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Reset | Pastor Darren Palmer | Faith Church · Faith Church Podcast

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Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. I got a new smart
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watch. And I got one for my wife. And I like
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it during worship because every time I hit the
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keyboard or clap my hands, it counts as another
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step. So Cammie and I can challenge each other
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on how many steps we take. And all I got to do
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is play a couple songs on the keyboard and I
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win. Praise God. Everything's a competition.
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You know that, don't you? But I want to, I just
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have this in my heart this morning. There are
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no shortcuts. That's a shortcut, isn't it? There
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are no shortcuts in the kingdom of God. There
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are no shortcuts to growing in Christ. There
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are no shortcuts to getting closer to God. And
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if you expect it to be different for you than
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it is for everybody else, it isn't going to work
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that way. We've got to give ourselves to the
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things of God, right? We've got to do what God's
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called us to do. We're not saved because of those
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things, but we grow because of those things.
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We give ourselves to God, and he helps us to
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move forward in Christ. How many of you want
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to move forward in Christ? Amen. Now, I'm believing
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this morning that... the altars are going to
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be filled when I'm done preaching, that the altars
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are going to be filled with people that are rededicating
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their lives to Christ. Are you ready to rededicate
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your life to Christ this morning? Amen. Praise
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God. Turn with me to Nehemiah chapter 13. Nehemiah
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chapter 13. And we're going to spend some time.
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in Nehemiah chapter 13. Today's an incredibly
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special day. Today is a day that America has
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chosen to rededicate this nation back to God.
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Hallelujah. Hallelujah. This is a, I believe,
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across our country, a solemn day. We are rededicating
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our life not to a God, not to just a God, whichever
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God you choose. No, today we are rededicating
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America back to the God of the Bible. We are
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rededicating America back to Jesus. Hallelujah.
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And across this nation, at courthouses and counties
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all over, people are gathering for prayer. I
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know that the time three o 'clock has been mentioned.
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If you want to make your way to the courthouse
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at three o 'clock, I will be traveling at that
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time. But I would love for as many of you as
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possible on the courthouse grounds to gather
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and say, Lord, we dedicate this nation back to
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you. Amen. Praise God. And so, Lord, as this
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nation dedicates itself back to you, I pray that
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you would hear the cry of your people, that you
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would hear the heartbeat of the United States
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of America, that, Lord, of all of our shortcomings
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and failures, we turn back to you. In its 250th
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birthday, Lord, we turn back to you. And we acknowledge
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you as the sovereign over the United States of
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America. And all God's people said, Amen. Amen.
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Now throughout the history of Israel, there have
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been great reformers in the Old Testament. Thinking
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of Moses. Thinking of David. Thinking later of
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King Josiah, King Hezekiah. All the judges that
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God raised up to bring the nation back to God.
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Aren't you thankful for the voices that turn
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the nation back to God? And Nehemiah is one such
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person that God used to rebuild the walls around
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Jerusalem and bring the nation back to God. Before
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we read this passage, let me give you just a
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little history on Nehemiah. He was not a king.
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He was not a priest. Nehemiah was a cupbearer
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to a secular king, King Artaxerxes. He was a
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cupbearer. He was the one that tasted the food
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and drank the wine before the king to test it.
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To make sure it wasn't poisoned. Because the
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king has enemies. And not anybody, not just anybody
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can work in the cook of the president in the
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kitchen. Not anybody can do that. And the cup
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bearer was the one that protected the king. Would
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take that cup in his hand and before the king
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drank it, would drink it himself. So that if
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there was any poison in it, the king would know.
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Can I tell you? It's very much like the cross.
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It's very much like the cross of Calvary. Jesus
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drank the cup on our behalf so that the wrath
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of God would not touch you and I. So that the
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poison of sin would be removed. so that you and
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I would be protected. Nehemiah was a cupbearer.
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But his position in Israel was to bring the people
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back to God. So as you read the book of Nehemiah,
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he rebuilds the wall of Jerusalem, and it's an
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incredible story. But he comes back at the end,
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and in chapter 13, Nehemiah brings reformation
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to the people on another level. And we'll see
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how much of this we get to in the next 20 minutes
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or so. On that day they read from the book of
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Moses in the hearing of the people, and it was
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found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should
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ever come into the assembly of God, because they
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had not met the children of Israel with bread
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and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse
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them. However, our God turned the curse into
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a blessing. So it was when they heard the law
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that they separated all the mixed multitude of
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Israel. Now this chapter is going to sound harsh.
