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Biblical Manhood & Womanhood - 2 Timothy 4 - Living By The Truth In The Days of Apostasy · Mount Eaton Church

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Good morning, family. How are you guys doing?
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Turn to 2 Timothy chapter 4. We will finish this
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letter today after we do the reading. Yep. Just
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getting ready. Thank you. All right. I will read
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a question. Heidelberg Catechism, you will read
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the answer. Question number 52. How does Christ
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return to judge the living and the dead comfort
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you? In all distress and persecution with an
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uplifted head, I confidently await the very judge
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who has already offered himself to the judgment
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of God in my place and remove the whole curse
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from me. Christ will cast... all his enemies
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and mine into everlasting condemnation, but will
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take me and all of his chosen ones to himself
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into joy and the glory of heaven. Amen. Isn't
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that beautiful? I don't know, that gives me comfort.
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So let's pray and we'll get started. Father,
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I want to thank you so much for your goodness.
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Thank you, Lord, for your word. Thank you for
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this wonderful letter. I pray, Lord, as we go
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through this, a letter of 2 Timothy chapter 4,
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that we really see the emphasis on the Word of
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God. that the truth of God prevails, and that
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we are responsible to be a steward and a caregiver
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of that word, and to proclaim the word in the
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gospel in season and out of season, Lord, and
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that we stand firm on the rock of Christ, the
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sureness of our salvation. Lord, we do praise
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you and thank you for your faithfulness and goodness.
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May the full counsel of your word be spoken.
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Help us to rightly divide it for your glory.
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In Jesus' name, amen. So we do have several new
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people. We are an expository church. We preach
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verse by verse. You will see that. Even though
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I'll be summarizing this chapter, we will go
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through every verse. I will not give you all
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the information because if I did, I'd run out
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of things to preach, and I want to go back eventually
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in a couple years to these letters, hopefully.
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So we have a lot to look forward to, and we have
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a lot to look forward to through the Word. So
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let's get started. I charge you in the presence
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of God, chapter 4, verse 1. and of Christ Jesus,
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who is to judge the living and the dead, and
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by his appearing and his kingdom. Preach the
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word. Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove,
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rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and
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teaching. For the time is coming when people
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will not endure sound teaching and have itching
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ears that will accumulate for themselves teachers
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to suit their own passions and will turn away
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from listening to the truth and wander off into
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myths. As for you, always be sober -minded. Endure
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suffering. Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill
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your ministry. For I am already being poured
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out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure
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has come. I have fought the good fight. I have
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finished the race. I have kept the faith. Henceforth
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there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness,
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which the Lord, the righteous judge, will reward
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to me on that day, and not only to me, but also
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to all who loved his appearing. Do your best
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to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this
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present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.
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Cretans has gone to Galatia. Titus to Damasia
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is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you,
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for he is very useful to me for the ministry.
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Tychicus, I have sent to Ephesus. When you come,
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Bring the cloak that I have left with Carpus
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at Troas, also the books and above all the parchments.
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Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm.
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The Lord will repay him according to his deeds.
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Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposes
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our message. At my first defense, no one came
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to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not
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be charged against them. But the Lord stood by
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me and strengthened me so that through me the
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message might be fully proclaimed and all the
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Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from
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the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from
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every evil deed and bring me safely into his
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heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and
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ever. Amen. Prisca and Aquila and the household
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of Onesiphorus. Eretus remained in Corinth, and
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I left Tromfimus at Maltus. Do your best to come
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before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you,
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as do Pudens and Linus, Claudia, and all the
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brothers. The Lord be with your spirit. Grace.
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be with you. Today's message is still on biblical
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manhood and biblical womanhood. I want the men,
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specifically all believers, but specifically
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men, pay attention to how Paul talks to Timothy
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here. Living by the truth in the days of apostasy
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is the message. Principle number one, God's people
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must always be ready to proclaim the gospel to
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anyone and everyone. So some very important things
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I want you to pay attention to in verse 1 and
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2. The first is the word charge. I charge. I
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earnestly call you Timothy. This is a earnest
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call to Timothy in the presence of God and of
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Christ Jesus. This word presence is not that
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he's just here, even though he's here. This word
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presence means by the authority of. So look at
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here from this perspective. I earnestly call
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you by the authority of God and of Christ Jesus,
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who is to judge the living and the dead by his
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appearing and his kingdom. This is what you need
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to do. The charge is to preach. The charge is
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to reprove. The charge is to rebuke. You'll see
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this. I charge you. I earnestly call you by the
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authority of God to do these things. Preach.
