Latest / The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast / 541 | Throwback - Consider Your Ways--Be a Good Neighbor

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541 | Throwback - Consider Your Ways--Be a Good Neighbor · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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  She's a happy girl. Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman.
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  At the Well Ministries, where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus
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  like the woman at the well in John chapter 4.
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  Our highest priority is making God real in your life.
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  Whether you are listening in our app, in your favorite podcasting app,
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  or on our website at watwm.org, we invite you to sit down with us as we look
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  to the scriptures to learn more about God and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
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  In Matthew 25, 40, we read, And the king shall answer and say unto them,
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  Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my
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  brethren, ye have done it unto me.
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  Join us in this broadcast of Woman at the Well Ministries as Kim walks us through
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  the scriptures, showing us how we should treat others.
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  Galatians 5, 14 says, For all the law is fulfilled in one word,
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  even in this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
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  May he always find us loving others as he loves us.
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  Hello and welcome to this broadcast of Woman at the Well Ministries.
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  And I'm delighted to spend the next few moments with you as we look into the
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  concept that God has given us, that we are to love our neighbor as thyself.
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  And he tells us that in Galatians 5.14. And it's difficult, I think,
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  sometimes for us to really understand exactly what he is saying.
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  And we don't really want to take ownership of that responsibility because most
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  of us are pretty centered on ourselves.
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  And most of us, if we have an expansion of our focus, it's just to those select
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  few that are probably in our little circle.
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  And your neighbor may or may not be in that circle.
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  And life is just so busy and we can fill it up in a heartbeat.
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  But God has said that we are to love our neighbor as thyself.
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  And I want you to think about what it means to love yourself.
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  We think about the things we
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  need. We look at the basic necessities and we make sure that we have them.
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  We have food and shelter and clothing.
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  And the Lord blesses us with these things. But we take into consideration those
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  needs and we seek to make sure we live in such a way that we are able to have those.
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  I want you to think how we consider the things that matter to us for our well-being.
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  We make sure that we get good rest. And all of us are a little shorter than
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  that for the most part because we spread ourselves too thin with the days that
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  we plan. as opposed to letting God plan them.
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  But we do all of these things loving ourselves.
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  We have learned in our lifetime to be good to ourselves.
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  And when God says in Galatians 5.14, for all the laws fulfilled in one word,
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  even this thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
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  We need to really begin to think that we need to start looking at others with
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  the same intensity that we look at ourselves, not for judgment,
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  but to make sure that we are providing what we can to help them have the things
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  they need that gives them a good life.
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  You see, God may have set it up that you have exactly the abundance in the area.
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  That your neighbor has a need. For you see, God knows the needs we have before we're even asking him.
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  And he set it up that he would fulfill those needs.
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  Because he says that I will supply all of your needs according to my riches
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  and glory. And he says, you can do all things through me, which strengthens you.
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  Therefore, if you have a need, the
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  answer to that need has already been determined and help is on the way.
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  But as individuals we have the privilege
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  and the honor to be used of God
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  to be that piece
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  of the puzzle that fits in
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  to supply that need of the
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  ones that are around us but until we
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  begin to look at Galatians 5 14 with
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  enough intensity to try it
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  on in our lives and to let it motivate and
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  inspire us to live we're going
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  to miss the needs of those around us because most
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  people are not going to tap you on the shoulder and
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  say i need whatever in fact most people will sound fine i don't need anything
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  because pride goes before a fall and no one wants to have to ask but that very
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  person may be on their knees asking jesus to supply their needs and he's supplying it.
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  But he may have given you first opportunity to be the one that he uses to bless others.
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  But unless we begin to look at what it means to be a good neighbor,
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  to love one as we love ourselves, we're going to miss some fantastic opportunities
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  to be a blessing in other people's lives.
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  In Haggai chapter 1, beginning in verse 5, he says, Now therefore,
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  thus saith the Lord of hosts, consider your ways.
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  In verses six in verse
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  six he begins to talk about the futility of
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  how they're working and doing all these things and they're
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  not getting at all what they expect and they're
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  not reaping fruits that they are thinking they should
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  for the labor they're giving and in verse seven he says again consider your
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  ways what i'd like to bring to you for the next few moments as we spend time
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  in the Word of God is a fresh look at what it means to be a good neighbor.
