Latest / Pastor John Piper's answers / Glorifying God in 1,000 Decisions a Day

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Glorifying God in 1,000 Decisions a Day · Pastor John Piper's answers

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  Speaker 1: Bible memorization. We've talked a lot about it. We need
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  Speaker 1: to get scripture in US deep. And for a lot
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  Speaker 1: of good reasons we need to get scripture in US deep,
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  Speaker 1: but a big one is because the vast majority of
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  Speaker 1: our lives are lived spontaneously. We must make hundreds of
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  Speaker 1: quick decisions every single day, like what episode to click
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  Speaker 1: on and listen to in the podcast feed, and so
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  Speaker 1: all of those decisions, those actions reflect whatever fills our hearts.
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  Speaker 1: If goodness fills us, it overflows. If not, harmful patterns
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  Speaker 1: will emerge. So without regularly meditating on God's word, we
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  Speaker 1: are unequipped to make holy decisions when we must, and
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  Speaker 1: we must every single day. If you've heard all of
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  Speaker 1: that before, it's because we've covered all of that before,
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  Speaker 1: as you'll see in the EPJ book on pages twenty
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  Speaker 1: four and twenty five and forty two and forty three,
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  Speaker 1: very rich themes that we've looked at in the past. Similarly,
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  Speaker 1: we have this question from a listener named Andrew. Dear
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  Speaker 1: Pastor John, I'm curious about the balance between fate, hearing
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  Speaker 1: the voice of God, and our own power in decision making.
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  Speaker 1: In Acts the Apostles, Drew lots to replace Judas in
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  Speaker 1: Acts one twenty to twenty six, and we see God
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  Speaker 1: speaking to individuals in various ways in Acts nine, verses
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  Speaker 1: three to twenty. While God clearly speaks to his people
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  Speaker 1: in different ways, there are also decisions he seems to
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  Speaker 1: leave to us, like whether to have turkey or chicken
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  Speaker 1: on a sandwich. Where do you see the balance between
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  Speaker 1: these elements and how can a believer know which to
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  Speaker 1: follow when making decisions?
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  Speaker 2: Okay, here's my answer to the balance question. The balance
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  Speaker 2: between situations in which you draw lots maybe or receive
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  Speaker 2: a special revelation from God on the one hand, and
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  Speaker 2: then actions that you take without any special divine interventions.
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  Speaker 2: That balance between those two special intervention no intervention is
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  Speaker 2: like one to ninety nine or maybe one to nine
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  Speaker 2: hundred and ninety nine. That's the balance. So let me explain.
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  Speaker 2: Let's just leave aside from now the debate between cessationists
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  Speaker 2: and continuationists. That is the debate between those who think
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  Speaker 2: there are no special supernatural revelations from God today and
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  Speaker 2: those who think there are. Because even among those who
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  Speaker 2: think there are, and I'm happy to be among that number,
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  Speaker 2: they know that in the living of our daily lives.
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  Speaker 2: From six in the morning until ten at night, we
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  Speaker 2: make one thousand choices from the socks we put on,
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  Speaker 2: the breakfast food we eat, whether to smile at the
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  Speaker 2: uber driver, A thousand choices all day long, not dictated
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  Speaker 2: by the intervention of God through special revelation in the
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  Speaker 2: moment we do. That's why I say nine hundred and
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  Speaker 2: ninety nine to one is the balance nine hundred and
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  Speaker 2: ninety nine choices that we make without special revelation in
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  Speaker 2: a moment versus perhaps one unusual intervention from God. In
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  Speaker 2: my judgment, that's just the way it is. That's not
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  Speaker 2: a matter for dispute, because the most vibrant charismatic walking
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  Speaker 2: in the spirit knows this is true for all Christians.
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  Speaker 2: The way God has ordained for us to live our
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  Speaker 2: lives and make our thousands of choices is not by
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  Speaker 2: God's whispering in our ear every five or six seconds
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  Speaker 2: what gesture to make next. We know that's not the
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  Speaker 2: way it is. That's not the way he leads. So
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  Speaker 2: the really interesting and important question is why why does
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  Speaker 2: God do it this way? So pose this question with me.
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  Speaker 2: Since Christ aims to be the Lord of every Christian
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  Speaker 2: and Lord, among other things, means do what he says.
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  Speaker 2: He's in charge, we're not. He gives commands, we obey.
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  Speaker 2: That's what lordship means. So if that's God's design for
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  Speaker 2: our lives, then why didn't God set it up so
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  Speaker 2: that the Lord Jesus is miraculously giving new revelation everything
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  Speaker 2: seconds in our brains, so that we receive a divine
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  Speaker 2: direction that we can choose to obey or not as
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  Speaker 2: to what we're supposed to do in the next five seconds.
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  Speaker 2: Turn left, turn right, smile, don't spile, speak, don't speak,
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  Speaker 2: take a second helping, or don't Thousands of these situations
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  Speaker 2: all day long. Now, that is a really serious question.
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  Speaker 2: The implications of how you answer that are huge. God
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  Speaker 2: intends for Jesus to be the Lord of every Christian,
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  Speaker 2: and nine hundred and ninety nine times out of a
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  Speaker 2: thousand every day he does not give special revelation for
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  Speaker 2: how to do his will. Why not? So the question
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  Speaker 2: is why did God set things up so that we
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  Speaker 2: are supposed to make God pleasing decisions without one thousand
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  Speaker 2: special messages from God every day about what those decisions
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  Speaker 2: should be. And I think the biblical answer is this
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  Speaker 2: because he didn't do it that way, because the glory
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  Speaker 2: of Christ will shine more brightly if it is imprinted
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  Speaker 2: upon the minds and hearts of His people in such
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  Speaker 2: a way that we make god pleasing choices because we
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  Speaker 2: think and we feel, and we act in accord with
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  Speaker 2: the peculiar nature and worth of Christ's glory imprinted on us.
