Latest / CCC West Covina / The Perpetuity of Praise, Part 4

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The Perpetuity of Praise, Part 4 · CCC West Covina

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The pathway to praise is the the most joyful journey you can ever
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travel and we have had the privilege of of looking at the
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pathway to praise. Your journey began the day you
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confess Jesus Christ as as Lord and Savior on that day when you
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gave your your life to Christ. The Bible tells us that in
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Isaiah 4321 that the Lord was forming you for himself, and
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that the people that He's formed for himself, they will declare
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his praise. So your journey along the
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pathway of praise began when you gave your life to Christ.
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Later Isaiah would say in Isaiah 61 that when the Messiah would
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come, He would clothe you with a mantle or a garment of praise.
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He would clothe you with the garments of God, which are
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called the the robes of righteousness.
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So because our Lord has wrapped us in the garments of praise, we
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can't help but praise His glorious name.
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So Isaiah would go on to say in Isaiah chapter 61 that he would
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praise the name of the Lord, and that his soul would exult in God
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simply because He was clothed with the garments of praise.
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And so we have several months ago looked at some of the
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components of the pathway to praise.
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We began looking at the privilege of praise, and then
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you move from there to look at the prophet of praise.
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And then we looked at the purpose and priority of praise,
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along with the prerequisites of praise as well as the person of
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praise. And we even looked at a portrait
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of praise in the Scriptures. But over the last three weeks,
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we have looked at what we've called the perpetuity of praise,
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that is the state or quality that lasts forever.
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Because praise is that which lasts forever.
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For once you leave this life and enter into glory, your praise
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will be perfect and your praise will fill the glories of heaven.
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But until that day, we we journey along this pathway.
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It's a pathway that's marked by perpetual praise, never ending
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praise, continual praise. In fact, the Bible says that we
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are to rejoice always. Philippians 4.
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First Thessalonians chapter 5 the Bible says we're to give
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thanks in everything. First Thessalonians chapter 5
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we're to give thanks for everything.
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That's Ephesians chapter 5. The Bible says in Psalm 119 that
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seven times a day I will praise thy glorious name.
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The Bible also says in Psalm 113 that from the rising of the sun
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to its setting, I will praise the name of the Lord.
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In Psalm 63 the psalmist says I will praise the name of the Lord
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all day long. In Psalm One, O 4, the psalmist
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says I will sing to the Lord all day long, and then Psalm 34
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tells us these words. I will bless the Lord at all
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times, and His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
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So over and over again the Bible tells us how praising God and
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giving thanks to God and rejoicing in the Lord is to
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happen all day long, continually, as long as I live
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on this planet, until of course, I enter into glory and that
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praise then will be perfected. But the question comes, how is
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it that I can perpetually praise the name of the Lord when I
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constantly go through trials and turmoil and tragedies?
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How can I continue to give thanks to the Lord?
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I missed all of my pain and all of my problems, and how is it I
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can rejoice always when I find that my life is filled with
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difficulties and all kinds of distressing situations?
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And so we have sought to answer the question how that happens.
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And so by looking at the perpetuity of praise, we are
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asking the question, how is it I can continue to live a life of
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praise no matter what happens in my life, no matter what external
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issues come to me, no matter how how hard things might be from
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day-to-day, whether it's hard and with my family are hard at
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work or hard at school or just hard physically from day-to-day.
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How is it I can live a life of perpetual praise?
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And so three weeks ago we began to tell you, you can do this
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because God's power is always available.
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Power belongs to God. And the Bible tells us that when
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the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you shall receive power.
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And God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit
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of power. Second Timothy 17.
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And that power that God has is an unending, unlimited,
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unparalleled power that's always available to His people.
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So I can live a life of perpetual praise because of the
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power of God. The power of God is always
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available. And then we told you that the
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promises of God are undeniable. All the promises of God are, are
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yes, in Christ Jesus. 2nd Corinthians 120 So every promise
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that God gives is yes, in a son, in other in other words, his Son
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has fulfilled all those promises.
