Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Pastor Chuck Swindoll | Insight for Living – When God Gets the Last Word, Part 3

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Pastor Chuck Swindoll | Insight for Living – When God Gets the Last Word, Part 3 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

• 0:08
  Speaker 1: When injustice goes unpunished. It's easy to wonder if God
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  Speaker 1: is even paying attention. But God sees everything, and he
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  Speaker 1: will have the last word Today. On Inside for Living,
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  Speaker 1: Chuck Swindauld explores tewod Thessalonians chapter one to show us
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  Speaker 1: why suffering is never a divine oversight. The same God
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  Speaker 1: who promises relief to the afflicted also promises justice for
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  Speaker 1: those who afflict them. It's a sobering passage of scripture
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  Speaker 1: and a hopeful one too. Chuck titled his message when
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  Speaker 1: God Gets the Last Word. It's from his teaching series
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  Speaker 1: called Steadfast Christianity.
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  Speaker 2: These people, according to verse four, were holding up in
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  Speaker 2: their faith and perseverance in the midst of their persecutions
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  Speaker 2: and afflictions. Verse five, this is a plain indication of
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  Speaker 2: God's righteous judgment, so that you may be considered worthy
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  Speaker 2: of the Kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering.
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  Speaker 2: Two things kind of bubble to the surface when I
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  Speaker 2: read verse five. The first is this what you were
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  Speaker 2: going through is not a divine oversight. You will notice
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  Speaker 2: it is a plain indication that God's judgment that He's
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  Speaker 2: planned is right. The second thing I noticed from verse
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  Speaker 2: five is that what I am going through is the
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  Speaker 2: initiation into the Kingdom of God. See the way he
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  Speaker 2: puts it, so that you may be considered worthy of
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  Speaker 2: the Kingdom of God, for which indeed you were suffering.
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  Speaker 2: While thinking about verse five, I thought, there are three
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  Speaker 2: things that occur to us when we suffer. We mature,
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  Speaker 2: we are crushed, and we are awakened. Now suddenly the
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  Speaker 2: ball to the other court in verse six. After all,
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  Speaker 2: it is only just for God to repay with affliction
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  Speaker 2: those who afflict you. Look at the shift in the
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  Speaker 2: scene he talked to us in verse five. We're in
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  Speaker 2: this court. Now the ball is sent across the net
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  Speaker 2: to the other side in verse six. In this interchange,
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  Speaker 2: and God is saying, but don't forget turn about its
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  Speaker 2: fair play. Not only is that a good children's rule,
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  Speaker 2: that's a good divine rule. That's what verse six is
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  Speaker 2: talking about. It's when God will have the last word
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  Speaker 2: one day, when things are turned around, he will repay you.
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  Speaker 2: See how he puts it, It is only just for
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  Speaker 2: God to repay with affliction. In my notes I have
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  Speaker 2: written Romans twelve nineteen, this is the answer. You know
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  Speaker 2: what Romans twelve nineteen says, says, don't take revenge. Vengeance
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  Speaker 2: is mind. I will repay, says the Lord. Don't get even,
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  Speaker 2: don't try to get back. Leave vengeance with God. Let
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  Speaker 2: him do it, after all, He's just. You know, we
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  Speaker 2: are so enamored of the system of our day where
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  Speaker 2: criminals get out of it by some little nuance of
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  Speaker 2: the law or the blindness or prejudice of some judge
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  Speaker 2: or the oversight of some jury. We think they're going
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  Speaker 2: to get away with it. Don't worry about that. God
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  Speaker 2: is just, According to verse six, he knows it all.
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  Speaker 2: He knows motive, he knows timing, he knows reasons, he
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  Speaker 2: knows results, he knows our origin of thought. He knows
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  Speaker 2: fully what you have gone through and what you're waiting
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  Speaker 2: to have before to happen. He knows all of that.
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  Speaker 2: He'll handle it. Our need is to let him work.
