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Obedience - "To Love Is To Obey" pt.2 - Deuteronomy 6:4-9 · Mount Eaton Church

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Now, this should make a lot of sense, right,
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as we're going to be talking about that. But
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I want to pray before we get started because
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it's important that we really grasp one of the,
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if not the most, one of the most important, not...
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The most important is the gospel. One of the
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most important principles or lessons the Lord
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is teaching us in his word, obedience. How do
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we obey? What does it mean to obey? And I'm going
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to destroy some misconceptions about obedience
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before we really dig in. So Father, I just want
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to thank you so much for your goodness. I thank
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you for your word. I thank you that you have
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not only called us. and that you've commanded
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us. But in commanding us, we are to act. And
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in our acting, we should also gird the reality
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that to love you is to obey you. Help us to walk
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in the truth of what biblical obedience looks
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like, that we would honor you, and we would commit
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to pleasing you in every way. We do thank you,
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and we do praise you. In Jesus' name, amen. Obedience.
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This has been a heavy burden on me, especially
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over the last month or so, if not almost around
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two months, but mostly a month or so, that there
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is a clear... That's the word I'm only looking
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for. I want to make sure I say this correctly
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so you get what I'm saying. There's a clear...
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disregard for the sacred, for the holy in church.
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It's in a lot of churches, but the church specifically
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in America, that we are really not understanding
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the importance of the holy. Why? What happens?
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To us because we disregard the holy. We take
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for granted the sacred. In reality, you know
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it's real because when you have communion, the
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reverence of the importance of communion is diminished.
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Because church or Jesus has been a means to an
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end. He's not a... He's not the holy God that
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we come to revere, to honor and worship, but
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he is a God who gives me what I want. And so
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this drawl away from the holy stems from the
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attitude that I don't have to obey. I don't have
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to revere the holy. I don't have to honor or
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sanctify Christ as master Lord. And the scripture
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says very clearly we are to. How do we do that?
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How do we settle the heart in the holy, honor
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and revere the sacred without getting into ritualism
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or legalism? And I think one of the most pervasive
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teachings of our day, especially in the modern
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church, is to obey the commands is legalism.
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We live under grace, not under the law. I will
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tell you, that's a lie. We live under grace and
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truth. So we are going to, my attempt today is
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to stir in your hearts this understanding of
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obedience and to stir in your hearts the reality
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of the importance of the sacred. And in Psalm,
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I was listening to this song on the way. It was
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really cool. It's For Him. How do you guys remember
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For Him? Ah, I loved him. And this song is called
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Psalm 112. Blessed is he who fears the Lord is
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the chorus of the song. But Psalm 112 verse 1,
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praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears
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the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments.
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Do you get that? My fear of God drives my delight
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in his commandments. The law of the Lord is perfect,
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reviving the soul. It's as sweet as honey, the
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scripture says. But yet we disregard the law
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as if it's not of value because Christ fulfilled
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it. I don't need to obey it. And the reality
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is that if Christ lives in you, you now can obey
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it because Christ does it through you. And you
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must be obedient as a reflection of who's in
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you. Now we'll dig in. Principle number one.
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There is the call to obedience. God calls all
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men to obey. Calls all men to obey. How do we
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know that? Does he not call all men to repentance?
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Is not the gospel a call to every single human
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being that has ever been born and ever will be
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born to repent and believe in the name of the
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Son of God? Yes. And as I told you before, the
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gospel is more than just an imitation. The gospel
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is a command. It's commands. It's an imperative.
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It's not suggested. So the call to obedience
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is to obey Christ, is to love Christ. To obey
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Christ is to love Christ. That's the call. He's
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calling you to obey Christ in your reflection
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of love for Christ. Deuteronomy 6, 4 through
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9. Here it says, Hear, O Lord, O Israel. Do you
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hear that? That's the call. Hear, O Israel, the
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Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall, command,
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love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
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all your soul, with all your might. And these
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words that I command you today shall be on your
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heart and you shall teach them diligently to
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your children and shall talk of them when you
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sit at your house and when you walk by the way
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and when you lie down and when you rise up. You
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shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they
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shall be as frontlets between your eyes and you
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shall write them on the doorposts of your house.
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I want you to get something very important here.
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You shall love the Lord your God with all your
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heart, mind, soul, and strength. Do you get that?