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So whether it's the promise of of peace or the promise of joy,
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whether it's the promise of of strength or eternal life,
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whether it's the promise of his presence, they're always there.
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They're undeniable. Because of that, praise then, is
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perpetual. So because His power is always
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available, His promises are undeniable.
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And then #3 His presence is unavoidable.
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In other words, even though you walk through the valley of the
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shadow of death, you fear no evil.
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For thou art with me, thy rod. And they staff, they, they
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comfort me. His presence is unavoidable.
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So no matter where you go, the psalmist said in Psalm 139, no
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matter where I am, you are always there.
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So our Lord says, I am with you always, even to the end of the
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age. So because his, his presence is
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unavoidable, I am able to live a life of perpetual praise.
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And then we said #4 His Providence is unsearchable.
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The details in which God works out His plan every day for you.
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Things are happening in you, around you all the time that God
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has orchestrated everything. It's His Providence, and yet
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it's unsearchable. In Romans 11, Paul says it's
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unfathomable. You, you can't wrap your arms
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around it. So it causes you to trust Him
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amidst the pathway of praise. You trust Him as you journey to
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each day. And Paul said in Romans 1136
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that everything is from God. Everything is to God because
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everything comes through God. To Him be the glory forever and
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ever. Amen.
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So we can say, as Paul said in Romans 8, I know that all things
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will work together for good to those who are called according
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to his purpose, to those who are, who are loved by God, they
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will all come together for good. I might not be able to piece
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them all together, but that's not my job.
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God does all that, so His Providence is unsearchable.
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I just trust Him to work out all the details for His glory and
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for my good. And then #5 we said his pardon
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is invaluable. Because inevitably as you
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journey along the pathway of praise, you, you find yourself
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doubting God. You find yourself questioning
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God. You find yourself sinning
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against God, griping, complaining and mumbling.
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But his pardon is invaluable. Bless the Lord, O my soul and
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all that is within me. Bless His holy name and forget
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none of his benefits. And the very first one he
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mentions is he pardons all your iniquity.
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And because God is so willing to forgive me of my sins, I can't
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help but praise His glorious name perpetually.
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Because my sin is perpetual and because His forgiveness is
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always invaluable. I praise His name because I know
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that when I go to Him, he forgives.
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And then we said that is provision is indescribable.
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Second Corinthians 915 thanks being to God for his
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indescribable gift and the gift of God's eternal life through
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Jesus Christ our Lord. That's indescribable.
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It's inexhaustible, it's incomparable because it's the
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eternal life, the life that God gives, and because that's His
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provision for you and me, we receive his life.
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We can't help but praise them when we understand that.
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So because His, his provision is indescribable, His person,
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that's the next point, is adorable, worthy of adoration,
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worthy of praise. Why?
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Because he's the God of life, He's the God of light.
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He is the God who is Lord of all, who is Liberator, who is
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Lamb, who is everything. And so because of who he is, I
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perpetually praise his name. So that should be 7.
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That's the number of perfection, number of completion.
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But I'm not done yet. So I'm going to give you 3 more
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today, three more principles that will help you along the
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pathway of praise, to be able to perpetually give praise to your
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God. Here is number 8.
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His precepts are desirable. His precepts are desirable.
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So when the psalmist says in Psalm 119, these words in verse
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#164 he says 7 times a day, I praise you.
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Why? Because of your righteous
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ordinances. The psalmist says I praise you 7
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times a day and we talked about this last week.
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It it's not that there are 7 schedules throughout the day in
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which you praise the Lord. It just speaks of the perfection
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and completion of 1's praise to God.
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But his praise is around God's righteous ordinances.
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I'm going to praise you because your commandments, your
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statutes, your law, your ordinances are righteous.
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They're perfect and I will praise you forever.
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Put me in your Bible to Psalm 19.
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Psalm 19, a very familiar Psalm, but because of its familiarity,
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so many times we we miss the the the impact of the Psalm
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specifically in our lives. So in Psalm 19, the psalmist
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says this in verse #7 the law of the Lord is perfect, restoring
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the soul. So God's law is perfect.
