Latest / Reflections On The Word With Richard Kay / From Servant To Friend By Love | Episode #417 | Encore Episode #088

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From Servant To Friend By Love | Episode #417 | Encore Episode #088 · Reflections On The Word With Richard Kay

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  Speaker 1: Great is Thy faithfulness Great is Thy faithfulness Morning by
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  Speaker 1: morning New mercies I see All I have needed thy
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  Speaker 1: hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.
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  Speaker 2: Welcome to today's edition of Reflection on the Word with
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  Speaker 2: Richard Kay. I'm Chuck Christie, and today we are asking
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  Speaker 2: you to spend a few moments of your time with
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  Speaker 2: us each day as Richard shares from God's Word notes, quotes,
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  Speaker 2: and stories, along with some of his own personal experiences,
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  Speaker 2: to confirm for you God's great love for us, that
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  Speaker 2: his compassion for us never fails, and that he has
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  Speaker 2: a great faithfulness toward us in every regard. Now, if
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  Speaker 2: you miss a portion of today's broadcast or would like
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  Speaker 2: to recommend it to a friend, you can hear this
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  Speaker 2: program anytime online at talknetworkradio.com. Well now, here's Richard with
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  Speaker 2: today's reflection.
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  Speaker 3: In our earlier segment, we talked about being slaves to
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  Speaker 3: sin and then slaves to righteousness. I want to read
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  Speaker 3: a scripture that gives us a better correlation to understand
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  Speaker 3: how this applies in our life. This is referenced in
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  Speaker 3: the book of John in the 13th chapter, and this
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  Speaker 3: has to do with foot washing. But I don't want
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  Speaker 3: us to get lost in that heart of what was done.
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  Speaker 3: I want to read this passage to you. And it
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  Speaker 3: says in John 13, beginning in verse 16, I assure you,
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  Speaker 3: a slave is not greater than his master, and a
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  Speaker 3: messenger is not greater than the one who sent him.
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  Speaker 3: If you know these things, you are blessed if you
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  Speaker 3: do them. I am not speaking about all of you.
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  Speaker 3: I know those I have chosen, but the scripture must
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  Speaker 3: be fulfilled. And then he goes on to say that
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  Speaker 3: the one who eats my bread has raised his heel
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  Speaker 3: against me. Now, he was doing this as he had
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  Speaker 3: performed the foot washing during the time of what is
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  Speaker 3: referred to as the Last Supper. But I want us
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  Speaker 3: to go from there to a further passage where in
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  Speaker 3: the 15th chapter, he actually states something very different. Now,
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  Speaker 3: it is tied to this same passage, abiding in him,
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  Speaker 3: where he references himself as the true vine, And you
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  Speaker 3: are the branches. And he wants us to know that
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  Speaker 3: it's the Father's good pleasure that we bear much fruit.
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  Speaker 3: So he talks about being in the vine. And then
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  Speaker 3: he talks about, as the Father has loved me, I
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  Speaker 3: also have loved you. Remain in my love. If you
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  Speaker 3: keep my commands, you will remain in my love. just
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  Speaker 3: as I have kept my father's commands and remain in
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  Speaker 3: his love. I have spoken these things to you so
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  Speaker 3: that my joy may be in you and your joy
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  Speaker 3: may be complete. This is my command. Love one another
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  Speaker 3: as I have loved you. No one has greater love
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  Speaker 3: than this, that someone would lay down his life for
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  Speaker 3: his friend. Listen to this verse. The 14th verse says,
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  Speaker 3: You are my friends if you do what I command you.
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  Speaker 3: I do not call you slaves anymore because a slave
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  Speaker 3: doesn't know what his master is doing. I have called
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  Speaker 3: you friends because I have made known to you everything
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  Speaker 3: I have heard from my father. You did not choose me,
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  Speaker 3: but I chose you. I appointed you that you should
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  Speaker 3: go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should
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  Speaker 3: remain so that whatever you ask the Father in my name,
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  Speaker 3: he will give you. This is what I command you.