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Keruso. Keruso means to proclaim. Proclaim what?
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The word, the logos. What are you to proclaim?
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The gospel. The gospel in its entirety. Your
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responsibility is to preach the full counsel
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of God's word, specifically the full counsel
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of the gospel of God. It isn't. It isn't, and
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I'm going to call names out because I've been
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on a soapbox since I started preaching this morning.
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So I'm going to be on a soapbox. I'm warning
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you, okay? It is not Rick Warren. Say this prayer.
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Welcome to the family. Saying a prayer doesn't
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get you in heaven. Your prayer doesn't get you
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there. It's the work alone in Christ alone by
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the blood of Christ alone through the cross alone,
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which is by the scripture alone that gets you
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there. Christ alone gets you there. I want you
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to get that. Okay? That's important. So when
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we preach, we preach the full counsel of the
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word of God. What is the gospel? You guys know.
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We've been talking about it. What's the gospel?
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Christ? Crucified? Buried? There you go. Let's
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go, you guys. All right. That's the gospel. Full
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gospel. And God, Christ, calls all to repent
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and believe the gospel. Notice, repentance is
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a necessity. Repentance is a turning to God away
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from sin. It's not just the changing of the mind.
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It's a total regeneration, transformation, renewal
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in the life and the heart of the individual.
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And only the Holy Spirit can do that. We know
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that through the regeneration work of God, takes
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a dead person, makes them alive through the preaching
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of the gospel by which faith is planted into
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the person. The Holy Spirit regenerates that
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faith into the life of the believer, into the
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life of the person. That dead person becomes
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alive and they say, happy birthday. Jesus is
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Lord. Happy birthday. You'll get it. It's Frosty
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the Snowman. I said this at Christmas. If you
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ever watch Frosty the Snowman, I told you I'm
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convinced it is a Christian cartoon. He puts
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a hat on, and what's he say? Happy birthday.
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He's dead, and now he's alive. Okay? So I want
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you to pay attention to that. And the other thing
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I want you to notice is he puts on a hat. He
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puts on the helmet of salvation. I'm just saying.
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I'm just saying. Okay. So pay attention. Here
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we go. So you preach the word, he says. Don't
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just earnestly call by the authority of God to
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preach the word. Teach the full counsel of the
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word of God to your families, men. Your responsibility
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is to prove that what I'm teaching is true. The
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problem in churches today is they have preachers
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that sit behind pulpits, tell people what they
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want to hear. The people go, well, it's got to
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be the final authority of the word of God because
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the preacher said it. They don't go home and
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test the word through the word to determine if
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that was true. They believe it, and immediately
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churches explode into this massive growth, and
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they fill you full of fluffy. No, your job as
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man is to listen to the preacher, teacher, take
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what the preacher, teacher has said, verify that,
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and instill it, if it's true, into your family.
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If it's not true, instill the word, because that's
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what you're doing. If the preacher's preaching
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the word, he's preaching the word in its entirety,
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and it's sound, you're preaching and teaching
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the word to your family. Okay? And for the ladies,
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if there's not a man in the home, your support
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is the church. Okay? We have pastors and elders
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to help you do that. Very important. Preach.
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Preach the word. Every single morning. One of
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the things I didn't mention in first service
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that I'll mention now is preach the word to yourself.
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The gospel. Love the gospel. There is nothing
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greater on the planet than the gospel and King
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Jesus, the one who has given us his gospel. Be
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ready in season. This word, be ready in season,
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means when the opportunity arises. Example, Jesus
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sends them out two by two. What do they do? They
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knock on the door. Jesus says, if you knock on
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the door and a man of peace answers and he lets
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you in, stay as long as they allow you. And when
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your welcome is done, leave and go on to the
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next house. If you knock on the door and there's
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not a person of peace and they reject you, wipe
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the dust off your feet and go to the next person.