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It converts the soul, soul. It restores the soul, it saves
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the soul. The testimony of the Lord is
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sure making wise the simple then verse 8 the precepts of the Lord
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are right rejoicing the heart because of the righteousness of
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God's precepts. There is great joy in my heart.
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In fact, he goes on to say these words.
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He says the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the
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eyes, the fear of the Lord is clean, and during forever the
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judgments of the Lord are true. They are righteous altogether.
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They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold,
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so sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
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Moreover, by then your servant is warned.
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And keeping them there is great reward.
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The precepts of God are are desirable.
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Why? Because they caused my heart to
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rejoice. And David says they are more
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desirable than gold. Yes, and much fine gold.
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Sweeter also than the honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
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And when I keep them, I'm warned I'm protected, I'm watched out
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for. And in keeping them, there is
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great reward. Not not just a reward, but great
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reward. Turn to Psalm 119 and listen to
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what the psalmist says about why the precepts of God are so
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desirable, and this becomes essential for you to understand
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if you are going to perpetually praise the name of God.
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He says this in verse 14. I have rejoiced in the way of
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your testimonies as much as in all riches.
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I have rejoiced in your testimonies, in your law, in
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your commandments as much as in all riches.
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And then he says this. I will meditate in your precepts
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in regard to ways. I shall delight in your
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statutes. I shall not forget your word.
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Verse 24, your testimonies also are my delight.
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They're my counselors. I delight in the testimonies of
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God because they counsel me. They give me wisdom, they make
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wise the simple. He said in Psalm 19.
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He says in, in verse #35 make me walk in the path of your
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commandments, for I delight in it.
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Verse 47, I shall delight in your commandments which I love,
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and I shall lift up my hands to your commandments which I love.
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I'm going to lift up my hands. I, I'm going to praise your
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name. I'm going to honor you because I
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love your commandments, simply because they are my soul's
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delight. And then over in, in verse #72
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of Psalm 119. The law of your mouth is better
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to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
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Wow, how many, how many of us can say that?
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He says in verse #92 If your law had not been my delight, I would
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have perished in my affliction. Verse 111 I've inherited your
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testimonies forever, for they are the joy of my heart.
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Then look at verse #127 Therefore I love your
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commandments above gold. Yes, above fine gold.
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Verse 143. Trouble and anguish have come
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upon me yet. Your commandments are my
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delight. Verse 162 I rejoice at your word
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as one who finds great spoil verse #174 I long for your
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salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight.
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Let my soul live that it may praise you.
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Wow, how many of us can actually say what the psalmist said, that
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the law of God is more precious to me, more valuable to me, more
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treasurable to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver
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pieces? Isaiah and Isaiah chapter 42,
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verse #21 said this. The Lord was pleased for his
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righteousness sake to make the law great and glorious.
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Because of the righteousness of God, he made His law great.
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He made his law glorious. So the psalmist says, I have
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treasured your word in my heart, that I might not sin against
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Thee. I rejoice in the way of your
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commandments because they delight my soul.
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Everything about what the psalmist is saying is that God's
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word is more valuable to him than anything else.
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So Proverbs Solomon comes along the Proverbs and says in
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Proverbs 2323, buy truth and never sell it.
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In other words, purchase that, use all that you have, give all
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that you have to to purchase that which is the most valuable
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thing on the planet and never compromise it.
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Never sell it, never get rid of it.
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It's the most valuable thing there is.
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Buy truth, never sell it, because truth is everything.
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But for the most part we can't say that because there's
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something or someone more valuable to us than the truth of
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the Word of God. And if there is, there is no way
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on God's green earth you can continue in perpetual praise
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because that's something or someone will disappoint you
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somewhere along the line. But God will not.
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His commandments will not. In fact, it was Job, the most
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righteous man on the planet, the God fearing man, the blameless
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man who lost everything. Literally.
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He lost everything. Except for two things, his wife
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and his life. Everything else was gone.
