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Complacency: A Silent Killer · Pastor John Piper's answers

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  Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Aspectal John Podcast with John Piper,
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  Speaker 1: as we wrap up a week number six hundred and
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  Speaker 1: seventy five of the podcast. Six hundred and seventy five
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  Speaker 1: coming up on thirteen four years now, over a quarter
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  Speaker 1: good dot org. Life is busy, so busy does it
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  Speaker 1: feel like God sometimes fades into the background of your days.
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  Speaker 1: Today on Ask Pastor John, Pastor John sounds a wake
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  Speaker 1: up call against a silent killer. We get there from
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  Speaker 1: our Bible reading. If you are reading along with us
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  Speaker 1: in the Navigator's Bible Reading Plan, you know that we
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  Speaker 1: just started reading Zephaniah, leading to this question from a
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  Speaker 1: nineteen year old college student to a low Pastor John.
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  Speaker 1: And thank you for Ask Pastor John, which I listen
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  Speaker 1: to every week and love it wonderful. I write because
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  Speaker 1: Fnia one to twelve has been weighing on my heart.
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  Speaker 1: It says this, at that time, I will search Jerusalem
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  Speaker 1: with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent,
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  Speaker 1: those who say in their hearts the Lord will not
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  Speaker 1: do good, nor will he do ill. Quote obviously a
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  Speaker 1: strong warning against complacency, one I want to fully grasp
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  Speaker 1: and apply to my life, especially in terms of my
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  Speaker 1: goals and aspirations. As a very busy college student, it's
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  Speaker 1: easy to get caught up and focusing on my own plans.
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  Speaker 1: Sometimes feeling like God isn't actively involved in the day
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  Speaker 1: to day of my life? Is that the warning here?
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  Speaker 1: If so, how can I avoid becoming complacent in my
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  Speaker 1: faith and ambitions, especially when it feels like things are
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  Speaker 1: just going along without much change or excitement. What does
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  Speaker 1: this verse teach about living with purpose and faith, trusting
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  Speaker 1: that God is at work and everything even when it
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  Speaker 1: seems quiet.
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  Speaker 2: Here's the key thing that our young friend says. She says,
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  Speaker 2: as a college student, it's easy to get caught up
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  Speaker 2: in focusing on my own plans. And here's the key part.
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  Speaker 2: Sometimes feeling like God isn't actively involved in the day
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  Speaker 2: today of my life? Is that the warning here? Well,
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  Speaker 2: the answer is yes, a resounding yes, that's the warning.
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  Speaker 2: And not just for college students. Oh my goodness, I'm
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  Speaker 2: learning how to be an old man. Right, I've been
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  Speaker 2: studying this for a few years. Yeah, And oh goodness.
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  Speaker 2: If complacency can threaten the life of a nineteen year old,
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  Speaker 2: how can you threaten the life of a seventy nine
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  Speaker 2: year old? Right, I've earned it, right, that's what the
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  Speaker 2: retirement is. Complacency. Well, no, that's not the way it's
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  Speaker 2: supposed to be. God is not supposed to disappear into
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  Speaker 2: the background as we get consumed in the routines of
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  Speaker 2: this world's supposed to fade from our consciousness as we
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  Speaker 2: move through the ordinary exercises of life, daily reality. And
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  Speaker 2: that's not just a problem for students. It's a problem
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  Speaker 2: with human beings of all ages. It's been a problem
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  Speaker 2: since the days of Zephaniah, and the days of Jesus
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  Speaker 2: and Paul and Peter and Hebrews, all of whom address
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  Speaker 2: this dreadful reality, this dreadful threat of complacency. So here's
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  Speaker 2: the verse she was referring to at that time. I
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  Speaker 2: will search Jerusalem with the lamps, and I will punish
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  Speaker 2: the men who are complacent, those who say in their
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  Speaker 2: hearts the Lord will not do good, nor will he
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  Speaker 2: do ill. In other words, God's not a factor anymore.
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  Speaker 2: He's just not a factor in our lives. He is
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  Speaker 2: of no consequence. Things go go on without him just fine.
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  Speaker 2: At nineteen or seventy nine, that's the meaning of complacent.
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  Speaker 2: The word complacent here translates an image which the old
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  Speaker 2: versions King James translated literally. It translates the picture of
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  Speaker 2: wine settling on the dregs. The old word was Lee's
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  Speaker 2: settling on the lees, the dregs. So the picture if
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  Speaker 2: a large jug of wine just poured from where the
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  Speaker 2: grapes are being pressed, and if the jug just sits
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  Speaker 2: there day after day, inactive, unused, things just settle to
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  Speaker 2: the bottom, undisturbed, that's the picture. It's a picture of
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  Speaker 2: people in Jerusalem totally unaware of the looming day of Lord,
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  Speaker 2: virtually inactive as far as spiritual reality is concerned. They
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  Speaker 2: are happily embedded in the routines of this world. And
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  Speaker 2: God has fallen so far into the background, he is
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  Speaker 2: of no practical consequence at all. And what Zephyniah does
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  Speaker 2: is sound a clear warning to such people today and
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  Speaker 2: then from God, I will punish the men who are complacent.