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That's what this means here. When the opportunity
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arises, there should be people of peace when
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you go to preach the gospel and tell someone
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about Jesus that they're going to want to hear
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it. If they want to hear it, your opportunity
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is there. But there's one more. It's the out
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of season. Be ready in season and out of season.
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Out of season means when there is no opportunities.
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In other words, you should be preaching the gospel
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to every creature, even when there isn't an opportunity.
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Even when you knock on the door and the person
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of peace doesn't want to hear it, and you go,
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you know, Jesus loves you, and if you die in
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your sin, you're going to go to hell, and he
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died on the cross, was buried, rose again on
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the third day to give you life. Sorry, I don't
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want any. No, it's not Jehovah's Witness. It's
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okay. The point is that we preach when we have
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the opportunities, and we preach even when. How
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do we preach? Why should we preach? Well, we
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preach for the purpose of reproving. We have
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been charged by the authority of God to preach
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and to reprove. Reprove means to reprehend severely.
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How about in the church? Can you think about
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that? So the scripture says in Corinthians that
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are we to judge those outside of the church?
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Most people say, no, thou shall not judge. For
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the measure by which you judge, you shall be
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judged. Take the log out of your own eye before
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you judge the speck in your brother's eye. But
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you know the Bible says that we are to judge
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those in the church. It's right here. And it's
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in 1 Corinthians chapter 4. 1 Corinthians chapter
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4, reprove. How can I reprehend you severely
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for your junk, for your trash, for your sin,
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if I have to worry about you thinking that I'm
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being judgmental? Will iron sharpen iron? No.
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We must reprove, especially as elders. That's
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why we must walk circumspect. We don't go in.
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condemning and beating, we come in with patience
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and teaching. So we reprove, we reprehend severely,
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and we admonish. The second, rebuke, censure
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severely, and assign fault. That's why we have
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church discipline. Church discipline not only
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assigns fault, but removes the unrepentant, deals
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with the unrepentant, or severely censures the
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unrepentant. limits the amount of activity that
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person has within the body because they're not
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willing to align themselves with Christ. It's
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hard. The third, exhort, means to urge, admonish,
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warn, and advise. Isn't that interesting? So
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God has called us, earnestly called us, and has
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given us authority by his own purpose and plan
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to preach, to reprove, to rebuke, and to exhort.
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How should we, as men, do these things? And as
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women of God do these things, we must do it with
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complete, in all manner, patience. This word
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patience means forbearance and teaching. We don't
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just do this because we think we have authority.
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The only thing that can change the heart of any
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and every individual is the word. Not your way,
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not what you think, not what you demand. What
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the word of God says, the word of God becomes
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the teacher, as Paul states. We also know that
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because he states it in Timothy, 1 Timothy, 2
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Timothy, sorry, chapter 1. Look what it says.
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Chapter 1, verse 13 and 14. the good deposit
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entrusted to you. Pay attention. It's the word
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of God that matters, okay? Patience and teachings,
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forbearance and teaching. Look what it says here,
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2 Timothy 2, verse 1 and 2. And then, my child,
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be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ
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Jesus and what you have heard from me in the
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presence of many witnesses. Entrust to faithful
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men who will be able to teach others also. You're
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starting to hear a common theme here, aren't
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you? Chapter 3, verse 13 through 17. On from
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bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But
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as for you, continue in what you have learned
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and have firmly believed, knowing from who you
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learned it. and how from childhood you have been
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acquainted with the sacred writings which are
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able to make you wise for salvation through faith
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in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out
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by God and is profitable for... teaching, reproof,
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correction, and training in righteousness, that
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the man of God may be complete, equipped for
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every good work. What is the common theme here
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in all four chapters? The Word of God. I can
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preach and teach all day long, but if you don't
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go home and allow the Word of God to do the work
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in your life, you will not change. You guys should
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know that. I've asked you guys to memorize it.
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If you haven't memorized it, please memorize
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it. It's one of the main verses I memorized when
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I first got saved. Therefore, I urge you, brothers,
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in the view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies
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as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing unto
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God, for this is your reasonable act of worship.
