Latest / In the Stillness Podcast / Your King Is Coming Back!!!

Transcript

Your King Is Coming Back!!! · In the Stillness Podcast

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  Hey friends, welcome back to the podcast.
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  If you're new here, my name is Friendly.
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  I'm so happy that y'all are tuning in this morning.
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  Today we're going to be moving into a new chapter in Matthew,
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  Matthew chapter 24, and we're going to see Jesus preparing his
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  disciples for what's to come. This is not just for His
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  crucifixion and resurrection, but the persecution and the
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  endurance that is required until He comes back again.
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  We see Him teaching on the Mount of Olives and honestly, there is
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  so much richness here that I'm going to break this chapter up
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  over multiple episodes because these are not just surface level
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  teachings. They are meant to shape how we
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  live in this very day. So my prayer for this episode is
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  that it would stir a greater urgency in believers, a desire
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  in those possibly still seeking, and ultimately a healthy fear of
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  God. Not one that produces anxiety,
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  but a reverence in awe that results in faithfulness.
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  So we are going to start in verse one and go through verse
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  25. I'm going to skip a few verses
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  in the middle just for the sake of time, but let's begin in
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  verse one. Jesus left the temple and was
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  walking away when His disciples came up to Him to call His
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  attention to its buildings. Do you see all these things?
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  He asked, Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on
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  another. Everyone will be thrown down.
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  As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples
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  came to him privately. Tell us, they said, when will
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  this happen and what will be the sign of your coming and of the
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  end of the age? Jesus answered, Watch out that
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  no one deceives you, for many will come in my name claiming I
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  am the Messiah, and they will deceive many.
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  You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you
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  are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the
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  end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation
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  and Kingdom against Kingdom. There will be famines and
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  earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of
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  birth pains. Then you will be handed over to
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  be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all
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  nations because of Me. At that time many will turn away
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  from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many
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  false prophets will appear and deceive many people Because of
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  the increase of wickedness. The love of most will grow cold,
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  but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved, and this
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  gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a
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  testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
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  Skip down to verse 22. If those days had not been cut
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  short, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect,
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  those days will be shortened. At that time, if anyone says to
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  you, look here's the Messiah or there he is, do not believe it.
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  For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform
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  great signs and wonders to deceive if possible, even the
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  elect. See I have told you ahead of
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  time, OK, that is a big chunk. But before we unpack it, context
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  really does matter. So Jesus is on the Mount of
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  Olives. As we see, this overlooks the
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  city of Jerusalem. I was actually there this past
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  August, and it's honestly hard to put into words because you
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  are elevated. You're looking out over
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  Jerusalem, You can see everything that's been built,
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  established, and you're just admiring it all.
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  Now, this location is significant.
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  Zechariah the prophet predicts that the Messiah would stand
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  here to establish his Kingdom years prior.
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  So it does make sense that the disciples are here asking Jesus
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  these questions while staring at the temple and the city that
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  they know so well. So the temple itself as I can
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  imagine. Obviously I haven't seen it in
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  its glory days, but it was breathtaking.
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  Solomon originally built it with massive columns, porches, and
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  courts, and King Herod later remodeled it into something that
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  was admired throughout all the ancient world.
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  It was central to Jewish identity and worship.
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  So when Jesus says that not one stone will be left on another,
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  the disciples are struggling to even comprehend this.
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  But 40 years after this, it was actually destroyed.
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  So I do think it's interesting to to analyze how the disciples
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  are so eager to know the timing and the details because this is
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  exactly how we are to this day. We like to ask questions like
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  who will I marry or what will my family look like?
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  Maybe where will I be in 10 years or what is the next step.
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  Humans do not like feeling unaware or out of control.
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  And when we spiral too much into the future, it can produce
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  worry. But here's the honest question
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  that I think it's good to ask ourselves.
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  If you're a believer in Jesus, why do we need to know every
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  detail if our faith is built on trust?
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  We believe in a God that we cannot physically see, but we
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  know Him personally through a relationship.
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  He created us, He has sustained us, and He cared for us before
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  we were ever even made aware of what our needs were.
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  Think about being a helpless baby.
