Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Are You Ready for Some Good News, Part 2

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Are You Ready for Some Good News, Part 2 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: There was nothing polished about John the Baptist. In Mark
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  Speaker 1: chapter 1, he's described as a wild-looking preacher who appeared
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  Speaker 1: in the barren Judean wilderness. No fine clothes, no refined presentation.
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  Speaker 1: Just an uncompromising message about sin, repentance, and the one
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  Speaker 1: who is coming. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll
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  Speaker 1: recreates this scene in Mark's gospel and explains how this
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  Speaker 1: unlikely character came to deliver some very good news. the
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  Speaker 1: kind of hope that continues to this day. So settle
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  Speaker 1: in as Chuck picks up the story of the man
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  Speaker 1: they simply called the Baptizer.
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  Speaker 2: We read John the Baptizer appeared in the wilderness. He's
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  Speaker 2: preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin.
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  Speaker 2: He's telling them that they've fallen short of the standard
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  Speaker 2: of a holy creator who made them. And those who
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  Speaker 2: are believing his message and placing their faith and trust
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  Speaker 2: in the one he's predicting will soon come. Why? He's saying,
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  Speaker 2: get in the water. I'm going to baptize you. It's
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  Speaker 2: going to be the beginning of a whole new. You'll
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  Speaker 2: come into a whole newness of life. Really. Really. Well,
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  Speaker 2: what does he look like? Glad you asked. Verse 6. Now,
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  Speaker 2: here is not a guy that got his clothes tailored
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  Speaker 2: in Paris. Okay, let's start there. He's clothed with camel hair.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, have you ever seen a camel you liked
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  Speaker 2: I mean, unbelievable. And you had to be clothed in
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  Speaker 2: what they've been wearing all their lives. Clothed in camel hair,
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  Speaker 2: wore a leather belt. I had an uncle named Jake,
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  Speaker 2: who was about as big as this pulpit. So there
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  Speaker 2: was no belt that would fit around Jake's waist, so
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  Speaker 2: he wore a rope. I still remember the rope. He'd
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  Speaker 2: sometimes say, little Charles, tie the rope. I can't reach it.
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  Speaker 2: So I'd tie the rope in front of him. He
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  Speaker 2: had a rope belt. John, old leather belt and By
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  Speaker 2: the way, his idea of eating out was to catch
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  Speaker 2: a few grasshoppers and visit the local beehive for dessert.
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  Speaker 2: How's that for breath? Ate locusts? Wild honey? Stop! You're
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  Speaker 2: sitting there in a shop in Jerusalem hearing this thing
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  Speaker 2: about this weirdo out in the wilderness. What are you
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  Speaker 2: going to do? Well, chances are good, if you're honest
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  Speaker 2: enough to admit you are a sinner. Nobody in Jerusalem
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  Speaker 2: is telling you. You know, honey, it might be worth
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  Speaker 2: a ride into the wilderness this weekend. Understand there's an
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  Speaker 2: unusual guy taking people into the water and baptized. You know,
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  Speaker 2: one scholar I examined said there were as many as 300,000
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  Speaker 2: who went into the wilderness to be baptized. Tell you
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  Speaker 2: something else interesting about John is it wasn't about John.
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  Speaker 2: Give me that kind of messenger. Lead me to that messenger.
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  Speaker 2: So when I'm through listening to the message, I forget
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  Speaker 2: the messenger. But I can't forget his message. In fact, look,
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  Speaker 2: there were some, if you read the other gospels, who
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  Speaker 2: said this is Messiah. Anyone... like this, has to be Messiah.
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  Speaker 2: By the way, you know what drew them to him? Authenticity.