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And do not be conformed to the pattern of this
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world, but be transformed by the renewing of
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your minds so you can test and approve what God's
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will is, His good, pleasing, and perfect will.
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And there is only one place to find His will.
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It's not with those false... That call themselves
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pastors tell you the will and purpose of God
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is here. You don't have to go discover it. God
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didn't create your own purpose for you. Your
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job is not your purpose. Jesus is your purpose.
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Proclaim Christ where you're at. That's the important
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part. Whatever you do, whatever you do, it's
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Christ is your purpose. Now, second principle.
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God's people hold to sound doctrine and to stand
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solely on the rock of truth. Ephesians 4, 13
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through 14. until we attain the unity of the
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faith and the knowledge of the Son of God to
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mature manhood to the measure and stature of
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the fullness of Christ so that we may no longer
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be tossed to and fro by ways and carried about
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by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning and
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by craftiness and deceitful schemes. Why? Look
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what it says in verse 3 and 4 of 2 Timothy 4.
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For the time is coming. The time is when people
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will not endure. People will not bear. They will
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not tolerate sound teaching. They will not tolerate
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the inerrant truth and doctrine of God. We are
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now. We have people that are teaching and preaching,
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and we have things going on in our society that
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are antithetical in every way to Christ and his
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gospel and his word. Not every preacher that
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you see on TV is good. I'm about to offend some
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older folks, maybe some younger ones. So I'm
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going to give you one. You guys are going to
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be shocked. Let's deal with this issue. They
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will not tolerate sound teaching, but having
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itching ears, they will accumulate, they will
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heap up, they will accumulate in piles. Teachers
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to suit their own passions, their own desires
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that are forbidden, their own lusts, and will
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turn away from listening to the truth and wander
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off, go astray into myths, into fictions, into
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fables, into imaginations, and into dispensationalism.
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Why? Because it doesn't teach the sovereignty
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of Christ. It doesn't teach the kingship of Jesus.
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It teaches the kingship of you. While you're
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busy looking at the world events, you're not
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looking up, as Paul states. We loved his appearing.
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While you're busy looking at whether the mark
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of the beast is coming or whether Israel's built
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a temple or you're busy looking at whether...
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Israel owns the land of Israel. You're not busy
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looking for Jesus. It takes your focus off the
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king and puts your focus on you. Why? Because
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you want to escape what's coming. God has promised
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we will escape that. So why are we so focused
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on escaping it? Why are we so intent of getting
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ready when the only thing we should be ready
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on is the earnest call of the believer to preach
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the word? Now here's my, I had a particular individual
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I talked about today. I know some of you probably
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watch him and you feel like he was a good teacher
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and I felt he was pretty okay. But it's at a
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level where it's ridiculous. David Jeremiah.
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He makes millions off of selling the end times
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to you. It's enough. My call to him is to preach
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the gospel, David. Preach the full counsel of
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the word of God, which you've done in the past,
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which you're not doing now. You're too focused
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on what you think is happening in the world.
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The people of God, if they're preaching the full
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counsel of God's word, focused on the gospel,
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are ready for his return. Stop trying to get
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people ready. You get people ready by preaching
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the gospel and getting them to do the work of
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the ministry. How do we know that? What does
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Jesus say? We're going to see that next. What
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does Jesus say? Be ready. How are we ready? Do
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the work of an evangelist, he says. Isn't that
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what he just said? Do the work of an evangelist.
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Preach the gospel. He doesn't say, hey, get ready
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for Jesus' return. I'm looking up as I'm working
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out. That's the idea here. Third principle. God's
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people work with all diligence not to be found
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idle when our Lord returns, eagerly watching
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and serving. Until that great day. That's what
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you need to be doing. That's your purpose. That's
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the purpose and plan. One purpose, one plan.
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Whether you work in construction. One God. One
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faith. One baptism. One way. The gospel. Christ.
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That's your purpose. Whether you do art. Whatever
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you do. The gospel. Christ. That's it. Whether
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you're an electrician. Whether you work at a
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donut shop. The gospel, a bank, the gospel. Everywhere
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you go, it's Christ and him crucified. Do the
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work of an evangelist. Look what he says here.
