without warfare,
43:02
without affliction, without difficulty.
43:05
Well, there's no multiplication going on and very little growth.
43:11
And perhaps you're on your way to very little life where you're
43:17
not enjoying the things of God. Notice verse 13.
43:20
The Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor or
43:24
harshness, and they made their lives bitter, with hard bondage,
43:28
in mortar, in brick, in all manner of service in the field.
43:31
All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.
43:35
Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives.
43:38
It doesn't get any better now, of whom the name of one was
43:42
Shipra and the name of the other was Puah.
43:45
And he said, when you do the duties of a midwife for the
43:48
Hebrew women, and you see them on their birth stools, if it's a
43:52
son, then you shall kill him. But if it's a daughter, then she
43:56
shall live. But you got to mark this well,
44:00
all this pressure and everything.
44:01
Notice what we what God wants us to know about these midwives.
44:04
You know, there's a lot of debate about, oh, if the
44:06
midwives live, does God bless lying?
44:08
God doesn't bless lying. You understand that.
44:11
And there's you could even look at this and see that maybe they
44:13
were able to do this without lying.
44:15
And there's there's a lot of debate whether they lied or
44:18
didn't lie. But don't get caught up in the
44:19
nonsensical arguments. This is what I want you to know
44:22
about the midwives. This is what you need to know.
44:24
You ready? The midwives feared God, and
44:29
that's what God blessed. The fear of God is the beginning
44:33
of wisdom. And so don't come to the
44:36
midwives and go, well, look, they lied.
44:37
So God blesses lying. Do you fear God?
44:40
Because if you fear God, you're going to make choices that honor
44:43
God. You're going to make choices
44:46
that honor God. And in this particular case,
44:48
they were commanded to murder babies, OK?
44:54
They were commanded to murder babies and they feared God And
44:59
verse 17 did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them.
45:02
And they saved the male children alive.
45:05
How did they make that decision? They feared God.
45:08
That's how you're going to make your tough biblical, you know,
45:11
moral dilemma, decisions that we face all the time.
45:14
It's the same way you're going to make it.
45:16
Do you fear God? Then make the decision.
45:20
Do you fear man? Wait, don't make a decision with
45:23
the fear of man. You have a less than 5050 chance
45:27
of hitting it right. You still can, but you can hit
45:30
it right 100% of the time when you fear God because he'll lead
45:33
you and guide you in something like this, notice.
45:37
So the king of Egypt, verse 18, called for the midwives and said
45:40
to them, why have you done this thing and save the male children
45:43
alive. And the midwives said to
45:45
Pharaoh, because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian
45:48
women, for they are lively and give birth before the midwives
45:51
come to them. Which here's an insight that you
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can consider. Perhaps the midwives, knowing
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the timing of the birth, just had them come and at a time and
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just say, you know what? You're going to be on your own.
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But trust me, you're going to be on your own.
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I'm not going to be there for the birth.
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I'll be there after the birth. You just trust me or you, you
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know, some kind of working behind the scenes.
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And I think it was Matthew Henry that suggested that I was like,
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OK, they're, they're having a higher commitment to God than to
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man. But even if they lied, even if
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they lied, they did so to save life, to save a life.
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And we'll let the Lord sort that out, save a life or kill a baby
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and what Pharaoh said. And again, you can see a lot of
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parallels when it comes to abortion in our country.
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And by the way, abortion is not a problem only in our country.
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It is a worldwide evil, wicked phenomenon.
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And even as I speak today about babies dying and babies being
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killed for abortion, I know the enemy would love to use that in
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some lives, some women's lives, and maybe you were a boyfriend
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or a husband that approved of it or didn't know.
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There's all kinds of shame and guilt and regret surrounding
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abortion. They don't tell you that in
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culture. They don't tell you that in the
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advertising. They don't tell you that that's
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their number one money maker, Planned Parenthood.
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They don't tell you that. And in the Lord, there's
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forgiveness. Of course, if you were a
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believer, you were stronger in that time.
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You wouldn't have done that, of course.
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But there's no need to live with the shadow of regret.
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You can take it to the Lord and there's even people you can talk
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to that can walk you alongside of this.
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So you can walk in healing. It is a hard thing to have in
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your past and for the sake of those of you have in your past.
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Just know the blood of Jesus Christ forgives you of all your
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sin. And I believe, according to the
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scriptures, that one day you're going to meet your baby in
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eternity. I don't know how it's all going
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to go down exactly or how how that's going to work, but I do
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believe that you will meet that baby in eternity, even those of
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you that might have miscarried or had a still birth.
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All of this topic is very hard and just know.
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The Lord knows, and you can look to Him for comfort and
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encouragement, even in the pain. But a greater sense today, a
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greater sense, is those of you listening to me right now that
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abortion is on the table as one of your options.
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And I implore you to fear God so that you will save life.
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It's never a wise choice. It's never a wise choice when
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it's just a choice on the table. And here they are, Pharaohs
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using infanticide, which is becoming popular, you know,
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because it's a little, it's a slippery slope, starts in one
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thing and then continues on. And now infanticide, what might
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be called here late term abortion.
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But even now, some abortion doctors talking today about
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killing kids after they're born, they were doing it back then
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because the heart of man is evil, unregenerate man.
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We can do the most wicked of things.
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And the midwives, what I want you to see in their lives, I
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don't want you to focus on the moral dilemma of where they lied
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or not. It it really doesn't matter,
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because the grace of God will cover even that.
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And it's not giving you permission to just, you know,
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whimsically lie whenever you want to lie.
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Not at all. What I want you to remember
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about the Midwives Church, what I want you to remember about the
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midwives, those of you outside of this room, is that they
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feared God. And that's the posture you and I
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need to be in the moral dilemmas that we face and in a culture
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with leaders that would command us to do something sinful.