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  Speaker 2: Think of all the energy we expend trying to do
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  Speaker 2: God's part, and we don't know motive, We don't know timing,
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  Speaker 2: we don't know origin, we don't know result, we don't
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  Speaker 2: know fully the story. We only know from our prejudice
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  Speaker 2: viewpoint what happened. So spend your energy walking with him
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  Speaker 2: and leave the revenge to him. Relax, it says in
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  Speaker 2: verse six, he will repay. Our problem is that he
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  Speaker 2: takes so long getting around to it. But wait, he's
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  Speaker 2: gonna do it. Isn't he long suffering? Isn't he patient?
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  Speaker 2: If you want an example of that, think about your life.
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  Speaker 2: Aren't you glad he didn't zap you the moment you
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  Speaker 2: got out of line. We'd all have scars and burn
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  Speaker 2: marks and bruises on us from heaven. Zap I mean,
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  Speaker 2: we wouldn't be able to get out of the house.
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  Speaker 2: He patiently, graciously, wisely wait. But when the doors are closed,
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  Speaker 2: and when the books are open, he waits no longer. Now. Suddenly,
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  Speaker 2: when you get caught up in that thought, the ball
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  Speaker 2: comes back to the other court, look at verse seven.
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  Speaker 2: At the same time, he is repaying those who gave
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  Speaker 2: us affliction. Verse seven says, he will also give relief
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  Speaker 2: to you who are afflicted. Now, wonderful, the affliction will
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  Speaker 2: not last forever. He's going to give relief to us
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  Speaker 2: as well, when when the Lord Jesus shall be apocalyopsis.
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  Speaker 2: There's a very interesting term. This same root word is
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  Speaker 2: the title of the last book of the Bible. Revelation,
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  Speaker 2: It means unveiling, it means disclosing, it means the revealing.
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  Speaker 2: The Book of Revelation is a vast curtain that the
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  Speaker 2: spirit of God draws open for the careful student of
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  Speaker 2: the book to look into and to read as far
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  Speaker 2: as God's ultimate judgment is concerned, to be carried out
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  Speaker 2: at the revealing of the Lord Jesus. That's the term
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  Speaker 2: used here. So when will relief come? When will there
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  Speaker 2: be justice? Meet it out? When the Lord Jesus shall
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  Speaker 2: be revealed from heaven. Now watch three prepositional phrases from
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  Speaker 2: Heaven with his angels in flaming fire. Students of prophecy
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  Speaker 2: love passages like that. I come to a section like this,
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  Speaker 2: and I think, boy, that would be so juicy to
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  Speaker 2: get into the details of that. It would be, But
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  Speaker 2: we're trying to get through the Book of Second Thessalonians,
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  Speaker 2: not get into the Book of Revelation. But whenever this
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  Speaker 2: time occurs, the Lord Jesus will come from heaven, will
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  Speaker 2: be angels, according to verse seven, with mighty angels of
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  Speaker 2: his and in flaming fire. Fire most often speaks of
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  Speaker 2: purifying or of judgment in scripture. So there will be
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  Speaker 2: judgment on his mind. Not only justice meet it out
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  Speaker 2: against the lost the goats, but justice delivered to the saved,
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  Speaker 2: to the sheep, to his people who have walked with
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  Speaker 2: him through awful times. Now about the time you get
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  Speaker 2: caught up in the thought and the joy of that moment,
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  Speaker 2: the ball goes back to the other court. Eight to
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  Speaker 2: nine provide us with some of the most awful thoughts
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  Speaker 2: in all the New Testament. Awful in the sense of
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  Speaker 2: human response. What will this revealing be like? What will
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  Speaker 2: be included in his well? I count three things, if
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  Speaker 2: you will count them with me? Verse eight. There will
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  Speaker 2: be the dealing out of retribution to those who do
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  Speaker 2: not know God. Even it could be rendered even to
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  Speaker 2: those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
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  Speaker 2: Now we're talking serious stuff. Not only will he relieve
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  Speaker 2: those who have been afflicted in life, but now will
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  Speaker 2: be the time that the books are closed and he
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  Speaker 2: gets the last word. Observe first the dealing out of retribution.