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Love God. What is it to love God? These words
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I command you today shall be on your heart. Do
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you get that? Do you see the importance of the
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word of God deeply implanted in you? They shall
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be in you. You shall teach them. The commands
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that God has given you is for you to give away.
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You shall teach them diligently to your kids.
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In other words, you shall teach them without
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ceasing, consistently, with purpose to your children.
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You shall talk of them when you sit in your house.
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So you teach them and you talk about them. And
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when you walk by the way, and when you lie down
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and when you rise up, in other words, you should
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be teaching your kids every moment of every day,
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the wonderful laws of the Lord. You shall bind
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them as a sign on your hand, as a reminder. And
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they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
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They should be pressed into your mind. Not only
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that, everyone who comes into your house and
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leaves your house is a reminder that this is
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God's house and we obey his word. You shall write
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them on your doorposts and on your gates. So
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when people come onto your yard, God's word is
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there. When they go into your house, God's word
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is there. When they walk out of your house, God's
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word is there. And when they leave your property.
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God's word is there. You are a family belonging
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to Jesus. John 14, 5 says this. If you love me,
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you will keep. Take reo. Now, I have my wife's
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Puerto Rican. Hello. This is for the Spanish
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people. You got to roll the R. Italians. You
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got to roll the R. Roll it. Take reo. You shall.
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Obey or guard. This word, to keep, means to guard,
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to guard up. It's not that you're just putting
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them there. You're now guarding your life by
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doing what it says. My commandments. You shall
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guard my commandments. You shall obey my commandments.
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Do you see that? That's in John. Jesus is saying
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here, verse 20 and 21, John 14. In that day,
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you will know that I am in the Father and you
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in me and I in you. In what day? And then he
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says, whoever has my commandments and keeps them,
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he it is who loves me. Have we ever really thought
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about what genuinely loving God is like? Or do
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we just love God because of what he does? Here
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God clearly measures what love is. Obedience.
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And he who loves me will be loved by my father
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and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
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And why does he say that? Because the one who
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keeps the word of God. is the one who loves God.
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And because the word of God is kept and implanted
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in the person, the manifestation of the Holy
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One is seen and experienced in the life of the
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person. That's what he means here. The one who
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obeys me, I reveal myself more and more and more
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to him. Does he reveal himself more and more
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to those who hate him? No. But to those who love
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him. Don't you want to know more about him? Don't
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you want to understand him more? Don't you want
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to love him more? And Peter understands this
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because he thought he knew Jesus well. But you
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guys know the story. Jesus says, Lord. Jesus
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says to Peter, Peter, do you love me? You already
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know. Says it three times. That's okay. Just
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ignore it. The command of obedience. So first
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we have the call to obedience. Now we have the
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command of obedience. God calls his people to
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obey and he commands his people to obey. The
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command of obedience to love Christ is to obey
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the gospel and to live the gospel. And the reality
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of this obedience is the reassurance of our faith.
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10 27 and he answered you shall love the lord
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your god with all your heart with all your soul
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with all your strength and with all your mind
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and your neighbor as yourself very important
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here how do i express the reality of my love
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for god by how i love you if i love god i will
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love you and look what it says in first john
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3 19 through 24 by this We shall know, gnosko
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is the word here. It means to know intimately,
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to know deeply that we are of the truth. Isn't
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that nice to know? That we can know intimately
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that we are of the truth because of God's commands.
