Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #20221224 - God’s Greatest Gift to Man - Isaiah 9:6-7

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#20221224 - God’s Greatest Gift to Man - Isaiah 9:6-7 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's word with pastor and author.
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Ed, Taylor recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora,
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Colorado to learn more about the many resources available,
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through abounding Grace, Media, or to tune into our live stream
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Services. Visit us online at Calvary,
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co.'s Church or download our free
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Calvary Church app. Now, here's Pastor Ed to take us
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into our study. Amen.
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Amen, if you have your Bible is already open.
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Turn them over to Isaiah chapter 9, a very familiar passage of
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scripture. That's visited during Christmas
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time. Isaiah, chapter 9.
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When you get there, which is to the right of the, Psalms, when
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you get there, we're going to pick up around verse 2 or so.
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Isaiah chapter 9 in verse 2. It says, the people who walked
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in darkness have seen a great light, those who dwelt in the
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land of the shadow of death upon them, a light has shined You
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have multiplied, the nation and increased.
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Its Joy. They Rejoice before you
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according to the joy of harvest as men rejoice.
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When they divide the spoil for you have broken, the Yoke of his
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burden and the staff of his shoulder.
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The rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian, for every
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Warrior Sandal from the noisy battle and garments rolled in
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blood will be used for burning in.
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You'll fire For unto us. A child is born, unto us a son
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is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder.
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His name will be called, wonderful, counselor, Mighty
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God, Everlasting father, Prince of Peace, and of the increase of
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his government and peace. There will be no end upon the
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throne of David and over his kingdom to order.
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Order it and establish it with judgment and Justice from that
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time forward even forever. The Zeal of the Lord of hosts
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will perform this You know, Christmas is a wonderful time.
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One of my favorite times of the year, it seems like even though
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there's tension and stress and pressure and, you know, people
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are fighting for toys and TVs and even parking spaces, you
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know, that that's rare, even though it gets a lot of
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attention. It's actually in the minority,
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the majority of people, in a time, like, this are filled with
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joy and some sort of Happiness, even if it is Tends to with
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sorrow and pain and grief. They kind of go like, parallel,
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they go together. You can't just dismiss those
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things. But like the Bible says, we're
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going to Rejoice with those who rejoice.
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And so when I see you happy, I'm happy.
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But we're also going to grieve or mourn with those who mourn
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and when I see you sad, I want to be sad alongside of you
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looking for the comfort of God. But nevertheless, it's good to
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be together, both near and far. Beeping Jesus.
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And that was a setup. That was like, a ready for an
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amen. So I'm going to do it over
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again, I'm gonna set you up, it's good to be together, near
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and far worshiping Jesus. All right.
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Just just make sure you guys follow along with me follow
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along, it is good to be together and I find it interesting that
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even in a time of great rejoicing there is, and there
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are those that just have a disrupted peace in their life.
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They're just not willing to give an inch when it comes to joy and
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happiness and I know we live in a culture that tries to dismiss
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Christmas and and really I mean really the Bible describes what
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kind of culture we live and we're actually living in it.
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We happen to live in a time where good is quite clearly
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being called evil and evil quite clearly being called and and for
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us that truly want to learn and cling to the truth, we're kind
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of caught in the middle of all of that, but nonetheless, Less
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people are talking about Jesus now even if they're trying to
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deny him, even if they wanting to dismiss him, it is true.
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I know that instead of Merry Christmas, there are now happy
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holidays and seizing, greetings, and all sorts of things, but
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none of that dismisses, the reality and the truth of the
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birth of Jesus Christ, neither do you need to let it weigh you
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down and bum you out? You know, the Savior that little
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baby. Has a name and names are very
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important. You know in the Old Testament
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often a name was given that would reflect the character of
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that person. People like Jacob, whose name
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meant, he'll catch her or Jobe. Whose name means he, Who Weeps
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or cries? Joseph, his name was, his name
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means, increase, or addition. And then there was a man by the
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name of zerubbabel. And his name means Stranger in
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Babylon, which is exactly what he was Ruth.
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Her naming satisfied, Esther, her name means secret or hidden
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and names are important. I mean, when you're in a group,
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when you're in a room, This size and your name is mentioned, it
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immediately gets your attention. For some reason, we are tuned in
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to our name. And for many of you you even see
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in your own life, that the the name or the or the origin of
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your name, even reflects a little bit of your character, or
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how you grew up today. Researchers, tell us that the
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names. We give our kids actually speak
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more about their parents than they do their children.