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And here's the principle. We learned this all throughout
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the pandemic. You ready?
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The principle is this. When man's laws are in
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controversy with God's laws, you choose God's laws.
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It's that simple. When gods, when, when the laws
50:09
of men are contrary to the laws of God, then we hold on to what
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Peter Peter said. We ought to obey God rather than
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men. And so the midwives notice they
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are following, they're living this out.
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And in verse 20 it says, therefore God dealt well with
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the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very
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mightily. Why did God deal well with the
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midwives? They feared God.
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He isn't rewarding sin even if there was sin.
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Here again, it's debatable. A lot of people spend their life
50:43
debating it, but the he blesses them because they're in
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relationship with Him and it was.
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It says in verse 21, because the midwives feared God, he provided
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households for them. So just in case you question it,
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God clarifies it for you. It's because the midwives fear
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God that God provided for them. So Pharaoh commanded all his
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people. Verse 22.
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Every son who was born you shall cast into the river and every
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daughter shall stay save alive. And that's how Exodus opens.
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Such wickedness, such trial, such agony.
51:22
This is again the outgrowth of anti-Semitism, the devil's
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demonic attack against the Jewish people that started in
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the garden and continues to this day.
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We see it happening throughout the world.
51:39
The devil's bloodthirsty desire to kill the Jewish people, to
51:45
kill before Messiah comes, I believe to prevent.
51:48
And his mind, you know, because he's not omniscient, he's trying
51:52
to prevent Messiah coming. But now that Messiah has come, I
51:55
believe anti-Semitism is a punishment that the devil wants
51:59
to inflict upon the Jewish people.
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It's demonic in its core. And so as you pull back from
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chapter one, you'll notice how it sets the stage for a powerful
52:09
deliverance. You understand why God is
52:11
looking for a man like Moses. You'll understand why how you
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see God raise up someone. They're in distress, They're
52:20
being oppressed. They are hopeless.
52:24
And God is going to identify a man.
52:27
That's the pattern, by the way. We won't have time to develop
52:29
it. But the pattern of God is to
52:30
identify a man and a woman, in some cases, to use in mighty
52:36
ways men and women in their own right.
52:39
God uses you, each and every one of us, in the different cases
52:43
that he lays before us. He's looking right now, even
52:47
today, to use you in a mighty way.
52:50
It's amazing. And then you're using what
52:51
happens? More affliction, More trauma,
52:54
More drama. More trauma.
52:56
More difficulty. More More affliction.
52:58
More affliction. More affliction.
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Yes. I want you to expect it.
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I don't want you to be surprised by it.
53:04
It says right here, if you didn't mark it already in verse
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12, the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied.
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And then they became the dread of Pharaoh and the people.
53:17
So what does Pharaoh do? Oh, I give up.
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God, you win. No, He wants to kill the babies.
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Not going to kill the babies. Or let's just throw them in the
53:25
river and you'll see along the way the work in the hand of God
53:30
among us. So, Lord, we just thank you for
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your word tonight. And we know that there's a lot
53:34
to cover and a lot to learn from.
53:36
And and, Lord, I know there's more affliction in this room
53:39
than what we're used to. There's just things going on and
53:42
difficulties we're facing. And some are small, some are
53:45
large, some we've made worse by our response, some we've made
53:50
better by our surrender to you. I pray for the moral dilemmas
53:54
that are among us today, God, that you would instill a fear.
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Because your word tells us in James that in the midst of
54:01
trials, if we lack wisdom, we can ask you.
54:05
And so trials will even 'cause us.
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I don't know what to do. God will help me, and that comes
54:11
through a healthy fear, reverence, respect and honor
54:14
towards you. God, so prepare us for the
54:16
future that whatever you give us, Lord, I pray even particular
54:20
that that sense of short term trips and such Lord, that you
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would stir up people as we start those up again and we just are
54:27
waiting for you to give us direction on where to go and and
54:31
when to go and who's going to lead.
54:32
And all of those, Lord, we're just seeking your face of what
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your desire is for us and well, how you would have us what
54:39
missionaries need encouragement or you would just supernaturally
54:43
just give us give us the the green light.
54:47
Lord help pastor JJ, help me and Everett and the team Lord to to
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seek your face that we might be able to go and stir.
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And just who knows what you have in store for us.
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Lord, so bless your word in our hearts tonight.
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In Jesus name. Amen.
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Amen. Let's stand together church.
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And how many of you like. How many of you like really
55:12
sense that that word about like missions spoke to your heart.
55:16
How many of you think that? I think that good, good Lord, I
55:19
just pray for them right now. Just you are.
55:22
You are, you are stirring. And even that sense of of being
55:26
faithful right here in Aurora, being faithful God right here at
55:30
work, being faithful right here. We're looking for work or in a
55:34
state of transition. Lord, that you would just pour
55:37
out your spirit and let us be faithful in Jerusalem, Judea,
55:42
Samaria, to the uttermost parts of the earth.
55:45
Let us be faithful, Lord, in what you laid before us, and
55:48
even in the much affliction God, and then much multiplication.
55:52
There's a lot of pain in the middle.
55:55
And so God, we are asking for a supernatural work of your
55:58
spirit. That hoopomone that we talk
56:02
about bear up under the weight of it all.
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In Jesus name, Amen. We pray that you've been
56:09
encouraged by this Bible study delivered live from the
56:11
sanctuary of Calvary Church. For prayer.
56:14
Call us at 87730 Grace. That's 877-304-7223.
56:23
To listen to this message in its entirety or to join us for our
56:26
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56:32
or download our free Calvary Church app.
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Be blessed as you Worship Jesus this week.