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And we see this, which you're going to see in
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a minute, gnosko, that we are of the truth and
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reassure. That means to urge on or incite our
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hearts before him. In other words, to know intimately
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that we are children of the truth is because
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we are settled into the truth, living the truth,
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being obedient to the truth, and that reassures
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us, it incites us, it incites our heart before
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him that we are his children. Matter of fact,
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he clarifies that in verse 20. For whenever our
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heart... condemns us, finds fault with us, accuses
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us. God is greater than our heart. And he knows
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everything. And the word everything here is the
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word pas. And what Peter is implying here, it's
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not that God not only knows everything, because
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he does, he's omniscient. It's not what he's
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implying here. What Peter's implying here is
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he knows everything about you. God is greater
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than our hearts and he knows everything about
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you. So let's read this a little bit more. By
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this we shall know, we shall know intimately
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that we are of the truth and that we incite our
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hearts before him. For whenever our heart condemns
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us, God is greater than our heart because he
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knows everything about me. Should that not incite
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you? excite you, keep you pushing forward in
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the faith? Absolutely. Then he says, beloved,
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if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence
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and boldness before God. So if we are being obedient
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and we are honoring him, which is going to be
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clarified in verse 22, if we are honoring him
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and obeying him, then there's nothing that our
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heart can do to condemn us. Then we go boldly
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before God. And we can ask from him anything
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we want and we will receive it from him. Get
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this. I told you last week. Every promise in
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Christ is yes according to his will. When you
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ask. You ask according to his will. Why? Because
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you've been obedient and living his will. And
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by living and being obedient to his will, you
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will ask according to his will. And the God who
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keeps his promises, every promise, is yes. The
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only time God says no is because you're being
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disobedient. It's yes. You can go to God. knowing
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you've lived the word as he has intended, you
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have checked yourself, your mind is fully focused
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and on the point, and you can go to him and say,
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Father, I know that I'm asking according to your
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will, and you have promised you will do it, and
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it is yes. And that's what you see in Carol's
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testimony. Verse 22. Why? Why are they yes? Why
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can I go boldly before God, be fully confident
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that what I ask I will receive because we te
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reo, we keep his commandments and do what pleases
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him. You want God to answer your prayers? Yes.
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Do his word and commit to pleasing him in every
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way. Verse 23. How is this seen? Two things.
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Just like I said before. Love the Lord your God
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with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.
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And love your neighbor as yourself. It's seen
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right here. How do we love God? Obedience. How
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do we love our neighbor? By being obedient to
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God, we can love our neighbor. And this is the
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commandment that we believe. In the name of his
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son Jesus Christ. That's to love God. If you
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are here. And you do not believe in the name.
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Of the only begotten son of God. I pray. By the
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power of the Spirit, He will convict you and
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you will come in repentance before Him and surrender
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His life to the reality that He died on the cross
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for your sin, was buried and rose again on the
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third day. That is His command to you. Come and
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repent and believe. Obey the command of God.
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And if we believe in His name, We are to love
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one another. This is a problem in churches today.
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Because in churches today I won't love you unless
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I get what I want from you. I won't love you
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unless you demand unless you fulfill the demand
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that I give. I won't love you And show that I
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forgive you unless you apologize the way I say
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you should apologize. That's disobedience. And
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that's prevalent in a lot of churches. Whoever
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keeps his commands abides in God and God in him.
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Isn't that wonderful? I can lovingly nestle into
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the Lord and abide in him. Because I keep his
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commandments. Keeping his commandments ensures
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that I'm abiding. You know that little message
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that Jesus gave concerning abiding? If I abide
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in you, you abide in me. And he commands, abide
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in me. To abide is to know. To know is to obey.
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It's a beautiful, beautiful synergy of the reality
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of my engrafting into the tree, into Christ,
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into the vine. He's my life giver and my abiding,
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my abidingness is seen or my life is seen that
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it is being seen throughout my life because I'm
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abided in Christ. And the reality of my abiding
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is proven by the spirit whom he has given us.
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How do you know you abide? The word of God lives
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in you. How could you not want to obey? And this
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reality points to verse 24 in John 14, which
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we just read. And verse 24, I mean, yes, verse
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23 points to Luke 10, verse 27. 1 John 4, 21.
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And this commandment we have from him. Whoever
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loves God must love his brother. Do you get that?
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To love Christ is to obey Christ. To obey Christ
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is to love you. If I'm disobedient to Christ,
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am I loving you? I can't love you. Do you ever
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notice when you go to somebody out there and
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they're out there, you know, killing their cigarettes
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and they're... Having their fun and they're acting
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up like a fool. Do you love Jesus? Oh, yeah,
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I love Jesus. Oh, I love Jesus. Jesus is good
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to me. Oh, really? You love Jesus? How would
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you feel if your kid disobeyed you? Would you
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think your kid loves you? Oh, they love me. They
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just don't love me right. Okay. A lot of people
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say they know Jesus and they love Jesus, but
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in reality, their life says they hate him. And
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we know that because that's what Jesus says in
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John chapter 3. To love God so be him. This is
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not an issue of legalism. This is an issue of
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freedom. The fact that the living God lives in
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me, the word, and that's what he promised me,
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that I will send you a helper and he will live
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in you. He will come to you and he will guide
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you in all truth is the reality that I can obey
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the word of God because God lives in me. And
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we know that because in Galatians 2 .20 it says,
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for I've been crucified with Christ, yet I no
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longer live the life I now live in the body.