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  Speaker 2: One version says inflicting vengeance, another dealing out chastisement, another
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  Speaker 2: punishing allotting full justice. Bob Thomas from the local Talbot
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  Speaker 2: Seminary and Expositor's Bible commentary helps us with this word retribution.
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  Speaker 2: The word stems from vengeance. It's the same as that
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  Speaker 2: for right verse five and just verse six. It has
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  Speaker 2: no overtones of selfish, vindictiveness or revenge, but proceeds from
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  Speaker 2: the justice of God to accomplish appropriate punishment for criminal offenses.
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  Speaker 2: Brings us right into the courtroom, doesn't he But you see,
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  Speaker 2: we have become jaded by the courtroom of today. If
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  Speaker 2: you're like me, you hear of a person that goes
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  Speaker 2: to trial, and you think, I wonder how you'll get
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  Speaker 2: off this time. I wonder how somebody will get him
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  Speaker 2: out of this one. And often, unfortunately it's true. The
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  Speaker 2: guilty is set free. Mark it down. This is no man,
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  Speaker 2: this is no woman. This is no human opinion judging.
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  Speaker 2: This is God, who will deal out retribution to those
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  Speaker 2: who are immoral. No, not necessarily to those who didn't
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  Speaker 2: pay their bills. No, to those who mistreated their families. No,
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  Speaker 2: that's not the basis list anything else but unbelief, and
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  Speaker 2: you miss it. To those who do not know God,
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  Speaker 2: to those who have never obeyed the gospel of the
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  Speaker 2: Lord Jesus Christ. The first he will do is judge
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  Speaker 2: on the basis of faith in the Lord Jesus. If
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  Speaker 2: it's absent thumbs down second verse nine, these will pay
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  Speaker 2: the penalty of eternal destruction. I wait, don't misunderstand. It
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  Speaker 2: doesn't mean annihilation, because he says eternal destruction. If your
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  Speaker 2: barn is caught in a tornado, it is destroyed, suddenly annihilated.
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  Speaker 2: If you are fighting in a war and the enemy
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  Speaker 2: comes towards you with full weaponry and blows your company away,
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  Speaker 2: you are destroyed instantly. But neither a barn nor a
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  Speaker 2: group of people in fight are involved in an eternal destruction.
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  Speaker 2: That keeps you from thinking that it occurs in a
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  Speaker 2: moment of time, and the people involved are gone forever. No,
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  Speaker 2: as a matter of fact, they are here forever under
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  Speaker 2: the judgment of destruction. Several years ago, we sighed and
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  Speaker 2: ached and wept as we watched one newscast after another
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  Speaker 2: that showed the awful scene of our space shuttle as
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  Speaker 2: it blew up in the air. We lost seven precious
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  Speaker 2: lives who were instantly destroyed, not eternally. This is eternal destruction. Again.
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  Speaker 2: You can't think like a human thinks. You have to
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  Speaker 2: think like God. Thinks. This is after their there is
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  Speaker 2: no more time on earth. This is before there is eternity.
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  Speaker 2: This is in between when the last judgment occurs, and
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  Speaker 2: God steps into space and he brings before him these
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  Speaker 2: individuals who do not know God and do not obey
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  Speaker 2: the gospel of the Lord Jesus, and he causes these
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  Speaker 2: who were lost to pay the penalty of everlasting, unending destruction.
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  Speaker 2: I notice thirdly that there is ultimate alienation from God,
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  Speaker 2: away from the presence of the Lord and from the
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  Speaker 2: glory of His power. I don't know of a more
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  Speaker 2: horrible scene, and it's been written about rather vividly by
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  Speaker 2: Donald Barnhouse. I quote the adjective everlasting or here rendered eternal,
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  Speaker 2: which describes our life with Christ in heaven, also describes
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  Speaker 2: the never ending expulsion of the lost from His presence.