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It reveals a lot about what a parent values and what they Our
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goals are, especially for their children in every generation.
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And actually there's a website where you can look this up every
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year. There are a ranking of popular
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names, like, today as I looked up on in 2022, the most popular
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names for girls and 2022 were Aurora of all names, Violet,
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Charlotte, Amelia, and even Hazel made a comeback on the
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list and Aria, they were popular.
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They're for girls for guys, for boys, the popular names this
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year were a sure Theodore Oliver Noah and even Henry made the
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list for men and boys names this year.
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It's not uncommon for parents. Some of you have done this to
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give virtue names to girls names, like Faith, Grace, Hope
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or charity biblical names are popular as well.
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Like Matthew Joshua Mary, for boys, even Geographic names are
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used, boys. Boys named Dakota Texas or even
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Denver, although I haven't met a kid walking around named
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Breckinridge with a sister named Pueblo but hey the names are out
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there. There is though, Princess Aurora
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and she's a popular name this year but then there are those
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parents that seem to want to make life miserable for their
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kids. A lot like the old Johnny Cash
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song about the boy named Sue you know of Sue don't you?
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These are actual names that parents gave their kids and I'm
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asking you to stick with me and this is the time of giving
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gifts. So if you want to give a
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courtesy laugh, you can give that to me.
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During this time last name Turner, they named their
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daughter Paige. The last name, peace, they named
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their son Warren. Stick with me.
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That's only to stick with me. Last name bath, they name their
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daughter Anita. Last name, case named their son?
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Justin or last name arm? They named their son Carl.
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Carl arm. All right.
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Now if you have to explain it it doesn't become funny anymore.
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Last name Banks. First name, Robin last name
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bacon name, their son, Chris middle initial P crispy bacon.
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Last names. Aster first name d.
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Okay, I lost you. I won't even go on no more.
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The Bible says, in Proverbs that a good name is to be chosen
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rather than great riches loving favor rather than silver and
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gold again. The Bible says, the name of the
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Lord is a strong tower the righteous run to it, and are
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safe. And so we ask today, what's in a
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name what really depends on Whose name it is because one
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day, a few thought a couple thousand years ago Gabriel and
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Archangel of God, announces to Mary and Joseph that there will
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be a birth And she will bring forth a son and you shall call
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his name Jesus for, he will save his people from their sins.
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Now, the Hebrew form of Jesus is the name Joshua and the name.
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Joshua means Jehovah is salvation.
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And so what a name to carry to be reminded of the Salvation of
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God, The Bible says therefore God has all highly exalted him
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and given him the name which is above every name that at the
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name of Jesus every knee should bow of those in heaven and those
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on Earth and those under the Earth.
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Again, the Bible says, nor is there salvation in any other.
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For there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which
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we must be saved in the name of Jesus.
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The story of Jesus coming into the world is not so much a true
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story of his birth as much as it is.
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The true story of the tremendous life-altering gift that he is to
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us. It's not a true story even
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though during this time part of the happiness and joy, is this
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exchange and receiving of gifts. It's a beautiful thing to have
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others on your mind, to think about what you might be able to.
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To do for them, even in the most smallest of ways and expressed
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that care and concern in the giving of gifts.
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I think it's equally important. That not only are we good givers
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of gifts but we're also good receivers of gifts.
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I mean, that's a wonderful thing to give an exchange is to
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receive with joy and happiness. The thought that someone had and
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baking a cake or a pie or cookies, or purchasing a gift
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that was, well, thought out and desirable that they would think
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of you and prayer. I mean, I I think it's a
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beautiful beautiful thing to enjoy, not only around
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Christmas, but throughout the year and when we think of
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Christmas, it's important to recognize though that the
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emphasis is not us giving and receiving gifts among each other
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as good as that might be. The emphasis of the birth of
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Christ is God's gift to man. God's gift to man The Gift of
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eternal life, the gift of the Forgiveness of sins.
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I mean here we are in a church thinking about this baby Jesus.
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That was born. We're going to look at his name
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and just a moment but the primary fundamental reason God
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sent his son. Jesus Christ is so that your
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sins might be forgiven. I know I might be hard or you
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might even disagree thinking you know II know I'm in a church and
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I know you're a pastor and I know you got the Bible and
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you've got to talk about Sin. In, but I'm not really
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interested in sin II can understand where you, where you
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coming from in many ways for many years, I wasn't interested
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myself, I was doing my own thing, my own way and in quite
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frankly, enjoying it to some degree.
