Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #24457 - Spiritual Progress ALWAYS Brings Resistance - Acts 12:1-4

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#24457 - Spiritual Progress ALWAYS Brings Resistance - Acts 12:1-4 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's word with pastor and author.
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Ed, Taylor recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora,
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Colorado to learn more about the many resources available,
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through abounding Grace Media or to tune into our live stream
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Services. Visit us online at Calvary, Co
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dot church or download our free Calvary Church app.
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Now, here's Pastor Ed to take us into our study.
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Amen. Take your Bibles, open them to
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two places. John's gospel chapter 15, that's
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where we'll start John 15. And we'll get into a new chapter
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today. In our verse by verse study.
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In the book of Acts Acts chapter 11, John 15 acts actually Acts
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chapter 12 in John 15 and a Bible study.
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I've entitled spiritual progress, always brings
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resistance, spiritual progress, always Brings resistance often.
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I'm asked these questions mostly from new Believers but also from
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a few older Believers questions, like when will the spiritual
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warfare ever end or it? Seems so hard.
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Now that I'm a Christian harder than it was before.
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I was a non-believer questions, like it's not getting easier,
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Pastor, it's getting harder. and even some have told me over the
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years, they told me that things would get better if I accepted
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Jesus and, you know, it's been nothing but trouble ever since
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and if any of those questions apply to you, let me first of
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all, apologize for the people that told you Things that were
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not true. I mean really the bad info that
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they gave you that surrendering your life to Jesus would solve
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all of your problems and you live a Carefree life in Christ.
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It's not the full truth. Now this half truth, there's
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part it's partly right. Your life is much better now.
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It's you need to know that your life is much better following
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Jesus than it's ever been in all of the entirety of your life.
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You are now a child of God You have a new purpose, you have
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hope you have help, you have a power outside of yourself
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literally. God dwelling in.
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You to live a life that pleases him, you're no longer addicted
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to drugs and alcohol, you're no longer partying and drinking
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your life away. You're no longer living in a
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falsehood and a false narrative kind of letting your Pascal, by
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or what we would say, wasting your life no longer Now, you can
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understand the Bible, you couldn't understand the Bible,
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you don't even care about the Bible before.
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And yet God had a word for you that you neglected all these
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years. That's a good thing.
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You can pray with confidence now and more than anything.
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Your eternal life is safe and secure in.
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Jesus Christ by faith. You have wonderful benefits,
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following Christ, but there's also trouble.
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Lots of it. You have new troubles now that
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you never experienced before just because you're a Christian
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while. It's true surrendering your life
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to Jesus will solve many of the problems in your life.
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It will also bring with it much opposition and here's why when
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you were born and when you prayed to receive the Lord Jesus
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Christ in your life, you declared war on the devil.
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I bet you didn't know that. It wasn't even part of the
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words, you shared. Oh, and by the way devil, I hate
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you and I'm coming against you. You never said that.
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But you declared war on the devil and all the forces of
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Darkness that are now at opposition with God.
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And now with you, and there is a real demonic realm in the
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spiritual, there are opposing forces, dark and light, good and
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bad in the spiritual Realm. If you're expecting anything
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else from this world other than challenges you'll soon be very
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sad. Sorry and disappointed and yet
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faith in Jesus Christ, frames the difficulties in a way where
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they can be understood. There's a new purpose but you
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weren't introduced now to a three-fold enemy.
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Really the believer, we have a three-fold enemy, we have this
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world system that we're in. And when I when you think of
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World System, want you to think of it, a couple of different
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ways. Ways.
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First of all, I want you to use the word culture, to describe
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the world. When the Bible uses the world in
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a spiritual sense. That's what.
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God has describing the culture. You're in the culture, you
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breathe in, breathe out, Breathe In.
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Breathe Out, The Way of the World War is.
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John would describe it in the Bible and first John, the
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Antichrist. Many antichrists have come in,
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the culture is against God, that's an enemy.
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The world is an enemy, the world.
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The Bible says, if you love the world you don't have the love of
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the father in you. That's how big of an enemy it is
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secondly, in this threefold enemy, you have your flesh again
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in the spiritual definition of Flesh.
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It is not the skin, on your bones but rather your old sinful
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habits, your old, the sinful responses that come very
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naturally in your life. That's an enemy.
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And then you have the Devil Himself and the devil uses the
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world to provoke your flesh. Because once you get involved,
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it's over. And a lot of things we blame on
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the world and a lot of things we blame on the devil actually have
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nothing to do with them. It's you and your flesh.
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It's not the devil's fault. You've, you have personal risk,
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my you must take personal responsibility for your own
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choices. It's not because you were born
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that way. It's not because of the home,
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you grew up planets, not because of the devil, or any of those
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things primarily, although they can, all be used to tempted to
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taunt you into sin, you and I, we make personal decisions to
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sin, will notice here in John 15, I want to draw your
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attention to verse 18. When Are John 15.
