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Abiding in The Word · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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  We're on chapter 8.
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  And maybe we could read at verse 30, but it's in verse 31 particularly.
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  And as he was saying these things, many believed in him.
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  So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him,
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  If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
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  and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
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  But particularly if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.
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  Now as we know, obedience to God's word is absolutely fundamental to being a Christian.
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  It's probably the great overriding fact where you are quite happy to call Jesus Lord and Master.
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  And when you become a Christian, you want your life to be moulded and shaped by the truth.
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  Because Jesus asks the question, we find that in other occasions,
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  and he says, Why call me Lord, Lord, when you don't do the things that I ask you to do?
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  And it's a question that we always have to ask ourselves as well.
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  Now, we find in this particular chapter here, how important the word of God is.
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  And we know that the word Lord means an owner and a master.
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  And that's who Jesus becomes in our lives the day we become Christians,
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  where he becomes our owner, he becomes our master.
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  He takes charge of our will.
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  And you and I know that the most difficult thing to part with is our own will.
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  It's the one thing we don't want to give up.
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  And that's what happens when we become Christians,
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  that we are ready and willing that God's will will be most important.
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  It's a great obstacle to becoming a Christian, because we want to be in control.
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  We want to be in charge of our own lives.
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  It's a natural instinct.
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  It's my life and I'll do what I want.
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  That's what the human heart thinks.
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  And so it's very difficult.
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  In fact, it's an impossibility apart from grace to submit ourselves to the will of another.
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  And that's what God does when he comes by his spirit.
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  He breaks the stubbornness of our own will and enables us to be subject to his will.
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  And so that is the great evidence of becoming a Christian,
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  is that you are quite happy to hand over your life to the Lord.
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  Now, of course, as Christians, we still want to do our own will.
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  And I'm sure every single one of you know what it's like.
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  And so often we have to say, Lord, not my will, but yours be done.
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  But so often we find there's this conflict goes on between the drawing of God's spirit
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  and through the way God's word works within us against the stubbornness of our own self-will.
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  And it's one of the evidences of grace is when we're aware of this clash, this conflict,
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  and we find ourselves like the apostle saying,
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  the good that I would, I do not, and the evil that I don't want to do, that's what I end up doing.
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  And that's part and partial of our Christian journey.
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  But Jesus tells us that this word sets us free.
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  And it sets us free first and foremost from the dominion of sin.
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  It's not that sin is eradicated.
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  Sin isn't removed.
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  You and I are still sinners.
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  But sin no longer has absolute mastery and control.
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  We didn't realize it before, but we were utterly slaves to sin.
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  Sin had total control of our lives.
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  But when Christ comes in, that changes.
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  He now becomes Lord.
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  He now becomes master.
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  He is now owner of our lives.
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  Even although sin still rages, it doesn't rule.
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  Christ is now the ruler of our lives.
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  Now, what we find here, this word disciple, where we find it so often that Jesus says,
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  if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.
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  And I think a disciple is best understood like an apprentice.
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  You and I know that an apprentice is somebody who learns from their master.
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  And they imitate.
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  They watch what's being done.
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  They listen to what's being taught.
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  And they try to put into practice what they see and what they hear.
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  And that's exactly how it is for us as well.
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  Because Jesus is our Lord.
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  He's our master.
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  And we're the apprentices.
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  We're the disciples.
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  We are taking on board what he says.
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  We are seeking to do what he says.
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  So it's not just a matter of listening.
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  James warns us against that because he says, we are not just to be hearers of the word,
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  which is vital, but we are also to be doers of the word.
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  That if we simply hear the word and don't do, we deceive ourselves.
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  And he goes on to say that the truth actually isn't in us.
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  But it's so important that we lay it up on our heart and we practice in our lives what the word of God teaches us.
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  And so when we look at what's before us here, we find that Jesus, I believe that he's talking to two groups.
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  Because the Jews are here.
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  It's one group of Jews.
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  But as he speaks, we find that it tells us there, as he was saying these things, many believed in him.
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  Now, I don't know at what level that belief was.
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  Were they accepting just who he was or had they come to actually embrace him as Lord and Master?
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  But there are also other Jews there and they completely reject.
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  Because I think if we hold that in our mind as you go through that chapter, you realize that there are two branches of Jews.
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  And that's just still the way it is.
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  There's always two.
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  There's some who hear and some who refuse to hear.
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  It's always the same.
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  Because Jesus, he says in verse 37, for instance,
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  I know that you are offspring of Abraham, yet you seek to kill me because my words find no place in you.
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  So it's obvious that he's speaking to those who believe in him and those who have no place for him.
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  And so we have these two groups that are being spoken to here.
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  Now, the unbelief of the Jews really is quite extraordinary here because they say in verse 33,
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  we are offspring of Abraham and never have been enslaved to any.