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But, you know, the thing about enjoying a life apart from God
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is that the day always ends and the people in the parties end
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and the people go home and friendships change.
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And what happens is your Left alone, just you.
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And when you're alone, your mind begins to think about the
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meaning of life. I mean, you look at the parties
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that you're involved in ego, is this all there is to life.
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Perhaps, it's not a partying life that you have, but maybe
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you live in the bottle or you live now under the influence of
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some prescription drug or some legalize marijuana.
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And that's just you don't want to feel the weight of
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everything. And so you just kind of see I
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press it through a lot of different decisions, but at the
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end of the day, when everything wears off, you've got to, you've
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got to sit there and think, you know, is this all there is to
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life. And today, I have the privilege
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of declaring to you. That.
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Absolutely, no. That is not all there is to
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life, but if you never come to terms, if you're never willing
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to admit, if you aren't willing to choose to turn away from the
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lifestyle that you're in, that doesn't include.
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I'd God. And then in I pause there for a
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second because I know folks will go.
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But what do you mean? I'm a good person.
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I have nothing against God per se.
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I'm willing to be here. I don't I I mean here I am and I
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would say that's a good thing that you are inching toward God
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tonight. I commend you, you know?
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Not everybody wants to be her. I mean some of you right now you
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are timing me and going. How long will this guy go?
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Well, two and a half hours is about as far as I'll go.
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So just enjoy the know. You're, you know, you're here
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because you were invited, you're here.
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Because this is your family, you're here.
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Because I don't maybe you were even bribed.
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If anybody was bribed, good job, good job.
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But here's the thing, why would we have and have at all these
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services to our church? And why would we be praying for
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you? Because we care about your soul.
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There's a significance about your relationship with God and
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the distance that's there that you need to come to terms with.
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And if you were to come in and out of the this the doors of
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this building and whether I was here or someone else standing at
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this Pulpit, didn't talk to you about your relationship with
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God. We would fail you, but more
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importantly we'd fail. God, do you know this building
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exist to declare the goodness of God into your life?
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This is the only reason why we gather, of course, for us that
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have a relationship with God, we already worship.
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It's a joy. Come together and worship.
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But if we didn't tell you about the condition of your soul being
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used by God to bring some sort of conviction into your life.
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Even those of you that would say you know I'm a good person, I
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wouldn't argue with you. I would I would want you to be
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good. I want you to be more good, but
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let me ask you this as you assess your life as a good
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person, how good does a person need to be to spend eternity
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with God. I mean, depends on who you
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compare yourself to write. You're a good person compared
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to. So and so, yeah, we're all good
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person compared to so-and-so, but how are you compared to the
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perfect? Righteous Savior.
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Jesus Christ. And today, we invite you into a
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relationship with him that you acknowledge, you could say
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something very simple before, God, but very meaningful saying
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to God, I admit that I've sinned against you.
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I mean, there is no way to eternal life apart from this
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baby. Jesus who was born God's gift to
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you? And to me, we learn a little bit
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about him in this text that we read together in Isaiah.
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We learn a little about him, we learn a little bit about him.
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By his name, notice with me again in verse 6 of Isaiah 9, We
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learn that a child is born. In a son is given And the
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government will be upon his shoulder and his name will be
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called. Now when the Bible says
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something that's going to happen in the future, When God Says
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something that's going to happen in the future, we typically
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refer to that, you know, if we're just regularly talking in
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our conversation as a prediction, as a prediction, if
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you say something that's going to happen tonight, you're kind
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of making a prediction. Well, the Bible when the Bible
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uses says something that's going to happen in the future, the
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Bible refers to Stu that not merely as a prediction but as a
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prophecy and Isaiah 9 is a prophecy of the birth of Jesus
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Christ. So not only.
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Now looking backwards. Is it a prophecy that the Savior
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will be born? But you and I now are on the
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other end of this prophecy and we can say definitively that a
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savior was born. And so what God Said would
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happen here has already happened and his name we see gives us
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Mystics of what it means to be in relationship with Jesus.
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Number one, notice it says, his name will be called wonderful,
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and it's in a relationship with Jesus Christ that you find, he
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takes care of the dullness of Life.
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The mundane parts of life, the everyday parts of life, the work
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the Sleep, the eat, the shower every day.
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Day after day, day after day, he's wonderful.
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The word literally means. Ordinarily good and life with
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Jesus. Just that good beyond our
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imaginations. Jesus would say as much when he
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was walking the Earth as an adult.
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Speaking of the devil, he called him a thief.