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  Yet He was already faithful, and He called us to Himself in His
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  timing, not ours. It was whenever He appointed
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  that time to give us a revelation of His grace.
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  So if that's true, why would we suddenly need signs or timelines
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  and control right now? Jesus is showing us here that
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  getting caught in the weeds of details can actually distract us
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  from our purpose. And think about it, if you are
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  truly living every single day for God with consistency, with
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  humility and faith, and you're seeking to be set apart, like
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  First Timothy 412 says in your speech, conduct faith, love, and
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  purity, then when or how Jesus returns becomes less about fear
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  and the anticipation and more about the motivation.
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  We see Jesus repeatedly in this passage saying to be careful
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  about deception and The thing is that when we obsess over signs
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  and timelines or even conspiracy theories in others opinions, our
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  focus shifts off of Jesus and that is distraction.
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  With that distraction it makes us more vulnerable to deception.
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  And y'all, deception is Satan's primary language.
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  This is His strength. Jesus calls him the Father of
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  lies in John 844. We have seen his strategy since
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  the Garden of Eden. We've seen His true colors.
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  He did not remove God from Adam and Eve's lives.
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  He couldn't do that. But what He could do is redirect
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  their attention away from Him. Now Scripture also tells us,
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  Ephesians 612, that our battle is not against flesh and blood,
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  It's not against one another. It's against spiritual forces of
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  darkness. Our enemy wants believers to
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  think that our other enemy is each other, because division
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  blinds us from the real fight and it slows us down from
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  running the race that God has given us.
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  So that's why false teachers are so dangerous.
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  We might hear messages like follow your heart or God just
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  wants you happy. It's OK to stay in sin.
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  God understands or his grace is sufficient.
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  See his grace is sufficient, but it's not meant to be taken
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  advantage of. Or you might hear if you have
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  enough enough faith, you'll always be healthy and wealthy,
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  focusing on self, indulging in sin and only listening to what
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  sounds good. Y'all.
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  It cools down our love for God and it decreases our dependence
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  on Him. You must be rooted in God's word
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  to keep the fire alive. Let me repeat that.
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  You have to be rooted in God's word to keep the fire alive.
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  Jesus even warns that people will mock God, deny His
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  presence, and turn away from the faith.
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  None of this should surprise us because He is literally given us
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  that in Scripture, but it should sober us and prepare us.
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  Now I want to just say Jesus does not give us exact
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  timelines, but it's actually out of His kindness.
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  He is simplifying things for our finite minds to walk with Him
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  step by step, to trust His plan and His timing, to be faithful.
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  Obey. Endure the reminders that Jesus
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  gives wars and famine and unrest.
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  They're not meant to make us worry.
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  They're meant to stir up urgency.
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  An urgency to fulfill our mission, Matthew 1128.
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  To make disciples of all nations and to share the truth of God's
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  Word. An urgency to love people well,
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  to tell others about Jesus, and to live like he could return at
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  any moment. We're not meant to look around
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  in fear. Looking around actually slows us
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  down, y'all. They taught me that in track
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  when you look to the side to your neighbor, it actually makes
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  your time slower. We are meant to look forward.
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  First Corinthians 924 tells us run to get the prize.
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  First Timothy 612 fight the good fight of faith.
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  Y'all find people who are running toward Jesus.
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  Let them sharpen you. Don't compare yourself to them,
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  but challenge each other and also pray for your fellow
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  believers in Christ. We are the body of Christ.
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  Therefore, when one is suffering and under trial, we are to all
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  feel it and to help them and hold tightly to this promise.
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  In this passage, it says in verse 13, the one who stands
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  firm to the end will be saved. So don't be discouraged guys, do
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  not grow weary. Don't let yourself be cooled off
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  because your king is coming back.
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  So let's go to the Lord in prayer right now.
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  Dear God, we thank you for Your word and thank you for the
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  warnings that come from your love, not to make us fearful,
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  but to prepare us. Would you anchor our hearts in
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  this truth? Keep us from distraction and
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  deception, Father, provide us with the endurance to run our
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  race well and a faith to stand firm to the end.
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  Stir our hearts with urgency, God, not panic, but to live in
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  purpose. Help us to Live Today in light
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  of eternity. Would you strengthen us, your
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  body, Jesus, unify us and keep our eyes fixed on you alone.
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  We wait for you and we long for your return.
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  Come, Lord Jesus, we pray this in your name.
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  Amen. OK, well this was a lot, but I'm
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  praying that the Lord would just continue revealing things to you
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  guys and that it would be a message of hope and
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  encouragement to keep going no matter what you face today.
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  I'll see you all in the next episode.