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I live by faith in the son of God who loved me
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and gave himself for me. So if the obedient one
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lives in me, then I can be obedient because he
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saved me and made me alive and regenerated me
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and I'm new and now I can do. What he's commanded
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me to do because he's in me. And by doing so,
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I'm loving you. The greatest example of obedience,
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if someone's truly being obedient in the word,
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they're living the truth of the word out in their
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life is how they love the brother, how they love
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the family. The act of obedience. So here's this.
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So we know we have a call to obedience. We have
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a command of obedience. Now there's the act of
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obedience. And I kind of started off on 421 of
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1 John. But now we're going to settle into 1
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John chapter 5 for a little bit. Because there's
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the act of obedience. The reality of obedience
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lived. Applied. To obey the gospel and to live
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the gospel is to love the family. To believe
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is to obey. I cannot say I believe and not obey.
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That's not faith. Because the word believe is
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pastuo. Pastuo is faith. Being sure of what I
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hope for and the evidence of what I don't see.
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And the reality is that it's expressed in my
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doing. Faith without deeds is dead. We know that.
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We did James. You guys remember? I show you my
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faith by what I do. In John 15, 10, it says,
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if you keep my commandments, you will abide in
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my love, just as I have kept my father's commandments
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and abide in him. He is the greatest example
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of obedience displayed because of the love he
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has for the father. But as Christians, we don't
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demand that from our family because after all,
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we live in grace, not under the law. It's okay.
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Just be. But my joy is complete in Jesus. True
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happiness is freedom is found in the obedience
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to the commands of God. And his commands aren't
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just the 10. The gospel is a command. There's
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a lot of imperatives. You guys can read it. 1
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John 5, 1 through 5. Everyone who believes. Everyone
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who pastuo, that Jesus Christ believes that Jesus
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is the Christ, has been born of God. So we know
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what John's talking about because he says anyone
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who denies the Son and the Father is an antichrist.
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And anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ
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is an antichrist. John makes this very clear
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in this letter. What he's saying though is the
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opposite of that is everyone who believes that
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Jesus is the Christ and everyone who believes
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that Jesus is the son and that the father sent
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the son is born of God. I am born of God. Can
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you sit and just relish in the reality that you
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are not a child of wrath, but a child of the
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living God? You're born of God, regenerated by
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God, given life by God to reflect him in how
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you live your life. What a beauty. Not even Solomon
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in all the splendor was dressed like one of these,
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but my father loves me more than the flowers
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of the field. Everyone who believes that Jesus
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is the Christ has been born of God. And everyone
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who loves the Father loves whoever has been born
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of Him. Do you see that now? That was the point,
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right? Like I took like half of the message to
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this point. That the reality of my reflection
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of Christ, my love for Him is being obedient
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to His commands. And in my obedience to His commands,
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I am loving the family. And that is expressed
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clearly in how I care for you and I walk with
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you and I talk with you and how you walk and
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talk with each other. Notice this, verse 2. By
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this we know, that means to know intimately again,
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gnosis, that we love the children of God. Oh,
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here it is. How do we know we love the children
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of God? How do we know we love one another when
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you love God and obey his commandments? What?
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What? Oh, it's beautiful. So four, verse three,
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for this is the love of God. Do you hear this?
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It's not about the feelings. For all my Gen Z
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people, it's not about the feels, man. I'm feeling
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it. It's really about what I do. For this is
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love. For this is the love of God, that we keep
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his commandments. And you know what's wonderful
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about his commandments? It's his commandments
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that aren't burdensome. They're not burdensome.
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So here's the principle I want you to get. To
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disobey his commandments is death and prison.
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Sin has killed us and shackled us as a slave
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to sin. It's a prison for the disobedient and
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then death for the disobedient. That's what God's
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law is. How do you know? Paul says that the law
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is a teacher. It scolds us. The law also kills
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us. Not that it has killed me, but my sin that
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is in me has killed me. And the law is the revealing
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of that death. And Paul says, does that mean
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that the law became death to me? By no means.