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  Speaker 3: Love one another. Now, in this particular scripture, we have
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  Speaker 3: seen that Jesus is exemplifying the life of a servant,
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  Speaker 3: one that has been completely surrendered to the will of
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  Speaker 3: his Father. He does this in one example when he
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  Speaker 3: is helping the disciples to understand who he is by
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  Speaker 3: what he does. During the feast of the Passover that
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  Speaker 3: Jesus had asked them to prepare for, he actually gives
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  Speaker 3: them an example. When they have this supper, they are
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  Speaker 3: already prepared, but they do not know the meaning of
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  Speaker 3: this supper. They don't realize that in becoming the Passover lamb,
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  Speaker 3: Jesus becomes the sacrifice for his friends. He becomes the
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  Speaker 3: sacrifice for the sins of man. And because of that,
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  Speaker 3: he then demonstrates to them. And he came to Simon Peter.
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  Speaker 3: He always seems to pick Simon Peter as the one
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  Speaker 3: that he demonstrates this meaning. But in this particular passage,
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  Speaker 3: it says he got up from the supper, laid aside
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  Speaker 3: his robe, took a towel, and tied it around himself. Next,
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  Speaker 3: he poured water into a basin and began to wash
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  Speaker 3: his disciples' feet and to dry them with the towel
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  Speaker 3: that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter,
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  Speaker 3: who asked him, Lord, are you going to wash my feet?
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  Speaker 3: And Jesus answered him, What I'm doing you don't understand now,
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  Speaker 3: but afterwards you will know. Peter said, You will never
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  Speaker 3: wash my feet ever. And Jesus replied, If I don't
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  Speaker 3: wash you, you have no part with me. Simon Peter
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  Speaker 3: said to him, Lord, not only my feet, but also
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  Speaker 3: my hands and my head. One who has bathed, Jesus
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  Speaker 3: told him, doesn't need to wash anything except his feet,
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  Speaker 3: but he is completely clean. You are clean, but not
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  Speaker 3: all of you, for he knew who would betray him,
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  Speaker 3: and that is why he said, you are not all clean.
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  Speaker 3: But then he goes further, and he explains the meaning
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  Speaker 3: of this foot washing that he performed. When Jesus had
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  Speaker 3: washed their feet and put on his robe, he reclined
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  Speaker 3: again and said to them, Do you know what I
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  Speaker 3: have done for you? You call me teacher and Lord,
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  Speaker 3: and this is well said, for I am. So if I,
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  Speaker 3: your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also
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  Speaker 3: ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given
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  Speaker 3: you an example that you also should do just as
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  Speaker 3: I have done for you. And this is where he said,
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  Speaker 3: I assure you, a slave is not greater than his master,
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  Speaker 3: and a messenger is not greater than the one who
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  Speaker 3: sent him. These are the things that Jesus pronounced about
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  Speaker 3: his own followers. In this example, he teaches them that
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  Speaker 3: they must become a servant in order to follow his example.
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  Speaker 3: They must do the same thing. He washed their feet,
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  Speaker 3: so they in turn must convey the cleanliness of God
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  Speaker 3: to others, and they must serve God in that manner.
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  Speaker 3: Jesus is saying this to them to prepare them for
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  Speaker 3: their service. And yet, as he shows them that there
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  Speaker 3: is a new commandment that he is providing them, no
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  Speaker 3: longer is it just that they keep the letter of
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  Speaker 3: the law. No longer is it important that they only
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  Speaker 3: consider that they do not do certain things, but that
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  Speaker 3: they become willing to to lay down their lives, literally,
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  Speaker 3: for their friends. Who is it that is example of
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  Speaker 3: this friend? Jesus himself. He lays down his life willingly
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  Speaker 3: for us so that we can actually claim that life
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  Speaker 3: that he provides. that will continue to live in us
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  Speaker 3: as we keep his command, summarized in everything which is
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  Speaker 3: to love one another. And it is not, believer, that
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  Speaker 3: we love in word only. It is that we demonstrate
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  Speaker 3: that love one to another, that we submit ourselves, that
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  Speaker 3: we surrender our self-wills, so that we can serve others,
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  Speaker 3: that we can become what he pronounces for us as
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  Speaker 3: he makes us his friends. No longer are we called
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  Speaker 3: his slaves. And yet, are we not still his servants?