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  Speaker 2: He wasn't interested in what you thought of him. He
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  Speaker 2: didn't care about the custom of the day. He didn't
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  Speaker 2: mind that you heard sin for the first time. As
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  Speaker 2: a matter of fact, he knew it was life-changing for
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  Speaker 2: you if you'd only believe it. So some out of curiosity,
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  Speaker 2: some out of deep need, others out of out of
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  Speaker 2: word of mouth, said, let's go, let's go, let's go,
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  Speaker 2: let's go. And when they came, they didn't find some
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  Speaker 2: pompous soul standing on a soapbox saying, follow me. We'll
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  Speaker 2: build a bigger building. He said, let me tell you
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  Speaker 2: about the one I'm preaching. He's mightier than I. And
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  Speaker 2: I'm not fit. The way it's written in the Greek
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  Speaker 2: is beautiful. I am not fit having stooped down. It
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  Speaker 2: does a process of downward trail. I'm not fit having
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  Speaker 2: stooped down to untie the thong of his sandals. If
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  Speaker 2: you read John's gospel, you'll get these contrasts. John says,
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  Speaker 2: I am a voice, but he is the word. I'm
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  Speaker 2: a messenger. He is the message. I'm a flickering lamp,
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  Speaker 2: but he's the light. I'm going to die, but he
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  Speaker 2: is life. I am not qualified to loosen the thongs
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  Speaker 2: of his sandals. He's the Savior. He must increase. I
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  Speaker 2: must decrease. You know what drew them to him? Authenticity. Authenticity.
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  Speaker 2: They were not looking for health and wealth. They were
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  Speaker 2: not looking for entertainment. They were not looking for someone
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  Speaker 2: to tell them what they wanted to hear. They, in fact,
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  Speaker 2: found themselves in the presence of one who looked altogether
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  Speaker 2: different from how they looked, but that didn't turn them away.
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  Speaker 2: This penetrating, piercing message that told the truth and said,
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  Speaker 2: don't fight. focus on me we're going to all be
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  Speaker 2: focusing on him on him and wouldn't you know it
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  Speaker 2: one day one day still standing in waist deep in
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  Speaker 2: the Jordan baptizing he looks up and there he is
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  Speaker 2: imagine there he is We come upon it in the
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  Speaker 2: text so quickly we don't have time to gather the
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  Speaker 2: moment in our minds. I want you to do that
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  Speaker 2: right now. In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth in
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  Speaker 2: Galilee and was baptized by John the Jordan. Oh, there's
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  Speaker 2: so much more to it. I must... Take a brief excursion,
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  Speaker 2: just a little sidebar. Hold on here and go back
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  Speaker 2: to Matthew 3. Matthew chapter 3. Oh, my, it's a
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  Speaker 2: great story. Okay, we got John wet in the water.
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  Speaker 2: We got Jesus on his way down to the banks
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  Speaker 2: of the river. Look at John's words in John 3,
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  Speaker 2: 11 of Matthew. I baptize you with water for repentance
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  Speaker 2: and But he is coming after me is mightier than I.
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  Speaker 2: I'm not fit to remove his sandals. He will baptize
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  Speaker 2: you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Those words were
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  Speaker 2: scarcely out of his mouth. Verse 13. Then Jesus arrived
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  Speaker 2: from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John to be baptized.
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  Speaker 2: Look at the next verse. But John. Isn't that great?
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  Speaker 2: That's that particle of contrast. He came to be baptized.
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  Speaker 2: But wait, wait. John tried to prevent him saying, I
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  Speaker 2: have need to be baptized by you. And do you
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  Speaker 2: come to me? I love it. John has a congregation
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  Speaker 2: of thousands of people. This is his moment to go.
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  Speaker 2: Have you seen how fast we've grown? In just a
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  Speaker 2: short period of time. Some of these are Jerusalem businessmen.
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  Speaker 2: Some of these are very wealthy, capable women. All of
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  Speaker 2: these are very bright people. They're all following mine. None
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  Speaker 2: of that. By the way, learn to have nothing to
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  Speaker 2: do with those who will turn your attention to them.
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  Speaker 2: Stay away from them. John is no false prophet. Standing
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  Speaker 2: in the presence of a Messiah, he says, I have
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  Speaker 2: I can't do this. David McKenna writes wise words when
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  Speaker 2: he says, think of it. If you were asked to
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  Speaker 2: choose the dominant symbol for our generation, what would it be?