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Luke chapter 12, verse 43. Blessed is the servant.
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Blessed is that servant whom his master will
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find so doing when he comes. 2 Timothy 3, 5 through
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8. As for you, Timothy. Always is the term in
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the ESV. Empos, meaning in all circumstances,
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in all things, in all ways, all the time. Be
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sober -minded. Be circumspect. Be clear -headed.
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Young men, be circumspect. Clear -headed. Focus
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on the goal that is set before you. Run the race.
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Run it hard. Don't stop running. Endure suffering.
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I want you to notice that. He doesn't say you're
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going to have your best life now. He doesn't
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say that God doesn't want you to suffer. God
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wants you to suffer. Godliness. Suffer produces
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endurance. Endurance produces patience. Patience
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produces character. Character produces integrity.
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Look, endure suffering. You cannot be an evangelist
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if you're not suffering. People must be comfortable
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with the gospel preach. Do the work of an evangelist.
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Fulfill. Bring to bear. Make full your ministry.
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Hear that, Owen. That is your focus, okay? For
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I am already being poured out as a drink offering,
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and the time of my departure has come. Paul realizes
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I am going to die, and my work is finished. I'm
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done. Look at his attitude. It's beautiful. Many
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preachers preach on this, but I want you to hear
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why Paul states it the way he does. I have fought.
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I have struggled with difficulty and danger.
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What has he struggled with difficulty and danger?
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The good fight. The praiseworthy contest. Do
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you guys know that the Christian life is a praiseworthy
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contest? It's a praiseworthy race. Win, run as
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if you are going to win the prize because you
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will. Christ is your prize. Look what it says
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here. I have finished. My race, my praiseworthy
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contest has come to a close. The race, the course
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of life, I have kept the faith. How many of you
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guys thought about that? Your life literally
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is a race, a course of life. You're literally
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on the running course of life in everything that
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comes with it. Then look, henceforth, meaning
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the future, in the future, there is laid up,
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there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness.
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Isn't that nice? And what's amazing is I get
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to take this wonderful, beautiful crown of righteousness
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and lay it at the feet of Christ and say, no,
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you are my righteousness. What a beautiful picture.
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Notice, it's the Lord, the righteous judge. That
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will reward it to me on that day is what he says.
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Christ, when you're done and you ran the race,
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he will take that crown and lay it before you.
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And you will in love and adoration and worship
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lay it before his feet and say, no, you're my
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righteousness. You deserve the glory and the
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praise and gratitude. Look at verse 1. What day
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is he talking about? Verse 1, chapter 4, verse
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1. I charge you in the presence of God and of
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Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and
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the dead by his appearing and his kingdom. That
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day is what Paul's talking about. What day? Revelation
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20. There is only one judgment seat. There's
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not the Bema seat, as the dispensationalists
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teach, for the righteous of God. And then there's
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not the throne judgment for the wicked. Read
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Revelation 20. Look what it says here. And the
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sea gave up the dead that were in it. And death
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and Hades gave up the dead that were in them.
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And they were judged, each one according to what
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he has done. Let's go up a little bit. Verse
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12. Okay? Verse 12. And I saw the dead, great
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and small, standing before the throne, and books
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were opened. Then another book was opened. Notice.
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Which is the book of life. By what was written
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in the books according to what they had done.
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Everyone is judged on that day. Everyone is judged
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on that day. Turn to Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter
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12 verse 41. Peter said, are you telling this
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parable for all of us? For us or for all? And
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the Lord said, who then is the faithful and wise
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manager? whom his master has set over his household
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to give them their portion of food. Blessed is
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the servant whom his master will find so doing
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when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set
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him over. all his possessions. But if that servant
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says to himself, my master is delayed in coming
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and begins to beat the male and female servants
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and to eat and drink and get drunk, it doesn't
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matter. Jesus isn't going to return. I can live
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any way I want to. The master of that servant
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will come on a day when he does not expect him
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and at that hour he does not know and will cut
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him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful.