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But it reveals that I'm dead. For this is the
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love of God. that we keep his commandments. And
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his commandments aren't burdensome. Why? Because
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his commandments are freedom for you. You are
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free. When you're obedient, you are free. For
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everyone who has been born of God overcomes.
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This word overcomes means to conquer. I don't
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know if I like the ESV's overcomes, meaning I'm
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going to. No, you know what this implies? Everyone...
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Who has been born of God. Conquered the world.
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I am a conqueror. In Christ. And we know what
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this story is. Because we read about the four
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horsemen. Do you not? The white horseman. He
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conquered. And conquering. We are conquerors.
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And this is the victory. Nike. You guys know
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that word. Everybody likes that Nike. Has overcome.
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That has conquered the world. What? Our faith.
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And our faith is not the issue of what we believe.
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It's the issue of who we believe in. Christ is
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our faith. He has overcome the world. He has
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conquered the world. He has given us victory.
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And as a result, because he lives in us, we are
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conquerors and are victorious now. Who is it
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that? Conquers the world. Except the one who
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believes that Jesus is the son of God. Do you
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believe? Then you're a conqueror. In Christ.
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Last one. Told you it's going to be a long message
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today. 45 minutes. I like long ones. But I've
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been giving you some really short ones over the
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last couple weeks. So you can settle in for a
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little bit. I'll be done in about. Five, ten
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minutes. Those who love Christ gird. So we have
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call. We have the call to obey. The command to
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obey. The act to obey. And then what do you do?
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You gird in your obedience. This word gird. Those
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who love Christ gird. They make ready for action
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and secure their minds by obeying the truth.
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That's what this word means. To make ready for
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action and secure. Set your mind on things above,
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not on things of the earth. You have the mind
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of Christ. Are you ready for action? Are you
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busy working, serving, living obediently? Psalm
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143 .10. Love this. Love this verse. So good,
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so simple, so easy. Because I can't, apart from
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Christ, obey. So the psalmist goes and he says,
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teach me to do your will. For you are my God.
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You are my God. I want to be like you. Let your
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good spirit lead me on level ground. I will send
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you a helper and he will guide you in all truth.
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There is no more level ground than the truth
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of the word of God. Walk in it, relish in it,
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bathe in it, eat it, enjoy it. It's a wonderful
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thing. And the crazy part is, every single human
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being on the planet can have access to it, but
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only those who love God want it. 1 Peter 1, 13
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through 15. Therefore, preparing, gird up. Your
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mind's for action. There it is. And being clear
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-headed, sober -minded, set your hope fully on
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the grace that will be brought to you at the
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revelation of Jesus Christ. Here's what he means.
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So if I am being obedient to the word, I'm loving
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God, I am girding myself, being ready and busy
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for action because I'm being clear -headed to
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do the work of God. What do I do? I am being
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found busy because I have set my hope fully on
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the grace that Christ will come and take me home.
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But I don't want to be slothful and not be seen
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busy working. But what do many Christians do
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today? You know what their busyness is for Jesus?
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One day a week. That's their busyness for Jesus.
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I did my part. And that's not busy for Jesus.
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Because busy for Jesus is being obedient. And
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being obedient comes out in how I love you and
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care for you and invest my life in you and pour
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my life out in you because I want to love him
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and please him in everything I do. Verse 14.
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As obedient children, do not be conformed to
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the passions of your former ignorance. This is
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what he's saying. Obedient children live and
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reflect Jesus. Disobedient children live for
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the passions of their former ignorance. They
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go back to their old way of life. Because they
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don't want Jesus, really. So if you are obedient
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children, don't live for your sin. Live for Jesus.
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How do you do that? Obedience. Love for God reflected
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in my action to doing what he asked me to do.
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It's not rocket science. But as he who called
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you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.
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Do you hear that? Be holy in all your conduct.
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How is one holy in the conduct? Obedience to
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the word. What does obedience to the word mean?
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I love God. Love the Lord your God with all your
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heart, with all your soul, with all your mind,
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with all your strength. My whole being is loving
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God because I'm committed to walking and being
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holy in conduct. And holiness is only found in
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obedience. And in obedience is when you honor
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the sacred. By honoring the sacred, you are reflecting
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Christ for all to see in a dark, sinful world.