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  Speaker 2: A flag, a cross, a missile, a television, a dollar sign,
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  Speaker 2: a test tube, an oil barrel, a bloated belly. a handgun,
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  Speaker 2: an automobile, a peace symbol, my choice would be, writes McKenna,
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  Speaker 2: the sight of a forefinger pointed into the air and
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  Speaker 2: accompanied by the chant, we're number one, we're number one,
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  Speaker 2: we're number one. Number one has come to symbolize the
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  Speaker 2: personal and national self-interest of the me generation, which gave
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  Speaker 2: rise to the culture of narcissism. And it's infiltrated the
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  Speaker 2: church of Jesus Christ. Breaks my heart to see it happening.
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  Speaker 2: Where are the godly messengers who, if they were standing
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  Speaker 2: waist deep in the Jordan and looked up to see Jesus,
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  Speaker 2: would quickly take their place, saying, you baptize me. Please.
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  Speaker 2: Back to Mark chapter 1. Go back. Immediately we read,
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  Speaker 2: coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens
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  Speaker 2: open and and the spirit like a dove descending upon him.
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  Speaker 2: And a voice came out of the heavens. Are you
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  Speaker 2: seeing these main characters? We've seen the prophet, the old
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  Speaker 2: preacher in the wilderness. Then we saw the carpenter from Nazareth,
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  Speaker 2: Jesus Christ. Then we are here in the presence of
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  Speaker 2: the voice from heaven. Surely the voice of the Father
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  Speaker 2: who says, you are my beloved son, and you I
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  Speaker 2: am well pleased. You know what, folks? This is one
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  Speaker 2: of those rare moments in all of Scripture where you
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  Speaker 2: have a convolution of the Father, the Son, and the
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  Speaker 2: Spirit in one setting. Great. Don't miss it. The Father's voice,
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  Speaker 2: the Son standing in the water, the Spirit descending as
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  Speaker 2: a dove. Think of it. What a moment. Let me ask,
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  Speaker 2: what if you had been standing on the banks and
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  Speaker 2: you witnessed all of this? Let's say we were all there,
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  Speaker 2: all of us there, standing and staring, and we realize
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  Speaker 2: we're looking at the one John's been preaching, and we
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  Speaker 2: hear John's words and realize, if John doesn't feel he qualifies,
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  Speaker 2: think of us. And so we're watching the Son of
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  Speaker 2: God come up quietly out of the water, hair drenched
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  Speaker 2: with the water from the Jordan, the dove, the Spirit
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  Speaker 2: of God coming in. What would we do? Now, you
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  Speaker 2: know what the average place would do? Start applauding. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: if there is one sound that's everywhere, it's applause. I
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  Speaker 2: remember Billy Graham saying, used to be in my meetings
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  Speaker 2: that say amen. Now they applaud. I got a friend
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  Speaker 2: who says, if we're allowed to applaud in church, can
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  Speaker 2: we say boo regarding things we don't like? Good question.
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  Speaker 2: Nothing wrong with applause from time to time, but please
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  Speaker 2: train yourself to restrain applause when it's appropriate. You'll know.
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  Speaker 2: You'll know. You know what I think? Because not a
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  Speaker 2: word is said of applause. You know what's here in
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  Speaker 2: the text? Silence. Because that's what happened. Sometimes the worst
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  Speaker 2: thing you can do in an epical moment is to talk.
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  Speaker 2: Just talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. Wow, look at that. Wow.
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  Speaker 2: Got his hair messed up. Wow, look at that. You know,
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  Speaker 2: dumb things. I wonder how John feels right now. Shut up.
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  Speaker 2: I don't care how John feels right now. This is
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  Speaker 2: a moment. In a moment like this, in the awesome
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  Speaker 2: presence of the living God, you stay silent. It's a
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  Speaker 2: mark of maturity. Of course, you wrestle as I did
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  Speaker 2: when I began to study sections like this Why in
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  Speaker 2: the world would Jesus need to be baptized? He's no
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  Speaker 2: need for repentance. He knew no sin, did no sin,
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  Speaker 2: had no sin. He's a perfect son of God. Thought
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  Speaker 2: it was a baptism. In his case, it wasn't a
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  Speaker 2: baptism of repentance. He doesn't say, I'm coming to repent.