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  And in doing so, I'm asking you to consider your ways and really look at what
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  you're doing and see if you are fulfilling that basic commandment that the Lord
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  has placed upon us to love another as we love ourselves.
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  I'd like for you to please to turn to John chapter 15.
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  In John chapter 15 and beginning in verse 9, the word of the Lord says this,
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  As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you, continue ye in my love.
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  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my
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  Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
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  These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you,
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  and that your joy might be full.
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  This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you.
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  Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends.
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  Verse 14, he says, ye are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you.
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  I ask you to just back up and really listen as we hear what God says in verse
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  11 of the 15th chapter of the gospel of John.
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  He says, these things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you
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  and that your joy might be full.
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  You want to understand the secret to joy unspeakable and full of glory,
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  to a peace that passes understanding.
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  It's living in love.
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  You see, he says, if you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love.
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  He also says in his precious word that if you love me, my commandments aren't grievous.
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  Friends, as we begin to consider our ways, we must stop right here and really
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  take a close look on how we feel about what God commands us to do.
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  His commandments are given to us not to be grievous, not to be a weight around our neck.
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  In fact, he tells us to let go of the weight which thus so easily beset us and
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  to run the race with patience.
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  You see, these commandments that he's given us are because he knows the plans he has for us.
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  And he understands that if you follow his commandments, you'll stay in his will
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  and you'll be in the place you're supposed to be.
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  And when the blessings from God start pouring out, you won't be on the wrong avenue.
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  You'll be right there where the spout of glory is, and you'll be right there.
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  And the grace of God will just cover you, and you'll be equipped to receive his commandments.
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  Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
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  That shouldn't be a difficult thing, for the love of God is inside of us,
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  and we can do all things through Christ.
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  It is beyond human ability to love one who has wronged us.
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  But oh isn't it just like jesus to love you just the same isn't it just like jesus,
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  to absolutely forgive you time and time and time again not even of different
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  things but of the very same transgression.
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  You see, with the love of Jesus, we truly can.
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  He says, this is my commandment, that you love one another as I've loved you.
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  And then he explains how greater love hath no man than this,
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  that a man lay down his life for his friend.
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  That's exactly what Jesus Christ did. And he said we were his friends if we keep his commandments.
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  Oh, since I was a little girl, I was so excited to be the friend of God.
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  There was something about that verse that just really clung in my heart.
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  And I knew that no matter what had happened in this world, no matter how disappointed
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  I may have been, no matter how scary things seemed around me,
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  when my mom was sick and in the hospital and stuff,
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  and when school seemed hard and people sort of laughed at me because I really
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  got the whole be a peculiar person down.
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  When all of these things took place, I could cling to the fact that.
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  That he said, if you keep my commandments, you're my friend.
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  And I could remember Abraham being spoken of by God.
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  And when Abraham was described by God, do you remember what God described Abraham as? The friend of God.
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  Do you remember Abraham talking to God and the scripture saying that he walked with God?
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  Oh, how important it was to me that the scriptures told me that God was no respecter of persons.
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  And if Abraham was allowed to walk with God because he kept his commandments
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  and Abraham was obedient to the will of God,
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  then I knew that Kimmy could walk with God, not because she was special,
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  but because she was his, bought with a price.
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  And he said, hey, I'll never leave you nor forsake you.
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  And he said, if you'll just draw unto me, I'll draw unto you.
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  And I believed it with all that I had.
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  And as I began to look at the scripture all over again, as we were going to
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  talk about this in today's lesson,
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  my heart sprang with joy as I just remembered how much comfort it had brought
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  me my whole life to know that I could be the friend of God.
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  I was never friendless. And in Proverbs, he says to us If you want to have friends
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  You must show yourself friendly And man, that just speaks to my heart.
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  Because I'm talking about being the friend of God. And I'm talking about being
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  able to say in my heart of hearts that me and Jesus are friends.
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  And I thought about what it meant to be friendly to God.
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  You see, I'll tell you what it means. In Matthew chapter 25,
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  verses 34 through 40, he tells us exactly how to be the friend of God.
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  He says, Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand,
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  Come ye blessed of my father.