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It's Old Testament. It's not the testament of
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grace, but it is a testament that God called
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his people to obey. And so, verse 4. Now before
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this, Eliashib the priest, having authority over
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the storerooms of the house of our God, was allied
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with Tobiah. And he had prepared for him a large
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room. where previously they had stored the grain
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offerings, the frankincense, the articles, the
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tithes of grain, the new wine and oil, which
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were commanded to be given to the Levites and
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singers and gatekeepers and the offerings for
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the priests. But during all this, I was not in
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Jerusalem, for in the thirty -second year of
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Artaxerxes, king of Babylon, I had returned to
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the king, and after certain days I obtained leave
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from the king, and I came to Jerusalem and discovered
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the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah in
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preparing a room for him in the courts of the
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house of our God, and it grieved me bitterly.
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Therefore, I threw all the household goods of
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Tobiah out of the room. I commanded them to cleanse
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the rooms and I brought back into them the articles
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of the house of God with the grain offering and
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the frankincense. This Nehemiah, he's got some
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fortitude, doesn't he? He's got some grit. I'm
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believing God in 2026 for some people with some
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spiritual grit inside of them that will walk
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with God. Now you need to understand something
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about Eliashib. He was the high priest. He was
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the one that was supposed to be leading the way
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in the things of the law, in the things that
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God had commanded them to do. But here he had...
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cleaned out a room that was designated by God
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for the offerings of God's people. And he had
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cleared out this room and said, hey, Tobiah,
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you can live here. Whenever you're in town, here's
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a room for you. Now you need to understand some
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things about Tobiah. Because Tobiah was not just
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any other person. If you flip back in your Bible
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or you scroll back on your phone to Nehemiah
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2 and verse 10, you are introduced to the character
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of Tobiah. And it says in verse 10, when Sanballat
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the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official,
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when they heard of what... they were doing rebuilding
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the wall, they were deeply disturbed that a man
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had come to seek the well -being of the children
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of Israel. This Tobiah was not only an Ammonite,
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he was a leader of the Ammonites. He was joined
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together with Sanballat, who spent the next two
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or three chapters taunting the Israelites, telling
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them they should not rebuild the wall. This Tobiah
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the Ammonite was a leader among his people and
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Eliashib thought it was more important to maintain
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a back -channel relationship with Tobiah than
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it was to obey the word of God. And so the high
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priest of Israel had invited Tobiah the Ammonite
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to dwell. in the temple of God. This is an evil,
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evil, evil thing that is taking place. But I
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ask the question today, as we rededicate our
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lives to the Lord, you know, it doesn't make
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sense for America to rededicate herself to the
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Lord if the believers in America do not rededicate
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themselves to the Lord. It's got to come down
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to the church. It's got to come down to individuals
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in the house of God saying, I'm going to rededicate
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my life to the Lord. But how many of us have
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back channel relationships with things that God
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has once delivered us from? We have back channel
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relationships, friendships with the world. And
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it's time for us to say, we're going to clear
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out our storehouses and make room for God and
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what he wants to do. Jesus said, put your hand
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to the plow and do not look back. Amen? Do not
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look back. In 2 Peter chapter 2. Peter says something
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very sobering. He says, for if they, after they
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have escaped the pollutions of the world, through
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the knowledge of the Lord, our Lord and Savior
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Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in the
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things of the world and are overcome by them,
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the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.
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It would have been better for them not to have
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known the way of righteousness than having known
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it to turn from the holy commandment delivered
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to them. But it has happened to them according
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to the true proverb, a dog returns to his vomit
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and a sow having washed to her wallowing in the
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mire. Friends, I want to call you to... Keep
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yourself in the deliverance that God has made
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for you. Amen? Galatians chapter 5. That was
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Peter in 2 Peter. Here's Paul. He said, Stand
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fast, therefore, in the liberty by which Christ
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has made us free. And do not be entangled again
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with the yoke of bondage. Hallelujah. Now, you
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might say, well, I've been a Christian for a
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while, Pastor. I don't need to hear that. But
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can I remind you how quickly, after Moses went
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up the mountain and he was gone, they had been
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delivered from the hand of Pharaoh. They had
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walked across on dry ground. They had seen the
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miraculous hand of God work. They had watched
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the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by
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day. They had it with them. But as soon as Moses
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went up the mountain, what did they do? Hey,
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let's make a golden calf. Let's bow down to it.