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Look what it says in 47. And the servant who
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knew his master's will but did not get ready
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or act according to his will will receive a severe
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beating. And look what else it says. But the
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one who did not know. will receive a light beating,
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everyone to whom which much is given, of him
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much is required. And from him to whom they entrusted
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much, they will demand the more. Now understand
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this, those who claim that they're believers
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in Jesus and know the truth, live like the devil,
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I'll give those quotes, God will demand a higher
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accountability for you. God will rescue his people
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and bring us safely home. Colossians chapter
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1 verse 13 through 14. He has delivered us from
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the domain of darkness and transferred us to
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the kingdom of the son he loves in whom we have
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redemption, the forgiveness of sin. I'm going
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to summarize verses 9 through 21. I want you
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to pay attention to a couple things here. First,
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Demas. Demas was a quote unquote believer. Supposed
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to be in unity with Paul and the mission of the
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gospel. But Demas was in love with this present
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world. And as a result, he deserted and the kingdom
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and the gospel and gone to Thessalonica. He abandoned
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his post. Don't abandon your post. Next, verse
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11. Out of everybody. Luke alone is with him.
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I talked to you guys before about how I really
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believed that the letter to the Hebrews is Paulian.
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I believe that Paul is the one who gave the letter
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and that Luke is the one who penned it for him.
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Why? Because there is Paulian language and there's
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Lukean language in the letter. So as Paul was
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communicating this through Luke's personality,
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you see. his hand in it. Why? Because both were
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inspired writers of the Word of God. Next, notice
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he says, Mark, bring him with you. He is very
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useful to me for the ministry. I want you all
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to be like a mark. Be useful to the ministry
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of the gospel of Jesus Christ in every and all
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circumstances, as we read earlier. Paul requests
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several things. First, he says, bring the cloak.
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I think the reason why he asked for the cloak
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It's because I think he wants to be buried in
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it. Okay? Next. And then he asks for the books.
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Why the books? Why books? Because Paul has written
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all of these letters. He asks for books. Bring
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the word of God to me. Of the things he's asking
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for, he wants the parchments. He wants the word
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of God. Amazing. Do you desire the word? This
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is before the New Testament was completed. The
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Bible was not in its entirety. And Paul says,
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I want the word. Man does not live by bread alone,
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but by every word that comes from the mouth of
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God. The law of God is honey, sweet to the taste.
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Then he says, concerning Alexander, this guy,
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this fake believer, this faux Christian, he's
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evil. Straight up just basically says that. He
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did great harm to me, and the Lord will repay
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him according to his deeds. And then he warns,
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and I warn you all. Pay attention to those. You'll
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know them by the word. Here's what he says. Avoid
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him too. Guard yourself. Beware. 17. Out of everyone
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that left Paul, everyone abandoned Paul when
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he was under the pressure. And he begs for mercy
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on them. He says, but one did not. One did not
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abandon me. The Lord stood by me and strengthened
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me. You're never alone. God is always present.
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Christ is always present. He is in you. If you
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know him, he lives in you. You are the temple
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of God. So that. Here's why Christ did not abandon
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him. Christ stood by him because he belongs to
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Christ. Christ strengthened him because he belongs
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to Christ. This is why we are reformed. It's
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called the perseverance of the saints. You will
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persevere. Not only in this life here, but in
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the life to come, you will. He will keep you
33:26
from the hour of trial. You are not children
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of darkness, but children of light. You are not
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children of wrath, but children of God. He will
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deliver you. And this is what Paul says. Why?
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So that the message, the gospel, might be fully
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proclaimed to every Gentile. That's what he says
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in verse 17. But notice some very important things
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here. Verse 18. The Lord will rescue me. No one
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else will. Christ and Christ alone will rescue
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you. Guaranteed. And bring me safely into his
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heavenly kingdom. I will go home one day. And
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he ends it with this statement. To him be glory
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forever and ever. Amen. That's our God. Preach
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the gospel. Do the ministry. Work hard. It's
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my charge to you. So when I get back, we work
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hard together. Amen? All right. Father, I want
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to thank you so much for your goodness and faithfulness.
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Thank you, Lord, for your word. Thank you that
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you have accomplished and continue to accomplish
34:32
your will and plan and purpose in Christ. All
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things are complete in him. We give you praise.
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Thank you for your work of sanctification. In
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Jesus' name, amen.