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The Model Life: Alertness, Part 10 · CCC West Covina

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Take your Bible, if you would please, and turn with me to 1st
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Thessalonians, chapter 5, verses 1 to 11.
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We're going to conclude this section this morning and move on
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to the final section beginning next week.
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But we're looking at what the Bible says concerning the model
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life and what it means to live a life of alertness.
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So I'm going to read to you these 11 verses to set them in
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your mind, and then we'll conclude them this morning.
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First one of chapter 5 says. Now as to the times in the
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epics, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written
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to you, for you yourselves know full well that the day of the
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Lord will come just like a thief in the night, while they are
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saying peace and safety. Then destruction will come upon
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them suddenly, like labor pains upon a woman with child, and
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they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not in
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darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief, For
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you are all sons of light and sons of day.
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We are not of night nor of darkness.
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So then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert
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and sober. For those who sleep do their
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sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night.
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But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the
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breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of
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salvation. For God has not destined us for
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wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus
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Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep,
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we will live together with Him. Therefore, encourage one another
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and build up one another, just as you also are doing.
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Paul wants them to understand their responsibility, so he
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tells them by way of reminder in the first 3 verses about the day
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of the Lord. And then he moves on and says,
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based on what I'm reminding you of, I want you to be responsible
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in three areas as a witness, as a watchman, and as a warrior.
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You are a witness because you're sons of the day, you're sons of
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the light. You are not sons of the night,
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nor are you sons of darkness. In other words, he contrasts the
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people who are saved versus the people that are unsaved.
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People that are in the light are born again.
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People that are in the darkness are not.
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And so he contrasts them and encourages them to live
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according to their witness as lights to the world.
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This is not a New Testament concept.
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It was widely proclaimed throughout the Old Testament.
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In fact, over in Psalm One O 7. Listen to the words of the
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psalmist in verse #10 There were those who dwelt in darkness and
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in the shadow of death, prisoners in misery and chains,
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because they had rebelled against the words of God and
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spurned the counsel of the Most High.
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Therefore He humbled their heart with labor.
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They stumbled, and there was none to help.
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Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble.
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He saved them out of their distresses.
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He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and
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broke their bands apart. Let them give thanks to the Lord
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for His loving kindness and for His wonders to the sons of men.
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So the psalmist describes those who live in rebellion against
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God, who those who spurn the words of God as those people who
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wander in darkness, who so desperately need the light of
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life to shine down upon them. And when God rescues them,
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that's exactly what he does, because he is the light of the
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world. He is the truth.
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And therefore, when he shines his light, the truth is spread.
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Earlier the psalmist would say these words in Psalm 43.
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He would say in verse 3, O send out your light and your truth.
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Let them lead me. Let them bring me to your holy
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hill and to your dwelling place. Then I will go to the altar of
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God, to God my exceeding joy, and upon the leer I shall praise
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You, O God, my God. In other words, when the Lord
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sends out His light, when He sends out His truth, it leads us
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in the proper direction. Psalm 119105 says that God's
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word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
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Therefore God's Word is a lamp as well as the light, and it
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leads us in the way of truth. And so Paul picks up on all that
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and says in First Thessalonians 5, listen, you are children of
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the day, you're children of the light.
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Therefore this is your witness, this is your testimony.
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Live this way because you are not in darkness anymore.
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In fact, the Bible says over in the book of Colossians, the 3rd
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chapter, these, these words, Colossians chapter 3, I'm sorry,
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class chapter one verse #13 For you rescued us from the domain
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of darkness and transferred us to the Kingdom of his beloved
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Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
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You see, the unbeliever is in the domain of darkness.
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That's where Satan dwells. And therefore they are sons of
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disobedience, not sons of obedience.
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But when God saves you, He transfers you from that domain
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of darkness into the domain of His light, His truth.
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So therefore we walk as children of the light and children of the
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truth. And so Paul admonishes those in
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Thessalonica to live in like manner.
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And then he says, not only are you a witness, but you're,
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you're a watchman. You're to, you're to be alert,
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you're to be sober minded. You are, you are to be vigilant.
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And then he says you are a warrior.