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And all the nation committed idolatry. We're
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fickle people, aren't we? We're very temperamental
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people. And we need God to constantly remind
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us, don't go back to the things I once delivered
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you from. And if you're here this morning and
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you're saying, you know what? I've gone back
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to some of those things. I've opened the door
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back to some of those things. I recognize this
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morning that I need to shut that door. When you
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rededicate your life to the Lord this morning,
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you're saying, I am shutting the door on the
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things that entangle me and that keep me from
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living for God. I'm kicking Tobiah out of my
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house. In Jesus' name. We need to be like Nehemiah
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and rededicate ourselves to Christ. Amen? Is
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that good stuff this morning? Praise God. Okay,
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I'm going to move quicker through the rest of
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these. The second thing Nehemiah did, the next
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verse, verse 10. I also realized that the portions
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for the Levites had not been given to them for
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each of the Levites and the singers. Everybody
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say, and the singers. Who did the work had gone
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back to his field. They had gone back to his
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field. In rededicating Israel to the Lord, Nehemiah,
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restored worship. He restored worship. The musicians
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and singers, they were Levites. They relied on
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the offerings that the rest of the nation brought.
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And when the rest of the nation under the leadership
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of Eliashib, they quit giving. They quit. They
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quit bringing offerings. And so the musicians
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and the singers and the worshipers, do you know
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what they did? They said, well, how are we going
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to eat? And they had to choose eating over fulfilling
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their calling. And they went back to the fields.
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And the worship that was supposed to be offered
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by the people to the Lord, the singers that were
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supposed to stand in the place of worship, they
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were gone. They were no more. Friends, if we're
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going to rededicate our lives back to God, we
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have got to come back to the place of worship.
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We've got to protect the place of worship. We've
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got to... come out of the field and we've got
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to say these these singers you know they they
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wanted to eat And so some might say, well, it's
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not their fault, but they had a mandate from
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God and they abandoned their mandate. You know,
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can I tell you something? If they would have
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stayed and they would have said, you know what?
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It doesn't matter what Eliashib says. Eliashib
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is not my provider. I'm going to fulfill the
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call that God has on my life. Can I tell you
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something? God would have come through for every
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single one of them. Can I encourage you? Do not
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abandon your call for the sake of money, for
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the sake of provision. Trust in the name of the
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Lord our God. Trust in Him in Jesus' name. Hallelujah.
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Some of the people that we have met with and
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talked with about marriage, one of the difficulties
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in our society, is that if you stay unmarried,
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you get more money from the government than if
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you marry. This is a very real thing. The question
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is this. Are we going to trust in the government?
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Or are we going to trust in the name of the Lord
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our God? And I want to declare over every one
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of us today to don't be afraid. Do not be afraid
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to take the steps that you need to take to trust
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in the Lord our God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
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And Nehemiah said, this isn't going to happen
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on my watch. On my watch, we're going to have
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worship in the house. On my watch, we're going
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to have musicians on the house. On my watch,
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we're going to have singers in the house. Hallelujah.
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You know, pastors come to me and they say, Darren,
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you know, if you cut your service time down to
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55 minutes, your church will grow. You know what?
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Based upon all the evidence of all the other
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churches, it's true. The church will grow. But
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what will we sacrifice? Because our number one
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priority, I mean, how many of you like it when
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the house is full? I like it. I believe we're
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going to have this house jam -packed. I believe
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the day is coming where if you don't come early,
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it's going to be hard to find a seat. But I refuse
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to make that my number one priority. My number
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one priority is not to pack the house with people.
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My number one priority is not even to win the
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lost. It's high on my list of priorities. But
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there's something that is higher still. And that
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is this. We are gathered in this place to worship
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God. We are gathered in this place to lift Him
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high. We are gathered in this place to give Him
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what is due His name. Hallelujah. And I love
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it. I love it, church, that we lingered in worship.
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For an hour and ten minutes this morning. I love
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it that we did that. I'm kind of racing through
21:20
my message because of that. But we gave Jesus
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the worship that he is worthy of. Hallelujah.
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He is worthy of the worship. Glory to God. Glory
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to God. He's worthy of the worship. And before
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everything else. He's worthy. Do you know the
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number one reason we do missions? We do missions
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because we care about people. Jesus cares about
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people. The Father's not willing that any should
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perish, but that all should come to repentance.