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  Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
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  For I was a hungered, and you gave me meat.
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  I was thirsty, and you gave me drink.
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  I was a stranger, and you took me in. Naked, and you clothed me.
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  I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came unto me.
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  Then shall the righteous answer him and say, Lord, when saw we thee at hunger and fed thee?
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  Or thirsty and gave thee drink?
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  When saw we thee a stranger and took thee in? Or naked and clothed thee?
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  Or when saw we thee sick or in prison and came unto thee?
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  The king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you,
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  for as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me,
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  you see he said that I could be his friend and he said that if I loved him I
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  would keep his commandments.
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  And he explained to me in his commandments that I needed to love one another
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  and that to truly be in his will, I had to love my neighbor as myself.
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  And that I needed to realize that there wasn't any greater love than laying
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  down my life so that someone else might have one.
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  And I realized that being the friend of God is being his hands extended and his feet.
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  And when you put your arms around that little lonely person, you're hugging Jesus.
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  And when you sit at the bedside of that frail, sick person, you're sitting at the bedside of Jesus.
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  And when you run that errand for that elderly person, you're walking for Jesus.
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  For you see he said if
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  you love me you'll keep my commandments and
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  if you keep my commandments you're my
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  friend and he said these things I have spoken unto you that your joy that my
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  joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full.
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  Did you hear what he said these things i've spoken them to you you see there's a call,
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  upon your life because he
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  left the splendor of heaven to come
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  and dwell among us and he came to seek
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  and to save those which were lost and all of us
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  were lost and his call was that
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  you would come to repentance and know him as savior because
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  he said it was his wish that none should perish but that
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  all should come to repentance and he
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  said i love you and he held nothing back he gave all he had for me and he spoke
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  to me and as we listen to this lesson and we began to consider our ways.
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  I was a little girl when I first heard him speak.
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  You know what? He's spoken to me every day since. And sometimes I ignore the voice.
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  And oh, how it must grief his heart. But you know what?
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  He says that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our
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  sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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  And then he speaks again. And when I don't harbor iniquity in my heart,
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  I can call unto him and expect him to answer me with great assurance that my friend will help me.
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  And in Hebrews chapter 4, he said, I could come boldly to the throne of God
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  that I might obtain help.
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  That's what friends do. They give you what they have.
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  They help you when you're in deed and they don't keep score or a tally.
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  They just give. love and the love
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  is so strong between them that it
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  doesn't matter if one's given more than the other and i can't out give god and
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  i can't give him what he's given me but i don't have to i just gotta give him
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  my heart because he's gone and he loves me and he said these things i have spoken to you.
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  Doesn't it just thrill you? He spoke them to you, that your joy might be full.
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  But did you hear what he said before that?
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  That my joy might remain in you.
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  He gives you joy, but only if you love him, because you won't appreciate him. You won't receive him.
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  I told my friend.
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  You don't know him you've missed it all and my friend i don't know what you're
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  doing for him and it may be hard
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  and it may be strenuous or sad completely unthinkt but i have good news,
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  my god said don't be weary in well-doing and my god said i'm watching you and
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  i never sleep and I never slumber, and my eyes are going to and fro,
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  and everything you do, I see and listen, my friend,
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  lay up your treasures in heaven, where rust and moth does not corrupt.
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  Hallelujah to the Lamb, there's a payday coming,
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  but I don't have to wait, where I have joy unspeakable and full of glory and
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  a peace that passes all understanding.
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  Consider your ways and love your neighbor as yourself.
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  Thank you for joining us in today's podcast. You can visit the show notes for
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  quotes from today's podcast and scripture references We pray today has been
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  a blessing And we encourage you to reach out to us through our app,
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  our website, or our Facebook page,
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  slash watwm If you visit our website,
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  Women at the Well Ministries is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving our Heavenly Father.
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  And it is through your loving and generous support that our ministry continues to bless others.
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  To learn how to partner with Women at the Well Ministries, please visit our website.
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  Thank you to the Gospel Group Fudge Creek for letting us use their hit song, Happy Girl.
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  We greatly appreciate your prayers. We are praying daily for our listeners.
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  Remember that God loves you. You are loved.
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  Like sunshine on it.