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  Speaker 2: In other words, they are going to be taken off guard.
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  Speaker 2: They are going to wake up when it's too late
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  Speaker 2: and realize God is always and everywhere, not only active,
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  Speaker 2: but the main actor. And they have treated him with
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  Speaker 2: contempt as a non factor. So many people think treating
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  Speaker 2: God as a non factor is not an offense because
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  Speaker 2: they didn't say anything, they didn't call him names, They
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  Speaker 2: just ignored him, as if that's not blasphemy. Amos six
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  Speaker 2: to one says the same warning, woe to those who
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  Speaker 2: are at ease in Zion and to those who feel
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  Speaker 2: secure on the mountain of Samaria. And when we turn
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  Speaker 2: to the New Testament we find even more urgent warnings
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  Speaker 2: about complacency, especially in view of the Second Coming. You
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  Speaker 2: know there's God is not only always working in every
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  Speaker 2: detail of our lives. According to James four fifteen, if
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  Speaker 2: the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that,
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  Speaker 2: but there will also be a sudden climactic intervention of God.
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  Speaker 2: We know not when, and we will suffer if we
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  Speaker 2: are complacent as it approaches, treating God as a non
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  Speaker 2: factor in our lives because we can't see him. So
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  Speaker 2: it is in Luke twenty one thirty four Jesus says,
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  Speaker 2: watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with the
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  Speaker 2: dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that
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  Speaker 2: day come upon you suddenly like a trap. Over and over,
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  Speaker 2: Jesus warned of spiritual life sinking into complacency of routines
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  Speaker 2: as this world chokes out the spiritual reality. In Us
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  Speaker 2: Luke eight seven, while the word is choked by what
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  Speaker 2: the cares and riches and pleasures of life, just ordinary
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  Speaker 2: life choking spiritual life to death as we fit complacently
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  Speaker 2: into the world. Oh how many times Jesus say, stay awake,
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  Speaker 2: be alert. The great danger for a college student or
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  Speaker 2: anyone living in this fallen world is not mainly some
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  Speaker 2: terrible life destroying sin, but the insidious, gradual fitting in
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  Speaker 2: to this world system and losing any real sense that
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  Speaker 2: we are exiles and sojourners whose citizenship is not of
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  Speaker 2: this world. And the warnings are just continuous and resounding
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  Speaker 2: to help us keep that from happening. And then there's
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  Speaker 2: Paul Galatians six. Let us not grow weary in doing
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  Speaker 2: good for indue season we will reap if we do
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  Speaker 2: not give up. Or one Thessalonians five. While people are
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  Speaker 2: saying there's peace and security, then sudden destruction will come
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  Speaker 2: upon them and they will not escape. But you are
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  Speaker 2: not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you
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  Speaker 2: like a thief. So then let us not sleep as
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  Speaker 2: others do. That means be spiritually indifferent, not sleep as
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  Speaker 2: others do. But let us keep awake and be sober,
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  Speaker 2: not complacent. In other words, and then listen to these
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  Speaker 2: last words of Ephesians five point fifteen. Look carefully, then,
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  Speaker 2: how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making
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  Speaker 2: the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
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  Speaker 2: What a clear resounding word to students and seventy nine
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  Speaker 2: year olds and everybody in between. Purchase the time, folks.
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  Speaker 2: Buy it up. Every minute is going by. You don't
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  Speaker 2: ever get to live it again. It's given to you
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  Speaker 2: as a free gift to multiply it significance for Christ
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  Speaker 2: in his kingdom. Don't waste your life. That's the exact
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  Speaker 2: opposite of complacency. Or consider Hebrews twelve twelve twelve. Lift
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  Speaker 2: your hands, strengthen your weak knees, make straight your paths,
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  Speaker 2: the paths for your feet. Strive for the holiness without
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  Speaker 2: which no one will see the Lord. And then there's Peter,
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  Speaker 2: I said apostle Peter five eight. Be sober minded, be watchful.
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  Speaker 2: Your adversary of the devil is prowling around like a
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  Speaker 2: roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. So what shall we say?