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His heart is for the nations. His heart is for
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the lost. His heart is toward the people. But
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you know the number one reason why we want to
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reach people? Because our God is worthy of...
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Their worship. Our God is worthy. Of another
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one. Coming to give him praise. Our God is worthy.
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Of more. Than what we have right now. He's worthy
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of it all. We do missions. Because our God is
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worthy. We want the nations. To sing and lift
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him up. And see. He's worthy. That's why we witness.
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That's why we reach the lost. We reach the lost
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for their sake as well. Because we love people
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like God does. But friends, the restoration of
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worship is... is the priority of rededication.
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I'm believing that America will once again be
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a center of worship for God. I'm believing that
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our nation will be known again because of its
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worship. We are here to worship the King of Kings
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and the Lord of Lords. I believe that worship
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is going to grow in this house. I believe that
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we're going to add opportunities for worship
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in the coming 12 months. We're going to see God
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expand worship in central Illinois, across this
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land. I believe it with my whole heart. Are you
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hungry? Are you hungry to see God lifted high?
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Hallelujah. Praise the name of the Lord. And
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so Paul, he said that one of the signs that you
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are filled with the Holy Spirit went beyond tongues,
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went beyond the gifts of the Spirit that are
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powerful and good. He said, do not be drunk with
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wine, which is dissipation, but be filled with
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the Spirit of God. And if you're filled with
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the Spirit of God, you're going to speak to one
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another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.
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If you're filled with the Spirit of God, you're
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going to sing and you're going to make melody
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in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always
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for all things to God the Father in the name
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of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. Worship.
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Worship. Make worship bigger in your home. Make
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worship bigger in your car. Make worship bigger
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when you're by yourself. Make worship bigger
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when you're here in this place. Don't just tolerate
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worship in this house to get to the good part,
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the preaching. We want the preaching to get better
25:06
and better, but friends, do not skip. The worship.
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Give yourself to worship. Give yourself to worship.
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When we rededicate our lives to the Lord this
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morning. If you come down to this altar. You're
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saying God I want to be a vessel of worship.
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I may not sing great. I may not any of those
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things. But I want to be a vessel of worship.
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The restoration of. The temple, the restoration
25:43
of worship, and the restoration of giving. The
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commands under Moses was for the nation to bring
25:54
the tithe to the temple so that the work of the
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ministry could happen. The whole nation was neglecting
26:04
their responsibility, but this rededication involved
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a revival. Of giving. I personally believe. That
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the tithe. One tenth of your income. Belongs
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to the Lord. It's the beginning place. Of giving.
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To position yourself. For spiritual. Blessing.
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Some of you wonder why. Ends never. meet. It
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could be because you are neglecting giving. When
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you as an individual or a family begin to tithe
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God will begin to prove himself to you in ways
26:58
that you never thought possible. And the question
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that I want to ask is will you trust God with
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your finances? Bring all the tithes into the
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storehouse that there may be food in my house.
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Try me now in this, says the Lord, if I will
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not open for you the windows of heaven and pour
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out for you such blessing that there will not
27:26
be room enough to receive it. This is the one
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promise where God says it's okay to test him
27:35
in. All throughout the Scriptures, the Word says,
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do not test the Lord your God. But here, God
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invites you to test Him. Financial miracles released
27:54
into the church and into the families of the
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church happen when we rededicate our lives to
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the Lord. These Israelites under Nehemiah, they
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had gotten used to not giving. They had gotten
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used to not bringing the sacrifice of worship
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through financial means. And we are rededicating
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our lives to God, trusting Him with everything.
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This is a revival of giving. be deceived. God
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is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, that shall
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he reap. 1 Corinthians 16. On the first day of
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the week, let each one of you lay something aside,
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storing up as he may prosper to the church. This
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is Paul. I bear witness, he said in 2 Corinthians
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8, that according to their ability, yes, and
29:06
beyond their ability, they were freely willing,
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imploring us with much urgency that we would
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receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering
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to the saints. Hallelujah. And so this morning,
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We are rededicating our lives to God, saying,
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Lord, we trust you with everything. Hallelujah.
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Hallelujah. I feel the anointing of the Lord
29:40
in this house right now. Rededicating our lives
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to God. Number four, the restoration. of the
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Sabbath. Nehemiah 13, 15. I saw people in Judah
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treading wine presses on the Sabbath. bringing
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in sheaves, loading donkeys with wine, grapes,
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figs, all kinds of burdens which they brought
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into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned
30:16
them about the day on which they were selling
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provisions. Men of Tyre dwelt there also who
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brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold
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them on the Sabbath to the children of Judah
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and in Jerusalem. And I contended with the nobles
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of Judah and said to them, What evil thing is
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this that you do by profaning the Sabbath day?
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Did not your fathers do thus? And did not our
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God bring all this disaster on us and all this
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city? Yet you bring added wrath on Israel by
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profaning the Sabbath. So it was at the gates
30:52
of Jerusalem as it began to be dark before the
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Sabbath. I commanded the gates to be shut. I
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charged that they must not be open till after
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the Sabbath. I posted some of my servants at
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the gates so no burdens would be brought in on
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the Sabbath day. And the merchants and sellers
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of all kinds of wares lodged. outside Jerusalem
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once or twice and I warned them and I said to
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them, why do you spend the night outside the
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wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on
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you. Oh, I love Nehemiah. That was not in a good
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way. He was laying hands on people. From that
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time on, they came no more on the Sabbath and
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I commanded that the Levites, that they should
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cleanse themselves and they should go and guard
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the gates to sanctify. The Sabbath day. The Sabbath
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was a commandment, the fourth of the ten commandments
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in Exodus chapter 20 and Deuteronomy chapter
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5. God himself set in order the Sabbath by resting
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on the seventh day. Nehemiah saw that they weren't
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even making an attempt to follow it and he said
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it right. Then in the years that were to come,
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the leaders of Israel turned the Sabbath into
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legalism. Adding rule after rule that made it
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more of a burden than a blessing. Jesus brought
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the Sabbath back to its intention. In Mark 2
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.23, he said this, listen. Man was not made for
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the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for man. Did
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you know that God's intention for the Sabbath,
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God's intention is to give you rest? Did you
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know that in the New Testament, there is not
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a legalistic single day that you have to keep
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by law? is the Sabbath day. And he said in Matthew
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11, come to me all you are weary and I will give
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you rest. His intention is that you pay attention
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to the rest that you have in Jesus Christ. I'm
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cutting this short a little bit. But some of
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you are neglecting to come to Jesus Christ for
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restoration. And you have to come back to him.
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Now I believe that you ought to take a day off
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once a week. I'm going to say that again. Because
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it felt good. I believe that you ought to take
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a day off once a week. I believe that you ought
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to rest. Do you know it's similar to the tithe?
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When you tithe, you're saying, God, I'm trusting
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you. I'm not trusting myself. Because in myself,
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it makes more sense that 100 % would pay more
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bills than 90%. But I'm giving you the 10 % because
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I trust in you. And guess what? God's blessing
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on the 90 % will go way farther than your ability
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to manipulate 100%. I guarantee you that. Because
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you're expressing trust in God. And the same
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is true when you rest. I'm trusting in God that
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in six days, He can help me get more done with
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his blessing than I can get done in seven days
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on my own. Jesus is our Sabbath rest, Hebrews
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teaches us. Some of you need to learn the Sabbath
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rest in Christ. If you're frazzled and weary
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all the time, you are missing something. Now
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this doesn't mean you don't work hard. Six days
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thou shalt work. But it means that we trust in
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the Lord. I take Fridays off. I rarely answer
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my phone. Now sometimes things happen. Sometimes
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we have ministry on Fridays. I get that. It's
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not a legalism thing. But I take Fridays off.
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I do not prepare sermons on Friday. I will answer
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a text if it's an emergency. If I don't answer
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the phone when you call and it's an emergency,
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text me. I will reply to you. I want to. But
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I take a day off. Why? Because I trust in God.
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Because He loves me. Because he pours rest into
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me. Some of you in rededicating your lives to
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God when you do this, you're going to shed weariness.
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You're going to say, God, I trust you with the
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rest. And finally, the restoration of separation.
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Now you need to hear this last part. Verse 23.
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I love Nehemiah. I love him more and more the
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more I read this chapter. In those days I also
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saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon,
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and Moab. And half of their children spoke the
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language of Ashdod and could not even speak the
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language of Judah. But spoke according to the
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language of Judah. Of one or the other people.
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So I contended with them. And cursed them. And
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struck some of them. And pulled out their hair.
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And made them swear by God. Saying you shall
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not give your daughters as wives to their sons.
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Nor take their daughters for your sons for yourselves.