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Jesus did Jesus said, the thief does not come except to steal
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and to kill and to destroy. But I have come that they may
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have life and that they may have it more abundantly, wonderful.
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We all have different definitions of what an abundant
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life might be. I mean that that is kind of the
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treadmill of life that everyone's on, it seems if I
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just had more money I was just successful and Wealthy, then I
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would arrive if I can become that influencer or start a
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multibillion-dollar business. Or if I could have this and I
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could have that and I can, you know, the people that are world
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worships are the movie stars and the rich folks and the people
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that seem to have it all together.
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But if you pay careful attention, you'll notice that
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even in that Stratosphere. Apart from God, the things that
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you think would satisfy you, they actually don't satisfy
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others and of course to that people go.
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Well I'll just give me a chance. Give me a chance and some of you
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God has given a chance. You're extremely influential,
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you're extremely wealthy, you're in the position in the place
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that you want. And then God says, what do you
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do with it? How will you respond?
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But it's interesting because there's not a day that goes by,
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or at least a week that goes by that someone that people look up
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to, they end up taking their own lives, leaving their spouse
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going bankrupt because it just didn't work years ago.
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I saved this article, they interviewed Meg Ryan when she
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was famous at the top of her game Meg, Ryan movie star.
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Extraordinaire that. The interviewer said you seem to
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have the life that most people only dream of all the wealth and
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fame and happiness and she responded interestingly she said
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and I quote no I'm not content. I never think of myself as
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someone who got the brass ring. I think of myself as someone
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who's constantly in search of of what?
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I don't know. It feels like a constant Forward
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Motion. Then I'm afraid.
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Of the unknown. They're always come some other
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thing. I haven't done some other place.
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I haven't been to some other person.
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I haven't met, I've never had the time where I just sat back
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and felt satisfied. Like now I got it.
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And as we remember Jesus as wonderful, you have to come to
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that place where you realize that the world will never
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satisfy you. And even just last week.
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This man famous on television and movies and production takes
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an Uber to a local motel and our are a few, a mile away from his
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house. and in this life suddenly and tragically I never heard of
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him before but I started reading the articles about him and from
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an outside perspective, you would say this nothing to
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something rags-to-riches story would have brought great
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satisfaction into his life but he obviously had troubling
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things that really messed with his mind.
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Jesus, he's wonderful. And it's in this one
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relationship with Jesus Christ. Not that one more relationship.
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Not that one more possession, not that one more goal that will
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bring you full satisfaction. And so only in him.
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Not only is he wonderful notice. He's also his name means will be
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called counselor. As counselor, this deals with
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all the decisions in life that we make, you know, they're
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studying these things all the time.
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I should have jotted it down but I'm reading a book right now
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that the author talks about all the decisions were making.
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I think he puts it in the thousands were making all these
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decisions all day every day. I mean just thinking about all
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the decisions we have to make makes me tired about thinking of
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what's going to be next and what's going to require my time.
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But see the Bible says that Jesus is ready to help guide you
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in the decisions of life. He's ready.
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The Bible says, a man plans his way, but the Lord directs his
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steps. Do you have the direction of God
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today? He wants to give you personal
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direction, direction will not be found as you try to drown out
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the difficulties of your light. Trying to run away from them.
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Some go down to the bar and the party scene to drown out their
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difficulties others. Go from empty relationship to
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empty. Relationship, looking for
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direction and help there. Stephen Moore who will spend
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thousands upon thousands of dollars on prescription
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medications and therapy seeking to find some sense of comfort
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and ease yet. All the while.
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There's a wonderful savior who offers you his counsel today,
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his counsel is Direction and his strength, thirdly, not only does
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he give direction, but notice his name will be called Mighty
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God. This speaks of.
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The demands of life. And aren't there, doesn't it
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feel like there are more demands on your life today than ever
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before? Are you feeling the weight of a
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culture shifting? Right under our feet, the
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changes that are both thrust upon us but also required of us.
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It's a demanding world that we live in even now.
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And all of us have found it hard at times even as a follower of
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Christ. There are new demands and new
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difficulties. It's hard to sometimes to stand
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up for what is right? When everyone else seems to be
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coming against you, it's hard sometimes to say no to
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Temptation. It's hard sometimes to do the
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right thing. It's hard sometimes to take
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every thought into captivity to The Obedience of Christ.
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But today, you need to know that almighty God has given you the
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power to live the life, he requests.