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Nothing left. Nothing was left.
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His business gone. His home gone.
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His livestock gone. His children, gone.
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Everything. His health worse than anything
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you can ever imagine, all gone, sitting in a garbage dump in
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ashes with no encouragement from his wife.
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She only speaks once and her encouragement is to curse God
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and die. That's all she says.
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No support from his wife, no support from his friends because
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they are continually condemning him, because there must be sin
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in his life for him to be in such turmoil.
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No prayer group to come around in and pray amidst his battles,
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amidst his hardship and pain. He has nothing.
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And when I say nothing, I mean nothing.
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He says his words. I have not departed from the
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commandments of his lips, for I've treasured the words of his
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mouth more than my necessary food.
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That's what Job says. I've treasured the words of his
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mouth more than his necessary food.
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There. There is nothing I value more
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than what God has already said. And remember, Job didn't have a
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Bible to read. You do.
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But he treasured the word of God more than his necessary food.
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Meaning that God's Word was essential for him to make it.
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Amidst all the pain he experienced, amidst all the
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tragedy that he faced, amidst all the emotional turmoil of a
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wife that will not support him, he had the word of the living
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God and he treasured that more than His necessary food.
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How about you? What do you treasure more than
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the word of God? What do you value more than the
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truth of God? You see, as you travel the
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pathway to praise, there is all kinds of obstacles that you will
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face. Unless God's precepts are
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desirable to you, you will throw in the towel.
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You will begin to moan and groan and complain and gripe and
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bellyache in search for something or someone else to
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fill the void in your life. What's the word of God that does
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that? Moses had told the nation of
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Israel toward the end of his life as he gave the last words
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in Deuteronomy 32, he says, what I'm saying to you are are are
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not empty words, They're not vain words, they're not idle
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words. The words I'm giving to you,
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they actually are your very life.
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They're your life. So Christ says in Matthew 4, man
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shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds
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from the mouth of God. We can quote that, but I'm not
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sure we believe that. You see, if something is more
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desirable to you or someone is more desirable to you, then then
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the truth of God's Word, you will not praise the name of the
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Lord. But when God's word is
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everything valuable, so valuable, you can't wait to
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meditate upon it. You can't wait to read it.
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You can't wait to study it. You can't wait to sit under the
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teaching of it. It's like the psalmist says, I
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run the way of your commandments.
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I am actually running all the way of your commandments that I
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might hear them, see them, understand them, follow them.
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I am running that way. But for the most part, we, we
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don't even walk that way, let alone run that way.
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Yet we wonder why, why I go through life and, and I can't
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muster up the power to praise the name of the Lord.
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It's simply because, and it's just this simple.
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It's not rocket science. There's something more desirable
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to you than the Word of God. It's someone else or something
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else. But it is something other than
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the truth of the Word of God. His precepts are desirable.
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When we recognize that everything changes, my
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perspective changes, my attitude changes, and my circumstances
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will will not change. But they don't need to change.
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My situation is not going to change, but it doesn't need to
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change. Why?
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Because at the psalmist said, if your commandments had not been
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the delight of my soul, I would have perished in my affliction.
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We read it earlier when you are perishing under your affliction,
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when you were able to, unable to hold your head above water, when
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the anxieties of life are weighing you down so much that
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you can't handle the difficulties.
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It's because there is something or someone else that's more
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desirable to you than the precepts of God.
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It's just that simple. Just look at Joe.
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Compare your life to Joe. But you can't do that.
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Why can't you do that? Because you will never suffer
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what Job suffer never will. But He recognized the value of
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the Word that came from the lips of His God, and He had nothing
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compared to what you and I have. By holding in our hands the
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living and abiding truth of God, which leads to point #9 and that
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is, His peace is attainable. His peace is attainable.
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Now listen carefully, because it falls right on the heel of the
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previous one. Psalm 119, 165 says it this way.
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Those who love your law have great peace, and nothing causes
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them to stumble. You see that those who love your
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law have great peace. It falls right on the heels of
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verse 164. Seven times a day I will praise
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you because of your righteous ordinances.