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And here's why. Did not Solomon, king of Israel,
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sin by these things? Yet among many nations there
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was no king like them who was beloved of his
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God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless,
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pagan women caused even him to sin. Should we
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then hear of your doing all this great evil,
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transgressing against our God by marrying pagan
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women? One of the sons of Joiada. The son of
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Eliashib the high priest. We already said that
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Eliashib had Tobiah in the temple. Now Eliashib,
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we find out, was his son, was a son -in -law
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of Sanballat the Horonite. gave his children
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to Sanballat. The problem in the Old Testament
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with marrying other races was not that it was
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in itself a sin to cross into another culture,
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but that what would happen is that they would
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bring their gods into the relationship. And they
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would cause Israel to stumble just like Solomon.
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And so the command today in the New Testament,
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us Gentile church, is not that you can't marry
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outside of your race or that's a sin. That is
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not the truth. The lesson is not that you cannot...
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Mary because of social status or because of this
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or that. None of that is true. But the New Testament
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principle is this, that we have got to separate
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ourselves from the world. In 2 Corinthians 6,
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Paul said, do not be unequally yoked together
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with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness
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with lawlessness? What communion has light with
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darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial?
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Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?
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And what agreement has the temple of God with
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idols? For you are the temple of the living God.
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As God has said, I will dwell in them. I will
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walk among them. I will be their God and they
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shall be my people. Look, pat yourself on your
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chest right now. Come on. This right here. is
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the temple of the Holy Spirit. Jesus, the Son
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of God, lives inside of me. Hallelujah. I am
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separated. I am separated unto God. And I shall
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not take what is holy and washed in the blood
40:55
of Jesus and bought with... with the Son of God
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on the cross. I will not take that and unify
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it with an idol. I will not unify it with something
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that is not of God. I will not be unequally yoked.
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I will not be unequally yoked. Come out from
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among them and be separate, says the Lord. If
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the only difference between you and the world
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is that you spend two hours in church on Sunday,
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you need to separate yourself unto the Lord.
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I'm rededicating my life to God. I'm rededicating
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my life to God. Do you not know that friendship
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with the world is enmity with God? Whoever loves
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the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
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Wow. Dedicating themselves back to God. In holiness.
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And saying here I am God. I belong to you. I
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belong to you. I've preached long enough. I'm
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going to ask the worship team to come. And I'm
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believing that for one of these reasons or another.
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That these altars are going to be full. We're
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going to just sing that song, Here I am to worship.
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Here I am to bow down. That you will say, God,
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I'm joining with America. I'm joining with Faith
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Church. And I am rededicating my life. I had
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a dream last night. I was in a house. It wasn't
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a house I've ever been in before, but it was
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mine. And there was a bunch of people there,
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and we were having a party. And it was a very
43:42
real dream, and I looked out the window, and
43:44
planes were flying overhead, and then I saw bombs
43:48
dropping. And about a mile away, one exploded.
43:56
And I was trying to get the people to look out
43:59
the window and to pay attention. We needed to
44:01
do something. But nobody would listen. They just
44:08
kept eating their hot dogs. And I was trying
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to get the people to see that bombs were dropping.
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And I woke up. I forgot. I woke up and just started
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getting ready. I didn't even remember that I
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dreamed that. And when we got here, when I got
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here this morning, I paused a minute and I remembered
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having that dream. These are not the days, church.
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To be asleep. There is war in the heavenlies.
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Over our nation. You know that. Over your family.
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Over your sons and daughters. Over your own soul.
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Nehemiah realized it in his generation. He shook
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the people. I'm not going to come out of the
45:29
aisle and pull your hair out today. But how many
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of you will say, God, I want to rededicate my
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life to you this morning. I want to say, here
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I am. Here I am. Here I am. I give myself to
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you. It's why we live, Lord. I don't want this
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to be emotion -driven, although I feel emotion
46:15
right now. I don't want it to be just because
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everybody else is doing it. What I want to know
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is if you in your own heart of hearts want to
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say, God, here I am. I rededicate my life to
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you. Here I am. Here I am. And if that's you
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this morning, while we sing this song, here I
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am to worship you, God. I want you to just get
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up out of your seat and I want you to present
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yourself before the Lord. And say, Lord, here
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I am. I know I'm not perfect, God. But Lord,
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I rededicate my life to you. Along with this
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nation. Here I am, Lord. I worship you.