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  Speaker 2: Outer darkness is the way our Lord Jesus Christ described it,
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  Speaker 2: a sort of solitary confinement, forever, all alone with your
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  Speaker 2: thoughts and memories and unable to do anything to change
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  Speaker 2: the scene. That is hell. That is hell. Several years ago,
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  Speaker 2: Hollywood put together a film which depicted the half crazed
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  Speaker 2: leaders of several military outfits as they were involved in
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  Speaker 2: skirmishes and war over in Vietnam, there was a weird
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  Speaker 2: kind of military leader who lost it all and wound
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  Speaker 2: up hiding out in the jungle. And one of the
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  Speaker 2: plots of the story was to get to this man
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  Speaker 2: and hopefully to kill him lest he raise up a
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  Speaker 2: whole group of troops that would form a counter attack
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  Speaker 2: against the force of good. And then there was another
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  Speaker 2: half crazed leader who dropped napalm bombs on villages so
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  Speaker 2: as to clear out the areas so his troops and
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  Speaker 2: he might water ski along the river. They called it apocalypse. Now, strange,
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  Speaker 2: strange drama from the mind of man. This isn't some
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  Speaker 2: imaginary scene led by some half crazed leader. God is
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  Speaker 2: in charge, and this isn't some script dreamed up by
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  Speaker 2: some script writer who lives in Burbank or southern California,
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  Speaker 2: and it's put together an interesting thought that would hold
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  Speaker 2: the attention of a group of people. This is God's book,
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  Speaker 2: and this is awful. This is true. This is apocalypse then,
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  Speaker 2: and there will be there no chance for change, no
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  Speaker 2: prayer that will be heard to reverse life, no begging
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  Speaker 2: for relief will be acknowledged. This is maximum pain suffered
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  Speaker 2: at an infinite distance from the living God forever and ever.
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  Speaker 2: My friend, if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ,
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  Speaker 2: today is the day to take care of that. Today.
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  Speaker 2: It is passages like this that make funeral services for
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  Speaker 2: the lost so unbearable for me, so difficult for pastors.
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  Speaker 2: You're looking at the remains of the lost, the body,
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  Speaker 2: but what you cannot see is the horror of the
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  Speaker 2: soul and spirit, and someday in the future that body
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  Speaker 2: will be raised, changed so as to endure throughout eternity,
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  Speaker 2: joined to a soul and spirit that will spend eturn
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  Speaker 2: without Christ in hell. You can't fathom it. I can't
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  Speaker 2: fathom it. I can't describe it more vividly, nor will
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  Speaker 2: I try. I leave it to the spirit of God
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  Speaker 2: to convince you. I spoke on this sometime earlier, and
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  Speaker 2: I had a young man stop and say, where do
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  Speaker 2: I go? Who do I talk to? I need to
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  Speaker 2: get out of that horrible destiny that's mine. But it
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  Speaker 2: isn't all bad if a person is in Christ. Verse
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  Speaker 2: ten says when the Lord Jesus comes, he will also
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  Speaker 2: be glorified in the saints on that day, and to
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  Speaker 2: be marveled at. Among all who believe, for our testimony
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  Speaker 2: to you was believe. Here's a body of people who
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  Speaker 2: are suffering, going through the throes of difficulty, affliction. They
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  Speaker 2: can't explain it, they can't get out of it. But
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  Speaker 2: their hope is someday I'll be glorified with him. And
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  Speaker 2: look at how we will respond, says in verse ten.
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  Speaker 2: We will marvel at him. What a grand, grand moment.
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  Speaker 2: We will marvel at him. And will it be because
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  Speaker 2: we were good, we were moral, we paid our bills,
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  Speaker 2: we took care of our family. No, has nothing to
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  Speaker 2: do with it. It will be because we have believed.
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  Speaker 2: That's the way. The verse concludes, all who have believed,
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  Speaker 2: for our testimony to you was believed. I can't think
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  Speaker 2: of anything worse than to find my destiny and hell
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  Speaker 2: and look back and realize I turned off a gift
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  Speaker 2: that simply required my faith and trust, leave the character
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  Speaker 2: direction and building up to God. You simply turn your
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  Speaker 2: life over to him. Now. The solution is a wonderful solution.