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And those who love your law, they have great peace.
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Listen, amidst all of your anxiety, if you're not at peace,
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there is a simple solution. You do not love the law of God
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like you think you do because the Bible says those who love
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the law of God have great peace and nothing causes them to
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stumble. You can say whatever you want to
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say. You can give whatever excuse you
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want to give. It does not hold water when it
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comes to the truth of the living God.
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God's word is true and He says that those who love the law of
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God have great peace. Not just peace, they have great
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peace. And amidst all your anxiety,
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amidst all your difficulty, amidst all the issues you go
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through day after day after day, peace is attainable.
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That's why you praise His name, because it's His peace.
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My peace I give unto you, not as the world gives.
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So whatever the world has, they, they can't duplicate this, they
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can't imitate this. They, they can't, they, they
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can't do anything to give you the peace that I can give you,
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because I'm going to give you my peace.
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My peace I'm going to give you. And so the Kingdom of God is
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what righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
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It's not eating and drinking. Paul says the Kingdom of God,
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God is not centered around your physicality.
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It's all centered around your spirituality.
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What's happening on the inside the Kingdom of God is
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righteousness. And those who are righteous have
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peace, and those who have peace have joy.
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See that. And so those who love thy law
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have great peace. Let me ask you a question.
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Do you have that? Do you have great peace in your
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soul? The Bible says these words in
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the book of Isaiah. Isaiah is speaking to a nation
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just about to go into captivity, and he gives prophecy concerning
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the future and what the future has for them.
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And Isaiah 26 verse #1 he says in that day.
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And that is a phrase that describes the the day of the
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Lord, the time of tribulation, the time in which God is going
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to destroy Israel's enemies and restore Israel to Himself.
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In that day. This song will be sung in the
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land of Judah. We have a strong city.
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He sets up walls and ramparts for security.
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We have a strong city. He's protected us.
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He's put up the walls and ramparts around us.
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Song that will be sung. Open the gates the righteous
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nation may enter. The one that remains faithful.
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The steadfast of mind. You will keep in perfect peace
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those whose mind is fixed on you, those whose mind is
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completely focused on you, you will keep in perfect peace,
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peace, peace. In the Hebrew, it's the
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constancy of God's peace. It cannot be imitated.
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It cannot be copied. The world cannot give it.
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No amount of money will suffice. No amount of relationships will
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suffice. Only the God of peace, the
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steadfast of mine, you will keep in perfect peace.
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Because He trusts in you. His peace is attainable, but you
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most completely focus upon Him so that you will only trust Him
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and no one else, and nothing else.
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For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting rock.
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Let me ask you a question today. Do you have peace in your soul?
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You have peace because you're no longer an enemy of God, but
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you're now a friend of God because you've been reconciled
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to God, that you are now a child of the Kingdom of God.
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Is that you? Do you have that kind of peace?
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You have the kind of peace that allows you to live in situations
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and circumstances that even though they're they're filled
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with turmoil and filled with all kinds of difficulty.
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Your soul is at rest because it trusts in the Lord.
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It waits upon the Lord. It's at peace, inner peace.
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The Bible says in the book of Romans.
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I'm sorry, the book of Second Thessalonians.
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My bad. Second Thessalonians 3 verse
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number #16 Now may the Lord of peace himself continually grant
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you peace in every circumstance. What a prayer.
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Now may the the Lord of peace grant you peace in every
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circumstance, in every situation.
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May you be at peace in your soul.
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May you be at rest in your soul because you trust in the Lord
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who is your rock. His peace is attainable.
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The steadfast mind will be kept in in perfect peace, will be
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kept in the kind of peace that God himself experienced while he
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went through trials in this life.
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Because God's peace is attainable.
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I can't help but praise Him. I can't help but thank Him.
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I can't help but rejoice in the name of God.