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And requires, you know, it's not just the demands of life, but in
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the same book, I'm reading, he's talking about that the attention
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span, the average attention span of you and me, not them, but you
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and me in the year 2022, you will not believe this is
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unbelievable. The average attention span to
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those who study these things. Is now, eight seconds, eight
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seconds. That means in a bible study this
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long, I've got to get your attention, get your attention
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get. Retention, get your attention.
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And yes, you over there, get your attention again. 8 seconds,
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like you're there. You're like, oh yeah, it's hard
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to pay attention. And when difficulties come,
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let's face it. There are times we don't want to
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pay attention because of the weight that we face.
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Yeah. The birth of Jesus Christ has
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great implications and great opportunities for you.
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And for me, when his name will be called wonderful, it speaks
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of the quality of life is name is called counselor, I not on my
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own. I don't have to make all these
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decisions, myself. Mighty God enabling me to deal
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with the demands of Of life. Even if I can't, pay attention
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for more than eight seconds, not only.
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That notice is named says will be called Everlasting.
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Father, The word Everlasting their means from vanishing point
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of vanishing point and of the many things that I'm reminded of
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of the Triune God. I'm reminded that my life will
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last forever. And in Jesus, this takes care of
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my future. That I don't need to fear death.
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Jesus Christ has gone before me. And not only that notice the
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final Part of his name is, his name will be called Prince of
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Peace. And this takes care of the
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disturbances, they all kind of build on one another.
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We live in a very disturbing culture.
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He gives us peace in the storms of life.
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If you're new to the Bible, the Bible uses a lot of different
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pictures to describe real world occurrences.
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And one of them, this figure of speech that we use is storms,
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because we understand what storms mean.
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Storms, can greatly disrupt your life like the storm.
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We just had. It was like - which what
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difference does it make after it's below?
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32, just keep going. What difference does it make -
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10 15, 20, 30, give me for to give me 50 or whatever.
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It's cold as cold snow and ice but, you know, a simple storm
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like that. Shut the airport down.
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Disrupted, all sorts of lives stealing, peace away from
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unsuspecting people. So when the Bible uses storms,
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there is actually a time in the life of Jesus.
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We're on the Sea of Galilee and by the way, the Sea of Galilee
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is a real place. We take people there were you
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not only can stand in the Sea of Galilee but you can be in a boat
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on the very Sea of Galilee that Jesus was.
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And there was a time recorded for Jesus that he sent his
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followers in a boat. While they were in a boat
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together, a great storm came up and it freaked them out.
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They were worried and concerned about their life.
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And yet Jesus was able to calm the storm.
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Why? Because he's the Prince of
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Peace, he's the origin of Peace, not a temporary peace, that we
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kind of get through, but a permanent Eternal peace in the
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storms of life, especially in the turbulent times we face
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today. Are in such an unusual time,
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horrendous crime, horrendous difficulty, things in this world
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designed to unsettle and disrupt us.
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And so, God's gift to us is a savior.
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A savior. What a glorious name.
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What's in a name? It all depends on who it is.
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And what that name reflects? and if we're referring to the
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name Jesus than, we know, That, that little baby brings to us
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hope. Help and true life in every
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sense of that word. And today, God has a gift for
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you. He's offering a gift of
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forgiveness that cost him greatly to provide it.
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You know, we as a church have been praying for you for a long
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time. As we think through the times
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where we add these services to help with the capacity.
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So we have room for everybody that wants to be here and
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everyone listening on the radio and watching online, we pray for
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you we prayed for you in particular because we recognize
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what a big deal it is for you to turn your life back.
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Maybe you've been gone for a long time and now this is the
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first time you've been back in church in years.
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And it's really required, a lot of you to Pivot your life back
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toward God because of the pain or the sorrow or the difficulty,
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who knows, who knows what it is? And then some of you stepping
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into a church, having no desire to be here at all.
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Being able to be in a room filled with song.
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Filled with the truth from God's word.
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It encourages us. But that's not all for you to be
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in the room. What our desire is to see you
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come into a right relationship with God.
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Because Jesus that sweet little baby in the manger.
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Grew up to be a man, whose life ended tragically and horrific
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lie on a Roman cross. Many would love to leave him in
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the manger but he didn't stay there.
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Jesus was born to die. And he died and rose again.
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And if you haven't received God's great gift, then do it
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now. You can leave here knowing that
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life, your life is right with God.
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Confessing your sin, you know, the Bible says that if you
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confess your sin, if you confess with your mouth, the Lord Jesus.