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since it is written, you shall be holy, for I
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am holy. You shall be different, for I am different.
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And Jesus says, if I've obeyed the Father, you
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will obey. If I am holy, you will be holy, because
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Jesus is holy. 1 Peter 1, 22 through 25. This
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is the end. having purified your souls by obedience
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to the truth. Oh, isn't that beautiful? I purified,
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or God really, purified my soul to the obedience
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of the gospel toward a sincere brotherly love.
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That word for, not really happy, the word for,
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the word is really toward. Having purified my
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souls by your obedience to the truth. toward
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a sincere brotherly love. That my obedience to
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the truth of the word of God, to the gospel of
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Christ, is being seen toward my love for him,
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which is toward my love for you. You want to
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love each other better? Obey. Isn't that beautiful?
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Look what it says here. Love one another earnestly
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from a pure heart. What's a pure heart? An obedient
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heart. Be holy for I am holy. Since you have
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been born again, if you have been born again,
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you know, since you have been born again, not
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of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through
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the zao, is the term here, through the exerting
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power. and enduring word of God. I love that.
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I wish they translated that way because that's
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exactly what it means. Oh my gosh. Do you understand
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that the very words of God are the exerting power
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and the enduring power of his word for your victorious
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conquering life? Like get that. The exerting
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power. Like I woke up this morning. I'm sleeping.
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Now I know why I woke up this morning like this.
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Just as an example. And I, my wife's like, you
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okay? I was like, yeah, I thought, I'm late.
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I look and it's 541. And I've been like this
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since I woke up. Holy smokes. And I was 40 minutes
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early. I could have some of those moments more
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often, Ben. Man, I got za -oh. And the reality
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is the word of God is the exerting power and
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the enduring word. It exerts power in the believer
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and it is enduring. It's the word of God. Why?
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Here's the friendly reminder. For all flesh is
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like grass. I'm a blade of grass. Hopefully a
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green one. Some yellow ones out there. I want
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to be that. It's one where reality is all flesh
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is like grass and all its glory like the flower
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of grass. Interesting. You know what a flower
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of grass is? You know that little tiny white
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flower that's sitting out there and the wood
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bees come out and they take it away. That's sort
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of like what he's talking about. Oh, I can't
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be like a lily. Or something. Just a grass flower.
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Why? The grass withers and the flower falls.
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What's the reminder? The reality of my physical
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being is temporary. But get this. But the word
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of the Lord remains forever. What's that guarantee?
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Not only does his word exert power and is enduring.
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but it's promised me life, and I will live forever
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with him. That is the point. I can lean and know
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fully on the word of God that I belong to my
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God, that he has died for me, that he's been
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buried, and he rose again on the third day to
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give me life, and I will be with him forever.
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That's what he means here. And this word is the
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good news that was preached to you. Oh. Isn't
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that beautiful? So what should you do? God has
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called you to obedience. He's commanded you to
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do obedience. You have to act in obedience. You
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have to gird that obedience. Gird the word in
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you. What should you do? 1 Corinthians 16, 13
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through 14. Be watchful. Stand firm in the faith.
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Pay attention. Stuff's happening around the world.
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Don't get wrapped up in it. Stand firm in the
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faith. Stand firm in the truth of Christ and
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his word. Act like men. Now, typically, I'm just
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letting you know, men, that's coming Father's
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Day. The women didn't get a Mother's Day message,
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but the men might get a Dad's Day message. But
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let's turn this, use this word men, meaning Anthropos,
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to God's people. Be watchful. Stand firm in the
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faith. Act like Christians. Act like God's people.
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Act like the regenerated man and woman you are.
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Reflect Jesus. Be strong. Let all that you do
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be done in love. And what is love? Obedience
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to the word. Obedience to the word is I'm loving
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you. And if I'm loving you, then I will absolutely
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love the stranger. Father, I want to thank you
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so much for your faithfulness. Thank you for
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this reality, this powerful truth that to love
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you is to obey you. We give you praise. Thank
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you, Holy Spirit, that you live in us, that you
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have regenerated us, and that, Lord Jesus, you
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have given us life, and that you will guide us
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in all truth as you have promised. And may we
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be reflecting your love. in our obedience to
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you, that we love one another so that the world
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may know that we are your disciples. We give
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you praise.