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And therefore, because you're, you're a warrior, put on the,
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the breastplate of of faith and love and put on the, the helmet
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as a hope of, of your salvation. Such a such an important
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aspects. And he wants us to understand
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that, that we're involved in warfare.
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And this is how you as sons of the of the day and sons of the
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light live accordingly. Remember, in Ephesians chapter
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6, he talks about the armor of God.
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There he calls it the breastplate of righteousness.
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Here he calls it the breastplate of faith and love.
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There he called the helmet the helmet of salvation in Ephesians
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6. Here in First Thessalonians 5,
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he calls the helmet the hope of salvation.
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They're both the same thing, just described in different
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ways. The the the breastplate of
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righteousness means that not my positional righteousness is in
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Christ, but the fact that I'm going to live practically a holy
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life. Well, how do I do that?
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By living in accordance with faith and love.
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The breastplate of faith and love.
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Faith is believing in what God has actually said, and because
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you believe in what God has actually said, you live in
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accordance to it. Love is living in admiration of
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who God is, because you love Him with all your heart, with all
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your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength.
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You want to obey the things that He says.
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So the breastplate of, of righteousness is the breastplate
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of, of love and the breast parade of, of faith.
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In other words, when we believe what God says, we walk by faith.
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We don't walk by sight. We believe in what God says, we
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don't believe in what we see. We believe in what God says
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because that's the truth. And so we live in accordance to
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the truth of the living God. Paul would say in first Timothy
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6 verse #12 fight the good fight of faith.
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In secular 4 verse #8 he says I have fought the good fight.
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I've run the race right. But notice he calls the the
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fight always a good fight. It's a noble fight.
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Why? Because we're in warfare against
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Satan in the Kingdom of darkness and we are fighting for the
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truth of God's word, the gospel of God and the Kingdom of God.
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It is the noblest of all battles that were engaged in so many
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times we we wake up each day and don't realize that we're engaged
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in warfare, but we are every day is a battle.
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Why? Because we battle against the
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the forces of darkness. And so Paul says protect the
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most intimate part of your life. Protect your heart, put on the
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breastplate of faith and love. Remember Solomon says in
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Proverbs Sector 4, guard your heart for out of the flow all
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the issues of life. Proverbs 423 and how do we guard
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our heart by putting on the breastplate of faith and love.
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In other words, we believe what God says.
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You see, Satan is against you in all kinds of manners.
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And so he's going to attack you emotionally.
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He's going to attack you mentally.
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So Paul says put on the helmet as the as the hope of salvation.
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Why? Because he attacks the, the
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head, you're, you're thinking, he wants you to have doubts.
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He wants you to be discouraged. He, he wants you to be
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depressed. And Paul says, put on the helmet
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because that is your, your hope of salvation.
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You see, we, we were saved. We are, we're, we're justified.
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We are being sanctified. One day we will be glorified.
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And that is our hope. That is our assurance.
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That is our security. That's how we live our lives.
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We live our lives in anticipation of the
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glorification of our lives when we see him face to face.
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And Paul says when you do that, when you do that, you're able to
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ward off the attacks of the evil one.
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You'll live as children of the day, not children of the night.
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You will live as those who honor and glorify the name of the
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Lord. You will be alert, you will be
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sober, you won't be asleep. So be a warrior, be a watchman
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and be a witness. And they won't moves on to the
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next point. And that is, not only are you to
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be reminded and not only to be responsible, but you are to be
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relieved. Look what he says.
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He says these words in verse #8 But since we are of the day, let
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us be sober. Have you put on the breastplate
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of faith and love, and as a helmet with the hope of
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salvation? For God has not destined us for
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wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus
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Christ who died for us. So whether we are awake or
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sleep, alive or dead, we will live together with him.
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He says be relieved, for God has not destined you for wrath.
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Now we know that's not eternal wrath.
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Why? Because the context of First
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Thessalonians five is talking about the Day of the Lord.
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And the day of the Lord is called the day of God's fury or
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the day of God's wrath. You can read about it in
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Revelation 6 and Revelation 11, Revelation 16, Revelation 19,
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It's a day of God's wrath. It's a day of the Lord's fury.
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It's, it's that, it's that temporal time.
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We know that we're saved from eternal wrath because there is
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no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
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And the wrath of God abides upon those who live in disobedience
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to the Lord God. We understand that.