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  Speaker 2: He had nothing to repent of. Four things. Don't miss them. Initiation.
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  Speaker 2: He moves from a private world to a public world
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  Speaker 2: and his ministry begins. Initiation. Second, identifications. He is now
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  Speaker 2: among the people. This is genuinely Emmanuel, God with us.
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  Speaker 2: They've been baptized. I'm being baptized alongside them. Third, authentication.
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  Speaker 2: The father said, this is my son in whom I
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  Speaker 2: am well pleased. Here is this divine appointment and approval, authentication.
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  Speaker 2: Fourth is enablement. The spirit of God enables him with
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  Speaker 2: power to face what is right now before him and
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  Speaker 2: would be before him for the next three and a
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  Speaker 2: half years of ministry. And what is that? Enduring the
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  Speaker 2: temptations of the enemy. Verses 12 and 13. Now pause
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  Speaker 2: for a moment and let it in. Immediately the Spirit
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  Speaker 2: impelled him to go. I'm not going to let you
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  Speaker 2: go any further until we look at that verb. It's
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  Speaker 2: too important, a verb. Ekbalo is the word that means
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  Speaker 2: to cast out In fact, look at verse 34. Just
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  Speaker 2: a quick look. He healed many who were ill with
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  Speaker 2: various diseases and ekbalo many demons. And he was not
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  Speaker 2: permitting the demons to speak. There's the same word. Verse 39.
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  Speaker 2: He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee preaching and
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  Speaker 2: ekbaloing the demons. That's the word. To cast out. I
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  Speaker 2: can just see the Spirit of God with his hand
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  Speaker 2: on Jesus' back, if you will, pushing him. Pushing him. Why?
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  Speaker 2: Because he would... He would never want to go. This
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  Speaker 2: is Satan. This is the visible presence of the adversary.
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  Speaker 2: We have so cheapened it all by turning it into
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  Speaker 2: movies and video games and all kinds of fun stuff.
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  Speaker 2: It used to be just a Ouija board and that
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  Speaker 2: was about it. Now it's all kinds of things that
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  Speaker 2: smack of Satan and we have our kids play with them.
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  Speaker 2: Play with them. You want to see the perspective on him.
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  Speaker 2: See here, he was pushed out into the wilderness. Why?
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  Speaker 2: Because he is going to be there 40 days being
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  Speaker 2: tempted by, the word has the hiss of a serpent, Satan. Satan. No, no,
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  Speaker 2: the last time you were all alone, probably not even
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  Speaker 2: for overnight. I have a friend who spends a little
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  Speaker 2: time in a monastery every year. He says the main
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  Speaker 2: reason is to get away from all outside contact so
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  Speaker 2: I can just be quiet, be alone. He's even said
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  Speaker 2: after about the third day, you start to get a
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  Speaker 2: little stir crazy. Isn't it interesting that the worst kind
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  Speaker 2: of punishment in our prison system is solitary confinement? Why?
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  Speaker 2: Because that kind of aloneness is torture. For 40 days,
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  Speaker 2: he heard no other human voice. For 40 days, he
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  Speaker 2: encountered the attack of the enemy. For 40 days, he
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  Speaker 2: was there face to face. The other gospels tell us
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  Speaker 2: he fasted. So he's weakened by a loss of food.
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  Speaker 2: Little water, remember? This is the wilderness. And here he
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  Speaker 2: is in that setting. And we read at the end
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  Speaker 2: of verse 13, he was with the wild beasts. Take
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  Speaker 2: comfort in the fact they weren't wild to him. I
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  Speaker 2: think they nuzzled up alongside him. They aren't snarling and
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  Speaker 2: clawing and biting. No, he's their sovereign creator. At least
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  Speaker 2: they know who their creator is. And he's with them.