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  Speaker 2: As a long sentence, let me see if I can
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  Speaker 2: say it more simply, God intends for us to descern,
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  Speaker 2: sometimes by reflection, sometimes by intuition, sometimes spontaneously. God intends
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  Speaker 2: for us to what is God honoring and Christ exalting
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  Speaker 2: and people loving, because through His revealed word in Scripture,
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  Speaker 2: we have become like Christ in the way we feel,
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  Speaker 2: the way we act, the way we think. And when
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  Speaker 2: that happens, when we are acting out of a transformed
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  Speaker 2: nature in the image of Christ, Christ gets more glory
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  Speaker 2: than if we were simply hearing a voice one thousand
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  Speaker 2: times a day and complying. So the reason I believe
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  Speaker 2: this and you just make this up is because of
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  Speaker 2: Room's twelve to two. Do not be conformed to this world,
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  Speaker 2: but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that
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  Speaker 2: you may approve what is the will of God what
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  Speaker 2: is good and acceptable and perfect. This is obedience stemming
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  Speaker 2: directly from divine transformation, not directly from special information. This
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  Speaker 2: is the way God intends to shape us and guide us.
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  Speaker 2: Apart from Christ. The New Testament describes the human mind
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  Speaker 2: as depraved, blind, hard, fleshly, hostile, sensuous, corrupt, double, and
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  Speaker 2: it describes our desires in similar ways deceived and fleshly.
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  Speaker 2: In other words, we are in no condition without transformation
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  Speaker 2: to see what we need to see and think the
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  Speaker 2: way we need to think and feel what we need
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  Speaker 2: to feel in order to make the choices that glorify Christ.
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  Speaker 2: We're just corrupt. We're not fit to do it, which
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  Speaker 2: means we are in desperate need of more than new
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  Speaker 2: information given by God a thousand times a day. And
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  Speaker 2: the way God wants to shape those thousand choices is
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  Speaker 2: by transforming us by the Word through the Spirit, into
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  Speaker 2: the image of Christ. How many times do we circle
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  Speaker 2: back tony to this precious text from Tewod Corinthians three eighteen. Oh,
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  Speaker 2: my goodness, beholding the glory of the Lord. We are
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  Speaker 2: being transformed into the same image, from one degree of
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  Speaker 2: glory to another. This comes from the Lord who is
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  Speaker 2: the spirit. In other words, the glory of Christ will
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  Speaker 2: shine more brightly in his people when our behavior and
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  Speaker 2: our thinking and our feeling are shaped by the glory
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  Speaker 2: of Christ, by beholding the glory of Christ and being
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  Speaker 2: transformed by the glory of Christ. So the way Paul
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  Speaker 2: teaches us to make choices is this, How does this
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  Speaker 2: work in your life? Put on the new self created
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  Speaker 2: after the likeness of God, in true righteousness and holiness.
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  Speaker 2: That's his ant are in Phesians four twenty two, same
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  Speaker 2: thing in Colossians three nine. You have put off the
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  Speaker 2: old self with its practices, and have put on the
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  Speaker 2: new self, which is being renewed in knowledge, renewed, transformed
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  Speaker 2: in knowledge after the image of its creator. Christ. Is
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  Speaker 2: glorified by the countless decisions we make from this new nature,
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  Speaker 2: because this new nature is the mind of Christ, the
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  Speaker 2: heart of Christ. That's why Paul says we have the
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  Speaker 2: mind of Christ in First Corinthians two, and why he
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  Speaker 2: exhorts Philippians, have this mind in you, which was also
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  Speaker 2: in Christ. So the great calling of the Christian is
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  Speaker 2: to be transformed by the Word of God and the
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  Speaker 2: Spirit of God. And then as we grow in this sanctification.
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  Speaker 2: More and more of those one thousand choices each day
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  Speaker 2: will conform to Christ for his glory.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, how many times do we circle back to this
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  Speaker 1: precious text two Corinthians three eighteen. Well often, I actually
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  Speaker 1: have the number right here, Pastor John, this is the
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  Speaker 1: fifty second episode to feature this text. Fifty second. That's
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  Speaker 1: a lot. And in the APGA book you'll see this
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  Speaker 1: echoed when you see the text make several appearances cameos
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  Speaker 1: all throughout the book on all sorts of topics. You
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  Speaker 1: can see it on page one, five sixty four, one
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  Speaker 1: twelve eight, two seventy six, two ninety five, three h two,
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  Speaker 1: three twenty seven, three twenty nine, on and on. It's
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  Speaker 1: a text so relevant to every single situation under the
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  Speaker 1: sun that you could possibly imagine it really is that
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  Speaker 1: important to Corinthians three eighteen, relevant to daily decision making
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  Speaker 1: as we saw today as well, I was rich. Thank you,
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  Speaker 1: Pastor John, and thanks for joining us today. If you
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  Speaker 1: have a question to ask, Pastor John, find a link
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  Speaker 1: to email us and find our complete episode archive all
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  Speaker 1: at the same place. Askbastor John dot com. Well, why
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  Speaker 1: does the writer of Hebrew's quote scripture like he forgot
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  Speaker 1: the reference of where it came from, almost like he's saying,
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  Speaker 1: somewhere it's written. Jesse's sharp question about Hebrews two six
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  Speaker 1: opens up a fascinating look at how the Bible's own
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  Speaker 1: authors handle the Bible, not carelessly, but maybe even more
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  Speaker 1: profoundly than we expect. That's next time, Tony Rank. Will
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  Speaker 1: see you on Monday,