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But he's talking about that temporal wrath, that day of the
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Lord, that tribulation. This is so important, why?
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Christ is the bridegroom. We are the bride, and the
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bridegroom does not want to subject the bride to the day of
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God's fury. He's not going to do that.
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That's why the Bible says in Revelation 3 verse #10 these
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words, I will keep thee from the hour of trial which will come
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upon the whole world to try them that dwell upon the earth.
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Revelation 310 so important. I'm going to protect you.
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I'm going to keep you out of that hour, that hour trial
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that's going to come upon the whole world, right?
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Specifically designed for those who dwell upon the earth.
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That phrase those who dwell upon the earth is used over 10 times
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in the Book of Revelation. And it always refers to people
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of the world, not geographically, but people of
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the world morally. That's how they live their
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lives. That is their home.
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That's what they love. They love the world.
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And the hour tribulation is designed for the unbeliever, not
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the believer. It's going to come upon the
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whole world, those who dwell upon the earth.
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And the Lord says, I'm going to keep you from that hour.
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I'm going to protect you from that hour.
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Paul says here in First Thessalonians 5, listen, God has
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not destined you for wrath. He's not destined you for
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judgement. He's destined you for joy to be
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with Jesus forever. And that's what he says.
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It says this is just so wonderful.
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Listen, listen how he says it. He says that Jesus Christ verse
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10 who died for us that whether we are awake or asleep we will
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live together with him. Paul says he died for us.
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He died for us over in Galatians chapter one.
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This is how he says it Galatians one verse 3.
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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
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Christ, who gave himself for our sins so that he might rescue us
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from this present evil age according to the will of our God
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and Father, to whom he or to whom be the glory forevermore,
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Amen. He rescued us, He delivered us,
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He saved us. Paul says he died for us.
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And why did he do that? So that we could be with him.
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We could be with him earlier. Paul says in chapter 4 these
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words, and so shall we always be with the Lord for 17 of chapter
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4. That's the essence of heaven.
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Heaven is a place. Heaven is a, a specific place,
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but it's more than just a place. Heaven is the presence of the
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living God. We, we, we tend to forget about
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that and we forget about what's going to happen when we get to
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heaven. We're always wondering, well,
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when we get there, what are we going to do when we get there?
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It's not about what you're going to do when you get there.
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It's about who you're going to see when you get there.
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And so many times because we, we think from an earthly
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perspective that when we get to heaven, we're going to see our
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our father or our mother or our brother or our sister, or, or
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maybe John MacArthur's going to see RC Sprole or, or Charles
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Spurgeon. You know what?
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You're going to see them, but that's not your purpose for
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going. You're not going to see them.
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You're going to see the Lord. You're going to be with the
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Lord. That's the most important thing.
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We forget that a glorified body, a perfect body dwelling in
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perfect righteousness does not have the same relationships it
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did while on earth, because every relationship that you have
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is tainted with sin. But in heaven there is no sin.
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Everything is perfect. There is no memory of what takes
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place on earth, in heaven. In hell, you have all the memory
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of what takes place on earth. That's why there's weeping and
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gnashing of teeth. But in heaven there is no memory
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of what happens on earth. Why?
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Because everything is new. There is no pain, there is no
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sorrow. There'd be so much sorrow if we
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remembered what happened on earth.
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But in glory, it's all about the Lord.
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It's all about being with the Lord.
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Think about this. John MacArthur wakes up in glory
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on on on Monday evening. He dies and and closes his eyes
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and wakes up in the presence of the living God.
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How great is that? That's what heaven is.
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It's the presence of God. To be in his presence is the
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hope and joy of all of our lives.
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And Paul knew that and we will be with him.
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He wants to encourage him that way.
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He wants to motivate in that way.
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When we die, whether we wake or whether we're asleep, when
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Christ comes again, we will be with him.
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That's the prize, that's the reward, that's the joy, that's
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the excitement. Yeah, there are crowns, but
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those crowns will be cast at the feet of the Lamb, at the feet of
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the Lord. Why?
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Because the only reason we have a crown is because of what
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Christ has done in our lives. And so we're just going to give
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him back to him because he receives all the glory and all
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the honor and all the praise. And Paul says God is not
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destined us for wrath. Why?