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Jesus is teaching us about the animosity of the world, the
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animosity of the world, you need to expect it and he says here
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and you got to imagine yourself if you would please.
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Just imagine yourself sitting in a room with Jesus and this is
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what he's saying to you. And to me he says that the world
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hates you You know that it hated me before it hated you, if you
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were of the world, the world would love its own.
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You have because you are not of the world but I chose you out of
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the world. Therefore, the world hates you
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remember the word that I said to you a servant is not greater
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than his master. If they persecuted me they will
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also persecute you. If they kept my word, they'll
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keep yours. Also but all these things they
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will do to you for my namesake because they do not know him who
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sent me. Jesus is clearly teaching us
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that there will be animosity in this world that the culture or
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another way of describing thinking of the world is the
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atmosphere. This ungodly ungodly Antichrist
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atmosphere of the world. It doesn't take long to see that
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this world doesn't worship God. It doesn't take long to see that
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the world in which we live doesn't care about God comes
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against God. Jesus says look if they hated me
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it's only if they hate you it's only because They hated me.
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This is a big part of following Christ you will face opposition
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in this world and as a friend you know I'm just set aside me
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being a pastor. They just a little brother.
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Oh brother. I'm I'm begging to hold Church,
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everyone listen to me wherever you are stop complaining about
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being opposed expect it and there's nothing that diminishes
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what nothing is a big word that this this this Complaining and
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murmuring about the difficulty in the world because you're a
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Christian does more to diminish, your testimony of Jesus Christ
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than just about anything else. A complaining Christian woe is
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me. Look what's up?
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And to me, you said you wanted to follow Christ.
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You said you were going to deny yourself.
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You said that he is worthy of all your love and devotion, you
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even sing it this morning, so stop complaining about it and
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embrace the walk. Talk of Christ.
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It's going to be hard. It's going to be difficult.
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The world in which we live will come against the church.
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We certainly learned that in the last couple years and the world
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in which we live will come against you.
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Here, you are living a new life, loving Jesus.
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And people are starting to hate on you and I mean in the real
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definition of hatred, just as Jesus described, they will come
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against you. And there is great pain and loss
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following Christ. The world will not like you
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those living in the world. It that's where it comes from.
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It comes from people people that we love and care for.
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Except that, the primary movement is behind the person.
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You have to remember this. The battle is not with the
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person. The Bible says that the weapons
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of our Warfare are not carnal. They're not human, but they're
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Mighty in God. It's a Spiritual battle not a
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physical battle. Even though, most of it comes
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with people, people come in against you, people saying
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things, people mocking, you making fun of you, jealous of
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you, trying to pull you back into the world, trying to tempt
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you taunt, you in the list, goes on and on that my friend is
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normal Christianity but it's also hard to live with.
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And challenging. Christian's will lose so much in
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a world that mocks them and makes fun of them.
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And temps them incessantly. Get back in the world.
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I don't like you like that. Get back in the world, come back
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in the world with me. You got to come back because I
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don't like this. And part of the reason is part
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of the reason is is now your testimony.
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As a light of the Gospel is a very convicting presence.
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It's deeply convicting to them because it was just a little
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while ago. They used to pound shots with
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them and it's just a while ago that used to make fun of
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Christians and just a wild like whatever you were into it was
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just however long you've been saved and there's a
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demonstrative change in you you know I think of it in this way,
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Christians lose a lot. One of the things that
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Christians have to face is they could lose their job.
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You could lose your job being a believer.
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It's a big temptation of compromise for Believers, by the
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way. Where are you?
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There you are in a position where if you choose to do this
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for your job, you will be an Unfaithful believer, you will
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sin against God. And the only alternative is is
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that if I don't do this, they threatened to fire me.
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And there you are. I remember it?
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Like, it was. I remember like it was yesterday
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I popped in my mind. I was I was teaching I remember
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the day my boss called me in and had me sat down put a stock of
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things. He says, I don't want you to
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sign these as a witness and I'm like, what is?
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And he's explained. It, he was basically telling me,
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I want you to lie and sign all these, and your name will be on
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the dotted line because I'm not signing them, I want you to sign
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them and he wanted me to break the law.
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And I said, bro, you know, I can't do that.
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You know, I can't I'm a Christian, I'm not going to do
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that because what if you don't do it, It, you don't do it.
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I'm going to fire you. I'm like that.
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That's your choice. And I knew I had a little bit of
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a relationship with him because we again, I wasn't saved for
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many years, it worked to so I knew him but I'm like, I'm not
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doing it man. I'm not, I'm not going to do it
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and you you you do with me, whatever your job, whatever you
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want to do with my job, that's the case.
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But I'm not going to do it. And I share the testimony now
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because I'm many years ahead, but I was so scared and my heart
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was beating so much. I could not afford to lose my
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job. Up.
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I have a very young family. I've got a brand new baby and
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I've got a background and, you know, my background checks and
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everything would hold me back. Like I was, I was so scared.
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But I had to trust God. I had to trust him with this.
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I couldn't compromise tone everybody at work.
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I'm saved. I got my new Bible and I'm
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reading, I'm sharing the gospel God was let.
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Now this testimony here. I was like, okay, I guess I'm
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going to lose my job and you know the story goes I didn't
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lose my job and many other times.
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My different bosses would leave me do the same thing.
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Some bosses would do it just because they knew I was a
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Christian they would lead things into my I get I'd get new bosses
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all the time they come in from all over the country they find
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our murderer. Ian and start messing with me
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right away. But the Lord was faithful.
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And you got to be willing to lose your job.
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Some Christians, they'll lose friends.
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That's hard. Lose Friends.
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I thought we were friends. Yeah, but we were only friends
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if you and those are hard friendships, you know, we were
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enjoy all these good times and we're all doing all these things
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and we're all hanging out and now now you're following Christ
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and they don't like it, you can lose friends.
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That's part of the package as a Christian.
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Some Christians lose their lives around the world.
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That's happening in the comfort and ease of our country 99.999%
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of Our Lives. Most likely, we will not
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experience what we're reading in the book of Acts today.
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But Jesus always calls us, not to a physical loss of life, but
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to, to a spiritual loss of life. So, all of us have experienced
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that There's a lot that comes with following Jesus and
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remember this as we've already learned time and time again in
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the book of Acts whenever God is doing a great work.
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The devil is not far behind trying to undo that work and
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come against you and come against me with just three
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motives to kill, steal or destroy.
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And the devil will take as much as will give him.
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He who take you as sad as discouraged as depressed as you
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offer him, he will take you as compromised as wishy-washy,
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anything he can get from us. He will take it and he will As
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One. Pastor once said he will look
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for any opening to maximize in our lives and certainly we have
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all experienced that every single one of us, we given the
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devil way too much. We've given him way too much to
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work with. We've let our flesh with him and
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need him to tempt us. Go to flush already, we gave him
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way too much and we need to come back to the Simplicity of
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following him with no surprise that it's going to be hard.
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So now it's all straightened out for you.
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It's going to be hard in many ways, it's going to be
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challenging. It is a life of self-sacrifice
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following Jesus much of what is portrayed as Christianity.
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They is not its culture Christianity, it's people
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pretending and saying, they're a believer in living, like the
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world, and that can't be said, among us.
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We have got to be serious about living out the truths of the
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Gospel, in our lives. Souls hang in the balance church
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just like they did when you weren't saved.
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And for in second Timothy chapter 3 and verse 12, it says
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all who desire to live Godly in Christ.
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Jesus will suffer persecution. Jesus said in John 16, Verse 33
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in this world. You will have tribulation but be
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of good cheer. I have overcome the world with
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that. In mind that's come to Acts
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chapter 12. We're just going to cover a few
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verses and a few choose today. But important ones, nonetheless,
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pick up with me in verse 1. Acts chapter 12.
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Now about that time Herod, the king stretched out his hand to
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harass some from the church. If you like to write in your
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Bibles, just right next to verse 1.
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This is the first First political persecution of the
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church, the first political persecution of the church.
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In the book of Acts verse two. Then he killed James, the
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brother of John with the sword and because he saw that, it
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pleased the Jews. He proceeded further to seize,
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Peter. Also, it was during the days of
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unleavened bread verse 4. So when he arrested him, he put
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him in prison and delivered him to four squads of soldiers. 16
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people are guarding Peter here because there is word.
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That Peter can break out of jail.
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Anytime, you know, squads of soldiers to keep him intending
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to bring him before the people after Passover.
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You're reading through the Bible.
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If you're reading through the Bible, you could read through
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this very very quickly and miss a few important things and I
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don't want you to miss them and I want to teach you, I want you
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guys to learn to read the Bible. A little slower, ask a few more
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questions as you're going through your daily devotions as
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you reading your Bible every day, praying every day.
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Just a little bit slower. If you took this text a little
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bit slower, you would pause right in the beginning in verse
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1. Now about that time we should
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just stop there and say Say wait a minute.
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What time? What do you mean about that
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time? What time and this is where you
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would pause and you would look at the context of this verse to
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answer that question. And what I'm teaching you right
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now is a very simple introduction to inductive Bible
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study, You observe the text, you look at the text then you ask
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interpretive questions. The interpretive question is
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what time? And we're going to answer that
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question. That's how you get to the
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interpretation of a text and the way that you look at the
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interpretation of a text is through the context, and here's
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what context means whenever you hear that word in the Bible.
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You're looking at what immediately came before it and
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what immediately comes after it, that's the context of a verse we
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need to First Look what's going on before it and then what's
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going on after it for this one about that time, we're going to
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go behind it and we just studied in Acts 11.
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That's the value of going through.
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The Bible. Verse by verse we just studied
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acts 11 what time. Well, the time of Antioch, the
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big city, it's a revival going on.
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People are getting saved, lives are being changed.
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Aged the gospels made it as far as Antioch within about 10 years
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of, of the outpouring of the holy spirit in Jerusalem, their
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lives are being changed. Families are being turned around
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gospel, is bringing life to the church and to the city through
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the church, not only that we go back a little bit farther and we
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have Peter and another part Peter before acts 11 was up in
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caesarea and Java area where he was sharing the gospel in
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caesarea and he He the Gentiles. The gospel is about ready to
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explode on the Gentiles. You can say about that.
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Time is a very exciting time in the church.
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Lots of progress. Lots of moving forward.
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Like those times in your life, where things are just going so
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well and so wonderful. It couldn't be better.
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You can't imagine how much good it can be.
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It was about that time that Herod shows up.
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Herod, he stretches out his arm and the political Authority that
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he has to harass the church. And you know political
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authorities can harass the church.
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Did you know that I mean, did you see that in the last couple
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years political authorities would love to see the church go
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away? They would love to silence the
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voice of the church. Do you have to worry about that?
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You don't have to worry about that.
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Jesus said he would build his church and the Gates of Hell
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will not Prevail the, you don't need to worry about that, but it
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will happen just like harith here.
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I mean I was thinking Seeing as I'm teaching the scripture, I
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was thinking of this illest. I was thinking of times where,
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you know, we have to follow a lot of rules of our city, of our
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County of our state, and even Federal rules to open a building
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like this. Did you know that we have to
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spend time to look in at all kinds of things, we got to pay
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our taxes, we got to put exit signs on the doors.
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We there's a lot of things that, if we get a surprise inspection
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and they don't we don't do something, right?
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We could get a piece of paper on the door.
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You can't meet So there is a importance for us to be in the
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world but not of it and I was thinking we got a surprise
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visit, I don't know a couple of years ago and it was very
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friendly. So I it wasn't something
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negative but it was something to illustrate.
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Even on a friendly level, they came in, they're examining the
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building. They go down to the
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resurrection, coffee house down there and then we get a little
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ticket that says where is your grease trap?
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Because you don't have a grease trap will shut this thing down.
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Like grease trap would, I don't even have any grease.
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Why do? I need a grease trap where I
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just preach the gospel. I'm not a grease trap guy.
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You know, I'm just preach the gospel.
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We just have church here but it's required in what we have
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downstairs to have a grease trap.
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And they look at everything in the kitchen and say, you don't
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have one and I'm like, well I guess we need a, where do you
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go? You buy one at Lowe's, where do
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you get a grease trap. A Walmart?
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What word? Where do we need to get one?
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Well, it's quite the involved thing.
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It's a pretty huge deal and after I said you guys can come
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in and look, you know, do you? Or, you know, tear the floor up,
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whatever you got to do, but like will get the stink and grease
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trap. We don't want to be closed down.
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Well, it come to find out. We have a grease trap.
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It was in there somewhere. I don't know what it's there
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for, but it was in there somewhere and we had it so we
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could get it all written off in signed off and who we saved the
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day. We have the grease trap.
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Yay. But don't let the last couple
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years. Shade your view we've always had
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to live with this, you know? There is a place where we are in
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the world but we're not of the world and some of the things
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that the government requires of us are very good, like fire
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alarms and sprinkler systems. Things that would be for your
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safety inspections on the elevator.
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So nobody gets hurt there or the way we have the rails on the
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stairs. What like, not everything is
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bad. However, there are those times
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where the church is making progress and yes, it is
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possible. Oh, that Herod will be used by
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the Devil Himself to create havoc in the church.
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Look what he does here Herod, he's the king.
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He's really of the province. They're not of the world, but of
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the province, he stretched out his hand.
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He's harassing some of the church then verse 2.
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He killed James. The brother of John with the
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sword and that is exactly what it means.
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You read through it really quickly, but we can't really
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read through it quickly anymore. Can we?
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Because we have to understand the emotion of the Bible here.
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It's not, it's not mentioned, there's no little subtext here
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but I assure you there's emotion involved.
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When you lose someone, very precious that affects the whole
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church. This is the first Apostle being
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monitored, the first Apostle. The closest one, the closest one
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to die for their faith. The closest to Jesus.
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So far, the first Apostle You know, you lose someone very
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special to the church like that sudden tragic.
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It kicks you in the gut. It hurts.
24:23
It slows you down. This is not only loss of James,
24:27
but it's going to slow the church down there.
24:30
Going to have to deal with their grief.
24:31
They can't just go on, they're going to and I look at in our
24:35
church in the last couple weeks we lose a very precious Pastor
24:39
suddenly and tragically not by persecution of course but sudden
24:43
and tragic to us nonetheless and it slowed us down.
24:48
And now, we've been in the office last couple weeks and
24:50
we've all showed up for our times and we've done the work
24:52
but it's so much slower. We're so much careful with one
24:56
another, we aren't, we don't got a pep in our step right now.
25:02
There's laughter, it's not like a solemn Place.
25:04
We've been joking and laughing but it's different.
25:07
You kind of feel uneasy when you're laughing and you're
25:09
grieving at the same time, you got all this going on.
25:13
Imagine how it feels for James to have his head cut off and you
25:18
weren't doing anything wrong. Wife is a being changed, cities
25:22
are being changed the gospels going forward.
25:24
And not only is James, you know, any remember, James and John
25:30
remember, Jesus gave them a nickname sons of thunder.
25:35
And these guys, they were strong.
25:37
People were looking up to them. You add to that.
25:40
Now, not only did he not only, did he kill James and such a
25:44
vicious way and you just cry out unfair.
25:47
Well, he continues because he saw that it, pleased, the Jews.
25:52
He proceeded further to seize Peter And when he arrested him
25:57
verse 4, he put him in prison delivered into four squads of
26:01
soldiers to keep him intending to bring him before the people
26:04
after Passover. Notice Herod and his Antichrist
26:09
spirit is doing things just to please people.
26:13
It's a very dangerous take this as a warning for me.
26:16
You do not want to live as a people pleaser.
26:19
It will cause you to make bad decisions because if you haven't
26:23
learned by now those of you that identify like you say, I'm a
26:26
people pleaser, you like thought?
26:27
Yeah, I understand what that means.
26:28
It, you know you if you haven't learned by now you can never
26:31
make everyone happy and you try to please this person over here
26:35
in 10 people over here of And then you run over these 10
26:37
people and you go. Okay I'm sorry.
26:39
Sorry. And then 100 people over here.
26:40
I've said and you can't you've got to please the Lord.
26:43
That's the only way you'll have peace.
26:46
The Bible says that if your waist please God, he will make
26:48
even his enemies. Be at peace with your enemies.
26:50
Be at peace with you. But this people pleasing, you
26:53
know, the Bible phrase. For that is the fear of man.
26:57
The Bible says, the fear of man brings a snare and the trap of
27:02
the fear. Man really is this is you think
27:05
you've pleased? Buddy.
27:07
That's the Trap and you're just stuck.
27:09
So here he kills James and goes all he look I made some people
27:13
happy. I've got some favor politically.
27:16
You got to understand in the political process politicians
27:19
make decisions for themselves. Now they make things that make
27:24
us happy but they're trying to please people for the next
27:26
election. For the next cycle, for whatever
27:31
benefit, they have nots, what herod's doing here.
27:33
This is going to give him favor with the people.
27:36
He doesn't care about James. He doesn't care about Peter
27:39
cares about himself. And that's where he's doing
27:42
here. You got to be careful, not to
27:45
walk in the fear of men. If your men will bring a snare.
27:50
And by the way, just real quickly, there are four herod's
27:53
mentioned in the Bible. I don't want you to confuse them
27:55
because they're all related to one another want to give them to
27:59
you very quickly. The first one is Herod, the
28:02
Great Herod. The Great is the one in charge.
28:04
At the time of Jesus birth. He's the one that had all the
28:09
babies under certain age murdered because he's trying to
28:12
take care of Jesus Herod the greys a Madman, massive Builder.
28:16
He's the one that built most of Have what's left in Jerusalem
28:19
today, the Temple Mount area, the temple.
28:22
He was, he was a very insecure leader ended up killing five of
28:28
his wise or four of his wives and 15 of his children are here.
28:32
I got all the numbers wrong. I got all six of his wives 15 of
28:36
his sons because they were a threat to him.
28:38
That was said that it was safer to be a pig in Harrods house
28:42
than one of his sons that was the first one.
28:44
The second Herod you'll read in the Bible is Herod.
28:48
Antipas Herod you got Herod the Great number to Herod Antipas.
28:52
He's the one that murdered John, the Baptist, then we come to
28:56
this Herod. This is Herod Agrippa, the
28:59
first. He's the grandson of Herod.
29:03
The Great Herod, Agrippa the first, he kills James and then
29:06
there's one more Herod that you'll meet in the book of Acts.
29:09
This is the Herod, that's Paul stands before.
29:11
And remember, he tells Paul, you almost persuaded me to be a
29:16
Christian Almost. The Harrods are a wicked family.
29:20
If you ever go to Israel with us, we talk about the herod's at
29:23
the first stop in caesarea because it's so important to
29:26
understand that your family can go one or two ways, you can lay
29:30
a foundation and a Heritage for your family to be Wicked.
29:33
The forever from generation to generation like Herod, or you
29:37
can make a change, generational change starts with you.
29:41
And you can think of the herod's single men, Wicked horrible
29:44
family and then you go wait a minute, that's not going to be.
29:47
My testimony. Change is going to start with me
29:50
and all my family going forward, but also my parents, my
29:53
grandparents, I'll start sharing the gospel with them, I'll start
29:55
loving them, I'll start bringing the influence of Jesus Christ
29:59
and in my family, that was want absent.
30:02
That's what you want to remember with herod's the Herod family
30:05
goes down in history as wicked and evil and by the way, Herod
30:10
the Harrods. Were edomites edomites, why is
30:14
that significant? Or if you're studying with us,
30:16
in our midweek Bible, study were studying the life of Jacob right
30:19
now in Genesis and he saw Jacob and Esau Jacob wrestle with God.
30:24
You got a new name. Israel Messiah will come through
30:27
Jacob. Esau, he heads off to the land
30:30
of Edom. Esau is the edomites Hair.
30:36
It Is the last item. Edomite alive.
30:38
You don't know of any more. God has done with the edomites
30:41
but he's not done with Israel fascinating stuff.
30:45
Now, when it comes to the loss of someone like James, Or losses
30:52
in our lives or difficulties in our lives, or trials in our
30:55
lives. We realize that there is a
30:59
spiritual battle Associated behind them.
31:02
And with Herod here, the reality is Satan is behind the scenes
31:07
using Herod against the church seemingly out of nowhere.
31:12
That's how the devil works. So, just out of the blue,
31:14
something happens, almost always with people.
31:19
Something out of the blue. Where did that come from?
31:21
There's that opposing work of the devil.
31:23
We've learned in the book of Acts that the devil Works two
31:26
ways first. Our Wordly then inwardly
31:30
outwardly To the church. We see him bring persecution.
31:37
Trying to shut the church down, trying to stop it outward
31:40
persecution, religious leaders, coming against it.
31:42
Political leaders coming against it.
31:44
We see the church in the book of Acts trying to be shut down over
31:47
and over and over again. Externally for us.
31:50
Personally, how does the enemy working our life situations at
31:53
work? Our family comes against us.
31:55
We're comes against us. Now all of a sudden new
31:58
neighbors come against us. Some unexpected Bill happens.
32:02
Whatever, just things are always on, the outside, the devil can't
32:06
get inside of you, you got to understand that you are sealed
32:09
by the holy spirit of God, but he does mess with your mind and
32:14
he does oppress you. And he does use situations to
32:17
discourage you and to defeat you is that he can mess with your
32:22
mind. He can make you think things
32:23
that make you think he's inside of you.
32:26
Right now, I'll get inside your head.
32:27
You ready? When we get inside your head, I
32:29
thank you for inviting me to get inside your head.
32:31
I'm going to get inside your head right now.
32:33
Don't think of a purple dinosaur.
32:38
Barney. Everybody's thinking of Barney,
32:42
don't even think about the song that's dumb song that dumb
32:45
dinosaur used to sing. And some of you are right now,
32:49
who's Barney, what is it? Purple dinosaur, you're thinking
32:51
about it. Nonetheless.
32:53
I'm not in your head, I just threw a thought out there,
32:57
that's all I just threw something out.
32:58
There, you received it, and now it's messing with your head.
33:02
You're going to be thinking of Barney all day.
33:05
Now you're going to see Barney somebody's car in.
33:07
Front of you, is going to have a little picture.
33:08
I thought that guy was gone and best ribs in my head, get out of
33:11
my head, I'm not in your head, you just took a thought and you
33:16
run with it. So when you see on the street in
33:19
some of the email me and it's not fair that did happen.
33:22
You just take every thought into captivity to The Obedience of
33:25
Christ and just dismiss, it says, Ed, you can't be in my
33:28
head, I'm not thinking an old purple dinosaur.
33:30
No more, never the same with the Devil.
33:33
He doesn't, he's not inside of you, he's messing with your head
33:37
and then once he messes with your head, he moves on and you
33:40
mess with your head. The devil using the culture to
33:45
provoke your flesh. That's so much of the Warfare
33:48
and yet the power of God dwells in you, you could take every
33:51
thought into captivity to The Obedience of Christ.
33:54
So outwardly the devil. If the devil can't get us out
33:57
worthy, then he starts to move inside in the church, he brings
34:01
hypocrisy he Gets to the leaders that's who he's after, he gets
34:05
two leaders, there's a Target on me, there's a Target on my back
34:09
because if I can calm, if I choose the compromise, the
34:11
faith, or teach some false Doctrine, or a ban in the Bible
34:15
than a lot of people are going to be hurt, but if he can't get
34:18
to me and then he's going to come after the leaders and the
34:20
pastors and the elders, and the lady leaders, and he's going to
34:23
caused all kinds of chaos and division because in that, those
34:26
types of things, people get hurt, and then wolves in sheep's
34:30
clothing. That opens a door for wolves to
34:32
come in and sheep's. And by the way, sometimes wolves
34:35
come in. They know you're putting sheep's
34:36
clothing on the is come in to rip you off, and take advantage
34:39
of you and steal from you and lie to you.
34:42
Why? Because the enemy wants to steal
34:45
kill and destroy from you, he wants to destroy your life.
34:49
He wants you to no longer to believe in Jesus Christ.
34:51
He wants you to blame the church or blame a pastor or blame a
34:54
friend. He wants you in such a miserable
34:56
condition that you are living a miserable life.
35:01
That's the devil. It's his work.
35:04
For personally, how does he get inside?
35:06
He sews the seeds of doubt and discouragement he uses these
35:11
family situations just to take the wind out of our sails.
35:18
He wants to take discouragement and then turn it into a
35:21
full-blown depression or defeat, or hopelessness or even as we
35:25
had the sister last night, give us the testimony about her being
35:29
saved at a harvest Crusade. She had to go back, just one day
35:33
before she went to the Crusade when she was suicidal.
35:38
That's the devil brought her to that place of hopelessness and
35:41
God was ready to rescue her. And this is the, this is the
35:46
issue that raises so many questions.
35:49
Why, why would you allow James to hit his head?
35:52
Cut off God. Why put like Peter and jail
35:55
again. There's so many tough.
35:58
Tough questions lingering today. Questions like if God is a god
36:02
of love, then why is there suffering and evil in the world?
36:06
Or questions like why do bad things happen to good people?
36:10
Or why doesn't God just Crush Satan if he's all-powerful?
36:13
Why does he just stopped at all right now or in a personal
36:16
level? Why did God allow that person to
36:18
die? Why did he allow my my son or
36:21
daughter to walk away from the faith or why?
36:23
And all these, why questions and they're real?
36:26
I know the real they come from a deep place of hurt and concern.
36:34
But might I suggest to you that why isn't always the best
36:37
question to ask because I can answer some of those questions
36:40
for you. Theologically I can open my
36:42
bible. I can tell you right on, let me
36:44
answer the question for you. Why is there suffering and evil
36:47
in the world? I can answer that for you in a
36:48
very simple way. It's because of sin.
36:52
It's because of man's Rebellion against God.
36:54
It wasn't God's heart for us to exist, in this miserable sinful
36:58
condition. Whether it's our own sin or the
37:00
sin of someone else, he didn't create us to face.
37:03
The pain of death death is an enemy.
37:06
The wages of sin is death, all of that.
37:08
It's because of sin but even so if I gave you that, that's the
37:11
Bible answer. But I give you that solid Bible
37:15
answer to just lead to another question, but I don't
37:16
understand. And why not this?
37:18
And I answer that one. Well, why not this, and I answer
37:20
that one and why not that? It'll be endless because why
37:25
isn't always the right question to ask in times, like these.
37:29
Because I am reminded in Isaiah, you might want to write, might
37:32
want to memorize this. Isaiah 55 verses 8 and 9.
37:36
I am reminded of this those. Why questions, although they are
37:40
valid and come from a deep place of pain, sometimes they come
37:44
from. Place where we're just in this
37:48
Lee. Trying to figure out God.
37:52
And I'm reminded for my thoughts are not your thoughts.
37:54
God says through Isaiah, nor are your ways.
37:57
My ways says the Lord for, as the heavens are higher than the
38:01
earth. So are my ways higher than your
38:03
ways and my thoughts, your thoughts.
38:06
Here we are finite man. Trying to understand the
38:09
infinite God. There are solid Bible questions
38:13
to. Those are answers to those
38:15
questions, for sure, but in times of deep pain and Agony,
38:20
they're not sufficient. You have to trust God.
38:25
And I was taught many years ago. It's become my own. so I have
38:30
the privilege of now sharing it with you, but it's in these very
38:33
times, I'm describing, When we come up against something, we
38:37
don't understand that. We fall gently back on those
38:41
things that we do, understand things that don't change.
38:46
There's even a illustration that the world uses.
38:50
You might have used it. You can finish it with me as I'm
38:52
saying it. If you know it.
38:53
Don't throw out the baby with the, that is so dumb.
38:59
What a dumb thing to say, don't ever throw the baby out.
39:02
A men never, that's so dumb. You don't do that.
39:05
But you get the understanding in the illustration.
39:09
You don't throw the baby out, the dirty water goes at that
39:12
baby. It gets taken care of nurtured
39:15
cared for fed clean clothes. The illustration for us to be
39:21
that baby is our faith and all the Dirty Water of Life and
39:26
difficulties. When it's time to move on, you
39:29
hold on, to your faith. You nurture it, you feed it, you
39:33
take care of it, you protect it. You guard it.
39:38
When you come up against something, you don't understand.
39:40
You hold to the faith that you have on the things that you do,
39:43
understand that God loves you, that God is working a plan out
39:48
in your life that he sent his only begotten son.
39:50
Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sins.
39:53
Here's something you fall back on.
39:55
You are born again. You are saved.
39:59
God has rescued your Your life, forgiving you of your sins, all
40:03
the things you enjoy. I mean, just think about this
40:07
way, you get to a place where it's difficult God has brought
40:09
you thus far? You are here by the grace of
40:12
God? Look how far you've come.
40:14
Look, how many things you've overcome look.
40:16
How many battles he's fought on your behalf.
40:19
Look where you are. You are here by the grace of
40:22
God. You don't throw out the baby
40:24
with the bathwater. You don't, I was thinking, you
40:29
know, my I've been through so much in my life and I'm like,
40:32
no, but God saved me. I know that you may not fully,
40:35
believe me, but I'm telling you, God saved me from a wretched.
40:39
Existence, he's saving not only saved my life.
40:42
He saved my marriage. I was thinking of this yesterday
40:44
without even the Bible study, I'm driving along with Marie.
40:47
She invited me to hang out with? And I'm like yes, my marriage is
40:50
saved 34 years being saved in Michaels, that's why I was
40:56
shocked. With Murray at Michaels.
41:00
What? A beautiful experience Michaels
41:02
is. Yes.
41:04
Yes. All for you, ladies, flourish.
41:07
Flourish Michaels Hobby Lobby, blah, blah, blah.
41:13
We weren't finished at Michael's though.
41:15
God, save my marriage. Yes.
41:18
To get lost in Ikea. You don't understand what my
41:24
mind goes through when I head out Saturday with my wife
41:28
because if we get into Ikea, we literally get lost.
41:30
Where am I got to get out of here, I got to get to church,
41:34
get me out of Ikea, nobody wants to help you there.
41:37
They get laws, you can't find anybody you're like you know, me
41:41
no more shopping and emeric. It's up there at when we not
41:44
going to talk about that, may God save my marriage. and when
41:49
tough times come, I look over my wife or I look at my kids who
41:52
would never exist, I got not in her in my life and I think God
41:57
you've got me through a few speed bumps in the past because
42:00
you know, What you're facing right now is hard as it is, it
42:05
is just a bump in the road, you know.
42:08
It's just a bump in the road. God's going to get you through
42:10
it. You're going to give through it.
42:12
You're going to get over it. You're going to get over that
42:15
little bump. You're going to get through that
42:17
pain. And ultimately you're going to
42:19
shed this human body and you're going to be forever with the
42:22
Lord. You're going to have your
42:24
heart's desire. You don't want to throw away,
42:27
those things. You don't want to turn your back
42:29
on. God you don't want to be mad at
42:30
the church or mad at this. God has given you promises.
42:34
Yes. Thoughts towards you, he's loves
42:36
you. He cares for Or you and yeah
42:39
things are going to be hard as a Believer.
42:40
That's just the way it is but there is strength Available to
42:44
You by faith. You don't throw your faith out
42:48
for a few things that you don't have an explanation.
42:50
You learn to live not by explanations but by faith.
42:53
Let me give you one more verse when we got to head out.
42:55
Turn over to 1st. Peter chapter 5.
42:58
First Peter chapter 5. And we all laugh at me being at
43:03
Michaels and Ikea. And I'll tell you this, I am so
43:07
grateful to be at Michaels and Ikea with my wife, I'm so
43:11
grateful that she didn't leave me ditch me that she didn't just
43:15
throw this baby out with the bathwater man that would have
43:21
been a horrible. Would have been unbelievably
43:24
painful but God is good. He's a God that restores.
43:28
He's a God that changes and he's a God that sustains us Verse
43:33
verse 8, first Peter, 5:8, be sober be vigilant because your
43:38
adversary, the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom
43:41
he may devour resist him steadfast in the faith knowing
43:45
that the same sufferings or experienced by your Brotherhood
43:49
in the world, but may the God of all grace who calls us to his
43:54
eternal, glory by Christ Jesus. After you have suffered a while,
43:59
Perfect. You stablish strengthen and
44:02
settle you to him, be the glory and Dominion forever and ever
44:06
and say that word with me, amen? Amen, let's pray, father.
44:10
Thank you for the privilege of your word today and and it's a
44:13
hard thing to think about the pain that's in this room or the
44:16
suffering that comes or persecution or politics and all
44:20
of that. God, we need you.
44:22
We don't want to throw out the Faith with the dirty Waters of
44:25
pain. We want to trust you with our
44:27
lives. We want to Run to you and not a
44:30
run away from you. So we asked an invite you or to
44:33
empower us and strengthen us even in the moments that we have
44:37
together today, that you would be glorified and give us the day
44:42
by day, strength, to endure to Hoopa Monet, what you've allowed
44:47
into our lives in Jesus name. Amen, amen.
44:50
Let's stand it. We pray that you've been
44:53
encouraged by this Bible. Study delivered live from the
44:55
sanctuary of Calvary Church for prayer.
44:58
Call us. Eight, 7730 Grace, that's eight
45:03
77304. 703 to listen to this message in its entirety or to
45:10
join us for our lives dream Services.
45:12
Visit us online at Calvary. Co dot church or download our
45:17
free Calvary Church app be blessed as you worship Jesus
45:20
this week. Eight, 7730 Grace, that's eight
45:03
77304. 703 to listen to this message in its entirety or to
45:10
join us for our lives dream Services.
45:12
Visit us online at Calvary. Co dot church or download our
45:17
free Calvary Church app be blessed as you worship Jesus
45:20
this week.