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  You see, when Jesus is telling them that if they accept his truth, his word, they'll be free.
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  And they're saying free.
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  We are free.
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  We've never been enslaved to any.
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  Now, when you think about it, if any group of people ever talked rubbish, it was that group there.
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  Because the history, just at a natural level, of the Jews was one of constant slavery, being enslaved.
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  You go to the Book of Judges, and there were seven different nations that enslaved Israel until they cried to God.
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  And you had the different deliverers like Gideon and Samson and so on.
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  And then you look at the formation of the kingdom of Israel under Saul and eventually David and then Solomon.
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  And then after Solomon, it broke into two with Jeroboam and Rehoboam.
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  And there was a northern tribe of Israel and a southern tribe of Judah.
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  And remember what happened.
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  The northern tribe was taken into captivity by the Assyrians.
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  The southern tribe was taken into captivity by the Babylonians.
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  And so there was this constant enslavement of being in bondage to others.
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  And as they spoke to Jesus, in fact, they were in slavery to Rome.
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  Rome were controlling the Jews at that time.
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  But when they applied at a spiritual level, they were saying, we're the seed of Abraham.
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  We cannot be anything but free.
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  We have a freedom.
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  We are the people.
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  And they were looking at their people.
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  They were looking at their privileges.
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  And they were absolutely taking real umbrage at what Jesus was saying.
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  And they couldn't understand that they were anything but free.
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  Naturally, they were slaves.
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  Spiritually, they were slaves.
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  But they couldn't see it.
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  And still the same today, that every person outside Christ cannot see that they're trapped, that they're slaves to sin, to Satan.
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  They're not free.
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  And when you look back in your life, you remember when you first gained the liberty of the gospel, where it opened up.
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  Can you remember the freedom that you got?
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  There was this realization that you'd been delivered.
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  And there was this new sense of wonder.
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  Your eyes were open to see things in a completely different way.
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  You were free.
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  You felt free for the first time ever in your life.
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  And so that's what these Jews didn't understand.
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  They weren't able to lay hold upon what Jesus was saying.
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  But you notice how important the word of God is in all this.
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  Because Jesus is here talking about if you abide in my word.
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  Now, the word, of course, we know is central.
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  It's key to everything.
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  That's where people come to faith.
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  That's what it says.
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  As he was saying these things, the word, many believed in him.
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  Paul said, as we preach these things, many of you believed.
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  And faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
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  And that's why it's vital that people will hear God's word.
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  We need to get people to come to God's house.
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  We need to get people reading God's word.
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  Because there is always hope for a person who has a Bible that is open and a Bible that's being read.
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  And there's always hope for a person who puts himself under the word of God.
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  If a person closes a Bible and closes their ears to the word, you don't hold out that hope.
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  But as long as the word has a place in a person's heart and life, there is always hope for that person.
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  Because as we said, that's where faith, faith comes by hearing.
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  But we find here that Jesus is talking about the importance.
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  He's saying to them, many believed in him.
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  And Jesus goes on to say, if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciple.
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  This is the key, is continuing.
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  Because Jesus makes it very clear, for instance, in the parable of the sower,
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  that when the good seed goes down into the ground, there are different responses.
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  And you remember on the rocky ground that the seed sprung up very quickly.
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  And it looked promising.
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  And you'd say, that's rapid growth.
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  But then what happened?
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  When the sun came out and beat down upon it, it withered because there was no root in it.
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  And Jesus is saying, that's how it's going to be with some people.
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  There's like an instant response to the gospel.
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  It seems that they're following the Lord.
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  They're out there.
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  Yeah, this is it.
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  But very quickly, they disappear.
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  But the proof that you are truly a Christian is continuing because God's word is abiding in you.
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  And you're following.
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  And you've been, you know, we have a lovely expression here.
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  It's, I don't know that they use it in other places.
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  But when a person becomes a Christian, we use the expression, so-and-so started following.
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  I don't know if they use it in other places, but it's used here.
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  And it's a very biblical expression.
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  It's a very, it's a lovely expression.
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  Did you hear that so-and-so started following?
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  Nothing else needs to be said, but just that they're following.
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  And when you follow, you continue to follow.
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  You don't follow for a little.
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  You follow forever.
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  Doesn't mean that you follow perfectly.
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  We know all too well that throughout our following, there are times that you just need to go to the Bible and you look at some of the great saints.
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  And you look at people like David.
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  And you look at people like Peter.
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  They fell really badly.
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  But they weren't derailed.
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  The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.
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  And though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down because the Lord is holding him by the hand.
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  Isn't that great?
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  So that even if you fall, you won't fall all the way down because you're being held.
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  You're being kept.
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  And so the great proof of really following the Lord is continuing.
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  And you look back, whether it's been two years or five years or 10 or 30 or 40 or 50 years.