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Because he delivered us. He saved us.
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He rescued us so that whether we wake or sleep, that one day we
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will be with him. That's the greatest of all
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relief, knowing that Christ in his presence is my destiny.
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And then he says, I want you to be reliable.
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Verse 11. Therefore, encourage one another
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and build up one another just as you also are doing.
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Be reliable to be an encourager. Be reliable to, to edify others,
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to build them up to, to, to encourage them to have the
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strength and, and the stability that they need each and every
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day. And you're going to do that
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through the words that I've given to you.
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I want you to understand that these words are so important
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that you are to be engaged not in, in finding flaws in one
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another, but building up one another.
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Time is short. Life is so short.
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We only have this life before us and Paul says in the short
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amount of time that you have encourage one another, build up
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one another. That's why the right of Hebrew
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says don't forsake this so many of yourselves together.
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Why as you see the day approaching, the day of what the
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day of Christ that is coming, but to encourage one another, to
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stimulate one another to love and good deeds.
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That's why we gathered together to to be involved in each
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other's lives, to to motivate one another to move each other
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on to action. And then that's what that's what
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Paul is saying here in First Thessalonians chapter 5.
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And then he's going to embark on the very nick section and
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explain to you how you encourage and how you edify the body.
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Listen to what he says. He says these words in verse 12.
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But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who
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diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the
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Lord, and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very
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highly in love because of their work.
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Live in peace with one another. We urge you, brethren, admonish
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the unruly, encourage the faint hearted, help the weak.
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Be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another
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with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good
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for one another and for all people.
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Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.
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In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in
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Christ Jesus concerning you. That's how you encourage and
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build up one another. And so next week we'll we'll go
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into those verses and explain to you exactly how God wants to use
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each of us and each other's lives.
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But this is so important as to living the model life.
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Paul says listen in chapter 4. This is the will of God.
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Even your sanctification that you abstain from sexual
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immorality, you want to live a model life, live a life of
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abstinence. And then he says if you want to
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live a life, a model life, live a life of aspiration to loving
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abundantly and living appropriately.
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Verses 9 to 12 of chapter 4. And then he says, live a life of
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anticipation as to the day of Christ.
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He's coming again. Because one day the Lord will
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descend from heaven with a shout and with the voice of the
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Archangel, and the dead in Christ will rise 1st.
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And then we who are alive and remain shall be cut up together
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with them in the air. And so shall we ever be with the
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Lord. Live in anticipation of that
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event because it's a nixed event on God's prophetic calendar.
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And all the while, live a life of alertness.
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You're going to be sober. You're going to be vigilant.
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You're going to be a warrior, a watchman.
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You're going to be a witness. Why?
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Because you dwell among the people of the night need to be a
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testimony to them and as you do be an encouragement to one
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another and build up one another as you are doing.
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That's just so great because Paul recognizes the fact that
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they're already doing that. He says I want you to excel even
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all the more in doing that as you seek to honor the Lord.
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That's the model life and trust that God will give us the grace
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to live for the glory and honor of his name.
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Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for today.
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We thank you for all that you do.
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We thank you, Lord, that we can gather together to praise your
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glorious name. We thank you, Lord, that you're
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our God. And I pray Lord, for for us as a
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church, the Lord, we would be the kind of people that live a
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model life, that live the kind of life that brings glory and
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honor to your name, that lives the kind of life that truly
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wants to put you above ourselves, the kind of life that
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really wants to honor others above ourselves.
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And that, Lord, we would truly live in anticipation of your
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coming. Again, Lord, you are coming.
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We know it's going to be soon. We just want it to be even
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sooner than we can imagine. We pray that it be today, if not
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today, tomorrow. But Father, we know that when
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you come, we will be with you. Our prayer, Lord, is that if
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there's someone here today who does not know that when they die
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they'll be with you, the Lord you would burden their heart
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that they would know to confess their sin, to repent and turn
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from their evil ways. Give your life to the living God
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and follow you in obedience for the rest of their lives.
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Lord, we love you. Thank you for our time together.
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May this week be the greatest of all weeks because we want to
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live it for your glory in Jesus name, Amen.