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  Speaker 2: The Christian life is a life lived on a RESTful
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  Speaker 2: high alert. RESTful because Christ loved us, gave himself for us,
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  Speaker 2: so that by faith in him our sins are forgiven,
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  Speaker 2: and we have peace with God and the hope for
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  Speaker 2: eternal life and joy, and it is sure. But we're
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  Speaker 2: on high alert because we have a great enemy who
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  Speaker 2: wants to destroy our faith, make us useless in this world,
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  Speaker 2: diminish our capacities for the enjoyment of Christ, and ruin
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  Speaker 2: our effectiveness in Christ's service. When Paul said in One
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  Speaker 2: Corinthians nine twenty seven that he pommels his body lest
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  Speaker 2: he proved to be a castaway, I picture a person
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  Speaker 2: driving a car on an important mission for Christ and
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  Speaker 2: about to fall asleep at the wheel and smacking is
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  Speaker 2: on cheek. Have you ever done that?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah?
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  Speaker 3: So this is Paul. This is Paulity what you got, Paul?
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  Speaker 3: Come on, wake up, don't sleep through the revolution. Put
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  Speaker 3: your left elbow out into the freezing cold window in Minnesota.
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  Speaker 3: Stay awake. You're on a mission. Your life counts for something.
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  Speaker 3: So thank God for Zephaniah's warning that God will punish
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  Speaker 3: the complacent who drift into treating God as a non
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  Speaker 3: factor in life. He is the number one factor in
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  Speaker 3: every situation, all the time.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, ap preach it. The great danger for a college
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  Speaker 1: student or anyone living in this fallen world is not
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  Speaker 1: mainly some terrible life destroying sin, but the insidious, gradual
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  Speaker 1: fitting into this world system and losing any real sense
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  Speaker 1: that we are exiles and sojourners whose citizenship is not
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  Speaker 1: of this world. That's a strong word, necessary word for
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  Speaker 1: busy college students and for all of us. Thank you,
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  Speaker 1: Pastor John. That for a lot more on this fight
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  Speaker 1: and why we fight it, see that section on purpose, productivity,
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  Speaker 1: and laziness in the APJ book on pages eighty five
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  Speaker 1: to ninety four. And that, my friends, is a wrap
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  Speaker 1: on our new episodes of twenty twenty five with Pastor
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  Speaker 1: John in the studio, A good way to close out
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  Speaker 1: the year and get us ready to recommit and resolve
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  Speaker 1: for a strong twenty twenty six. Thanks for joining us
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  Speaker 1: through this thirteenth year on the podcast. Hard to believe
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  Speaker 1: it's been thirteen years. So what's up next? Well, we're
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  Speaker 1: hard at work already recording brand new episodes for twenty
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  Speaker 1: twenty six, and those new episodes will kick off on
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  Speaker 1: January eighth. Pastor John will be back with us then
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  Speaker 1: until then. Over this holiday season, I get to share
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  Speaker 1: with you five of my favorite episodes from the past Monday,
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  Speaker 1: we're going to dive into the experiences of a genuinely
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  Speaker 1: fruitful devotional time. What does it look like and maybe
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  Speaker 1: more importantly, what does it feel like to meet God personally?
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  Speaker 1: So good? Then on Christmas Day, we're going to explore
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: the trap of getting stuck on God's gifts. Amazing as
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  Speaker 1: they are, getting stuck on the gifts without seeking the
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  Speaker 1: giver himself, a key mistake we make so easily, and
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  Speaker 1: it's a great meditation for Christmas. In the next episode,
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  Speaker 1: we tackle making resolutions the way Paul would have us
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  Speaker 1: to do, grounded in biblical wisdom. Yes, the Bible tells
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  Speaker 1: us to make resolutions. That's not some cultural fad. And
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  Speaker 1: then on New Year's Day, we're going to take those
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  Speaker 1: resolutions and translate them into a real life, actionable plan
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  Speaker 1: for the year ahead. So it's not just an aspirational
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  Speaker 1: theory on a page, but a real strategy translated into
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  Speaker 1: our daily schedules. And finally, on January fifth, we gear
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  Speaker 1: up for reading the whole Bible together in twenty twenty
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  Speaker 1: six with Passer, John and me. If you've never done it,
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: plan to join us. If you have done it, join
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: us again for it I'll explain how later. And as
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: we gear up for that year ahead of reading the Bible,
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: what obstacles can we expect along the way? How do
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: we face those obstacles? And that episode prepares us to
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  Speaker 1: keep our Bible resolve on track through all the inevitable
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  Speaker 1: ups and downs to come over the course of the
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  Speaker 1: year ahead. Five episodes coming up packed with encouragement, guidance,
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  Speaker 1: practical wisdom from Pastor John to make our spiritual life
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  Speaker 1: richer in twenty twenty six episodes. I think that are
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  Speaker 1: well worth reviewing with you over this holiday season. I
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  Speaker 1: look forward to it again. Thanks for considering a one
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  Speaker 1: will see you on Monday