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  And you think of all the ups and downs in life.
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  And you think of all the temptations.
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  And you think of all the things that have happened.
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  And the many times that Satan has said, you know, you've been fooled.
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  You've been deceived.
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  It's not real.
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  And you know what you say?
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  You say to Satan, you say to everybody else, to whom else can we go?
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  For thou is the words of eternal life.
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  And you know it.
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  And that's why you're still following.
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  That's why you're still hanging on.
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  Despite all the batterings and blows and all the ups and downs, nowhere else you can go.
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  Because Jesus is your owner.
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  He's your Lord.
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  He's your master.
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  And you are happy to be his disciple, to be his follower.
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  And so we find that this word, this word is key to our lives.
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  This word is what does everything within our life.
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  And this word, we could say, there's a lot of things we could say just very briefly as we come to conclude.
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  That the word, the word is an ever-growing word.
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  You know, when God's word comes into your heart and into your life, that's not the end of it.
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  It continues to grow and develop.
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  And that's why when you come to God's word, and you've all experienced that, and you read a verse that you've, or a chapter or a section, and you've read it often enough before.
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  And then as you're reading it, you're saying, well, you know, I never saw that before.
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  You read it.
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  You know it.
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  So what's happened?
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  The Lord is opening your mind to see more so that the word of God continues to grow and to develop.
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  Just like a tree, you'll see sometimes new branches growing out.
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  So it is in the Christian, bearing more fruit.
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  So it's ever-growing.
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  And also this word, when it goes down into our lives, it's an invigorating word.
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  It gives new life and new strength.
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  And I'm sure, particularly on a Wednesday, when you're, maybe you've had a busy day, and there's been a lot on.
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  It's different, maybe, to the Lord's Day, because the Lord's Day is a quieter, it's calmer.
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  But maybe Wednesday's been a busy day, or a Thursday, and you're tired, and there's the temptation.
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  Oh, I'm too tired to go.
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  And sometimes things are, and you can come to church, and rather than going out, you go out more invigorated than when you came in.
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  And that's because God has brought something from the word into your experience, into your soul.
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  And maybe it's in the singing.
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  Maybe it's in the reading.
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  Maybe somebody's quoting in something in the prayer or in the preaching.
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  And it strikes a chord, and it lifts you up.
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  And the depths that you were in, you're up into the heights.
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  And this is what God's word does and continues to do in our experience.
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  But it's also a sanctifying word.
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  Remember Jesus in the high priestly prayer, he said,
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  Sanctify them through the truth.
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  Thy word is truth.
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  And that's what God's word is doing.
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  It's like a cleansing.
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  It's like a shower.
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  It's like a fast-flowing river.
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  And it's going down, and like we're in the stream, the stream of God's word.
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  And God's word convicts us.
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  And I'm sure you all know at times that you're going to do something or say something,
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  and God's word comes and stops you.
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  Because you are heading into sin.
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  And so sometimes, sadly, we go against what God's word says.
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  And that grieves us afterwards.
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  And we say to ourselves, you know, Lord, you spoke to me, and I didn't listen.
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  And that hurts us.
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  But the thing is, God's word is at work.
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  And there's an ongoing cleansing in it.
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  In our whole battle with sin.
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  So God's word is active.
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  And God's word is a word that remains within us.
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  And that's what Jesus is saying here.
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  The great proof is that if you abide in my word.
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  It's one of the great words in the Bible, abiding.
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  It's one of the things that we will do with regard to glory.
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  We will abide.
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  Never go out.
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  And when God's word comes, when the good seed comes into your soul, it abides forever.
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  Nothing and no one, not even all the forces of hell, can pluck that seed out once it is embedded in your soul.
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  But the proof of that word abiding in is you're continuing to follow the Lord.
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  Let's pray.
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  Lord our God, we give thanks for a wee while together.
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  We give thanks for your word.
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  And we give thanks for all the different things that your word is to us and your word does for us.
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  And we give thanks, O Lord, that we are being refreshed by your word and sometimes rebuked by your word.
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  Sometimes we're encouraged.
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  Sometimes our hearts are full.
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  Forgive us, Lord, for the many times when we don't heed your word in the way that we should.
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  Forgive us, Lord, for the times when our own will takes over and we push your will aside.
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  Oh, forgive us, Lord, for that.
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  Help us, Lord, to follow you and that every day that we may begin the day with your word.
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  And that every day we may seek to have our lives shaped and molded by your word.
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  May it be obvious to all around that your word abides within us.
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  Watch over us and we pray.
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  Bless this congregation.
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  We give thanks for it.
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  We pray, Lord, that you will continue to uphold us and do us good.
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  Take us to our home safely, we pray, cleansing us from our every sin.
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  In Jesus' name we ask it.
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  Amen.
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  We're going to conclude.