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And you believe in your heart, that God raised him from the
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dead, you will be saved. And I know it takes a big step
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to admit that you need salvation but it's not a big as big step
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as you think. Because if you're even having
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those thoughts right now, God has been working on you because
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the Bible says, no one comes to the father.
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No one comes to the father except through Christ and no one
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comes unless the father draws them.
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And so, we invite you to receive that forgiveness today.
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For God. So loved the world that he gave
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his only begotten, son, that whoever believes in him would
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not perish but have everlasting life.
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For God, did not send his son into the world to condemn the
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world, but that the world through him, might be saved.
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He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not
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believe is condemned already. Because he has not believed in
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the name of the only begotten Son of God.
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And this is the condemnation that light.
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Has come into the world and Men loved Darkness rather than light
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because their deeds were evil. Those are the words of Jesus
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that baby grew up. This is what he taught us that
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God has great love of available to you today if you would just
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come. So father, we pray for the Holy
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Spirit or Holy Spirit to work. Great work in the hearts of
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those listening right now. For us.
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I'm so grateful, God. I'm grateful for the gift that
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you've extended to me. The change that you've
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accomplished in my life, my family's life.
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Your sustaining power, I think of every attribute described by
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Isaiah. And I think how I've enjoyed
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each one of them in my life. Your faithfulness your goodness.
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How I'm reminded. Of the turn ality.
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Do you have Direction? You have answers to the
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questions that are on my mind to the difficult decisions.
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I have to make. And God, I pray that those that
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are here today who have yet to give their life to you, would
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come to know you in a personal way responding to the work of
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the spirit happening in them right now.
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And there would be a real transformation of life from
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Life, from Darkness, into light, from death into life.
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And so as we praise a church, I want to invite you.
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If you're here today and you've never experienced a time in your
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life where you've confessed your sins before God.
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And ask them to forgive you. I'm going to ask you to do that
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right now. I'm asking you to do it
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publicly. So if you're here today and
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you'd say, I want to follow Jesus, I want the Forgiveness of
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sins that you spoke of. Would you just stand to your
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feet? I want to help you pray to God
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that your sins might be forgiven.
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And so wherever you might be in the room here.
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I invite you to respond by standing to your feet.
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That way I can see you and I can help you pray and ask God to
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forgive you and that includes you guys.
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Down in the Overflow room, or downstairs in the cafe course,
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out on the radio, or on online somewhere, we don't see you.
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But sometimes, I don't even see someone in the room.
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And the neat thing about this is standing is not the mechanism
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that God Saves you. But here's what, here's why
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would have some public. Some public acknowledgement.
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It's because your whole life is public.
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Everything about your life is public.
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You have a public relationship with your family, a public
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relationship with your co-workers, a public
34:30
relationship with your neighbors, and the roads that
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you drive on. and despite the common adage in many families,
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we don't talk about religion or politics, You talk about your
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relationships. And your relationship with God
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will radically transform your life?
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And so who do they would say? That's me to stand to your feet.
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Today would be the day that God is ministering to you.
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That God is working in you and I want to help you with.
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The Bible says if you confess with your mouth.
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And I'll say a simple prayer that you can say.
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If it's sincere from the heart, God hears it You could say
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something like this, God. I admit that I've sinned against
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you. And I ask you to forgive me of
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all of my sons. I believe you sent Jesus Christ
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to live for me. To die for me.
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And I believe he rose again from the dead to save my soul.
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And I repent and turn away from my sinful past.
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And I choose to follow you today.
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And Father, I know anyone anywhere.
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That would respond to the drawing of your spirit in their
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lives, standing or sitting kneeling laying in a hospital
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bed sitting in a prison cell, doesn't matter?
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The supernatural work of Salvation happens inside a
36:04
person. And so I pray for those that
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would turn to you today. what a tremendous gift received and now
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the gift of a changed, life is a gift to give And so father, as
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we move forward in our lives Lord, in these last days, we
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truly want. to represent you in a way that honors you in a
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culture in a world, that doesn't And so pour out your spirit on
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us that we might be found faithful.
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We pray these things in Jesus holy name and the church says,
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amen and amen, God bless you. We pray that you've been
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encouraged by this Bible. Study delivered live from the
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sanctuary of Calvary Church for prayer, call us at 877, 30
36:53
Grace. That's eight 77304, 2:53 to
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listen to this message in its entirety Rarity or to join us
37:02
for our lives dream Services. Visit us online at Calvary.
37:07
Co dot church or download our free Calvary Church app be
37:11
blessed as you worship Jesus this week.