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  Speaker 2: If you are a Christian, there's hope and here to
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  Speaker 2: hang on to. You. Notice how it concludes, this will
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  Speaker 2: be your moment as painful all his life is. At
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  Speaker 2: this moment, your hope is God is not going to
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  Speaker 2: last forever. There will be a day when the roles
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  Speaker 2: will reverse, and your joy will be the presence of
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  Speaker 2: the Lord glorified with saints, marveling at what He has
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  Speaker 2: prepared for you. That is your hope and that's mine.
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  Speaker 2: If you're not a Christian, here is the awful truth
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  Speaker 2: that you cannot escape that you must deal with. Now.
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  Speaker 2: This is your solution to believe in the Lord Jesus,
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  Speaker 2: to put that off no longer. Years before I preached,
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  Speaker 2: I sang, I was involved in an evangelistic group of
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  Speaker 2: young men who traveled around the state of Texas and
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  Speaker 2: a little bit in Oklahoma and some in Louisiana and
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  Speaker 2: the Southwest, presenting the Gospel and singing it and preaching
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  Speaker 2: it to the youth of our day. Some great memories
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  Speaker 2: connect with that time in my life. Perhaps it was there,
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  Speaker 2: like at no other time, that I realized the value
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  Speaker 2: of giving oneself to public ministry, and God used that
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  Speaker 2: in my life. Later on, one of the men who was
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  Speaker 2: a part of our group used to ask me to
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  Speaker 2: sing a song at the close of the meeting in
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  Speaker 2: which he had presented the Gospel. He had a special
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  Speaker 2: message he presented on the horrors of hell. And I
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  Speaker 2: will save you from my singing this, though I know
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  Speaker 2: that greatly disappoints some of you. I am not going
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  Speaker 2: to sing it. I'm afraid that would take away from
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  Speaker 2: the message of this old song written by Bert Shattock
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  Speaker 2: many years ago. And you who are my age and
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  Speaker 2: older will remember it, but the rest of you probably
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  Speaker 2: have never heard it. The lyrics go. I dreamed that
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  Speaker 2: the great judgment. Morning had dawned and the trumpet had blown.
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  Speaker 2: I dreamed that the nations had gathered to judgment before
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  Speaker 2: the white throne. From the throne came a bright, shining
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  Speaker 2: angel and stood in the land and the sea, and
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  Speaker 2: swore with his hand raised to heaven. A time was
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  Speaker 2: no longer to be. The rich man was there, but
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  Speaker 2: his money had melted and vanished away. A pauper, he
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  Speaker 2: stood in the judgment, his debts were too heavy to pay.
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  Speaker 2: The great man was there, but his greatness, when death came,
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  Speaker 2: was left far behind the angel that opened the records,
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  Speaker 2: not a trace of his greatness could find. The moral
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  Speaker 2: man came to the judgment, but his self righteous rags
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  Speaker 2: would not do the men who had crucified Jesus had
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  Speaker 2: passed off his moral men too. The soul that had
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  Speaker 2: put off salvation. Not tonight, I'll get saved by and bye.
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  Speaker 2: No time now to think of religion. At last that
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  Speaker 2: all found time to die. And oh what a weeping
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  Speaker 2: and wailing As the lost were told of their fate.
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  Speaker 2: They cried for the rocks and the mountains. They prayed,
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  Speaker 2: but their prayer was too late. I want us to
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  Speaker 2: bow our heads. I want us not to move about
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  Speaker 2: in this worship center. The spirit of God is speaking
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  Speaker 2: to you today. Some of you are under a terrible
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  Speaker 2: time of affliction. Injustice has occurred to you, and the
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  Speaker 2: scars of mistreatment still mark your life. You've got bad
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  Speaker 2: memories the truth were known. You spend too much time
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  Speaker 2: and energy thinking about revenge. My Christian friend, that's what
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  Speaker 2: the crows was all about. At that moment, you delivered
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  Speaker 2: that revenge over to him. You transferred to him your revenge,
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  Speaker 2: and you received in place his peace. It's yours. Let
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  Speaker 2: him get even. Your need today is simply to forgive,
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  Speaker 2: and not let that be a noose around your neck
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  Speaker 2: or an albatross that seize you to your grave. But
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  Speaker 2: more importantly, there are those of you hearing this right
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  Speaker 2: now who've never before this moment been so serious about
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  Speaker 2: your eternal destiny. That's God working in your life. If
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  Speaker 2: you don't know for sure that Christ lives within you,
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  Speaker 2: here's a prayer, just in your own mind. Pray this
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  Speaker 2: with me, Dear Father. I am lost, I am a sinner.