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  Speaker 2: The word with is significant. And the angels were ministering
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  Speaker 2: to him. How magnificent. I speak today to people who
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  Speaker 2: understand spiritual wilderness. I know I do. I'm too closely
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  Speaker 2: aligned with many of your lives to know otherwise. Some
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  Speaker 2: of you are going through almost demonic hell on earth
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  Speaker 2: in your situation. Well, I have some simple applications for
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  Speaker 2: all of us in the wilderness. Number one, The story
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  Speaker 2: is still good news. It's still good news. It'll still
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  Speaker 2: help you sing your way home at the close of
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  Speaker 2: the day. It'll still help you sing your way home
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  Speaker 2: and drive the shadows away. It'll help you smile every
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  Speaker 2: mile for wherever you roam. It'll brighten your road. It'll
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  Speaker 2: lighten your load. It'll give you a song in the
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  Speaker 2: night and hope in the morning. The story is still
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  Speaker 2: good news. These characters that we read of here, the
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  Speaker 2: one who writes from the Old Testament, Isaiah, Malachi, John's
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  Speaker 2: life and ministry and people who model that life, the
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  Speaker 2: obedience of the Savior, the voice of the Lord God,
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  Speaker 2: the characters are still reliable, still reliable. I hope you're
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  Speaker 2: not missing time in the Word of God. I hope
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  Speaker 2: you're not doing that. God gives us in his word
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  Speaker 2: great recipes, but we have to fix the meals ourselves.
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  Speaker 2: This is the recipe. Good recipes. Good guidelines. You'll never
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  Speaker 2: follow the teaching of the scripture and find yourself saying, shoot,
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  Speaker 2: wish I hadn't done that. Never. It's laughable. Oh man,
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  Speaker 2: I trusted God and look at what I got. No.
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  Speaker 2: He still speaks truth. His word is in your language.
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  Speaker 2: Take your pick. Any size print, red letter, black letters,
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  Speaker 2: Unread letters. It's reliable. Let me tell you finally, the
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  Speaker 2: enemy is still the enemy. May I warn you again
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  Speaker 2: about playing with him? May I warn you about films
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  Speaker 2: like Legion? You look at the trailer of that, it'll
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  Speaker 2: put a chill up your back. God is the enemy
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  Speaker 2: in Legion. First time. It's happened. He is now the enemy.
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  Speaker 2: The angels are what we fight. You say, man, Chuck,
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  Speaker 2: you're getting really old talking like that. You know what?
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  Speaker 2: I'm right. I'm right. I'm right. I'm right. Because that's
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  Speaker 2: what his word teaches. Resist the devil and he will
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  Speaker 2: flee from you. If you don't resist him, he will
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  Speaker 2: not flee, and he will look for channels to come
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  Speaker 2: into your life. Unrestrained anger is one of them. Tipper fits,
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  Speaker 2: another one. Extended sexual perverted lust is another one. Relationships
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  Speaker 2: that drag you down, he's looking for channels to find
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  Speaker 2: his way in, and you think you've known wilderness. You
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  Speaker 2: yield to those temptations and I'll tell you, it'll be unbearable.
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  Speaker 2: I like Beth Moore's reaction to the enemy. I hate
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  Speaker 2: that devil. Good for you, Beth. I hate him with
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  Speaker 2: a passion. Why? Because I deal with people who played
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  Speaker 2: with him. And I try to help them get back
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  Speaker 2: on their feet and many of them can't. Every one
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  Speaker 2: of them says, I regret the day all that started.
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  Speaker 2: He's still the enemy. Let's bow our heads together. If
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  Speaker 2: you've never submitted your life to the person of Jesus Christ,
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  Speaker 2: believe it or not, it all starts with a gift.
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  Speaker 2: You don't have to make 10 promises and show up
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  Speaker 2: at church every day for the next year. You don't
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  Speaker 2: have to give up your sins. Don't waste your time.
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  Speaker 2: You couldn't if you tried. You don't have to write
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  Speaker 2: out a big check and mail it to the ministry
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  Speaker 2: so that somehow that money is going to get you
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  Speaker 2: in on God's good side. Don't insult God. He doesn't
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  Speaker 2: need you to pick up the tab. Jesus paid it all.
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  Speaker 2: His payment was a complete payment for our sins on
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  Speaker 2: the cross. You trust Him. Simple prayer. Lord God Almighty,
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  Speaker 2: I am sinful. I know my sin has separated me
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  Speaker 2: from you because you are holy. I come to you
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  Speaker 2: through Christ. I believe his death cleanses me from sin
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  Speaker 2: and forgives me of my past and will keep on
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  Speaker 2: cleaning up my life. Thank you for coming into my life. Now, Lord,
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  Speaker 2: help me as I live for you in a world
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  Speaker 2: that's lost its way. Make me different. Change me. Lord,
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  Speaker 2: we're ready for some good news and you never disappoint us.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you for it. We love you, Father. And we
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  Speaker 2: submit ourselves to you once again. I ask you to
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  Speaker 2: give us strength in decisions that we must make.
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  Speaker 1: In.
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  Speaker 2: Determined commitment to time in your word and prayer, and
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  Speaker 2: find in us willing hearts to adapt and adjust our
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  Speaker 2: lives to your will, whatever that may entail. I ask
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  Speaker 2: this in the name of Jesus Christ and for his sake.
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  Speaker 2: Everybody sit. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: No matter how dark your circumstances may feel today, the
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  Speaker 1: message of the gospel is still good news. It reaches
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  Speaker 1: back before the beginning of time and it's able to
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  Speaker 1: transform your entire perspective right where you are. Whatever you're facing,
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  Speaker 1: don't let it eclipse this good news. You're listening to
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  Speaker 1: Insight for Living with Chuck Swindoll. Chuck titled today's message
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  Speaker 1: with a question. Are you ready for some good news?
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  Speaker 1: It's one of the first messages in a brand new
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  Speaker 1: study through the gospel according to Mark. The whole series
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  Speaker 1: is titled, Jesus, the Servant at Work. Because of the
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  Speaker 1: enormity of Mark's gospel, Chuck has divided the series into
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  Speaker 1: three volumes. All three Bible study workbooks for Mark are
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  Speaker 1: available today, well in advance of their release on this
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  Speaker 1: daily program. So for personal or group study, we invite
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: you to purchase all three Searching the Scriptures workbooks for Mark.
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  Speaker 1: Just go to insight.org slash offer. You can also call
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: us at 800-772-8888. And now a special word about Chuck's
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  Speaker 1: latest book. Most memoirs are written to impress. Awakened by
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  Speaker 1: Grace was written to reveal, not Chuck Swindoll, but the
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  Speaker 1: God who has held him every step of the way.
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  Speaker 1: With remarkable candor, Chuck pulls back the curtain on his
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  Speaker 1: own life, the doubts, the detours, the disappointments, and the
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  Speaker 1: seasons when he couldn't yet see what God was doing.
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  Speaker 1: He doesn't write to earn your admiration. He writes so
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  Speaker 1: you'll recognize the same faithful hand at work in your
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  Speaker 1: own story. Chuck's book is honest, humble, and deeply personal,
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  Speaker 1: and it just might change how you see your own journey.
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  Speaker 1: Awakened by Grace releases in just a few days. Learn
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  Speaker 1: to trust the hand that's been holding you all along
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  Speaker 1: and purchase your copy today. You can call us at
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  Speaker 1: 800-772-8888 or go to insight.org slash memoir. What does it
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  Speaker 1: really mean to say yes to the call of Christ?
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  Speaker 1: I'm Bill Meyer. Hear Chuck Swindoll answer that question Tuesday
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  Speaker 1: on Insight for Living. The preceding message, Are You Ready
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  Speaker 1: for Some Good News?, was copyrighted in 2010 and 2026,
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  Speaker 1: and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2026 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.
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  Speaker 1: All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for
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  Speaker 1: commercial use is strictly prohibited.