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Perpetual praise happens because because His precepts are
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desirable. More desirable than than fine
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gold, Yes, then the drippings of the honeycomb, more valuable to
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me than thousands of gold and pieces of silver than all the
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spoils in the world. Because his precepts are
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desirable. His peace, then, is attainable
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because great peace have those who love.
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Thy law. If you do not have peace, it's
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because you love something more than you love the law of God.
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If if you have something more desirable to you than the
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presets of God, you will not praise His name.
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You just won't. But if they are, then praise is
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given 7 times a day. From the rising of the sun to
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the to it's setting. The name of the Lord will be
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praised and #10 this will be our last one.
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I have many, many more, but I don't want to have a the
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perpetuity of sermons on the same subject, so I'm going to
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give you the last one. OK, listen carefully.
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It has to be AP word because all the other ones begin with P,
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right? So here it goes.
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Listen carefully. His parocia is inescapable.
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His parocia? What is that?
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It's just coming. It's the word in the Greek that
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describes the coming of God and the subsequent presence.
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So you can actually say his, his second coming is inescapable.
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But to maintain the alliteration, his parousia is
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inescapable. His, his coming again is without
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a doubt our our Lord is coming again.
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And if this doesn't help you learn to praise the name of the
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Lord perpetually, then I have no hope for you because everything
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centers on the future in the coming Kingdom of God.
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That one day we will see Him face to face and we'll be like
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him, for we'll see Him as He is. And every, every New Testament
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writer had this hope in him. This was the anticipation that
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motivated them to live for the glory of God, to keep their
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lives pure before God, knowing that Jesus could come at any
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moment. They they live in anticipation
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of that. It is the, the glorious
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appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord.
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So many times you, you talk about the coming of Jesus and
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you talk about his return and, and, and people, people can
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become numb to that. I don't understand that because
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the crown of righteousness is available to all those who long
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for his appearing. There should be this longing in
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your in your heart, this line in your soul to to lead this life
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and enter into God's glorious presence should motivate us.
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And Paul would say these words very familiar to us.
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First Thessalonians 4 verse #16 For the Lord himself will
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descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
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Archangel, and with the trumpet of God.
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And the dead in Christ will rise first.
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Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with
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them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
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So shall we always be with the Lord.
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Therefore comfort one another with these words.
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With what words? The words of the arrival of the
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Messiah. He's going to come.
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And those who have already died in Christ, those of you who've
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had husbands or wives, who have already gone to the presence of
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the Lord, they're bodies of rise first.
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And we who are alive remain, shall be caught up together with
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him in the clouds, in the air. And so shall we ever be with the
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Lord. That great reunion and glory.
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His parousia is inescapable. It's coming, it could be at any
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moment. And for those who do not live in
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light of his return, those who do not love His return, those
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who do not long for His return, will have a hard time living a
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life of perpetual praise. But those who do, they wake
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every morning from the rising of the sun to its setting.
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Today could be the day Jesus could come at any moment, and
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we're always living in anticipation of that.
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We praise the fact that because we're his children, that one day
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we will be with Him for all eternity.
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May God give us the grace to understand these principles so
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that as we travel the pathway to praise, our praise for Him will
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be perpetual. Let's pray together.
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Lord God, we thank you for today.
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We thank you, Lord, that we've had this opportunity to be
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together and to be reminded once again of how it is we are to
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rejoice. Always give thanks in everything
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and for everything to sing all day the praises of His name, to
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magnify the name of the Lord continually.
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We thank you, Lord, that as we open your word, you're able to
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help us move along the life of perpetual praise.
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My prayer, Lord, for all of us, myself included, that Lord, our
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lives would be marked by exulting in our God and that
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those who see us and watch us, they would see a joy and
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excitement, a life filled with praise to our God, that they
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might wonder what is it that causes you to live that way in
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such joy and excitement for your God.
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And we would have the opportunity to explain to them,
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we are at peace with God. We understand the person of God,
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His provision indescribable. But let me try to describe it
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for you. For the gift of God's eternal
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life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Pray this in the name of our soon coming King, Jesus Christ
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our Lord, Amen.