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  Speaker 3: As his friend, we still do what he requires. And
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  Speaker 3: so in this manner, we continue to proclaim the life
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  Speaker 3: of Jesus in us so that the world may know
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  Speaker 3: that he is alive and Lord over all. There's a
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  Speaker 3: scripture that we have read in times past that is
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  Speaker 3: worthy of repeating. And that is that the world will
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  Speaker 3: know that you are my disciples because you have loved
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  Speaker 3: one for another. That is the announcing method of showing
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  Speaker 3: the world who Jesus is. It is not just through oratory.
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  Speaker 3: It is not through just being able to to do
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  Speaker 3: good things. But it is totally submitting our self-will to
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  Speaker 3: that of the perfect will of the Father.
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  Speaker 2: Richard will be right back in a moment to wrap up.
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  Speaker 2: But if you just joined us, you've been listening to
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  Speaker 2: Reflections on the Word with Richard Kaye. You can hear
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  Speaker 2: this message in its entirety again online, as well as
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  Speaker 2: Richard's entire archive at talknetworkradio.com. We would like to acknowledge
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  Speaker 2: our theme song, How Great Is Thy Faithfulness, from the
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  Speaker 2: America's 25 Favorite Hymns album. Unless otherwise expressed, scriptures are
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  Speaker 2: read from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, which is published
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  Speaker 2: by Holman Bible Publishers in Nashville, Tennessee. Additional resources used
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  Speaker 2: for reflections on the word with Richard Kay include Great
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  Speaker 2: Is Thy Faithfulness by Our Daily Bread and printed by
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  Speaker 2: Discovery House Publishers. Again, Here is Richard to wrap up
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  Speaker 2: today's message.
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  Speaker 3: Do we seek to do that daily? Believer, I encourage
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  Speaker 3: us to follow Jesus' words that if we love Him,
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  Speaker 3: we will keep this command. This command summarizes all of
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  Speaker 3: what the law provided. Because if we truly love God
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  Speaker 3: with all of our heart, all of our soul, all
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  Speaker 3: of our mind, which we are able to do through
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  Speaker 3: Christ Jesus, then we must love one another. If we
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  Speaker 3: truly love one another, we won't do things to harm
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  Speaker 3: one another. We will do things only those things which
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  Speaker 3: will bring glory to our Father. We want the world
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  Speaker 3: to know Jesus so that they can become his friends
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  Speaker 3: as well. Do you, believer, recognize that it is through love,
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  Speaker 3: only the love that Jesus provides, that we have the
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  Speaker 3: ability to love one another. He exemplified it by showing
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  Speaker 3: us what servanthood means. Servanthood is a willing life to
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  Speaker 3: be led by the Father and to be filled by
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  Speaker 3: His Holy Spirit. We are always seeking to be filled.
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  Speaker 3: Because of this, Our love can be demonstrated to everyone
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  Speaker 3: regardless of whether or not they have been set free
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  Speaker 3: or they are already free. Think about it. We do
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  Speaker 3: not choose those who will follow Jesus. We simply follow
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  Speaker 3: Jesus and he leads us to those that he desires most.
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  Speaker 3: to come to him. And that is today's Reflection on
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  Speaker 3: the Word.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you, Richard. Join us again tomorrow when we continue
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  Speaker 2: with the next edition of Reflections on the Word with
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  Speaker 2: Richard Kaye. For Richard and the entire team, this is
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  Speaker 2: Chuck Christie saying thanks for listening to this edition of Reflections.
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  Speaker 1: On the Word. Great is thy faithfulness, born unto me.
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  Speaker 1: Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.