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  Speaker 2: I don't know you, and I've never obeyed the gospel
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  Speaker 2: of the Lord Jesus Christ. I know that if I
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  Speaker 2: were to die, this would be my future, the penalty
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  Speaker 2: of eternal destruction. And so today I do believe in Christ.
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  Speaker 2: I acknowledge him as my Lord. I give him my life.
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  Speaker 2: I come fully in repentance to the Cross of Christ
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  Speaker 2: for my eternal salvation. I trust Him only as my savior.
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  Speaker 2: Let's pray forgive us, our Father, for the days and
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  Speaker 2: maybe even months, we've wasted trying to understand your timing
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  Speaker 2: rather than simply trusting you in the crevice and valleys.
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  Speaker 2: Forgive us for blaming you for racing overhead as though
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  Speaker 2: you ignored and overlooked us, when all the while you
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  Speaker 2: had our maturing at heart. Forgive us for the wasted
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  Speaker 2: years of unbelief running from you rather than towards you.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you that today we turn around and we come
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  Speaker 2: to you in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
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  Speaker 1: Amen. If you prayed this prayer just now and meant it,
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: something eternal happened in your heart. And if you're a
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: believer who's been carrying the weight of bitterness and unresolved pain,
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: God's word is clear that he hasn't forgotten, he hasn't
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: overlooked you, and he will have the last word. Either way.
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  Speaker 1: You don't have to leave here the same. We'd love
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: to help you take your next step. Reach out to
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: us here at Insight for Living because we have resources
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  Speaker 1: and people ready to come alongside you wherever you are
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: in your journey. For starters will point you to the
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: Spiral Bound Bible Study Workbook for Second Thessalonians. This Searching
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  Speaker 1: the Scripture's Bible Study Workbook is a resource for you
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  Speaker 1: to jot down your personal thoughts and observations. Think of
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: it as your personal guide for working through Paul's letter
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: in the same way that Chuck prepares to preach it.
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  Speaker 1: To purchase the Bible Study Workbook for Steadfast Christianity, call
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: eight hundred seven seven to two eighty eight eighty eight
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: or go to Insight dot org slash offer. If you've
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: relied on Chuck's teaching and grown stronger in your walk
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: with God because of it, perhaps today is the day
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: you'll reach out with your financial support of Insight for Living.
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: Your gift will be channeled into reaching men and women
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: around the world with the truth of God's word so
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: they can fully experience a relationship with God, just as
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: you have. When you give a donation today, we'd love
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: to send you a classic book written by our teacher.
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: This one's about leadership, and it's called Hand Me Another
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: Brick in the refreshing style you've come to expect from Chuck,
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: Hand Me Another Brick tells the amazing story about Nehemiah,
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: a builder who reconstructed the wall around Jerusalem. It's a
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: masterclass in leadership. To request a copy of Hand Me
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: Another Brick, call eight hundred seven seven to two eighty
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• 26:27
  Speaker 1: You can also address a letter to Insight for Living
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  Speaker 1: post Office Box five thousand, Frisco, Texas seven five three four.
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: Are you worried about a loved one? I'm Bill Meyer.
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: Join us when Chuckswindall explains why petitioning God is essential
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: Tuesday on Insight for living. The preceding message, When God
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: Gets the Last Word was copyrighted in nineteen eighty six,
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  Speaker 1: nineteen ninety one, two thousand two, and twenty twenty four,
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: and the sound recording was copyrighted in twenty twenty four
• 27:09
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• 27:11
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• 27:14
  Speaker 1: Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited