Latest / Pastor John Piper's answers / Dying to Live

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Dying to Live · Pastor John Piper's answers

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  Speaker 1: Everyone wants to be better. We want to improve, we
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  Speaker 1: want to change, we want to grow. And if you
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  Speaker 1: are in Christ, you are brand new. You are a
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  Speaker 1: new creation. That's as radical of a change as you
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  Speaker 1: can get. But it doesn't change the fact that every
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  Speaker 1: day we feel torn, this push towards a new life
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  Speaker 1: in a pull to a past life, This agonizing tug
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  Speaker 1: between the old pattern that we were and the new
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  Speaker 1: pattern that we are trying to be. As a tention
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  Speaker 1: that we can sometimes feel it feels impossible, like being
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  Speaker 1: both dead and alive at the same time. Today, on
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  Speaker 1: Asbestor John Dying to Live as Romans Month continues, Maria
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  Speaker 1: writes in from Dublin, Ireland, Pastor John, hello to you.
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  Speaker 1: In Romans twelve to fifteen. Those chapters, Paul offers practical
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  Speaker 1: guidance for Christians living in response to God's mercy. Begins
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  Speaker 1: by urging believers to offer their bodies as living sacrifices
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  Speaker 1: wholly acceptable to God in Romans twelve to one, which
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  Speaker 1: seems like a rather obscure and radical calling. So what
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  Speaker 1: does this mean to live as a living sacrifice in
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  Speaker 1: our daily lives? Paul also calls us to not be
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  Speaker 1: conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing
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  Speaker 1: of your mind in Romans twelve two. How does this
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  Speaker 1: transformation manifest in a Christian's thoughts, decisions, and actions, especially
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  Speaker 1: when we face fierce social pressures to conform to anything
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  Speaker 1: but Christ.
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  Speaker 2: There really are two questions here, But the fascinating thing
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  Speaker 2: is that when you put the two questions together, a
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  Speaker 2: third question emerges that sheds light on the other two.
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  Speaker 2: So here's what I mean. Maria's first question is what
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  Speaker 2: does it mean to live as a living sacrifice? So
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  Speaker 2: it's paradoxical living sacrifice. The second question is how does
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  Speaker 2: the command to be renewed in your mind get worked
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  Speaker 2: out in the Christian life? Now, the third question, which
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  Speaker 2: I'm asking is what's the relationship between those two imperatives
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  Speaker 2: in Romans twelve one and two. On the one hand,
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  Speaker 2: become a living sacrifice, on the other hand, be transformed
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  Speaker 2: in the renewing of your mind. How does Paul see
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  Speaker 2: the relationship between living as dead people, living sacrifices and
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  Speaker 2: living as transformed people. That's my question. So here's the text.
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  Speaker 2: Just to make sure everybody has it in their mind,
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  Speaker 2: I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God,
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  Speaker 2: to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and
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  Speaker 2: accept to God, which use your spiritual worship. Verse two.
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  Speaker 2: Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed
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  Speaker 2: in the renewal of your mind, that by testing you
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  Speaker 2: may discern what is the will of God, what is good, acceptable,
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  Speaker 2: and perfect. So first, what does being living sacrifices mean?
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  Speaker 2: It's clearly intended as a paradox. Living means alive. Sacrifices
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  Speaker 2: means dead on the altar, slain like a lamb. What
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  Speaker 2: does that mean? He said in Romans six'. Six we
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  Speaker 2: know that our old self was crucified With christ in
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  Speaker 2: order that the body of sin might be brought to,
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  Speaker 2: nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to.
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  Speaker 2: Sin and then he turned that, death that crucifixion of
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  Speaker 2: our old nature experience in. Conversion he turns that into
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  Speaker 2: an ongoing imperative in verse, eleven which is why it
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  Speaker 2: links up so well with chapter. Twelve so you also
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  Speaker 2: must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive To. God
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  Speaker 2: so you consider yourself you have. Died now consider yourself
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  Speaker 2: dead to sin and alive To god In Christ. Jesus
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  Speaker 2: so if you're. Considering if you are considering yourself dead to,
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  Speaker 2: sin then there's a you that is dead and there's
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  Speaker 2: a you that is considering yourself. Dead that's the paradox
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  Speaker 2: That paul is referring to In romans twelve. One present
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  Speaker 2: your bodies as a living. Sacrifice you are alive To,
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  Speaker 2: god and you are dead on the altar of, sacrifice
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  Speaker 2: a living. Sacrifice and the closest parallel would Be romans six,
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  Speaker 2: thirteen which says do not present your. Members so there
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  Speaker 2: you have the word present like in twelve to, one and,
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  Speaker 2: members which is the same as. Body do not present
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  Speaker 2: your members to sin as instruments of, unrighteousness but present
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  Speaker 2: yourselves To. God that's just What paul says in on
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  Speaker 2: twelve as those who have been brought from death to,
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  Speaker 2: life and your members To god as instruments of. Righteousness
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  Speaker 2: so to be a living sacrifice is to experience the
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  Speaker 2: death of the you that is controlled by the desire for,
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  Speaker 2: sin and to experience a life that is controlled by
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  Speaker 2: a desire For god and his. Righteousness so dead to
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  Speaker 2: the old man who loved and was controlled by, sin
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  Speaker 2: and alive to the new man who Loves god and his.
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  Speaker 2: Righteousness this is your spiritual, worship because that's what worship, is,
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  Speaker 2: namely the superior desire for enjoyment Of god and his
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  Speaker 2: ways over anything. Else so that's verse. One then comes
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  Speaker 2: the second imperative In romans. Twelve two be transformed by
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  Speaker 2: the renewal of your. Mind, now back in chapter, one
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  Speaker 2: verse twenty, Eight paul had referred to unbelievers having a
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  Speaker 2: debased mind that hungers after sinful pleasures like homosexual. Behavior
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  Speaker 2: that was the context In romans. One and now our
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  Speaker 2: minds are to be, renewed which would include a new
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  Speaker 2: way of evaluating what is right and what is. Desirable
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  Speaker 2: so you can see how closely related the transformation of
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  Speaker 2: verse two is to the living sacrifice of verse. One
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  Speaker 2: both of them are referring to a kind of death
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  Speaker 2: to the old, desires the old evaluations of good and,
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  Speaker 2: bad and right and, wrong beautiful and, ugly and desirable and.
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  Speaker 2: Undesirable and now WHEN i ask about the question of
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  Speaker 2: the relationship between these two, imperatives it's not surprising to
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  Speaker 2: find them. Connected In colossians, three this is why it
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  Speaker 2: was so illumining to me to ask this third, question
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  Speaker 2: because as soon AS i, DID i thought of texts
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  Speaker 2: In colossians And ephesians that do What i'm. Doing they
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  Speaker 2: bring the two. Together so In colusians, three you have
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  Speaker 2: both the death of my old self and the renewal
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  Speaker 2: of my new. Self so Here's calausus three three and.
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  Speaker 2: Following you have died and your life is hidden With
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  Speaker 2: christ In god put to. Death, therefore what is earthly in,
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  Speaker 2: you you, know be a living, sacrifice sexual, morality, impurity,
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  Speaker 2: passion evil, desire come, righteousness which is. Idolatry do not
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  Speaker 2: lie to one, another seeing that you have put off
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  Speaker 2: the old dead self with its, practices and have put
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  Speaker 2: on the new, self which is being. Renewed there's the
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  Speaker 2: link between the, death living sacrifice and the renewal being
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  Speaker 2: renewed in the, knowledge in knowledge that is renewed in
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  Speaker 2: our minds after the image of its. Creator now that
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  Speaker 2: sounds Like paul is limiting the renewal of the mind
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  Speaker 2: simply to what the mind. Knows But i've been, Stressing
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  Speaker 2: i've been suggesting all along now that it includes the
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  Speaker 2: way the mind evaluates and the way we desire or
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  Speaker 2: feel because of that. Evaluation and that is drawn out
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  Speaker 2: more clearly when we look at the same sequence of
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  Speaker 2: thought In ephesians, four Where paul again puts together the
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  Speaker 2: death of the old self and the renewal of the new,
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  Speaker 2: self just like In romans. Twelve so here's what If
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  Speaker 2: esians forces this is verse twenty. Two put off your
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  Speaker 2: old namely your dead, self which belongs to your former
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  Speaker 2: manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful. Desires that's the.
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  Speaker 2: Key and be. Renewed and instead of saying be renewed
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  Speaker 2: in your mind Like romans, twelve he, says be renewed
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  Speaker 2: in the spirit of your. Minds that's so, interesting so.
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  Speaker 2: Provocative and put on the new self created after the
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  Speaker 2: likeness Of god in true righteousness and. Holiness so the
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  Speaker 2: upshot is that these two commands In romans twelve turn
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  Speaker 2: out to be virtually the same in our experience of.
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  Speaker 2: Them the living sacrifice of verse one puts the emphasis
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  Speaker 2: on the old self that needs to, die and the
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  Speaker 2: transformation and renewal of verse two puts the emphsis on
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  Speaker 2: what is replacing the old self that. Dies and What
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  Speaker 2: i've been stressing is that both of these involve the
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  Speaker 2: new way that the mind evaluates and desires the spirit
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  Speaker 2: of the mind is not just a thinking. Thing it
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  Speaker 2: has a, Spirit it has a way of evaluating and.
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  Speaker 2: Desiring the new transformed mind evaluates, differently values things, differently prefers,
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  Speaker 2: differently and that's where it gets its power and. FREEDOM
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  Speaker 2: i think this goes a long way to Answering maria's last,
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  Speaker 2: question which, was how does the transformation of A christian
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  Speaker 2: confront the quote fierce social pressures to conform to anything
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  Speaker 2: But christ? Unquote and the answer is we confront those
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  Speaker 2: pressures with a kind of renewed mind that evaluates things,
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  Speaker 2: differently desires, differently so that the pressures of the world
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  Speaker 2: do not hold the same compelling power that they once.
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  Speaker 2: Did and we experience both power and freedom because we
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  Speaker 2: don't just do the right. Thing we love to do
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  Speaker 2: the right. Thing we have been renewed in the spirit
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  Speaker 2: of our. Mind we are living. Sacrifices.
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  Speaker 1: Amen, yeah being a living sacrifice means that daily spiritual
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  Speaker 1: war isn't just about stopping bad, actions but about cultivating new. Desires.
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  Speaker 1: Amen thank, you Pastor. John and yet it remains true
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  Speaker 1: that living out this new creation life means we must
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  Speaker 1: purge sin from our lives. Too and the only sin
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  Speaker 1: that we can ever purge from our lives is canceled.
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  Speaker 1: Sin such an important follow up to this conversation if
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  Speaker 1: you want more on. This the only sin we can
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  Speaker 1: purge from our lives is canceled. Sin see THE. A.
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  Speaker 1: S Pastor john book on page two seventy four for.
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  Speaker 1: That i'm sure most of you have that. Book, candy
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  Speaker 1: get familiar with that section on page two seventy. Four
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  Speaker 1: it is so important for every day of The christian. Life,
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  Speaker 1: Well i'm sure some of you have experienced this. Before
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  Speaker 1: you're watching something on a screen together with, friends maybe
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  Speaker 1: on a, phone and suddenly you feel this stomach dropping
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  Speaker 1: sense of. Isolation you realize that your personal convictions are miles,
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  Speaker 1: away way from your, friends the people you call your
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  Speaker 1: brothers and sisters In, christ who are laughing at something
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  Speaker 1: on a screen that you cannot laugh. At you draw,
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  Speaker 1: back and now you're the. Freak you're the, prude. Weirdo
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  Speaker 1: how do you handle that? Alienation next? Time made lonely by,
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  Speaker 1: Holiness I'm Tony. Ranky see you On. Thursday